Design, Design, Design

You need only one card, but make it noticeable. Make sure it says the right thing.

I mentioned before that you can make some cards using your computer. However, I would suggest that you take time to have them designed in order to look professional. A good designer will cost at the beginning of the process but, over time, the cost will be negligible compared to the amount of business you can generate by simply using a business card. Your main card should have a simple and clear design that makes it easy for the recipients to contact you. The card should indicate what type of business you are in as well. I have seen so many business cards that leave me wondering what it is that they do. For example, I went to a fund-raising meeting for a Chamber in my local area and I was given a set of business cards for contacting possible suppliers of goods for the event. More than half the cards only had things like "Tecon Incorporated" on them. I had no idea what they did or what they could possibly supply. As a result, I only called on those companies that clearly defined what they sold.

Take a look at your own business card. Does it spell out clearly what you do? If someone picked up your business card because you left it at a potential client's office, would they be able to figure out what you do? Would they even read your card?

If you have a good design and a clear message on your business card you will be portrayed with a professional image. Placing your web site address and your email contact information will give a potential client another way to contact you. Good design should also be carried through to other components of your business stationery and website. The message you give your customers should be consistent.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

____________________

Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!

Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!

Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!

Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!

Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!

---

Postcard Direct Mail Marketing: 15 Ways To Grab Attention

If you use direct mail postcards to generate leads or sell a product or service, you need to create postcards that grab your prospect's attention. The place... Read More

Will Googles Gmail spell trouble for Email Marketing.

We wait with baited breath for the anticipated launch of Google's Gmail - a fre*e email account, capable of storing50,000 short, text only messages. That was not... Read More

10 Steps To Getting Paid For Your Marketing Materials

How many times have you heard the same sound bites come out of your mouth to your clients, prospects, and audiences, almost boring yourself to tears in... Read More

Writing Business Newsletters: Avoid the ?Me, Me, Me? Mistake

Effective customer newsletters find the right mix of promotional and 'real' content to maximize readership.It's that time of year when the old college roommate sends 'round his... Read More

The Advantage and Consequences of New Economy Marketing

Some of the research that has been done today gives us a lot of information on the values of today's society. What I'm referring to is a... Read More

Principles of Marketing 101

Marketing results should be measured in only one way ? increased sales. Marketing should not be considered an art form. Its mere existence is not enough. Marketing... Read More

What IS the Difference Between Marketing and Sales?

There seems to be a never ending argument among marketing and sales professionals as to what really is the difference between marketing and sales functions. More often... Read More

Developing A Focused Marketing Strategy

You want all of your marketing messages to have a single focus, so they pull together instead of competing with each other. Great! So how do you... Read More

How To Get Your Prospect To Take Action

There's really only one thing that separates Image advertising from Direct Response. Image advertising just wants you to think about a product in a certain way. Direct... Read More

Create Your Own Rumors

A consultant new in the city asked me how I managed to get business so fast. Working for that marketing company definitely gave me a jump start.... Read More

Marketing to Women -- Can I Buy You A Clue?

A while back a small business owner paid me a visit. He wanted help marketing his fitness business to women. Before we even started talking, he handed... Read More

Maximizing Your Yellow Page Investment

Yellow Page users are the hottest of all prospects ? someone who has made the decision to buy, and now is looking for a place to do... Read More

Slogans: Creating and Using Them In Life, Career and Business

Information is coming at us from all directions nowadays. This pace requires us to demand that we receive it fast and predigested in order to inch ahead... Read More

Tipical Mistakes in Marketing

To prevent the risks of a promotion campaign for our products or services, I'm talking about email campaigns, it is recommended to study some of the most... Read More

How to Write Irresistible Promotional Pieces that Attract More and Better Clients

Whether you're creating a sales letter, a brochure, a newsletter, or any other business promotional piece, you need to write in a way that not only explains... Read More

Make Your Marketing Solve a Problem

You may be engaged in a marketing activities that are working against you. Or, at the very least, are making sales more difficult. It's a common problem... Read More

Top 5 Kick Butt Marketing Requirements

Cinch your success with 8-second leaders! Step into the saddle and ride to the buzzer ? but first, get outfitted for success. Some things are necessary to... Read More

Three Ways to Put Fresh Spins on Old Marketing Concepts

Are you struggling to find a new twist for old advertising or marketing campaigns? If you're a small business owner or a... Read More

Put Your Marketing To The So What? Test

Want to get Better at your Marketing today?For many service business owners, marketing can be a real mystery. We don't really know exactly how it works. We're... Read More

Creative Marketing: Just Your Style

You've enlisted some of the traditional marketing methods to sell your services: you received some publicity in your local paper; your website is up and running; and... Read More

Marketing Operations Elevates Public Relations and Communications Professionals

Is your marketing department taking advantage of MOM and MRM? Do you have BAM and DAM systems in place? Do you know how to measure NPV? Do... Read More

Deceptive Marketing and Procrastination

Procrastination is every marketers worst nightmare.This applies on three fronts.Firstly how many times have we waited to see how a company or product sells before joining?There is... Read More

Packaging Trends You Cannot Overlook (Part #2)

Part #26) Food safety is becoming paramount.What this means to you: No longer are the words tampering and bio terrorism buzz phrases. They are facts of life.... Read More

Eight No Cost Ways to Market Your Business

Are you trying to promote your business with a tiny marketing budget? Opportunities are plentiful for low or no cost marketing. Here are a few that won't... Read More

B2B Marketing Tips - Create an Interactive Online Experience for Clients

Business to business communications on the web are as stale as a piece of week old toast.As a marketing director you want to give your company the... Read More

Using a Contact List Profitably- Part Two

Besides a survey, your contact list can be used to generate sales directly. Some of the following ideas must be done one-on-one and others can be done... Read More