Rules of an Effective Business Card

A business card isn’t just for simply listing your business name, number and address. There are a million and one ways in which you can format your business card and the information you include can help expand the ways in which your business card stands out.

Failing in the presentation and information on your business card could cost you prospects and hurt your ability of networking effectively – fret not, the team at Crystal Print have created our top business card rules to make sure that your business card reflects your brand and performs well for your business.

Include the Most Important Information

It can be very tempting to cram lots of information, having too much on your business card will mean that you will lose attention and recipients due to an overload of information. It is important that you include enough information to interest the recipient and make it memorable to the client your networking with or even just promoting your brand.

Keep it Simple

Fancy fonts and bold colouring can be fun and eye catching, they can also be greatly distracting to the recipient. Usually a business card isn’t the best place to add fancy fonts (they can be hard to read) Let your logo be the main eye-catching piece that adds interest and will keep the text simple and straight forward.

White Space

It is common to have full colour text and designs covering your card, but it is important to avoid the temptation and completely cover every piece of white space. With a tonne of colour and no space, it makes it impossible for your recipient to make any notes.

Use the Space Well

Maybe your wanting to go two sided or maybe your not? Careful planning of how you use your card’s limited space is necessary. It is important to note that your card is an important part of your brand, so it should be kept clean and well structured. Two sided cards may work well for your brand, or it may be better to stick to one-sided.

Use Special Finishing Options Carefully

There are many ways to make your business card stand out when it comes to the design, there’s lots of ways to generate attention from your business card by using the finish, for example you could design your card to have features such as rounded edges, hole punched through, embossing, foil accents or simply folds which turn your card into a mini brochure. It’s important that this finish is relevant to the image your portraying you brand to have.

A Call to Action

While your business card should be plain and simple, it doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate a call to action. A short message offering a discount can easily direct the recipient to your website or provide a useful tip which is highly relevant to the reader. If you hit the mark with a specific call to action or other helpful information, you can make your business card a lot more memorable.

Professional Printing

Although you could print your own business cards at home, it always looks more professional using a printing company instead, a DIY business card might not make the best first impression. Although you may save money and easily update your information if you print them yourself, but the impact of handing over a homemade business card isn't the same as cards that are printed professionally.

Make It Memorable

The design and feel of your business card is no different than a firm handshake when it comes to a good first impression. Durability is also a strong factor when you consider the length of time they will be sitting in your wallet. A professionally designed and printed card will evoke a stronger sense of credibility.
Be creative with your design and include features that can stand out, whilst still running with the theme of keeping it plain and simple. Remember the design should always complement the message.

Other Uses for your Card

It can always be fun to try and think of other purposes your business card can be more useful to the recipient, after all your card is a physical object – your card could have some potentially interesting extra features. Other strategic ideas can include adding promo codes or other vouchers to your cards.
It is important to remember that not all companies need a business card with functionality may not work for all companies and their added cost may not be as beneficial.