Monday, December 4, 2017

Home Business Simple Advertising

The saying from the movie "Field of Dreams" - "Build it and they will come" - would be wonderful if it was not pure fiction. It really does take a bit more than that to get your home business known. Getting out there can cost as little or as much as you want it to as there are many ways to advertise, but there is one specific need that you should not ignore. 

BUSINESS CARDS

Everyone has them and for good reason. How many times have you met someone for the first time and had them ask you, "So, what do you do?" Oh, the opportunity this brings forth! If you were ready, you could whip out a business card and let it do a quick introduction for you concerning your business. If your business card is doing its job, the person you've given it to will have questions for you that will allow you to give them more information about "what you do". This is an opportunity that you never want to miss. It is a possible "new client" moment.

With that said, there are good business cards and business cards that really do nothing for someone's imagination or interest. Designing a good business card takes a little time and thought, but you will learn what works. Personally, I believe that having your face on your business card is very important. If you've ever dealt with a Real Estate Agent, their pictures are always on their business cards AND on the For Sale or Sold signs that are placed in front of a house. This allows them to be recognized immediately and/or makes people curious about them, giving the feeling that they've seen that person before... but where? Oftentimes, the person will strike up a conversation because they just "have to know" where they've seen that person before. This can lead to a potential buyer or seller.

With a good business card, your goal is to get it out there to as many places as you can think of and into as many hands as you can. This means every cork board you encounter in stores, metaphysical shops, post offices, libraries, colleges, etc. These cork boards exist in every town and you never know when a potential client might be looking for just what you have to offer... your Wee Folk Toracles readings.

If you eat out at a sit-down restaurant, leave a business card with your tip for your server. If you eat at a fast food restaurant, give a business card to the person who waits on you or the drive-thru person when you pay for your order. When you go to the grocery store or anytime you go shopping, give the person who is checking you out a business card when you pay for your purchases. When you get gas for your car, give the checkout person a business card when you pay for the gas. If your car needs serviced, give a business card to the mechanic, the receptionist, and people who are waiting for their cars to be serviced. If you have close friends who work in a large office, ask them to give out your business cards to people they know. Ask family to distribute cards as well. Your imagination is the limit here!

As for design... many people believe that simple is best. I, personally, believe that the more a business card has to offer, the longer a person will look at it. If it's interesting, they won't just glance and toss it away or stuff it in their wallet. Their curiosity will make them HAVE to look. Below is an example of one of my business cards.

 
I say "example" because I did not put my telephone number and address on this card for this blog post, but you would need both of those for your business card if you are handing them out locally. As you can see, my business card is "busy". The eye is pulled all around the card, but inevitably begins at my photo because it is what stands out first. I used my website banner photo for the background as it "shows" what I do and, in this card, this is the second "eye catcher". After that, the eye is pulled to the words on the card. This card does not "ask" for a singular glance. It "asks" to be studied.
 
Design your card on paper first. Put the photo you would like to use on a flashdrive and take that to the print shop you choose. Don't worry about the font of the words you will put on your business card because, chances are, if you choose something fancy, the business card design program that the print shop uses, won't have that "fancy" font and you'll have to choose another anyway. I used Times New Roman for the main words and Gabriola for the green box. Choose a font that is well known, easy to read, and that the printer service will have in their program.
 
After you've designed your business card on paper, find a local print shop to do the job for you. It can be a "mom and pop shop" or an office supplies store like Staples - your choice, but don't do it online even if it's cheaper. Some of the websites that offer business card printing at a ridiculously low fee, also charge you a monthly "membership" fee without telling you. If you don't look at your bank statement regularly, you won't know about it and they'll get a good amount of money from you before you even know that you're being charged on a monthly basis. They also make cancelling quite difficult.

Having your business cards printed locally also gives you the opportunity to get your cards into "local" hands yet again. Never miss an opportunity!

So, get started thinking about your design. You may have to change it up a few times, so don't go whole hog and order 10,000 of them right off the bat. Order 100 to 250 to start. Then, if you like them once you see them printed AND you are getting good results, go ahead and order more. If you're seeing no results, then you might decide to go back to the drawing board.

One last thing. Giving cards away in the manner I've suggested may seem wasteful to you as, certainly, not everyone is going to keep your card. But... that's what business cards are for. It's an expense that you can write off AND if your are frugal with your cards, afraid to give it to someone who might "waste" it, you could be missing out on a potential new client. Take the chance and hand out your cards EVERY chance you get!


 

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