What information is on your business card? It’s a small piece of real estate, so include only what’s important. Here are three things not to include on your business card and why elimination makes sense.
Absolutely Unnecessary
Distributing business cards is part of gift basket marketing, a topic explored broadly in this article. Most information on your card is vital, but some can be distracting. Those distractions come in the form of website, publication, and organization names outside of your own unless you have been crowned “the best” in the gift category by those affiliations. Only then does mentioning locations other than your website address matter.
Which are the three things not to include on your business card? There may be more that come to mind. However, the following are the most-important mentioned to me by long-time clients.
Three Things Not to Include on Your Business Card
Social Media URLs
If they visit one of your social media accounts, prospects and buyers will quickly review your postings and then exit the page and go elsewhere due to a distraction (an ad, a photo, etc.).
Your Home Address
If your studio is located within a home office, you may not wish to add the address on your card. This might be common knowledge since safety and privacy are critical no matter where you are in the world. Thankfully, an exact address is not required outside of providing it to suppliers that ship merchandise to your studio.
A geographic location such as “Dallas Metro Area,” “Ontario Province,” or “West London District” is sufficient to let buyers know your general area. Of course, a post office box address is a sensible addition on the card to receive business checks and print materials.
Consignment Locations
It’s a wonderful triumph to have your gift baskets available within a retail shop owned by another person. What a terrific way to introduce what you create to individuals who visit that space whether in a strip mall, traditional mall, or standalone shop. However, adding that person’s information on your business card may draw buyers to that place instead of your website.
Income from sales within the shop will pale in comparison to the higher revenue you’ll receive when orders arrive in your online cart.
Honorable What Not to Include Mentions
Popular blogs where your articles are found is another negative, as such places syphon traffic away from your website. If you’re mentioned in a local publication as one of the top 10 for purchasing gifts in your region, it’s wise to add such notoriety on your card, but if not, don’t give that publication any promotion.
The podcast episode, Business Card Tips for Better Promotions and Sales, explains why you may require more than one business card in your marketing arsenal. You’ll also hear five suggestions to elevate your gift basket business above others who happen to sell similar merchandise.
Which of these three things not to include on your business card is a must have, and which ones aren’t listed that you consider a distraction to website sales?
