Aboriginal Buying Group

In a time when everyone is doing their best to save money, more and more business owners are cutting costs by utilizing free business cards. While the concept of getting something for free is a nice thought, it’s a good idea to consider a few factors before diving into a free business card promotion.

Why Offer Free Business Cards?

The most obvious question when it comes to free business cards is whey would a printer offer free cards in the first place? The answer is easy. Many printers give their customers an option to participate in a free card promotion. For example, a printer might offer free business cards but in return their logo and contact information appears on the back of the card. Therefore in reality this results in a dual business card.

Another reason printers offer free business cards is to prompt the consumer to purchase more cards. As an example, a print provider may offer you additional cards if you order a minimum amount of business cards to start with. These are just a few examples of how printers use free card promotions.

Is Free Really Free?

Another question that begs to be answered is how free are free business cards? This answer depends a lot because it depends on the printer and promotion. Most likely you can expect to pay shipping costs when ordering free cards and do not be surprised if those costs seem a little higher than normal. Most often the printer will increase the shipping fees to help make up for the cost of the free cards. For example, say it costs five dollars to ship five-hundred business cards. A printer will often charge around ten dollars to cover shipping costs for free business cards. In short, free doesn’t always equal free.

How Does Free Affect Quality?

Another factor to keep in mind when ordering free business cards is quality. A printer might have an overstock of card stock they want to unload thus sparking a free card promotion. For this reason, when you order free cards be sure to double check all the little details including the paper’s type and finish.

Remember that your business stationery is always working for you or against you! Your stationery, compliments slips, invoices and letterhead generally are in constant sight with someone every single day. It may be in a government office, a competitor, an existing client, a prospect, member of the press or media or the general public. More than this, stationery has a long shelf life and can be looked at years from now.

What your business stationery says about you is absolutely vital. Of all of the items in your stationery kit, the most important are your business cards because they are going to be the front line troops for your business identity, handed out and passed around in volumes by sales staff, executives, administrators and not forgetting the CEO! Your business card can articulate more about you than merely the information printed on it. Getting the perfect business card design will take time and energy.

You can look at the same boring corporate design business card if you like but try some of these suggestions and see what you take away from them.

Make Your Card Look Like Something it Isn’t

Try a card that has all of your information and contact details on it but turn the card into something else such as a cinema ticket, grocery coupon or luggage tag. This makes them stand out because they are looking like something they are not but they perform exactly the same function and as many business cards are never going to become a talking point at the water cooler, these certainly will.

Use Vibrant Color Images

If you have a drawer full of white, plain looking cards you are going to have a very hard time standing out from the crowd if your business card is also a plain, white card - here’s an opportunity to stand out by using a vibrant color set and better, a really good image that dominates the card such as a tropical sea blue or foliage green as backdrops to the card itself.

Don’t Use Paper

There are other materials you can use instead of simply card stock; the issue becomes the cost involved when you are using non-standard materials however, these really do stand out from the crowd and are likely to be kept forever instead of being lost in an office desk drawer. Check with a printing company to see what alternatives they offer.

Embossed metal really makes a statement and if you combine the metal card with something functional such as a letter opener, they’ll have something unique and practical. You can make a business card with a clear, see through “card” and your contact information embossed or printed over it using Perspex.

Opt for an Alternative Shape

You don’t have to be square with your business cards; you can opt for different shapes for your business cards as they are primarily used to provide a permanent aide memoire for your business information. You can use circular or odd outline shaped cards but remember they must be able to be kept in a wallet easily enough - there is no point in making a statement that becomes simply inconvenient.