Category Archives: Business Cards

8 Super Creative Ways to Use Custom Business Magnets

There’s something about magnets that just makes people happy. Maybe it’s the way their thick vinyl surface feels in the hand. Maybe it’s the way they stick to things – doubling as both a decoration and a handy way to keep things together.
Or maybe it’s the way they give your refrigerator or filing cabinet a bit of personality! Whatever the reason, magnets are a great way to show off personality and creativity – and that’s especially true when it comes to personalised business magnets.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at some of the coolest, most creative ways to use custom printed business magnets to promote your company, startup or brand. Let’s get started!

1) Magnetic Business Cards

One of the most popular ways to use custom business magnets is as an innovative replacement for traditional business cards.
Not only do magnets provide a more creative and unique way to present your information, but they’re also more memorable – which can be a huge plus when it comes to promoting your business. Busy professionals are given stacks (and stacks) of business cards at every networking event they attend, so it can be tough for your card to stand out.
Customised magnets, on the other hand, are more likely to be kept – and your business will be noticed and remembered with every trip to the fridge!

2) Give Magnets Away at Trade Shows and Events

Another great way to use custom business magnets is to give them away as freebies at trade shows, conferences and other events. This is a great way to get your brand in front of potential customers, and it’s also an excellent way to generate some buzz for your business.

Again, this is a way of doing something different to everyone else. Most businesses give away pens, notepads or some other type of promotional item at events, so custom magnets will definitely help you stand out from the competition.
You can also hand them out alongside more valuable gifts such as personalised mugs printed with your logo, to create an even more memorable impression.

3) Use Magnets as an Alternative to Flyers

Magnets make a great direct mail promotional item, for all sorts of reasons:
1) They’re eye-catching and memorable, compared to typical direct mail
2) They give your direct mail weight and shape, making the recipient more likely to open it and see what’s inside
3) They’re practical, which means that customers are more likely to keep them around
4) They’re thin enough that they’ll fit inside any envelope, and you won’t have to pay extra for postage.

You can use magnets as an incentive to get customers to visit your website, to advertise a sale or promotion, or to spread the word about new and upcoming products.
Have your magnets printed with a unique discount code for your website, and you’ll be able to directly measure the efficacy of this strategy compared to previous marketing attempts.

4) Include Free Magnets with Customers’ Orders

Studies show that customers are more likely to remember your business and order from you again if they own your merchandise.
Magnets make the ideal freebies to hand out with orders because they’re eye-catching and have a practical use around the home (e.g. holding things to the fridge) – yet they’re extremely affordable. They’re also small and light enough to slip into customers’ parcels without incurring a higher postage fee.
You could use magnets in this way by printing them with a complimentary message such as “thank you for your order, it means a lot to us”. You could even include a discount code for their next purchase, or a request to leave a review online.

5) Magnetic Postcards

Did you know that custom printed magnets aren’t always small or pocket-sized? We offer two sizes of personalised magnets, and our large magnets measure 140 x 108mm – roughly the same size as your standard postcard.
This gives you much more space to play around with than a standard small magnet. As well as including your logo and business address or phone number, you could add images of your products, testimonials from customers, or advertise your business’s opening times. Essentially, use them as a more durable and higher-quality alternative to promotional postcards.

6) Magnetic Save the Dates for Work Events

If you’re planning a work party, corporate event or some other kind of special occasion, why not use fridge magnets as “save the dates”?
This is a great way to get people excited about the event, and it’s also a fun way to show off your company’s personality. Just make sure that you include all the important information (such as date, time, location) on the magnet itself. You don’t want guests to be left scratching their heads when they stick it to their fridge!
At 123Print, we offer several kinds of personalised magnet templates, including save the dates. So, no matter what you need them for, you can get them on our site.

