Recent Business Card Designs

I get a lot of readers interested in business card design so I thought I would showcase a few of my recent designs for Realtors. While I don’t consider myself a graphic designer I have a unique design style for business cards that many of my clients find effective. In addition I only print on thicker card stock with a unique silk finish that people love to rub. The silk finish makes the cards waterproof, almost impossible to tear and the corners do not get ragged in your wallet.

If you are interested in making a better impression with your business card give me a call, Mike Blaney, 800-568-8338 or email me at marketingguy@shaw.ca.

If you already have a design and just want me to print them on the thicker stock with the silk finish the price is only $ 195.00 for 1,000 cards with color on both sides. If you are interested in my design services you should budget between $ 75.00 and $ 150.00 for the layout although you should contact me for a quote.

So what do I recommend?

Use the Back of the Card
I always use the back of the card to de-clutter the front and in many cases provide a space for people to write notes.

Make the information easy to find
Most people need your phone number, email address or web site so all three should be in a larger font and easy to read.

Highlight Your Brand
Your business card is like a mini billboard and should accurately convey your brand.

Make it into an advertisement
Add your slogan or a call to action as sometimes this is the only marketing they will see from you.

Cari Gililland - Phoeniz Realtor

Part of a re-branding for Cari.

Click on the image below to see Cari’s matching email stationery from www.inboxfx.com.

Dayna Wosk-Pipke - Realtor - Vancouver

This was a totally new branding for Dayna.

Click on the image below to see Dayna’s matching email stationery from www.inboxfx.com.

Garth Raven - Realtor - North Vancouver

Part of a re-branding for Garth. As an avid boater I came up with the slogan “Helping you navigate the world of Real Estate” and added the compass. There is also a picture of his boat on the back as a conversation piece.

Steve Burk - Realtor - Vancouver/Osoyoos

Click on the image below to see Steve’s matching email stationery from www.inboxfx.com.

Leslie Sutton - Realtor Vancouver

Part of a complete re-branding of Leslie.

Click on the image below to see Leslie’s matching email stationery from www.inboxfx.com.

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Take The Mystery Out of Marketing Your Business

I am a fan of Allison Nazarian who is a well known copywriter and marketing professional. Her web site Get It In Writing Blog is an excellent source of information and her blog which is also entitled Get It In Writing provides great tips and observations on copywriting, marketing and growing your business with the right words.

As a marketing guy myself I would prefer you didn’t rush out and hire her for all of your marketing needs (just some of them), I do recommend you take a look at her free e-book entitled Take The Mystery Out of Marketing Your Business. Allison poses these three questions:

1. Have you ever wondered why some sales and marketing approaches SUCCEED while others FALL FLAT?
2. Did you know that your results, good or bad, have VERY LITTLE to do with your actual product or service?
3. Do you have a hard time finding the BEST WAY TO TELL your prospective clients why they should choose you over your competitors?

And then she actually provides the answers. She offers proven techniques to increase sales, credibility and visibility. Some of her key points include:

1. The “hard-sell” approach is a thing of the past.
2. Understand what it means when someone tells you it’s ‘all about your customer.
3. Speak their language, know their pain, show (don’t tell) you have what they need.
4. Make your target clients feel as if they can’t live without your truly valuable product, service or expertise.
5. Once and for all, stop the platitudes, jargon and empty words.

I gleaned a number of useful tidbits that I plan to introduce into my own marketing:

1. I will build my business on a foundation of true value and true expertise.
2. I am going to give my target market and clients something valuable.
3. I am going to share what I know and what I offer in a way that clearly demonstrates that my service/product/expertise is the bridge between their problem/need and a satisfying solution.
4. I am going to put my expertise into action.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

How To Make Your Business Card Unforgettable

One of my favorite blogs is Hello My Name is Scott. Scott Ginsberg is known as THE NAMETAG GUY. Scott is the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7 to make people friendlier. (In case you’re wondering, he has a nametag tattooed on his chest for certain occasions.) While transforming his simple idea into a business, his adventures have earned him recognition as “The World’s Foremost Expert on Nametags” and secured a spot in Ripley’s Believe it Or Not!

I have written a number of articles on business cards including Business Card Stuff, How To Make Your Business Card Stand Out and Business Card Tricks - How To Make Them Work, but Scott adds even more great advice. His complete article can be read by subscribing and logging in to The Nametag Network on his web site.

