Review Your Business Card for Key Basics

I've become an expert at skimming business cards on
the spot with writers. My actions spring from my own frustration with missing
information. Over the years, I've exchanged thousands of cards with people at
writer's conferences. When I did not glance at the card on the spot, I would
tuck it into my pocket, take it home, then discover missing information like a
phone number or email or mailing address. As an editor, it would force me to
email this person and gather the missing information (wasting time and energy).




The best time to gather this missing information is
when you are meeting face to face with this person. Recently I was in Nashville
for a Morgan James
Publishing author event. I met a number of authors at this event and
exchanged business cards. One of these authors, a medical
doctor-turned-writer-podcaster, lived nearby in Boulder, Colorado. When we
exchanged cards, I glanced at the information and it only contained his
website. There was no email address nor phone number. He said, “My email address
is on my website and I want people to go to my website.” It was good to know he
had a rationale for the missing information—but I still collected it on the spot
and wrote his email and phone on his business card. Others might not have his
information from his business card but I gathered this important data on the
spot.



When I attend events, my business card is one of
the key tools that I use. Some of my long-term friends are amused at the changes
in my business card over the years. I've added and improved my cards. Each time
I reprint, I evaluate the information to see if it contains what I need. Because
I work for a New York publisher, I have a business card which contains my photo,
direct dial phone number, work email, and other information. Here's my Morgan James business card:



Whalin Morgan James business card - Front






Whalin Morgan James business card - back

Yet I live in Colorado and I'm also an author with
my own blog, local mailing
address and books. In recent
years, I've been carrying two business cards. The local card shows off this
information. Here's the front and back of my personal business card:



Whalin Personal Business Card - Front



Whalin Personal Business Card - Back

Since I've shown you what I'm using for my business
card. Now take a minute to review your card and make sure it includes the
basics:



*a current photo



*your phone and email address



*your physical address (or at least your city to
give the receiver your time zone)



*twitter name



*blog website



*giveaway to build your email list (one of the most important
author tools)



How did you do on the basics? Are you missing
something? The most difficult element to proofread is something that is missing.
That's why we need a checklist to make sure you cover everything. If you are
missing some element maybe it's time to reprint your business cards.



Let me know your experience with business cards in
the comments below.



Tweetable:



Is Your Business Card Missing An Important Element? Review the basics here.  (ClickToTweet)

 

















Blog Milestone:


With this article, I've gone over 1400 entries
in the Writing Life. I've
been writing this blog since 2009 and posting only one article a week, takes time to
reach such a mark. There is a massive amount of information in these entries. If
you have never used it, I have a search tool in the right hand column of the
blog (scroll down to locate it). You can use it to find information on different topics—and I often use this tool to find past entries.