7) Use Magnets Around the Office

Custom business magnets make the perfect kitschy office decoration. In fact, there are many ways you can use custom business magnets around your company’s office space to promote your business and make life easier. You can:
1) Stick them to filing cabinets as a way of organising files and reminding employees of important company policies.
2) Use them as tags for desks or meeting rooms.
3) Place them on the work fridge as a way of keeping track of lunch dates, staff birthdays and other office events.
The possibilities are practically endless! You could even order different designs and colours of magnet, personalised for each of your employees to use at work or home.

8) Promote Your Business on the Go

If you’ve got a car, van or truck, and you can’t afford to have it repainted for your business, why not use it as a mobile billboard for a vinyl magnet instead?
The magnets that we stock at 123Print aren’t heavy and chunky like traditional fridge magnets. They’re thin and bendy, made of vinyl, and they’ll stick to any magnetic surface including cars and vans. So, if you’re looking for a way to promote your business on the go, vinyl magnets are definitely the way to go!
This is a great way to get your business in front of potential customers who might not ordinarily see your advertising. It’s also a very affordable option when compared to other forms of outdoor advertising, and especially compared to having your car painted or wrapped.

Order Your Personalised Business Magnets with 123Print

123Print is your one-stop shop for all kinds of business stationery and promotional products – including magnets! We offer high-quality printing for both business and personal use that is professional, affordable and totally customisable.
We’ve got business cards, mugs, letterheads, compliment slips, address labels, note pads, and so much more. We offer thousands of custom magnet templates in two sizes, so whatever you’re going to use them for, you’re bound to find a design that suits your needs.
Simply choose your favourite magnet template to get started. Input your text, upload your business logo and alter the layout and fonts to your heart’s content. With our 100% satisfaction guarantee, you can’t go wrong!

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9 Signs that You Should Rebrand Your Business in 2022

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re considering rebranding your business in 2022. And that’s a great idea! A rebrand can help refresh your image, attract new customers and boost profits.
Maybe you’re bored with the look of your marketing materials and business stationery, or you feel you aren’t connecting with your target market like you used to. Perhaps there’s a new company in the industry that is giving you a run for your money, and you feel that rebranding will help you compete.
But a rebrand is a huge undertaking that involves a lot of time, money and effort. How do you know when it’s the right time, or even the right decision? In this guide, we’ll discuss 9 clear signs that indicate it’s time for a rebrand, and share some helpful tips.

1) You’re Not Happy with Your Identity

One of the most obvious signs that it’s time for a rebrand is if you’re not happy with your current brand identity. As a business owner, it’s often good to follow your gut feelings, and this is an excellent example! If you’re not happy with your branding, it’s likely that your customers won’t be either.

A rebrand can help you create a new identity that accurately represents your business and its values. So if you’re feeling uninspired by your current logo, colour scheme, product packaging or tagline, it might be time for a change.
Tip: If you’re not sure where to start, try conducting a brand audit. This will help you take a closer look at your current branding and assess what’s working well and what needs to be improved.

2) Your Logo Is Outdated

Another sign that it’s time for a rebrand is if your logo feels outdated.
This might be the result of changing trends or evolving technologies, or just a matter of trends changing. But whatever the reason, an outdated logo can make your business look dated too.
A rebrand can help you create a fresh, modern logo that accurately represents your business in the present day. So if you’re looking to update your image, this is definitely the way to do it!
Tip: When redesigning your logo, try to focus on simplicity and versatility. A complex logo might look great on your website, but it might not work so well on a business card or letterhead.

3) Your Branding Is Inconsistent

If your branding is inconsistent, it’s likely that customers are getting confused about who you are, what you do and what you stand for. This can be a major problem, especially if you’re operating in a competitive market.
A rebrand can help to unify your branding and make it more consistent across all mediums. By creating a strong visual identity, you can make sure that customers always know who you are, no matter where they see your branding.
Tip: When rebranding, it’s important to create a brand guidelines document. This will help to ensure that your new branding is consistently applied across all touchpoints, from your website to your business cards.