Scott asks you to think back to the last trade show, networking event, seminar, convention, social hour or association meeting you attended. How did people react to your business card? Did they compliment its design? Quickly shove it into their pocket? Show it to someone else? Rip it up? Without exception when people see the front of my card with a picture of a glass half full and feel the silk texture and thickness of the card I get some sort of response.

Tip #1: Only the most creative, unique and memorable business cards make UNFORGETTABLE impressions. Call me to start the ball rolling for your card.

Tip # 2: Your business card should stand out among all others.

Look at the picture below that Scott took of 66 business cards and see if you agree with his findings below:

Red: every card that had red on it stood out.

Picture: only a few cards had pictures of the cardholder. This not only made them stand out, but helped me connect faces with names and companies.

Vertical: several cards were formatted vertically, which caught my eye.

Black Background: most cards have a white background, so the black ones REALLY stood out.

Image: cards with some sort of colorful image that took up at least one fourth of the total surface area captured my interest.

Tip# 3: Enhance your business card in some way that will make it stand out. Scott’s suggestions include:

1. Size or Shape – It doesn’t have to be a rectangle. You can die-cut squares, circles, ovals and triangles.

2. Trading Cards – If your company is team oriented, get trading cards with your “players” pictures and stats. Then encourage your customers and prospects to “collect all 12!”

3. Cartoons – Get a custom cartoon commissioned for the back of your card. It’s cheap, royalty free and absolutely unique to your business.

4. Table/Chart – Include a mortgage loan interest table or some staggering statistics on the back.

5. Pop-Ups – Just like kid’s books, some business cards can be printed as folded, pop-up cards. Talk about thinking three-dimensionally!

6. Rubber Stamps – Buy 10 different customized rubber stamps for the backs of your cards. When someone asks for one just say “Pick a card, any card!”

7. Recipe – If you work in an industry connected to food, kitchens or homes; include one of your favorite recipes on the back!

8. Material – Use leather, blinking or brail business cards (yes, these actually exist too!)

9. Language – If your business requires international travel, consider offering multiple languages, or print the phonetic spelling of a difficult to pronounce name.

10. Stickers – Print one side of your cards on adhesive label paper. This gives the recipient a peel off sticker for reminders, appointments or phone numbers.

While not every person meets regularly with prospects and hands out cards I think business cards are still the most important marketing tool for the majority of businesses. This is not the place to save money or think small.

Mike’s Business Card Pet Peeves

1. Make sure every employee from the mail room to the delivery driver to the bookkeeper have business cards.
2. Attach them to everything as a customer of prospect cannot have enough of them.
3. If even one piece of information changes buy new cards and throw out all of the old ones. Do not scratch out information.
4. Use both sides of the card.
5. Use the thickest stock you can find.
6. Use a silk or crystal finish.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

Top 10 Sales and Marketing Presentation Tips

SmartDraw, makers of SmartDraw.com, a program that automates the process of creating business graphics, released its list of “Top Ten Sales and Marketing Presentation Tips.”

1. Less is More
When designing your presentation materials, remember that as a visual medium, less is more. Avoid cluttering the slide or handout with lots of text and bullet points. Have a few main points highlighted, and let your verbal presentation fill in the blanks.

2. People Like Pictures
Use charts and graphics instead of tables. SmartDraw, for example, includes dozens of sales and marketing graphics that you can edit with your own specific data.

3. Focus on Benefits
When preparing your presentation, steer away from getting into too many details of the product or service you are selling. Instead, focus on the benefits it will provide your audience. What is in it for them!

4. Keep it Short
This will leave time for questions from your audience, and it shows them you appreciate how valuable their time is. I like the idea of specifying the length so people can focus on what you are saying and now wonder how long you will be going on for.

5. Leave a Little Something
Leave your audience something to remember you by. This goes beyond business cards and could include bound copies of your presentation or handouts with the pertinent information highlighted. It could even include pens or stationery with your company’s information.

6. Attention on You
When using presentation slides, try blacking out the screen when you want attention directly focused on what you are saying. Leaving up old slides while you are trying to make your point can distract your audience.

7. Bland PowerPoint®
Steer away from traditional PowerPoint slides. Create unique graphics that will capture the attention of your audience.

8. Tell a Story
Before getting to the cold, hard facts of your presentation, help your audience warm up to you by telling a personal story. It could be related to the product or service you are selling or it could simply be a general story about a shared life experience. Whatever the story, making it personal and relatable will help to engage your audience.

9. Humor is good
Catch your audience off guard by starting with a humorously off-topic slide or a funny story. This will help loosen up the audience and hopefully open them up to what you have to say. Humor is subjective, so keep clear of any subjects remotely questionable.

