Your business card tends to get most of its use via hand-to-hand distribution. Every networking event, conference, or convention we go to urges us to bring a stack of business cards. I’m a small business owner just like you and like you, I’ve received swag bags running over with business cards. Your business cards are a small business staple that isn’t going away anytime soon. Since business cards are here to stay, wouldn’t you love to put yours to seriously creative use? So would I. Here are five creative ways to save your business cards from the junk drawer, card file, or round file.
Make It A Keepable Collectible: A personal chef can include short recipes or food and wine pairing suggestions on the back of their cards. A personal trainer can include a nutrition or exercise tip. A copywriter can include an SEO or grammar tip. Just make sure your business card has info worth keeping and collecting.
Make It Strategically Double-Sided: One side is your info, or course, the other side can boast your strategic partner’s info (if they’ll return the referral/favor). The reverse side can advocate for a charity your target market supports.
Tell A Joke or Play A Game: A sense of humor goes a long way in business and marketing. Tickle your customer’s funny bone and they’ll keep coming back for more. Tailor the game on your card to fit your audience. Create a pictogram, riddle, or joke.
Make It A Cliffhanger: Instead of the traditional placement of contact info, try wrapping your info around your card. You might also try telling a riddle on one side and finishing it on the other. One more idea – try an image that appears to be looking at the other side.
Hand Them Out 52 At A Time: Yep. 52. The idea is to turn the backside of your business card into a traditional deck of playing cards and distribute the packs as freebies. A deck of playing cards in a swag bag will get a lot more traction than the same old-same old pile of loose cards at the bottom of the bag.
Business cards are a dime a dozen. Yours doesn’t have to be, though. Try one or more of these five creative ideas and make your business card stand out from the crowd…or the pile. They’re a content marketing staple that gets seen more, get repeated use, and might even get passed from person to person.