4) You Don’t Stand Out

A business whose branding doesn’t help them stand out from the crowd is never going to succeed and thrive the way you’d like it to.
Perhaps when you first started your company, you didn’t have a lot of experience and weren’t sure how to design a memorable name, logo and tagline that would stick in your customers’ minds. Or maybe when you first started out, you were operating in an untapped market, and now you have a lot of competition.
Whatever the reason, a complete rebrand – especially with the help of hired professionals – will make your business feel fresh and new, and will help set you apart from your competitors.

5) The Industry is Moving On

If you’re part of a particularly new or fast-paced industry, your business has to be constantly evolving to keep up with these changes. If it isn’t, you’ll quickly find yourself left behind.

This might manifest itself in a number of ways, such as:
1) Outdated website design
2) Irrelevant marketing materials
3) Products that are no longer in demand

All of this feeds back into your branding, because you want your branding to represent precisely what it is that customers/clients can expect from you.
A rebrand can help to signal that your business is keeping up with the times, and is willing to adapt to changes in order to stay ahead. It can also help you attract new customers who are looking for something fresh and innovative.

6) Your Target Market Has Changed

If your target market has changed, it’s likely that your current branding is no longer relevant.
Maybe you’ve pivoted towards eco-friendly products; well, changing your logo and marketing materials to incorporate the colour green is an obvious potential change. Or, you might have started selling to businesses instead of consumers; in this case, a more corporate branding style would be more appropriate.
A rebrand can help you reach your new target market by creating branding that appeals to them. So if you’ve changed your business focus, it’s time to update your branding too!

7) Your Business is Evolving

If your business is in the process of growing or expanding into new areas, or your vision or ethos is changing from what it used to be, this may also be a good time for a rebrand.
This might be because of changing demographics, evolving technologies or even an adjustment in your personal beliefs. It might just be that you think your business needs to move in a different direction, in order to take advantage of changing public opinion or interests.
A rebrand that reflects your new business model and ethos can help you future-proof your business and ensure that you’re ready for these changes.

8) You’re Not Reaching Your Audience

Sluggish sales figures? Hardly any visits to your websites? Or do you never hear the bell ring to tell you a customer just walked in? If any of this sounds familiar, it might be because you’re not reaching your audience.
One of the main purposes of branding is to create a connection between your business and your target market. But if that connection isn’t there, then you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers.
Rebranding can help in two ways. One is if there are any negative connotations people have with your business; maybe you recently bought it, and it still has a bad reputation in the trade, for example. The other way rebranding can help is by giving the impression of freshness and newness, which can draw in customers that would otherwise ignore you.

9) You Can’t Keep Up with Competitors

The competition is always changing, and if you’re not keeping up, you’ll quickly fall behind.
One of the best ways to stay ahead of the curve is by constantly re-evaluating your branding. If you see that your competitors have updated their branding in a way that’s more in line with what customers are looking for, then it might be time to do the same.
Of course, this is a fine balancing act. After all, you’re constantly working to build brand recognition and make a name for your business in the industry. Rebranding after all that effort may not be the right idea. But nobody said running a business was easy!

Contact 123Print Today!

If you’re considering rebranding your business, it’s important to update your physical marketing materials – such as business cards, flyers and letterheads. So, once you’ve settled on a new direction to go in, get in touch with 123Print.
123Print provides high-quality printing that is both affordable and totally customisable, so that you can rebrand without the effort and at a fraction of the cost. You’ll find thousands of templates on our site to suit a wide variety of industries and niches – every one of them ready to be customised and made to specification.
We offer professional printing, speedy shipping and a 100% money back guarantee – so you can rely on 123Print to kick-start your 2022 rebranding adventure!

What to AVOID When You’re Designing a Business Card

Whether you’re just starting out in a new career path, have recently changed jobs, or have founded your own business, there are many reasons you might be thinking about designing a new business card. Perhaps you’ve just realised that your old business card needs a bit of a refresh.

