So . . . you’re all CRACK HAPPY over your business card design but you’re not quite sure what to do next?

Don’t worry! I’ll give you the a quick run down on maximizing the marketing power of your stylish new business cards by covering the basics of simple business card etiquette. After all . . . what are friends for?

There is something special about seeing your name in printed on a business card for the first time. We CAN’T stop looking at it! We can’t help but grin. Getting your first business card is one of the few moments in life we get to experience that kind of CRAZY stupid happiness.

Don’t EVEN front like you don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s okay I’m NOT a hater. I am sure I can top you on the dork meter for ‘Giddy over my New Business Cards’.

I’ll start by telling you . . . My first business cards were SUPER lame. That didn’t discourage me. I still felt UBER important. (Yeah, yeah, laugh it up!)

I was STRAIGHT cheezin! I must have pulled that card out at least fifty times to admire the tiny corporate logo and my name in the simple black raised lettering.

I was SO impressed with my business card (and myself), I went all ghetto-fab and used them as an excuse to buy myself a NEW pinstriped suit! (It was for MY NEW image I swear!) Yeah, I’m having one of those laugh out loud moments.

BTW (by the way) if you ever share that with anyone, I’ll deny it!

So anyway, here is my advice on how to maximize your marketing efforts using your shiny new business card . . .

1. Don’t EVER leave home without them. I know right now you are thinking, why would I EVER do that? First of all . . . I know TODAY you think they are hella cool and everything but, after the initial ‘newness’ wears your enthusiasm might also.
2. Don’t be cheap. ALWAYS have more than enough on you. Always have more than enough in your car. And more than enough at your desk. If someone asks for two . . . GIVE THEM TWO!
3. Give ONE when you ARRIVE AT AN APPOINTMENT to introduce yourself. (business or personal)
4. USE one when you are introduced to ANYONE by a friend, family member or an associate.
5. Use IT to INTRODUCE YOURSELF to anyone. In theses situations, use the introduction as an opportunity to pass a business card (or two) out.
6. LEAVE THEM with your friends and family. You never know when your name or business will come up.
7. If you find yourself ‘talking about the weather’ with a TOTAL stranger, INTRODUCE YOURSELF! (with your card of course)

In closing, if you haven’t been SUPER DUPER excited about your MOST recent business card, I think you need a new graphic designer. Did I mention I am available for hire?

I’m going to be straight up about discounting your prices.  It’s bad. It cheapens the value of your product.  And, can leave all your customers that previously purchased at full price feeling cheated.

The biggest issue with offering discounts is that it communicates that “really” the product or service is not worth as much as you were overcharging previously.

I bought a book. A really, really, expensive book.  I paid almost two hundred and fifty dollars for this book.  The maker of this book sells lots of books, but this series of “expensive” books has five books.  Five books all on similar or related topic.

I really liked this book. So a few months later, I decided to go back and look at another one in the series.  This time, they were having a two for one special.  So I bought two paid for one.  Good deal right?

About a year later, I end up, back at this website.  I was thinking . . . I might be interested in another book in the series.  For two hundred and fifty dollars . . . I had better BE sure . . . Right?

This time, I downloaded a free sample chapter.  (But I never got around to reading it.)

About a week later, I receive an email.  Not only are they are discounting this book I’m interested in by one hundred and twenty-five dollars, they are also offering to give me something really cool free for my purchase!

Now don’t get me wrong it’s a really nice thing they did.  Yes, I took the discount and made a purchase.  The only thing about this that bothers me about this scenario is . . . right after I clicked the “buy ” button, my think box said, “I should have waited to before I purchased the very first book I bought from them.”

And now . . . I know to wait before I click “buy” with this company.  They have trained me to wait for a discount.

Let’s not train your repeat customers to wait for a discount to buy. Be savvy about offering a discount. Use specials to encourage additional purchases.  Offer something additional (frosting) as a bonus instead of discounting the fee.  Your customer will feel as though they received a gift and repeat customers won’t be left with an ill feeling about their previous purchase(s).

Business cards and contact cards have always left a lingering question in my head.  What will they do with your card after you have left it in their possession.  Will they throw it away or will they give you a call?  Will they remember who you are when they finally get around to pulling your card out of their purse or wallet?

My daughter and I frequent trade shows for joint venture Lil Sophisticate. One of the lingering questions in our minds when making a new business contact is, will they remember us?  And if they do, how will they remember us? Do they care enough about who we are to hold on to our card?

Realtors have mastered the idea of branding their image and faces to the point that it is almost cheesy.  They do this by putting their faces on business cards, the side of a bus, shopping carts, newspaper ads and their websites.  How ever cheesy this may seem to you or I, the fact remains, it IS effective..

Dan Schawbel gives some excellent advice on business branding and business cards and how you can leave an unforgettable impression.

After reading his article, I was sold (no pun intended) on creating a perfectly unforgettable business card design.  The idea of putting your face on a business card is both fun and functional.  And we both know I am all about the fun!

One thing is certianly true about these business cards, undeniably, they create a lasting image of exactly whose card this is, the client always remembers how they came in contact with us when it was left behind, and the best part is they actually hold on to it!  I mean seriously, it looks so yummy you want to eat it!

One of the toughest things about what I do is SELF promotion! Yeah, I think I almost hate it.

I can’t count how many times someone has asked me what I do for a living and I say, “I’m a graphic designer.” The truth is, I am a graphic designer . . . that IS my title, but what I do is so much more than that. What I really do is help people. I help people . . . make money.

So why is it, every time I open my mouth and tell someone about what I do, it’s like there is some kind of shame that comes over me and says “Uh, really? Seriously? You are selling yourself . . . here?”

Sharing what I do for a living should come easy. I HELP People . . .

Okay . . . here it goes . . . how’s THIS for shameless self promotion:

I help people by creating cohesive images that effectively represent their product, service or idea. I put their ideas into action! I give it, visual character so that other people fall in LOVE with it and want to buy it.

So . . . let me ask you this . . . when are YOU gonna let ME help you?

So one day, I am surfing the web.  And I stumble this website called Expert Village.  And I find this guy named Scott Ginsberg, giving video tutorials on public speaking.  BTW, (by the way) his videos are amazing!

This guy is young and hip, and OH MY GOD funny.  He has so much charisma and there is something about him that’s makes you feel like he is your new best friend.  I am absolutely blown away!    I swear I must have watched his videos a dozen times.

Turns out this guy is an author and, at the time he had a couple books out.  So anyways I join his mailing list and buy a book.  (By the way, I love the book.) Well in this book; Make a Name for Yourself, on page 113 he says something that almost made me fall in love him!

8. if you give your business card to somebody and they don’t reply, “Hey,  cool card!“ get a new card. (Thank you, Jeffery Gitomer.)

Wow.  Did he really say that? Like most graphic designers, I think it’s a sin to have an ugly business card. I could have hugged him! (I just bought ALL his books instead.)

This guy is SUPER cool and really interesting.  He wears a name tag (or two) 24-7. He has this whole series of books on being open to the possibilities by making yourself available and expand your network just being yourself.  Scott Ginsberg is definitely worth checking out!