As a pseudo-followup to my post about establishing an online identity, I want to talk about creating your in-real-life (IRL) brand. Meeting people at business networking mixers, tech events and conferences is a lot like trying to pick up a girl at a bar. You need to sell yourself in the minute after you shake hands. Talk to anyone that frequents such networking events and they’ll tell you most people forget each others’ names immediately unless they have met before. That’s why you need to give them something to go home with – your business card. It gives people something do to after they get home be it visit your site, check out your company, email you or add you as a contact on LinkedIn/Facebook.
Business cards are especially important if no one can spell or pronounce your name, making a quick Google search a bit more daunting than it should. Furthermore, business cards can set a first impression quickly. Is your card drab and dull? Does it shout? Does it show off your creative ingenuity?
Last summer I was tagging along with a friend who had an acquaintance at Facebook that gave us a tour of the place. Afterwards we talked a bit and I gave him my card. Chances are he glanced at it and put it away in a drawer somewhere; the fate of most business cards. Well I ran into this guy almost a year later. He didn’t quite remember me but after I said my name it immediately jogged his memory and he began commenting on how he remembered how large my name was on my business card.
You want cards. Now what?
The problem for most non-designers is that creating business cards is a bit of a pain. You have to design them, find out what format to create them in Photoshop and then find a worthy and affordable printer that will accept your ungodly creation.
To get you headed in the right direction, I am publishing my business card PSD template to use as a guide for creating your cards. I just ask that you use your own creativity and originality in coming up with your own design. The template is setup at 300px/in and 1088px by 638px, which seems to be the setup for most business card printers. When you’re done creating your cards, save a TIF/JPG/PDF/EPS image of the front of the card and another for the back.
I have used Overnight Prints many times in the past without issue. I usually order cards in packs of 1,000 with a glossy finish on both sides. It generally runs just shy of $70, which seems pretty good to me. You might want to refrain from making both sides glossy so that people may write on your cards.
Download
PSTAM Business Card Photoshop Template (1MB PSD)
Do you have business cards? What has your experience with networking events + business cards been?
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Paul and All,
You should really take a look at print100.com. I have used them a lot over the past 3 years. They offer lots of extras such as UV Coating and Die Cut, if you’re into those types of things.
The customer service portion is non-existent, unless you speak some type of Asian dialect. I tried via Skype and there were no english speakers. But, with that said, they speak designer. They accept all types of files and have very detailed templates. If you are scared about the quality or outcome, try a small batch of cards for $29.00. That’s what I did and then dropped a bigger order.
One note of caution is to make sure you use the American size business card template vs the other which is international (different than our sizes).
They also ship overnight from Asia for free via fed-ex.
I am in no way affiliated with the company, just happy to share a good experience.
Ian
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I agree completely with this. For all the networking events like Mashmeet and TechCrunch meetup I always printed my own personal generic cards because I didn’t want to use my actual work business cards. I like the freedom to be creative in my cards to show my personality. Also, having your linkedin is great because people will almost surely add you the next day ;)
Good post!
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Useful post, I just got my business cards made last week. They have been pretty handy for events such as startup schools and monthly Portland meetups.
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Of course, none of this applies if you network by producing good products and publications that people will remember instead of taking the swarmy approach of playing up a vacuous career.
You really, really shouldn’t do this kind of work in Photoshop. And where is the bleed?
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Did you look at the psd file Silkjaer? It has bleed/trim guidelines. Photoshop, Word, MSPaint…it doesn’t really matter as long as you end up with a product you like.
I wish that MOO made regular-sized business cards, but I guess that’s not the point of them.
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I’ve had business cards, since I was 18. :) This are my very first ones. back then I ended up going with the far left blue one.
http://img.skitch.com/20080423-e8bmtr1f836np9gshs2t2tefdb.jpg
Time for a change and I’ll be printing with print100.com, they do have great quality and price.
Just printed my business cards, so stoked. Can’t wait to hand em out =D
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@david/joe – there’s no harm in doing both, now is there? just an IRL handout to extend your strong online brand and even turn new people onto your online life. look around..
