An excellent marketing technique which is sometimes overlooked and usually undervalued is to hand out business cards. A successful business card can have some very healthy advantages. Below I have discussed why it is a vital marketing technique which will fuel your career.

1. Impression

A business card can leave a lasting impression on the person who receives it. Design, therefore, is the most important aspect of a business card. If you are a designer and your business card is plain, then this is exactly what a potential customer will perceive to be your designing potential.

If I look at the business cards which I have kept over time, they are either the ones with an outstanding design or business cards from very important people. So unless you are a Lord, Senator or Obama himself, I suggest you take time and effort to design your business card well.

2. Networking

When you pass a business card on, the receiver of the card may never require your services, however, in the future if they have a friend or family member who require services you offer then they will pass your business card on.

On numerous occasions I have passed on a business card. Once a friend of mine had a problem with procrastination so I recommended an NLP Practitioner simply because I had his sexy looking business card on my  desk. This is why you should also seduce people to pass on these cards!

3. Conversation Starter

I was once in a very tight situation where I wanted to pitch to a wealthy entrepreneur...at a formal party. The way I got around the awkwardness of the surrounding was by starting a short conversation and handing over my flashy business card. A conversation started about my work and I moulded it into a pitch!

4. Professional

Allow me to compare two freelancers. One is a teenager wearing a scruffy hoody and three-quarters and tells you "I am a freelance coder". The other teenager wears a shirt with smart jeans and gives you a business card explaining his credentials as a freelance coder. I would rather hire the latter, not just because of the smarter dress sense!

No matter how much our school teachers drilled "Don't judge a book by it's cover" into us, we still decide that it's the best way to judge a book! You may disagree, but the way to attract more clients is to place yourself into the shoes of a client.

5. Marketing

You and I may know what HTML, CSS, and PHP are, however a client doesn't know the difference between NASA and MYSQL. A business card can be a great way in which an innocently ignorant client can ask you a question.

Just think, a person rings you after you give them a business card stating "Freelance Web Designer". They ask you "Hi, I was just wondering if you could help me by telling me what a coder is?".

This is not unheard of at all. The general masses don't know the difference between a coder and a designer just like I can't tell the difference between a Senator and a Congressman. By simply educating that person with such basic education, you will command authority and build trust. Next time they require services you offer, they will give you a call before anyone else.

6. Personal

Giving a person a business card from your very own hands favours better with a potential client than a web portfolio. A portfolio on the web which a client finds after googling your services does not have a face to it nor does it have the personal touch.

Conclusion

I believe that to miss out on this simple marketing technique is to miss out on serious custom. If you don't believe me then watch Will Smith's "Hitch". In "Hitch", the character played by Will Smith survives on a single business card

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