Business cards with gloss finishes on the front and matte finishes on the reverse often send the wrong message to potential clients. It looks like you only had enough money to put gloss on one side of the card making you look cheap or that your company has little longevity.  Gloss finishes are one choice but be sure to couple it with a heavy weight card stock and repeat the finish on both sides of the business card.

Cardstock varies in weight and texture meaning a lot of choices and a lot of potential messages. Light thin card stock with a matte finish looks a little too economical. A matte finish is the ideal way to go for a number of businesses but be sure you have a weighty card to back it up. Card that is too heavy and bulky comes across as unfinished, cumbersome and a little too much of a textural impression.

Linen finish cardstocks provide a texture that reminds you of fabric, crafts and tactile business products. It’s nice to combine the linen feel with a muted color tone giving a classy look to your business card.

The basic rule of thumb with business card feel is the heavier the card the better. A 100 pound weight cardstock shows you mean business, aren’t afraid to spend a little extra to make a good impression and understand the importance of all aspects of a card.

Touch is one of our very basic very human senses and should always be considered when designing branding material. The texture of your business card provides the personality of the card and should be considered very carefully when designing your company card.

Even if ninety percent of your business is conducted online a real business card is still necessary for that other ten percent. And if 99 percent of your business takes place in cyber space you still need a pen and ink business card. Why? Because people are not made in cyber space only work there. The chance of you encountering other human beings in your daily life still exists.

Nothing will ever replace the human touch, the face to face or the personal encounter. Whether your business card is primarily directions to your website or a coupon code for your online business you will still need to physical give it to people to direct them to your business. For some folks their business card has become more of a calling card announcing their presence at appointments or networking events. Either works and remains an important part of the professional world.

I mean are you going to turn on your pc or other digital device and show people your website, e-mail, branding and inventory? Probably not but you can hand them a card that allows them to get there. Consider the modern business card an accessory or assistant to your cyber networking or social network page. You must engage the client and assist them in joining you online.

So as you set up your latest web host, download the newest app or update your cyber inventory give a few moments over to ordering your business cards. A little pen and ink is the perfect introduction to a few business focused megabytes.

Unfortunately divorce and broken marriage are common in modern society. Expensive and emotionally draining, many couples try to avoid divorce at all costs. Marriage counseling is often the difference between a happy satisfying marriage and being alone. The professional marriage counselor uses a number of counseling and therapeutic techniques to help people sustain their commitments.

The marriage counselor’s business card should convey openness, honesty and trust. It should clearly state the counselor’s qualifications and experience. Explanation of basic techniques is helpful to potential patients deciding between different types of therapy. Be sure to list all your office contact information including your personal cell phone number or direct line to help patients feel you are an accessible individual.

Marriage counselors want to convey a sense of seriousness and focus on their business card. Avoid intricate design templates and the overuse of clipart and color. Choose muted tones for your cardstock and select a thicker, well cut cardstock. Matte rather than gloss finishes work best on the marriage counselor’s business card.

A portrait photograph of the counselor is the perfect image for the marriage counselor’s business card. Take the time to have a professional photographer capture you conveying kindness, confidence and caring. Including your picture when others don’t lets potential patients know you are honest and upfront and want them to know you rather than appearing aloof.

Distribute the marriage counselor’s business card to potential clients, current patients, colleagues at networking events and at conferences and workshops. Counseling is a large section of the human services world and having the right business card can keep you in mind as a caring trustworthy professional.

We get into the habit of thinking a business card size price of card is nothing more than that: a business card size piece of card. There are a number of alterative uses for the business card. For a reasonable price, printing business sized cards can provide advertising, discounts and information.

Business cards can be printed to make appointment cards. Ideal for the dentists or doctor’s office, most business card companies offer templates for just this purpose. Be sure to get a matte finish and leave plenty of space for scribbling.

The wallet size calendar fits perfectly on a business card. Print these with the company logo on one side and the calendar on the other. Hand out in greeting and thank you cards or place a basket of complimentary calendar’s on the receptionist’s desk.

Create coupons for your sale, regular services or a seasonal special. Business cards are an excellent size for this and can fit in the wallet or back pocket without having to be folded over like a flyer. Choose brightly colored card and high gloss for an attention grabbing effect.

