There are mistakes that people know not to make with their business cards. Making sure their name, website address and business address are properly spelled is typically at the top of the list. Using poor quality paper or ink, creating a sloppy print job, is another. However, there are mistakes that we can make that we don’t realize are mistakes at the time.
Here are the top mistakes you may not realize you’re making with your business cards.
Being Inconsistent
There are great places to find business card design ideas. However, your business card needs to match your website and overall brand identity, or else it counts against you. For example, your business card and website need to have the same logos, sample photos and tagline on them. Your website can and should show off a larger portfolio of work, but you shouldn’t leave out your signature pieces.
A more subtle variation of this mistake is inconsistent branding in your email, web domain and social media names. You might mix your name with your tagline in your social media handles. However, you shouldn’t be “the best wedding photographer in X city” on one page and “your name artist” in another. Use the same tagline across the board
Not Updating Your Business Cards
Have you shut down a social media profile because it wasn’t worth the effort? Or did the site shut down like Google+? If someone tries to visit that social media profile to view your work and the link is dead, the vast majority of prospects will quit at that point. If they call your phone number and are told it is disconnected, you’ve just lost them as a customer. This is why you need to periodically review your business cards and make corrections.
Handwriting Changes on Business Cards
Yes, we just told you to keep your business cards up to date. However, the solution is to print new business cards, make changes on the old business cards by writing on them. If you do this, it suggests that you’re either too lazy or too cheap to make new business cards. It also makes people wonder what other information may be incorrect on the business cards. Furthermore, the more changes you make on the business card as last minute corrections, the greater the doubt they’ll have about your quality of work. Explanations like that is like killing a social media account because you were harassed by an ex or sharing problems you had with a web hosting service interfere in the positive first impression you want to create.
Not Carrying Them All the Time
You should carry your business cards with you all the time. You don’t know when someone in a casual conversation with you will mention a friend or family member who could use their services. If you don’t carry your business cards with you, you can’t immediately give them the business card and create a business relationship with them. Don’t expect them to give you their contact information so that they can be sent a marketing email or mailed a business flyer later. This is typically seen as an imposition.
Be careful of carrying business cards in your wallet, since they could be beaten up in the process. For comparison, a good business card case that is whipped out and opened adds a certain flair and professionalism to the interaction.