10. Enthusiasm is great
If you like what you are selling, your audience is more likely to too!

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

So You’re Thinking About Branding…

There are more blogs and websites about branding than you can shake a stick at, but do any of them help you actually develop your brand or do they gloss over the details? It seems everyone has an opinion, but when it comes down to actually helping you create your brand the details are lacking.

The Dictionary of Business and Management defines a brand as: “a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors.”

A couple of things to keep in mind when you are developing your own brand is to consider how you perceive brands in your daily life. Would you rather have a cookie or an Oreo? Do want to go to an amusement park or Disneyland? The names Oreo and Disneyland instantly paint vivid pictures in our mind as to what we can expect from the cookie or amusement park.

The importance of branding, especially for Realtors came to light recently when someone asked me if I could recommend a Realtor. As I provide marketing services for a few dozen Realtors I am biased, but I found myself trying to match the Realtors with the needs of the couple. As the prospects were young and first-time buyers I compared all of the brands of the Realtors I work with and determined which one would have the time and patience to work with the buyers. Whether the Realtors knew it or not I sub-consciously sifted through what I thought were the things that differentiated them to determine which was the best fit. What was even more enlightening is that some of the Realtors did not have a brand.

If you are interested in “branding” yourself or your business there are a few fundamentals you need to understand. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Firstly, you need to define what is distinctive about your business.
2. What are your core competencies that drive your business?
3. What values do you stay true to?
4. What is the personality of your company?
5. What is the single biggest difference between your company and your competitors?

Now consider the following:

• Keep in mind that a Brand is intangible. It is the meaning or feelings you associate with a service, company or product. If ten people are asked to describe your business or product, you may get different descriptions, however, it is the similarities that are the brand.
• Brand is not a logo. A logo only identifies the brand; it is an entry point.
• A Brand is not a product. Many people talk about managing their brand, but they really are managing their product. The brand is often the reason we buy the product.

What is my brand?

I am a seasoned marketer that believes that “Good ideas are a dime a dozen, but implementation is priceless”. I listen carefully to your business concerns whether or not you know if they are marketing related. I draw upon a broad background in all aspects of marketing that I have developed running my own businesses and while working for other businesses and create and implement marketing programs and initiatives that will address the specific problems of your business with measurements and a focus on improving your business.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

Eight Tips for Becoming a More Courteous Cell Phone User

Sometimes an idea comes for a post from real life experience and I sit down and crank out a list of do’s and don’ts related to the subject. This time my pet peeve is cell phones and while researching the topic of cell phone etiquette I checked out the website of one of my email stationery clients, Frameworks Training and Finishing Academy.

Syliva Mclaren-Tishler has a great website answering the question “Do you have what it takes to succeed in your profession?” which I will go back to in a future post. On her website is a great list of cell phone tips taken with permission from the book “Business Class” by Jacqueline Whitemore of the Protocol School of Palm Beach.

Here are the 8 tips for coureous cell phone use:

1. Cute, quirky ring tones are not appropriate in every setting. Although specialized ring tones allow you to express your personality and differentiate your ringing phone from others, they can be annoying in certain settings. Set your phone to silent, vibrate or on a standard ring tone when you are in a business setting or public area where others could get annoyed.
2. Let your voice mail take your calls. Refrain from taking calls during religious services, job interviews, golf outings, movies, funerals, classes, business meetings, public performances, and in restaurants and courtrooms. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. If you are a physician on call, an expectant father, or a parent waiting for a child or babysitter to call, alert your clients, coworkers, or companions ahead of time and step away when the call comes in.
3. The people you are with should take precedence over calls you want to make or receive. Poor cell phone etiquette can have a negative impact on how your friends, clients, or co-workers view your relationship with them. Turn your phone off, put it on vibrate, or let your voice mail take your calls. If you are expecting a call that can’t be postponed, alert your companions ahead of time. Excuse yourself, step away, and keep the call brief.
4. If you can’t be out of touch, use the options your cell phone provides to stay connected without offending others. Many cell phones have a one -button feature that turns off the ringer to prevent disruptions. Other features, such as text messaging, wireless email, voice mail, caller ID and distinctive ringing are designed to help you receive messages or stay connected without disturbing those around you.
5. Be courteous to those within hearing distance. Use discretion when discussing private matters or sensitive business topics in front of others. Matters such as medical exams, torrid love affairs, personal arguments, or deals gone bust should be discussed in private.
6. Don’t be guilty of “cell yell”. It’s not necessary to speak louder than normal for callers to hear you. Conversations that are likely to be emotional should be held where they will neither embarrass nor intrude on others.
7. Don’t be a cell phone cop. If you encounter someone talking too loudly on a cell phone, don’t take matters in your own hands. Walk away, change locations if possible, or find someone in a position of authority to address the situation. If you must confront a cell phone offender, do it discreetly and diplomatically. You might for example, say, “Excuse me, would you mind keeping your voice down? I’m having trouble hearing the speaker. Thank you.
8. Make safety your most important call. Practice wireless responsibility while driving. Don’t make or answer calls while in heavy traffic or facing hazardous driving conditions. Use a hands-free device in order to increase your safety.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