Even if the digital age has transformed the way business connections are made these days, physical business cards are still effective tool for marketing and communication. But the problem is that not all business cards are alike. The way you design your business card, the information you put on it, and even which company you use to print it can have a huge effect on the impression it makes on others. And that, in turn, can have a knock-on effect on your success in the business world.

Today, we’re going to go over why it’s crucial to have a well-designed business card, the steps involved, and some of the most significant mistakes you should avoid making when designing one.

Why Is It Important to Have a Good Business Card?

One of the most common questions asked about business cards is: are they even still relevant in the modern age? Why is it important to have a physical business card when most professional communications and marketing can be done digitally? Well, here are some compelling reasons:

1) Business cards are an inexpensive way to promote your brand. Being made of paper, and able to be mass-printed for pennies, they won’t break the bank
2) They’re great for events and conferences. Handing over a business card is a quick and easy way to make that professional connection, without having to rattle off your e-mail address or phone number for the person to copy down
3) Business card are easy to display and to distribute, as they’re small enough to fit into the standard card pocket of a wallet
4) As business cards are a tactile object, they’re a physical reminder of the connection you’ve forged. An e-mail or website link is easy to misplace, but if someone’s got their business card in your pocket, they’ll find it again
5) Business cards help to spread your branding. You can include your logo, tagline, colour scheme and even special offers or product information.

But of course, a business card is only as good as its design. A boring, badly designed, unprofessional business card will be hard to read and may risk people taking you (and your company) less seriously. That’s why it’s vital to design a good business card that will draw the eye and make people want to get in touch.

How Do You Design Your Own Business Cards?

Business cards don’t have to cost the earth. While you can pay a designer to make your business cards for you, this can be quite expensive – and if you’re just starting out with your business, you may not have the funds available.

If you’re looking to save money, an easy way to do so is to use a professional stationery site, such as 123Print. You’ll be able to choose a template that speaks to you, and edit it yourself online – choosing your own wording, font colours and styles, and adding your own images. Your unique design will then be professionally printed to order, using high-quality cardstock.

The steps involved in designing your own business card are as follows:
1) Choose the shape and size. The traditional rectangular business card shape is the most universally loved, as it’s easy to fit into a wallet or business card holder. But business cards can also have vertical orientations, rounded corners, and other interesting design elements.
2) Choose the style and colour scheme. This would include the size, font, and colour of your card. The overall purpose of typography is to prioritise legibility over anything else.
3) Upload your logo and other graphics. The logo is the most important part, as it will instantly draw the eye and create brand awareness. You can also add other graphics and things like QR codes.
4) Add contact information. As well as your name and company name, you’ll need to include a phone number, e-mail address, and website URL. You can also include your physical premises address (if you have one), and other socials such as Facebook and Instagram.
5) Add a call to action or other details that will entice people to contact you – such as special offers, a discount code or even a loyalty card stamp section on the reverse.
This all may sound simple, but there are many traps people fall into – especially when designing a business card for the first time. Here’s what to avoid doing.

What to Avoid When Designing Your Business Card

These are several mistakes that you want to avoid when creating your own business card design. They are:

1. Not Using a Professional Stationer

Many new business owners are tempted to try making their own business cards. Unfortunately, this is never a good idea – unless you happen to have professional printing equipment on-hand.
Home-made business cards are difficult to get right. You might inadvertently cut off vital information in the margins, use poor quality paper or ink, or risk cutting them roughly or wonky. Home-made business cards always have a slightly slap-dash appearance which risks making you and your company look unprofessional.

2. Leaving Out Vital Contact Information

Needless to say, the contact information is the most important part of a business card. Your potential clients and contacts will need a way to reach you.
But don’t think that merely providing an e-mail address will do. Make sure to include a working telephone number, website address, and the physical address of your business (if applicable). And include your social media handles, too.
If you’ve recently changed phone numbers or acquired a new web domain, make sure you’re using up-to-date information rather than old contact details that won’t work.

