Have you been using the same business card since 2006? Are you heading out to WPPI in a few weeks? You’re going to need a lot of business cards! If you haven’t yet ordered them, take a few minutes to read some helpful tips that CMmentor, April Nienhuis has compiled to make sure your business cards are a true representation of yourself, your work and your business.
Image courtesy of Monica Wilkinson
5 tips to beat the business card blues
You’re standing in line at the grocery store and in an effort to make the time fly quicker you start chatting with the person behind you. Somehow it comes up that you’re a photographer and you hand over your business card. Whether or not they’re interested in a photographer, they place your card in their wallet, purse, coat pocket, etc. and will eventually come across it again. While your personality from the conversation is the first impression of yourself, your business card is one of the first impressions of your work and business. There are many common mistakes made when creating a business card and, from my own experience, if a business card has any or all of these mistakes they go straight to the garbage bin never to be seen again.
Paper Matters
Make sure and use a good quality, thick paper for your business cards as they tend to be put in places where they’re susceptible to bending. Using a thin, flimsy paper that easily wrinkles or tears gives the impression that quality is not your main concern.
Use Your Own Images
Stock photography is great and has it’s place. However, as a photography business, you want your work to stand above the others. Use an original image rather than a stock image that may appear on more than one person’s business card. Don’t want to use a photograph? That’s perfectly fine! Put your awesome logo on there instead.
Image courtesy of Jessica Gwozdz
Professional Email Address
When it comes to your business, forget gmail, yahoo, hotmail, aol, etc. Instead, set up your professional email address through your domain name. Would you want to hire turkeylegs47536@ randomhostname.com as your photographer? Probably not.
Easy To Read
In order to contact you, a potential client must be able to read your information on your card so choose your fonts and sizing carefully. You want to make it as easy as possible for someone to contact you, and eventually hire you so make sure your fonts are legible.
Information is Key
Please include as much information on your card as possible, without it getting too cluttered of course. What are some important bits of information to include? Business name, contact name, website address, email address, and telephone number. You can always include social media addresses, your tagline, location, and photography niche too.
April Nienhuis
Assistant Editor, CMblog
Blog | Twitter | Pinterest | Mentoring
Living in rural Oklahoma with her firefighter husband and their three children, April chooses to use her Canon 5d mark ii, 35L and 100L to second shoot weddings and capture her children in their day to day life, which includes homeschooling, pretend play and snuggling up to watch a good movie. Although she dove into photography after the birth of her first child it wasn’t until her second child was diagnosed with life threatening food allergies that she realized how fragile life is and the importance of capturing daily memories that you may or may not have a chance to photograph tomorrow. Other than photography, April likes to cook, read, decorate and organize.
Can you please tell me where Jessica found cards with a unqiue shape that also allowed her to use several images in her order?
I would like to know where Jessica found her cards, too!
I think they’re from h &h
Yep, those are H&H square minis. The little square tin is from H&H too. :)