How to Make Your Business Card Stand Out

A business card is one of the most effective marketing tools you have so creating a great one should be a priority. Just because your card worked 10 years ago, doesn’t mean it still works. Read on.

Many years ago I owned a small computer business and found myself wearing many different hats. One day I would be making a presentation to a room full of lawyers and the next day I would be crawling under desks installing network cable. I thought I would poke fun at myself and had the title “Big Kahuna” printed on my business cards. Every person who read my title laughed and commented on the title and I am sure most of them kept it nearby to show other people. Over time many customers referred to me as the Big Kahuna and 14 years later I was greeted on the street by an old customer by that name. While the card was not unique, the title was.

So what are the key things to remember when creating a business card?

• Include all your contact information: name, company, company’s logo, address, e-mail, phone numbers and Web page.
  • Name - If your last name is hard to pronounce, consider putting the phonetic spelling in parentheses so that people won’t hesitate to call you for fear of embarrassing themselves.
  • Email - Keep your email address professional.
  • Phone numbers - Unless you feel it is absolutely necessary a stack of phone numbers is the number one mistake people make on their business cards. Instead of saying “Look how easy I am to reach,” those crowded cards say, “Look how hard you’ll have to work to find me.” Usually a cell number and fax number will suffice.
  • Web page - Depending on the card layout and website name I don’t think you need to put www before your website url any more, but that is my personal opinion. There are exceptions, but leaving the www of the name can enhance the look of your card. Besides you don’t even have to type the www in anymore.
• Always put your slogan, tag line or unique selling proposition on your business card, but try to keep it to 7 words or less.
• If people will be coming to your business and it is hard to find put a landmark or cross streets in parentheses to make it easier to find. i.e. 1234 Main Street (behind the Home Depot)
• Use both sides of the business card. Think of the front of the card as a billboard that people are driving by and only put the most important information on the front. Use the back for the address, professionaldesignations and other non-brand information.
• Put something of value on the back of the card; feint lines so they are encouraged to write, conversion table, calendar or anything else that will make your card a reference tool.

One of the most amazing collection of business card designs can be found at this flickr website. While all of the cards copyrights are held by the designer it is a great place for ideas.

What not to do on a business card.

• DO NOT USE ALL CAPS AS THEY ARE HARD TO READ
• Do not cross out information and write in correct information. Get new business cards instead when information changes.
• Avoid fancy type faces that cannot be read.
• Choose the right size type face for all readers. If your customers are in their 40’s and above many of them will have to pull out reading glasses to read small print so make sure your name and phone number stand out.

Here is my business card.

As background to the design I work from a home office so the address was not necessary and I introduce myself as Mike the Marketing Guy. My slogan is “Good ideas are a dime a dozen, but implementation is priceless” so the half full glass is an important visual.

As an aside I would estimate that 80% of people when they see my card comment on whether the glass is half full or half empty so I know it is working. I also have my cards printed in Korea as the price and quality are unmatched. My cards have a smooth, silk finish that people like to feel and they are virtually indestructible because of the lamination. But they can still be written on with any pen.

I use the back of the card to expound on marketing, feature my slogan and have a few lines so people can jot information down.

If you are re-thinking your business card or just starting out I offer a service called 3-2-1 Business Card. You receive three concepts, combine the ideas and narrow them down to one, we make the final changes and presto; you have a business card. Generally the design fee is $75 to $150 and the price for 1,000 business cards with color on both sides, in a silk or crystal finish delivered to your door in a week is $ 195.00.

Click here to see Sample Business Card Designs. If you are interested please call Mike Blaney at 800-568-8338 for a new business card.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

Even More on Headshots

I get a lot if traffic to my blog from people interested in more information about how to pose for a headshot. I am always looking for good examples and recently came across a local photographer that I think has it figured out.

