A business card that provides a clear picture of your company, besides describing your role in the company, is ideal. When someone gets your card, they will be expecting more than your address and name on it; i.e., maximum information in a limited area of space.
It is worth mentioning that people do take these business cards very seriously. Remember Patrick Bateman in American Psycho?
We will cover 5 valuable steps for making the right business card for a business.
- Choosing The Medium For Your Card
- Choosing The Texture, Design, Font, Size, and Stock
- Deciding On The Information To Convey
- Adding Your Logo and Info
- Placing Your Order
USEFUL TIP: Using your personal or private email address is a drawback! Therefore, if you have not set up an email address for your business, do it now.
Step 1: Choosing the Medium for Your Card
There are a few options to consider when you are going to make your business card:
- Online Printers – This has to be the go-to option for anyone. We suggest this option as online printers are extremely user-friendly, and the cards give a professional touch, besides looking stylish. The overall cost is way lesser than other options. If you print the cards on your own, it will not only take more time, but the result will also be unsatisfactory. We would recommend Vistaprint for you!
- Local Printers – This might turn out to be costly; however, you will get personalized assistance, and you will be catered to your requirements.
- Do it on your own – This is probably the last option we suggest. Unless you have a supreme quality printer and an expert designer, the result will not be good. The cards will not provide a professional touch. On the flip side, if you really want to do it on your own to save costs, some free templates are available online. We suggest this platform for purchasing a business card online. You will need a laser printer or any other high-quality printer.
Once you settle for a medium for your business card and decide from where you would like them to be made, all the other things would get easy for you.
Step 2: Choose the Texture, Design, Font, Shape, and Stock
There are some factors to consider and some decisions to be made that could be tricky for you. This will eventually decide the end-result. The final look of your business card will depend on these factors. Business cards have a variety of looks, ranging from classic to professional, to funky and flashy. Therefore, you will decide on these elements depending on the impression you wish to create.
TEXTURE: Matte vs. Glossy
Most companies offer a matte or a glossy option for their clients when choosing the texture or finish for their paper or card. Both of these options look pretty good. It just depends on your personal preferences and the impression you want to create.
If you choose a matte finish for your business card, it creates a non-shiny, protective look. It incorporates a slightly dull coating to your card. For text-heavy designs, this texture works great as it gives a professional and classic feel. We highly recommend this one for cards with extra text.
If you choose a glossy finish for your business card, it creates a flashy and shiny look. We recommend this option if you have a picture or extra colors on the card. The shiny texture helps the elements pop up.
Another noticeable difference is that a glossy texture is more difficult to write on cards than a matte texture. If you have to distribute cards at certain events, such as networking events or trade shows, this will be a major issue. Many individuals tend to take notes to remember conversations at the back of their cards. Eventually, if people cannot write on the cards, there is minimal possibility of remembering you.
DESIGN
Various options can be considered when looking to choose a design for your business card:
- Premade Template – The least costly and the most convenient option, premade template, can be used when ordering your business cards through a printing company, such as Vistaprint. Vistaprint has a variety of templates that can be customized with information about your company.
- Design on your own – If you are familiar with custom designs and have the expertise in creating them, you can also choose to design the business cards by yourself.
- Acquire the services of professional designers – You can also acquire a designer’s services to create a design for you on Fiverr or other platforms for as less as $5. If you can afford to pay more, you can also connect with professional designers on 99Designs. However, customized cards on 99Designs are costly, and you might have to pay around $450 for them.
- Directly work with a printing company – Various printing companies provide design services. However, again, the general cost of these companies is around $200 – $500.
Using the first option, i.e., a premade template is highly recommended because they are free, and you can customize the templates according to your company’s information and logo.
FONT
Decorative or funky fonts should be avoided at all costs because the prime factor that needs to be taken into account when choosing the font for your card is clarity and readability. Copperplate Gothic is used for our cards. Surf through the variety of fonts offered by Prepressure.com that look great!
The card above has used a customized font in the center. This compromises the readability and clarity, and this type of font should be avoided.
You should not use more than two fonts on the card. If you want to make it catchy, then the other font should only be complimentary. We highly recommend not to use three or four fonts on the card. Various sizes can be used, and text, like the business name, can be bolded to make it stand out.
Whenever you doubt, the default font should be used, which is on the template you have chosen.
