I use a bookmark size business card and it always gets positive comments because it is different AND useful. I also have standard size business cards for people who want to put them in an organizer.

Followed them all and my card gets great comments :)

Way to go, Ross. As Martha says, "It's a good thing."

All good points. I'd add something to #4: don't go wild with fonts, but stick to clean, sans-serif typeface. A little variation is good, but within common sense limits. Many companies scan business cards and use OCR software to automatically index data in electronic format. Bad font = little success with OCR = your card needs to be manually processed. Hire a designer to create the business card; doing it yourself is temptingly easy and, most of the time, the first step towards 12 fonts, 5 cliparts and a rainbow of colors on a tiny piece of paper presented with pride, "I did this." Yikes.

I'd also take something out: the fax number. The 90s are over. We've put "e-"s in front of every buzzword, we've adopted the principles of paperless office, we've got hotspots even in airplane toilets. It's about time we stop promoting this piece of communication history as a modern business tool. How would you feel about doing business with someone who mentions that, aside from their usual stationery, they also use chisels, hammers and stone slates?

Titel, I agree with you that business cards should follow the two-font limit and a graphic designer should be employed. In fact, hiring a good marketing communications consultant or agency to develop a company's marketing plan then brand identity would be advisable.

However, I disagree about your comments on fax numbers. Depending on where you're located in the world - and MarketingProfs is a worldwide publication - modern technology and its hardware isn't always accessible to all. I work with several U.S. nonprofit organizations and small businesses where IT budgets are tight and they don't have PDA's, card readers and the like. When they sign off on creative, I ask them to sign a copy of an ad, for example, and fax it back to me. It's still a simple way of sending documents for those without large budgets.

I am in the process of creating business cards for a new insurance agency I will be starting in December. This has helped me see the bigger picture of things. I like the idea of putting information on the back of the business card. My business name is MVP Insurance Group and my main focus is on the Most Valued Person, where the "V" symbolizes "being valued". All my campaigns will be based on caring,nurturing,being valued, etc. I will use the back of the card to deifine what being valued means and some good bullet points of the benefits I will offer.

Thanks for the comments to get things rolling!

Mike

I like all your comments and advise. I am an entrepreneur running ICT business in Nigeria, I wish to comment on biz-card design, I sugest that it should be cool and nice in colour even if it is a colour design, it should be unique and give concept about your business.

Let me share my testimony with you.

One day I gave my biz-card out to an old client in one of my competitors' office, suprissingly, next day I saw the man with his friend asking after me to discus biz, and let me be aware that they only came to see me for consultation on an issue, just guess what I did, I brought out another card and explain my services to them and in which made me solved their problems. At the end of the day they awarded me a contract they should have given to one my competitors.

In this sense, I want everybody to look deeply into what he writes on biz-card. Each biz owner should bring concepts that will attract more sales on the face of his/her biz-card. Like for me, I use single colour card which carries my business name in a big and bold appearance of IMPACT font with size of 29 on the card while I let all things I do come under the name, and I left the card face white and the back of the card is solid blue with white forefont.

I believe strongly that it was concepts on my biz-card and what I promise to offer that win the contract for me.

So, if you need any marketing idea call me on +2348052032722, I am always available to help your business grow than your competitors

Thanks for reading my idea