Business cards is one of the cheapest price per piece unit a business creates to advertise their business and yet most business cards you see are not memorable at all. But worst yet they have no way of converting a potential client into a solid lead. We wanted to offer a few tips for creating an effective business card that will make you memorable and help you convert those possible leads:

-Know you market. You may say- “Well duh!” but too many times there are businesses who total skip this part just to have a “hip” looking card. For example if your business targets seniors you may want to adjust your text size so it is easier for those clients to read. Will you really get a referral if your lead cannot even read your card?

-Maximize space without clutter. Your business may have a lot of things to say but filling up your entire card with text and color may have a negative effect on you business. Nowadays printing things on the back side of business cards is a matter of pennies- SO USE THE SPACE. Don’t fill it up but use it as an opportunity to share something more about your business. For example if you are motivational speaker a list of topics you often discuss on the back might intrigue and convert a lead who is on the fence.

-A picture of yourself could make a difference. So you leave a networking event with 50 business cards and are now wondering to yourself “how am I ever going to remember all these people?” Well if there is a picture on the card you are going to have an easier time remembering that contact. If you are in a business where you are selling your service NOT having your picture on your card is NOT an option. Your picture will keep you memorable- period.

-CALL TO ACTION. Every other piece of advertising you have has a call to action- why not your business card?! At JDae Designs we think this is the most important part of your card. We all know that there needs to be contact information on the card but having a call to action is just as important. You told them who you are, who you work for, how to contact you but did you give them a reason to? Tell them what you offer, what you stand for or what you can do for them that is unique. Are you a Realtor? Do you offer a free market analysis of homes? Or do you specialize in foreclosures or shorts sale? Do you work by referral? Are you a Mortgage Lender? Everyone offers low rates to those who qualify but what loan programs do you offer that other companies don’t? Are you a non-profit business? Do you stand specially for something like providing resources to and medical care of children overseas? Are you looking for donations or people to support the cause? PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW- and you should tell them. Call them to action!

-Testing and Updating. Considering the small price per until you might try a few different calls to actions to see which things are well responded to and which things are not. Then go with what works best. Also keep your cards current with not only your contact information but with the call to action. The market changes and your cards should too.

These are only a few of many tips out there for effective business cards, but JDae Designs feels like these are some of the most important. For a free evaluation on your current business cards contact us directly 208-861-9841 or Valerie@JDaeDesigns.com. We will have your FREE evaluation back to you within 24hrs!

And if you know you need help creating effective business cards we are here for that too. We have competitive pricing on design and incredible printing quality. This month we are offering 500 full color, double sided cards with a double sided card design for ONLY $60. This could be be just the opportunity your business has been looking for- contact us TODAY!

Your person is your businesses biggest walking advertisement.  So naturally it is important to be very effective at network marketing. Here are a few pointers for inside or outside that planned networking event:

• The amount of business cards you come home with does not reflect the actually success of the event. Trying to give out or receive as may business cards as possible is NOT the way to measure the success of the event. Starting a meaningful connection is the way to go.  You will be more memorable if you have connected on another level besides your business card.
• Don’t be there to only sell your business. Ask about them. Just pitching your product/service is a sure way to turn off future prospects.  Letting them know a little about what you do, then asking more about them will build that meaningful connection.  Sometimes just the simple gesture of the head tilt, or asking a follow up question to what they were just discussing is enough to let them know you are interested in them and get the connection sparked.  After you receive their business card, writing the answers to your questions (or details you have gathered) on the back, will help you with during your follow up conversations.
• Think of referrals for them. Another way to be remembered is if you find other connections you have that would benefit from your new connections product/services. If you can put one of your connections with your new connection, you can have positive results from both sides.  There is no need to announce this idea at the event, you can mention it during your follow up.
• ALWAYS FOLLOW UP. Within 48 hours you should follow up with any connections you have made.  48 hours is critical because you will be fresh in their mind if you do (and if you have made that meaningful connection).  And even if they cannot use your services now, they might be able to in the future. Better yet, if you have made a great impression they too will be thinking of their connections that they can pair you up with.

Practice makes perfect– use these tips at any event you attend so you can hone in your networking skills.  You will find with a little practice these things will become more natural and less salesman like with each event.  Then as you get more natural those referrals will start to come in.

JDae Designs would be ecstatic to help you turn your business cards into the conversation piece you can use to make those meaningful connections. Prices start as low as $50! Contact us today to get the ball rolling: 208-861-9841 or Valerie@JDaeDesigns.com

By Breeanna Hare |  October 1st, 2009  |  CNN.com

If you cross paths with Lorenzo Geraci and want to exchange contact information with him, he’s only giving you two options — and neither involves a business card.