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Also print100.com has some great templates to create the artwork.
http://www.print100.com/global/cgi/design_spec_template.aspx
I agree, business cards are the simplest thing oft overlooked by people in the networking world. A high quality business card says a tremendous amount about who you are and what you represent…
If you're looking for quality business cards at a good price – http://www.GotPrint.net is the best place… I've ordered business cards from a number of different vendors including Print100 and although GotPrint doesn't include free shipping, 500 full color glossy business cards is $12.95 or so…
http://gotprint.net/g/showStaticPage.do?page=business_cards_pricing.html
Check there for more pricing – but I've never found someone that beat them on quality for the price.
Disclaimer: No, I'm not affiliated with them in any fashion…
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Print100.com a bit TOO pricy for me – best place I’ve seen is GotPrint.com – You can get 1000 (one thousand) BC for as little as $15.00
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Paul I LOVE Overnight Prints and they have an excellent product and service. I got 1000 two sided non-glossy cards for $59 I think. The card stock is thicker and more rigid than most other professional cards people give me, and the CMYK output is pretty right on. I actually design cards for clients and get them printed at OP and charge them a few hundred $ for the service and printing – its a nice upsell.
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@chad: What I like about print100 is they have free delivery and shipping is rather fast considering I’m in Mexico. Here a similar print of 300 double side full-color with uv varnishing would be around 60-70 USD, compared to the 29.95 they offer. It’s half the cost, same speed, same quality.
@Chad, I thought print100 was on the pricey side, but for the quality of the cards I got and all the extra little services they offered it was well worth it (free rounded corners, cheap uv varnishing). Before print100 I went with really dirt cheap printers and I wasn’t that happy about the quality..this time around I got 300 gorgeous matte cards, full color both sides with uv varnishing for like $30 shipped.
Plus, just in case you got scared off by the whole overseas thing, I believe fedex shipping was free with all orders.
I made a business card when I was in grade 3. :) I guess I’ll have to think about updating it a bit. (heh.)
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[non-corporate]
print mine myself on premium luster from a letter size photoshop template, and trimmed out on a rotary cutter. i’m a fine art photographer, so i can change my image often, and don’t have 500 out of fashion cards to feed to the land fill.
people say “it feels like a photograph…oh, i get it”. best…skip
ps i also cut up old and imperfect prints, as bookmarks for handouts.
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I have a personal card, I just get cheap ones from VistaPrint. They really are a must, there are so many situations where I’m finding myself grabbing one out of the wallet for someone.
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Paul the Grecian nerd.
vistaprint is the shit! luv em!
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that’s great, thanks a lot for that.
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Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising, but the business card is still the cheapest and best way to remind folks of who said what.
I always left an open area on the face of the card to add a “keyword” or two and possibly a “P.T.O” to info written on the obverse.
I’m still getting inquiries from cards given out decades ago.
If only one in a thousand bring in a client, then it really is cheap promotion.
Why go glossy? Years of trade show experience have shown me that it just makes it really hard to write extra info down on them, if you ever need to.
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True story: as a freshman I interviewed for an unpaid internship at a volunteer-run medical practice. They don’t hire me, but the interviewer takes my card. Long story short, he actually worked for a leading commercial weather service in the US and they hire me instead for a paid internship. Moral: get business cards.
@PStam – Overnight Prints is great. I would definitely use them again.
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Here’s a large collection of business card and some are very cool!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dailypoetics/sets/72057594104389710/
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I love it, I’ll be doing some big name name cards, will share it with you once the designs are done… thanks for the inspiration :)
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This post makes me wish I had a reason to print some business cards. :|
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Looking at the flicker site simply reinforces my faith in the KISS principle.
So many of them pay homage to “style over substance”.
It is essential to thoroughly research the needs of your intended clients and to convince them of your sincerity in offering them services which will meet their needs.
“Show pony” flashiness is unlikely to impress a hard-headed mining engineer or a pragmatic forester or farmer.
There is a whole raft of research which points to the inefficiency of the ‘marketing industry’ especially advertising and “art department” elements.
Most of what you get from “promotional seminars” and the like is just so much equine excrement and a heck of a lot less productive.
Get the point.
Keep It Sharp and Simple.
thanks for the info, Paul. Very useful indeed. I will be testing it out once I find the strength to stop clicking the Random Post button on your sidebar. XD Isn’t Photoshop CS3 just awesome!?