Make punch cards for coffee clubs or frequent customers to any service. These cards feature the company name, the details of the promotion and a space or spaces for a worker to punch the card with a hole punch. The completely punched card is then redeemed for free goods or discounts.

Membership cards or door passes printed on business card sized cards are a great way to brand a club or private service. Be sure to use stiff heavy card and thick engraving to make this type of card as durable as possible. Laminating is the perfect finish.

Spiritual advertising, whether information about a local congregation or lines of scriptures are  less likely to be discarded if placed on a conveniently sized piece of card. By using business card templates for spiritual advertising, you can save money by buying in bulk.

For many brides to be, planning the wedding can mean too much stress before the happy day. The professional planner takes on all the responsibility for organizing the wedding and is considered the go to person on many a formal occasion. Wedding planners remain in high demand and the right business card will keep them busy many wedding seasons to come.

Background design and colors should reflect those of the modern wedding, avoiding jet black and scarlet red. Too much white and pale pinks will turn many potential clients away as they will think your wedding concepts dated. Too stark and over the top will make a bride fear for the taste level of her wedding reception. Find a happy medium and stick to the three color rule.

Options for pictures on a wedding planner’s business card are great. They can include images of happy smiling couples, photographs of well designed table layouts or even a portrait of a smiling confident wedding planner ready to take on the world.

Accessibility is a key component of the wedding planner’s business card. Include mailing address, geographical address, websites, emails and several telephone numbers. This gives brides confidence that they can reach you at any time day or night and lets potential clients know you won’t shy away from your big day chores.

Include details on your wedding planner business card that make you stand out from the crowd of professional organizers. Include training or certification in the tag line and make a bulleted list of specialty services.

The best place to distribute wedding planner business cards is at a wedding organized by the planner. Many an engagement takes place on a friend or family member’s big day so be ready with cards to hand out. A few discreetly placed cards on the bar or card table may encourage other guests to use your services.

When designing the tutor’s business card information is more important than background designs and images. Keep the design simple avoiding overly creative card designs. This doesn’t mean not to have a little fun with clipart and color choices but keep to a three color minimum, preferably two colors for easy reading.

Consider placing a color photograph of yourself somewhere on the card. This reminds people what you look like and can help new students find you.  Having a photographic identification even if it just a business card can reassure new clients and their parents that you are and do consider yourself a legitimate service provider.

Include the usual information such as name, job title, contact numbers, emails and websites. Print every subject you tutor as well as the grades or corresponding college semester. For example, if you only teach math to young children, your card should say: “math tutoring, grades 1 through 5.” Include subject breakdowns such as “freshman English: composition, journalism and literature” or “5th grade algebra.”

If you tutor certain subjects on certain days, consider printing this information on the back side of your business card. This allows your card to perform double duty and helps students call or meet you at appropriate times. Alternatively, consider drawing a map to your tutoring area in side the college or school campus. Maps are very helpful to students in large schools.

Distribute your tutoring business cards among students and professors. Drop a few off in the school library or campus bookstore and always hand one to a student after your first session. Tutoring is a lucrative competitive business. Business cards that clearly communicate services can keep the average tutor busy all semester.

Order a set of 250 cards for each of your children as humorous calling cards. Make caricatures of family members and give them funny titles. Family business cards are great insert for after Christmas thank you cards and will certainly bring in the giggles Christmas morning. Titles that include birth order, family jokes and personalities are best.

“Joe Bloggs: Middle Child and Family Trickster”

For the corporate member of the family, take their current business card and reorder for them or revamp. Consider two sets one for clients and one for colleagues and be sure to check the spelling on the cards carefully. It wouldn’t be much of a gift to make their business cards look unprofessionally. Choose a nice textured card and engraved print for a classic style.

Think Mom cards for your daughters and Dad cards for your sons. These can be used as cards for meeting new friends or arranging play dates with other parents. It’s a great way to let your children know you respect their parental role and feel them worthy of a business card no matter if they receive a paycheck for their hard work or not.

The same goes for the grandparents of the family. A calling card for the world’s best grandmother will be eagerly distributed among friends at the local senior center and become a thing of envy among other grandparents. Everyone would love a business card as a stocking stuffer; talk about a conversation piece.

