Do you want to make a business card that people keep? Do you want to make a business card that is remembered?  Do you want to make a business card that has people contacting you back?  Here is how you do it:

First and foremost, the most obvious item a good business card needs to have is easily readable contact information. You would be surprised at how many people forget this or bury and hide their contact details in some frilly design that renders it illegible.  Try staying away from cursive fonts too, if possible; these fonts are hard to read for some people.  With that being said also stay away from really small fonts that are hard to read.

Another good rule of thumb is to include a short message about what your company does, since company names and/or logos on occasion are not very informative about the company or what it does.  When people receive your business card they immediately think how can this person or their services help me. If they cannot figure out what you do, your card has failed.  Think about it like this: what if someone else gave somebody your card, or someone is reviewing your card at a later time from when they originally received it – if they can’t remember what you do or figure it out based on your card, you probably won’t get contacted back.

You need to consider size as well. I wouldn’t stray too far away from the standard size (2 inches x 3.5 inches).  The reason for this being is it will not be as easy to store in a wallet or Rolodex.  Remember you want your card to be close to people constantly and within reach.

Something else you want to achieve with your cards but is not always the easiest is that you want your cards to have recall value. Recall value is making your card memorable so that when it is among many business cards in a stack it stands out.  The best way to create great recall value is to invoke emotion on your card since emotions are deeper routed in our brain.  A real estate company or Realtor can accomplish this by simply including an image on their card of a happy family sitting in front of a new home. That is just one example of creating emotional recall value and there are many other creative ways to accomplish it.  Be creative in this process.

Another good method for getting people to keep your business card handy and close is to create something on the card that a person can use, for instance a tip chart, calendar, ruler, or even a map. I’m sure you can think of more ways.  If you do this your card will be pulled out more often because you made it not only a business card but a resource. That alone might get someone else’s attention to look at your card.

Get Creative

You don’t have to conform to the standard business card.  You can print your business cards on stickers or even have magnetic business cards printed up. These are great because it turns it into a resource. People will keep magnets on their fridge or desk for years to hold up notes/papers.

Magnetic mini billboards every time someone passes the fridge

Magnetic business cards makes your contact info easily available and an everyday mini billboard on somebody’s fridge or metal surface they might have it on.

There are also fold over business card to consider:

Pros of a fold over business card:

- they are great especially if you sell products because it’s large enough to include photos on there like a mini brochure. – with the extra space you can have a note section, appointment booking space, quote fields, etc. (Just remember if you are going to want to write on your cards remember to have them uncoated or a matte finish, you will not be able to write on UV Gloss cards)
- It will stand out

You can see the visual difference here between matte and UV coatings

Cons of a fold over business card:

- They are thicker than a normal business card so people might not want to store them in their wallets since they take up more space.
- Also if your business card is a dark color and you have it is UV glossed you might see cracking on the folded part.

I hope this helps you out in your business cards creation endeavors.

Related posts:

1. Magnetic or Paper? The Business Card Decision
2. Make Your Message Stick: Magnetic Business Cards and Promotional Stickers
3. How to make an effective business card (Part Deuce)
4. What Does Your Business Card Say About You?
5. How Memorable Are the Features on Your Business Card?