3. Forgetting to Triple-Check for Mistakes

Grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and typos simply translate that you do not care enough about your business as a whole. And what’s worse, if the typo is in the phone number or e-mail address, it can actually prevent people from contacting you.
You can avoid this error by thoroughly double- and triple-checking every detail before sending your design to print. It’s always worth getting a second pair of eyes to take a look, too – as if you’ve been staring at a design for too long, you might miss something obvious.

4. Choosing the Wrong Font Style, Size or Colour

Choosing a font that’s hard-to-read will put people off, and may even prompt them to throw your business card straight in the wastepaper basket. Avoid using looping cursive fonts, too-small text, or a font colour that blends into the background.
Although you might be tempted to use a font colour that will match your business’s colour scheme, it’s vital that it will actually stand out in high contrast to the background colour. If your colour scheme is yellow, for example, this won’t be easy to read against a white card.

5. Using Harsh or Inappropriate Colour Schemes

Following on from the theme of colour, note that poor colour choices can ruin an otherwise decent business card design. Understand how colour schemes work together on paper and affect the design balance.
And while you might want your card to stand out, you must realise that different colours can create wildly different first impressions about your company. Making your business card pillar-box red might catch the eye, but it may cause people to associate your company with urgency, anger, or danger – not ideal if you run a relaxing spa, for example.

6. Not Including a Call to Action or Value Proposition

The value proposition – which is, essentially, a promise of the value your business is going to deliver – gives you a chance to make a connection with your readers. You may consider a brief summary of services you offer, for example.
And a call to action is equally important – something that you want the reader to do. It doesn’t need to (and shouldn’t) be long or rambling. A short phrase such as “call us today” or “check out our website” will still have an impact.

7. Leaving Out Essential Branding

Remember that your business card is a vital took for spreading your branding far and wide. Branding can help create general awareness of your company, and encourage people to choose your business over your competitors, purely due to familiarity.
So, it’s essential that you include your company logo, tagline, and any other essential parts of your branding right on the front of your business card. You’ll also need to coordinate the font and colour scheme on your card with what you’ve used on your website and other marketing materials.

8. Including Too Much Unnecessary Information

It is quite frustrating to look at a business card with lots of overwhelming information squished altogether. You’ve heard of the term “less is more” – and this is definitely the case with a business card. You only have a small area to work with. A business card isn’t the same thing as a flyer, where you’ve got more space to go into detail about what your business can offer.

Focus on the essential information (contact details, a brief indication of what you offer, and a call to action). You can always use the reverse of the business card for any extra details you might like to include.

9. Trying to Print Text or Graphics in the Margins

While designing your business card, remember that there will be a margin of space around the outside of the card where nothing will be printed. You may be tempted to spread your text right to the edges of the card in order to fit more in – but this would be a mistake, as there’s a genuine risk it may get cut off. Not only will the text be unreadable, but it will also make your business card look unprofessional.

When you’re choosing your business card template, pay close attention to where the sample text is aligned and use the dotted line as a guide to where the margin will be. Be sure to check the proof to make sure your text and images look OK before you send your design to print.

10. Not Ordering Enough Business Cards

The last thing to avoid when you’re designing your new business cards is not ordering enough. Particularly if you’re just starting out, you may be tempted to order the smallest amount of business cards possible to save money. But you will be genuinely surprised at how quickly you’ll go through them. It’s always better to order significantly more than you think you’ll need, so that you’ll have spares on hand at all times.

That way, you can keep some on your person, give them to employees to hand out, and of course keep a stock of cards in the shop or office. You can even include business cards in the packaging when you ship orders to encourage customers to shop again.
If you’re ready to start designing your perfect business cards, head over to 123Print. We have thousands of templates to choose from, and you can customise them all in seconds using our handy online editor. We’ll aim to print and dispatch your order within 48 working hours!