Despite the explosion in online and offline marketing techniques, the lowly business card remains one of the most cost-effective and widely used marketing materials in a freelance translator’s arsenal. Small, inexpensive, customizable, easy to distribute… business cards have a lot of advantages, so it’s worth looking at what makes a good (and bad) business card.
I currently have three sets of business cards: plain, fancy and bilingual:
I use each of these cards for different purposes. The plain cards (on top) are inexpensive (about $50 for 500) to produce and they have my specializations on them, so I put large stacks of them out when I attend a conference or give a presentation. The fancy cards (middle) have an image from the cover of my book; they’re more expensive to produce (about $60 for 250) because of the custom image and because I have them printed on heavy stock. I use these for direct clients and when I mail out official document translations. The bilingual cards (bottom; only the French side is shown) are the most expensive ($80 for 250) because they’re double-sided and I have them printed by a local company instead of ordering them online.
Business card designs are very personal; my tendency is to go for a look that might be termed either classic or boring, depending on your design tastes. I’ve seen a lot of cluttered, illegible business cards but I’ve also seen some non-traditional cards that really work: for example a conference interpreter whose card background is a photograph of him in the booth. Judy Jenner recently wrote a post on this card (a court interpreter’s card that doubles as a guide to the courthouse where he works) which I also thought was clever. If you like something a little on the cute side, I thought this was a neat idea; a literary translator who commissioned an illustration of herself for her business cards.
Most of all, your business cards need to convey the information that they’re meant to convey: make sure that your name and contact information are easy to find and read. Don’t load the card with extraneous information: after receiving exactly one fax last year, I dropped my fax number from my 2010 cards. Don’t make your cards too specific if the specifics might change; for example if you vary your specializations, don’t put them on your cards. And please, please don’t order the free cards that say “Order your free business cards at…” At least be willing to spend $25 on your cards so that they don’t have that imprint on them.
Any other business card tips?
What a timely post…I just updated my own business card design yesterday 🙂 I agree with your tips—keep it simple, make sure all necessary contact and other relevant information is there (name, email, phone, website, language pairs, specializations), and invest a bit of money to give off a professional image.
I also found a very useful blog post that describes how to avoid designing a “Jackson Pollock” business card: http://invisiblecmo.com/2009/09/25/4-simple-steps-to-amazingly-improved-business-card-design/
Interesting post. I do agree with the core concept behind a business card is to present your information in a simple and effective way.
It is unlikely that people are going to put your card on their wall as a display piece so, be professional and put across your message,
Thanks for that.
Rob
Very good points. Business cards (still) are important tools. I print mine in batches of 10 on my laser printer, which allows very detailed customization. Also: I’ve had a phone number through GrandCentral (now Google Voice) for years, so no updating of phone numbers for land lines, cell phones, after moves. And I always have a post box so that my private address does not get involved into anything business.
Maybe it is because I am a tactile person, but I think the quality of the card stock is also an important element in communicating professionalism and quality.
When I meet someone and they hand me a flimsy business card – even if its design is appealing and content appropriate – it does not leave me with a tremendous first impression. Business cards are part of a package, along with wrinkle-free clothes, clean hair and polished shoes, that help you put your best foot forward (all puns intended). And one does not get a second chance to make a good first impression.
Just a thought, Corinne, for your French cards — you might want to consider including your fax number. I’d guess nearly 80% of my signed contracts and POs are sent by fax, not scanned and attached to an email. I use Efax, so on my end, there is no added paper, but at least it gives my clients a choice.
See you next week!
These are all great tips. I had very basic cards printed at Vista Print in a simple format–it was under $10 to have 250 cards printed (only $3 to take the “FREE business cards at…” text off the back!) and sent to me. They are an inexpensive and essential part of getting started!
I print my own double-sided business cards on Avery Clean Edge stock (10 cards per sheet) using a Canon inkjet printer on the high-quality/high-resolution setting. Logo and contact details on the front, list of services on the back. If you’re going to print your own cards, you definitely need the clean-edge stock – visible perforations just look cheap!
Interesting idea, Corinne, to have more than one business card for different purposes. It makes particularly good sense if you’re going to hand out a lot, as you say, at presentations etc.
I have only one, printed professionally in full color on decent cardstock. Like Patricia, I think the feel of a card can be as important as the look.
My partner comes from a family of professional designers so he designed my logo many years ago, and his sister did the card layout. What I love most about it is that it’s striking and people therefore remember it. (You can see a copy on the contact page of my site, if you’re interested.) Do try to differentiate your look in some way because cards can so often just get lost in the shuffle.
Also, like Michael, I have a “virtual” phone/fax number that I use exclusively for work through OneBox. That way I never have to update that info if I move or change cell providers, and this keeps the cost of reprinting down.
I don’t put my mailing address on there for the same reason. It’s rare anyone sends anything by mail anymore, anyhow, but all they have to do is e-mail me and I’ll send them that info.
Great post, Corinne! Just wanted to chime in with a vendor recommendation, as well – I’ve heard amazing things about Moo Cards: http://us.moo.com/en/
Moo lets you use your own photographs for the designs, and they sell those super-cool mini-cards that I just love, which are about half the size of a normal biz card.
They’re a little pricier than other companies, however. Thanks for the great info!
Be careful with Moo. They are beautiful, but I ordered a whole buch for the ATA conference and didn’t get them on time (I ordered them more than 30 days beforehand). I ended up having to use some lousy and horrible cards that I had from when I was a student.
N:
Good info, agreed! I actually think I might have to rework mine a bit. The font is too small and we don’t have our languages and specializations on them — in a (perhaps) misguided attempt at keeping the card very clean and easy-to-read. Now that the book is coming out, we need new cards, too!
@Tom: I have one of your cards, and it looks GREAT!
@Beth: thanks for the vendor recommendation, I just checked out their website; looks amazing!
For the US side of our business, we don’t include the address on our business cards (security reasons).
Hi Corinne
For me, training but not yet practising, I am focusing more on my online marketing, saying who I am and what I plan to specialise in.
For now I’ve been using Twitter (@niccrosslingo)and my Blog (crosslingo.posterous.com) and I’ve just started using a web aggregation service (flavors.me/niccrosslingo).
From mid-July I’ll be in Germany and, all things going to plan, I’ll be able to start working, at which point I’ll need to look at business cards so thanks for the ideas.
Nic at crosslingo
Thank you for mentioning me 🙂 I’m glad you like my business card!
Be careful with Moo. I ended up having to use some lousy and horrible cards that I had from when I was a student.