SHAPE & SIZE: Standard vs. Irregular vs. Rounded
The size of a standard card is usually 3.5 x 2, but for making your card stand out, you might consider some different shapes and sizes. So, what are the factors that should be considered?
- Extra cost – If you want a business card with unique shapes or rounded corners, it will cost more.
- Might be misplaced – Usually, people keep the business cards in their pockets or wallets. If your business card has a unique shape or is made from a thick material, it is highly likely that the card won’t fit in well in the pocket or wallet, and hence, you might lose or drop the card.
If you can pay more and afford the extra cost, having a differently shaped business card can prove to be quite useful when you meet someone initially to bring about conversations. However, it is recommended to keep the card’s standard shape and size (3.5 x 2) for preventing them from being misplaced.
STOCK
The thickness of the business card’s paper, which is used, is its paper stock. Vistaprint and several other business card services offer three thickness levels for cards:
- Standard – The least costly option, standard level of thickness, can also be flimsy and fragile.
- Signature – Costing around $8, the signature level of thickness offers an ideal level of thickness.
- Ultra-thick – This is the thickest option and is durable and sturdy. However, its drawback is that it can prove to be too thick for fitting into cardholders’ wallets.
Most people go for the least costly option. But, they can be extremely fragile, and only a little extra cost can prove to be a massive difference. Ultra-fit one can be too thick for fitting well. Therefore, it is recommended to choose the signature size of the business card.
Step 3: Deciding On the Information to Convey
It is important to include a bit of information on the card and decide on the information to convey:
- First and Last Name
- The Business Name – If you are just a start-up and haven’t decided on a name so far, you can view various articles on the internet to help you choose a name for your business.
- Job Title – You can view many articles available on the internet to decide on appropriate job titles.
- Telephone Number – Likewise, you can learn to differentiate between a vanity number, local number, and 800 number.
- Email Address – You should never use a personal email address for your business. You can browse through several articles to learn, setting up emails for your business.
- Website – A website will create recognition for your business and help create awareness about your business amongst more people. You can learn to create a website for around $4 per month or less.
Besides, you can consider conveying additional information to the audience.
- Logo – You can use various logo designing services for branding your business
- Physical Address – It is important to include a business location if your company has any physical presence. If not, you can use a virtual (online) office to make your business operate more professionally.
- Tagline – A catchy tagline will help create awareness about your business amongst more people.
- Social Presence – Having a Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram is a norm nowadays.
- Picture – In case your business is along the lines of insurance or real estate, and you are the business yourself, then it’s probably a good idea to include your picture as well.
- QR Code – This will help people scan with their mobile phones and access your contact details immediately.
- Professional Certifications – Lawyers or realtors can include their certifications as well. Various articles on such designations are available on the internet.
Keep in mind that there is not enough space on the business cards, and you do not have to stuff all the information on it. Thus, it is important to choose only the most relevant information for highlighting your business.
Step 4: Adding your Logo and Info
You can easily upload images of the logo and recreate it according to the area set aside for your business’s logo. We recommend using Vistaprint for this purpose. Moreover, if you are confused about whether to include a logo or not, we highly suggest you add one.
You can use this template to select the text areas that you wish to change and edit, such as the colors and font styles. Moreover, you can delete things later if you change your mind and only want particular information to be included.
There are several options for creating a logo if you do not have a business logo yet. You can acquire services from professionals or use platforms like Fiverr for getting your desired logo.
Step 5: Placing your Order
After getting through the important steps, you will have everything set, ad gearing up for placing the order for your cards. Vistaprint is highly recommended for creating top-notch and professional cards at a minimum cost. Check out the best available Vistaprint promo code for the best saving and discounts.
Business Card Charges
If you choose Vistaprint, you will probably get around 500 cards for approximately $10, besides free shipping. A slogan or some print at the backside of your card will add up your expense by $5 to $6. Moreover, if you go for a premium matte texture, it will add up your expense by $10. So, you can get yourself a collection of cards for $25 or so.
Another digital business card provider, moo.com, can cost you between $40 and $120 for the same quantity. But, people prefer Vistaprints’ templates. Moo.com’s price calculator can be used to get an idea of your overall expense, including shipping.
Bottom Line
Business cards that are well designed, affordable, and reflective of the business are the best ones. You can get some inspiration for creating your own business cards by checking out some of the most amazing business cards on the internet that people love!