“Not everybody likes it, that’s for sure,” said the Boston, Massachusetts-area consulting CFO for Internet startups. “Not using business cards will negatively affect the quantity of your contacts — there are those who come up to you and want to contact you but aren’t Internet savvy — but it doesn’t affect the quality.”

Welcome to the world of professional networking, 2.0.

While exchanging business cards remains standard protocol among many executives and nobody believes paper cards will become extinct anytime soon, more professionals are also opting for Web-based services or “digital business cards.”

If you’ve ever attended a conference and searched your pocket or shoulder bag in vain for an inscribed paper rectangle, you can see the value in sharing contact information online or via cell phones, where it’s almost always easily accessible.

“In reality, people get a [business] card and don’t do anything with them,” said Adam Ostrow, editor-in-chief of Mashable, a blog devoted to social media. “There’s a big opportunity to change that behavior and make networking more productive with technology.”

There are now more than 20 products and services that allow people to exchange versions of electronic business cards. For now, however, Ostrow believes old-fashioned cards are still the best way to do business.

“What’s come out so far requires the users to be on the same platform,” he said. “At this point it’s hard to see the business card dying until something [standard] comes out to replace it.”

John Saddington, an Atlanta, Georgia, social computing consultant, is trying a compromise. His business card contains only a Google search box with his name in it; people who search for him on Google are led to his Web site, where they can contact him through e-mail or his LinkedIn profile.

“It’s just as important to be effective in the real world as it is on the online world,” Saddington said. “The first thing that happens when I hand it to people is that they laugh. They may assume that I’m arrogant, but if they know me at all, they know that this is my world and nothing is more tech-heavy than Google.”

That isn’t to say having a digital business card doesn’t have clear advantages, like making it easier to connect after an event, Ostrow pointed out.Curious about different ways to text, e-mail, or wirelessly exchange your business card? Here are eight applications that may work for you:

For the recent grad

Don’t hit the job market without plenty of personalized cards. But if you want to show off your tech-savvy, the free Web site DubMeNow lets you create a digital edition that’s always at the ready. You can share your mobile card via text or e-mail, and your contact information is saved into the person’s address book and automatically updated whenever you make a change. DubMeNow also can locate where and when you met your contact, in case you have a memory lapse.

For the budding entrepreneur

The Web site BusinessCard2 lets you create an online card with a distinctly professional spin. The card’s skin is sleek and has three tabs to help potential customers get to know you and your business. There’s an info tab where you can list your experience and another tab for listing your social networks. BusinessCard2 also can embed your business card link in e-mail messages or on your blog.

For the frequent conference attendee

You, professional person with a stack of other people’s business cards you never use, are the reason digital business cards exist in the first place. Instead of logging in all your new contacts’ info yourself, use CloudContacts. Send them your paper business cards, and CloudContacts will do the dirty input work for you. Then all you have to do is export the data to Microsoft Outlook, Facebook or another digital address book, and you’re set.

For the technophobe

Saddington came up with this customizable, easy-to-use and free WordPress theme program to help people manage their online identity. Download the program, upload a picture that screams “talented and capable,” add career-friendly social network profiles (and all the ways a person can reach you) and boom — you’ve got your very own landing page.

For the tweet-minded

If you’re a fan of Twitter you know anything is possible in 140 characters or less, including sharing your business card. With TwtBizCard, you can link your Twitter profile with a free personalized online business card and instantly start tweeting with the hash tag, “#twtbizcard,” or add #twtbizcard to an @reply.

For the iPhone addict

Some iPhone applications, like Bump and BeamMe, allow you to exchange digital info seamlessly with other iPhone owners. Then there’s SnapDat, which sends a digital image of your business card. Choose from more than 40 designs or upload your company’s logo, and embed links to your social networking sites. Then you can either e-mail the card to potential contacts or send it to their phones through their SnapDat account.

For the social network queen (or king)

There are so many social networks swirling around that it can be hard to keep track of them all. With Retaggr, you can create a professional digital business card that aggregates all your online identities. After creating a Retaggr profile, you can customize an interactive business card that lets people get your contact information and browse your Flickr photos all at once.

For those who miss Tamagotchis

The animal-shaped darling of digital business cards, the Poken has seen popularity overseas, but hasn’t quite caught on in the United States yet. You can wirelessly exchange contact information and social networks with another Poken user by “high-fouring,” or touching the paw-like RFID connectors together. To download your new contacts, you insert the Poken in your computer’s USB port . It’s cute and easy, but only works if you come across another Poken user, so in the meantime, keep carrying that stash of business cards.