Don’t forget to include contact information such as mailing address, e-mail address and telephone number on the cards. They may just be a stocking stuffer and bit of inexpensive fun but they could be very useful. Create cards that are both whimsical and practical for the perfect holiday gift.

A combination of down to earth and professional is the way to go with gardening service business cards. Consider a second side or second business card if you offer different services during different seasons. Think about presenting the client with a business card that conveys experience, creativity and

Be sure not to use the terms “gardening” and “landscaping” interchangeably. The terms indicate different levels of focus and service. If your business concentrates on lawns and tree planting use “landscaping” in your tag line. If rather, seed planting, vegetables and flower bed consultation is your thing stick to the term “gardening” in the text of your business cards.

Of course, for colors choose bright and cheery for gardeners and crisp greens for landscapers. A gardener’s business card is one of those cards where classic color palettes work best. Remind clients and potential customers of the beauty of the natural garden and the well manicured lawn.

When it comes to clipart and images for your gardener’s business card think flowers, trees and fun. Express creativity with your clip art selections. You could use photographs of your past work, a picture of your favorite flowers or simply choose cartoon images of gardening equipment and flower beds. There is such a range of gardening images online the only difficulty will be narrowing down your choices.

Choose textured card stock or thick matte cardstock for your gardening business card. Consider recycled card to show your truly green thumb. Natural colored cards such as beige, cream, browns and light sage greens work well.

A Gardener’s business card is a potential client’s introduction to her work. Take the time to carefully select each aspect of the card and combine decorative flowers and images with clearly communicated information.

When designing a business card for a Christmas tree seller the focus festive, fun and informative. Due to the seasonal nature of the business, placing the price point specifics on the card is okay. Purchase just enough cards to get you through a single season and be ready to change prices, design and even location next year.

For back ground designs, the images and clip art are obvious. Christmas tree images come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The Christmas tree seller needs to decide whether they want to use a clip art image or an actual photograph of a Christmas tree. When thinking photographs, consider an image of a decorated tree rather than a lot tree. This will help sell the image of a happy holiday home.

Colors should be at least a little festive. Red and green are the obvious colors, but silver, blue, gold and even yellow (think tree star or angel) work too. Metallic foiling may add that touch of sparkle to a tree image or background stars on the card. Try to stick to the no more than three colors rule. It is tempting to over color a holiday focused business card but it must still remain legible, simple and focused.

A nice thick card stock or textured card creates a good physical feeling of solid and dependable. This is good for both selling trees and the Christmas tree seller. Christmas tree lots are very fleeting and temporary so a sign of stability is important. Consider recycled card for that green touch to your cards.

Fonts and lettering should be clear and simple. Include all important details including detail location information. Consider using the back of the card for a small detailed map or for a list of prices. If you are located a little out of town, your card needs to sell both your price point as well as your stock.

Christmas tree sellers face stiff competition. Handing out cards in shopping malls, Christmas store and craft shows are a good way to let people know you exist. Create a solid and festive image to ensure that when you Christmas tree lot opens, they will be lined up down the street.

Easy. Just drop your business card into the conversation as you drop it into someone’s hand.  It doesn’t matter what you happen to be discussing with the other person, there are plenty of opportunities to steer the chat your way.

Making plans, any kind of plans (from a lunch to meeting at the library) is a chance to hand out your card. “Do you have my number?”  is a good opener. If the answer is yes. Then direct them to your e-mail address as a quicker way to reach you and slide the card over.

Ask for their business card. This is the perfect time to pass yours over. If they don’t have a card ask for contact details and write them on the back of one of your cards while you hand another of your cards over to them.

Use the business card as a place to write notes, directions or draw a picture of something you are describing. Be sure to hand it over at the appropriate time in the conversation. If there are other people with you and they show an interest in your card be sure to hand them one.

Business cards make great bookmarks. If you re discussing a book or a document of any kind, use your business card to indicate a certain page or quote. Leave it and the document with the other person.

With a little forethought you can find hundreds of opportunities to drop your business card into a conversation. But the most important thing is to have them with you (in your pocket easy to get to) when opportunity knocks.

And its always knocking.