Hie name is Peter Holst and his website is www.holstphotographic.com. He states the obvious that “Building a strong brand is the key to success” and refers to his service as photo branding. While his photos are not technically head and shoulder headshots, if you cropped any of these the headshot would e excellent.

Peter’s photography captures the essence of the advice found in these other posts called:

Headshot Do’s and Dont’
The Perfect Headshot
More on Headshots

What defines a good headshot? Here are a few key points:

1. Very relaxed, candid, warm, open honest images of you.
2. Just be a real human being, forget being a star!
3. Look straight at the camera unless the photographer says otherwise.
4. Have a warm smile, not a laugh.
5. Dark clothes attract less attention and put the attention on your face.

Here is a sample of Peter’s work

If you are not in the Vancouver, BC area and still want this quality you can take these to your photographer as a guideline to follow.

Creating the Perfect Tagline

I wrote a post a while back about writing taglines that has been very popular so I decided to call on my copywriting resource, Allison Nazarian, founder of Get It In Writing for a few more hints about this important marketing tool.

While I regularily develop taglines for my clients, Allison makes a living from writing copy and taglines so I thought it would be useful to draw on her experience.

Why are taglines so important Allison?
“Because taglines capture a company’s spirit in one clever little phrase. They’ve become an invaluable tool for briefly communicating critical business information and developing brand and name recognition.”

I asked Allison how does one dream up these little ditties that stay with us so long?

Here are the four steps Allison recommends.

Step 1 - Know your target audience

• Understand various benefits your target audience is looking for and rank them in order of importance to begin developing your tagline.

Step 2 - Define your target response

• What outcome do you want to create … what do you want your audience to think or say?
• Brainstorm… brainstorm… brainstorm
• Write a list of words or phrases that communicate your idea and that also tie to your logo or a visual you’re using.
• Look up the words in a dictionary and write down different uses of the word and cross-references to other words.
• Use that list to generate new ideas.
• Cut the list to your top few favorites.
• Then “play” with the words by using tools like rhyming or alliteration.

Step 3 - Simplify… Simplify… Simplify…

• Simplicity adds power. People tend to remember the simplest slogans. Communicate your message quickly, using active verbs.

Step 4 - Rewrite… Rewrite… Rewrite…

• Once you complete your initial drafts, set them aside. Come back later and review them. You’ll probably want to make changes. Keep the process going. When you’ve got it, you’ll know it!

Finally … a few quick DOs and DON’Ts from Allison to keep in mind when creating a winning tagline:

• DO collect other company’s taglines and analyze what works and what doesn’t work.
• DO start by developing a list of what’s unique to what you do and your way of doing it.
• DON’T use hip or esoteric taglines. (You want lots of people to understand it … not just a few.)
• DON’T make your tagline too general.
• DO your own mini-market research. Ask strangers (and acquaintances) if they understand your business after seeing and hearing your tagline.
• DO use your specific target audience in your tagline, if possible.
• DO keep it short.
• DO turn the phrase around. If you can’t say it without skipping a step, then rephrase it.

You can learn more about copywriting and Allison at her website Get It In Writing or her excellent blog.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

Personal Branding Magazine

I don’t usually endorse publications, but Dan Schwabel of the Personal Branding Blog has started publishing an online magazine that I think deserves a look.

Personal Branding Magazine is about you, your brand and your professional career development. With a collection of some of the most talented thought leaders on the internet, this magazine exposes information that you can relate to and use in everyday life. Personal Branding is not only the future of recruitment, but a necessity in a world driven by social communities, both online and off.

Explore topics such as blogging, social networking, multimedia and advice on how to have a successful job search. Each issue will give you the tools and resources needed to differentiate yourself from the competition.

It is sold as an electronic periodical (PDF) with 4 issues per each year February - May - August - November and the best news is 100% of profit goes to charity (American Cancer Society).

The list of articles include :

5 Personal Branding Tips
How to Choose a Brandable Domain Name
Social Networking
Video Blogging
Special Report: Top Corporate Brands of 2007

The premier edition features articles from a stellar cast:

Dan Schawbel Publisher	Personal Branding Blog
Guy Kawasaki	Guykawasaki.com
Neil Patel	QuickSprout
Lyn Chamberlin	SkyePR
Michelle Dumas	DistinctiveWeb
Rick Mahn	Rickmahn.com
Chris Brogan	ChrisBrogan
Rob Cuesta	Branded Leader
Liz Pabon	Branding Maven
David Frazer	Bizz-Blogger.net
Charles Lau	Charleslau.com
Scott Bradley	Effective Networking