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1,000 for $70, that’s very good. Here in Ireland I get 1,000 printed for €180! I guess economies of scale and larger population really does drive down prices.
Cool looking business cards Paul.
I found a place that says they offer an unlimited supply of business cards, but the quality is supposed to be above normal free business cards. http://www.unlimitedbusinesscards.com
They are brand new as far as I can tell. They say they can offer premium quality business cards for free because they print discrete advertising on the back.
I would be interested to see if people actually go for that or not.
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Here are my cards:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2437943545_78e0218d9a_o.jpg
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Good post. I’ve been wanting to create a business card for a while, not for myself but for my business. Not being a designer I wasn’t sure where to start, so thanks for the insight on how to get started.
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Very true. I print my business card on jeans fabric and plastic that looks like metal to stand out. Then, before even a meeting or conference, I research the prospects a little and ask myself what can I do, or promise them, that’ll make them “chase me down” for my business.
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Yay unique last names! I’m interested to hear how popular your pstam.com redirect is. I use it a lot.
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Business cards are so 80s! Just have them scan your RFID implant, sheesh. If they don’t have a scanner, they can resort to a low tech method like use a camera phone to snap a shot of the bar code on the back of your hand. ;)
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Oh yeah, if you feel the need to roll your own a vector image program (Illustrator) is generally preferable to a mainly raster (Photoshop) application to preserve nice curves, limit noise, etc should the printer need to make adjustments. I’m no longer creative in my old age and am fine delegating the design to others – I’ll just pick fonts and colors.
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(Offtopic)Happy Greek Easter, Stammy(/Offtopic)
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On the Sunday before SXSWi this year, my mother made the point that I should have business cards. Like a dumbass, the whole thing had totally slipped my mind and I went on a frantic search for some place that could do them and get them to me by Wednesday (my flight to Austin was Thursday morning).
I ordered some GREAT business cards from Overnight Prints — and while the quality was exceptional, I was pissed off beyond belief that they didn’t arrive in the time promised; I’m not sure if it was there fault or UPS’s — either way, I paid $40 for Express Overnight shipping and didn’t get them in time for SXSWi, so I had to go to Kinkos at 9 PM the night before I left. Still, even getting more generic cards made (I created an Illustrator file that Kinkos was able to print) was insanely beneficial.
However, as my now-boyfriend found out, making cards at literally the last minute can turn out to be a HUGE PR boost. His cards got SO much buzz.
Seriously, I’ll never forget to order cards again before a big event.
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WSJ Buzz Blog today on Biz Cards
http://tinyurl.com/4oflhv
CL
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Paul,
You may want to consider submitting your business card design to WSJ’s buzzwatch contest.
Here’s the link:
http://blogs.wsj.com/buzzwatch/2008/05/06/buzzwatch-contest-does-your-business-card-stand-out-from-the-crowd/?mod=WSJBlog
Cheers!
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I once read in another post that a website can essentially be the ONLY marketing tool you need. Well, I’d like to agree with Paul … in addition to a website, a business card is a must.
1) A website is great for anyone who likes to go online to research companies/individuals, surf, etc. But it’s major drawbacks are that you can’t stuff it in your pocket/wallet or, for some people, they aren’t motivated enough to go to their computer to lookup “you” unless they REALLY NEED your services.
2) A business card is great for all other forms of traditional “offline” marketing AND you stuff it in your wallet.
Anyway, I think the gist is… you need a marketing MIX… and for me, that marketing mix should include online and offline marketing tools.
:)
jenM
recommended site:
http://www.4FocusFX.com …
for anything full color printing, 16pt card stock, and 16pt business cards
4FocusFX Printing and Graphics
800-585-9315
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I have been an Overnight Prints user for years. They are fantastic!
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That´s right, if you are working as a freelancer or aren´t employed at a company you also should invest in a business card, if you are planing to attend fairy trades or other business events. The crucial thing is: It´s better to ask your dialog partner for a business card than to give him a creepy one of yours. But it´s not only the design, the quality of the paper is a big point to consider, since the receptor build´s an, and maybe only unconsciously, impression of the quality of your work by feeling the quality of the paper chosen. Anyway thank you very much for sharing your templates, I´ll take a look.
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