Monthly Archives: August 2021

recycled business cards

How Many Business Cards Should I Order?

Business Cards, Uncategorized, , ,

Whether you’re venturing into your first professional career or you’re the owner of a small business, you’re probably already well-versed on the importance of business cards. A well-designed, professionally printed business card helps to get your name out there – it’s vital for increasing brand recognition and turning passing interest into sales.

But how many business cards should you order, exactly? Printing websites often allow you to order as few as 50 or as many as 15,000 business cards at once, but how many is right for you? And is there any downside to having too many business cards on hand?
There’s nothing more crucial than ensuring you never run out of business cards to hand to interested peers, professional contacts and clients. Today, we’re going to talk about the various factors that might affect the number of cards you need to order to ensure your success.

What Are Business Cards Used For?

A business card is an important advertising tool that allows you to get your company name and information out there. The purpose of a business card is:

1. To increase brand recognition and awareness (if the card is for a company)
2. To make it easier for clients and potential customers to contact you
3. To keep your business in the forefront of your target audience’s mind
4. To advertise your branding, company ethos, products and services
5. In the case of personal business cards, to introduce yourself to potential professional contacts, and get your name out there

If your customers and clients don’t have one of your business cards on hand, it will be more difficult for them to find out about the products and services you’re offering. You need to have enough business cards on hand that you can easily whip one out when needed, and won’t be frantically patting your pockets or tearing your office apart when someone asks for one.

Mistakes are often made by those unknowledgeable of how many business cards they need to advertise for their business successfully. You may think that 100 business cards, for example, sounds like a lot – but in the grand scheme of things, it really isn’t. They can fly away from you all too quickly.
When you consider just how important business cards are for your business, it will become obvious why ordering enough of them is a necessity.

What Will You Do with Your Business Cards?

The best way to determine how many business cards you should order is to look at what you intend to do with them.

1. Are you going to hand them out in person – for example, to customers that come into your place of work?
2. Are you going to pass them out at events (such as trade shows, conventions, or markets)?
3. Are you going to glue them onto your packages, or include them with every customer’s order?

These are all questions that should be answered to determine just how many business cards you need.

Handing Out Business Cards in Person

If you’re going to hand out your business cards in person (for example, to customers who visit your store or premises) then there’s no doubt that you’ll want to order a large quantity.

You’re almost guaranteed to be handing them out during business hours, so you’ll want enough business cards so that you can hand them out for the entire day while also being able to order more if need be. (Here’s a handy hint – if you use a printing site such as 123Print, you’ll be able to save your design and easily order more when needed.)
You’ll also need a business card holder to keep on your desk or at your shop’s checkout, so that clients can help themselves to a card whenever they please. Ensure you’ve got a stockpile of business cards nearby, so that staff can top up the card holder regularly.
We’d recommend ordering at least 1,000 cards for this use, depending on the size of your business and how quickly you get through them.

Distributing at Events

If you’re planning on passing out business cards at trade shows, conventions, festivals or markets, it’s easy to underestimate the amount needed. You’ll find that your target market will be there in person (whether it’s customers or peers), so they can easily take them from you.

The other thing that you need to consider is how many people will be at the event itself. The more people who attend the event, the more business cards you’ll need.
If you bring only a few dozen cards with you, you may find that you run out halfway through the day. This is a disaster, as you likely won’t be able to just nip away and get more – leaving anyone else who’s interested in your business high and dry.
If you bring more cards than you think you’ll need – say, around 500 cards – there’s a lower possibility of this happening. (You can always take the excess home with you to use another time.)

Including Business Cards with Customer Orders

If you are going to glue your business cards onto your packages, or slip a business card into every customer’s order, you will most likely need many business cards to ensure you don’t run out.

When existing customers have easy access to a business card with your logo and company information on it, you know they will be more likely to remember you, which can turn them into repeat customers.

Take an estimate of how many orders you’ve fulfilled in the past weeks or months, and then factor in any sales growth that you expect in the near future, based on things like seasonality and marketing campaigns. Then, take the number of orders that you expect to receive in your designated time period (6 months? A year?) and order at least twice as many business cards – so that you can be sure you won’t run out.

How Big is Your Business?

1000 business cards would be plenty for the vast majority of businesses and sole traders, at least to begin with. But if you’re an entrepreneur or have a high-ticket product, then something like 5000 would be more appropriate.
You’ll also want more if your company has multiple sales channels (i.e., direct mail, distributors). You’ll want to order them as soon as possible and make sure you set up a schedule to order more regularly.

It’s also important to keep in mind that if you’re handing out cards, they should be memorable — not just flimsy pieces of cardboard with your name, company name, and logo printed on them. The most practical way to do this is with personalised, full-colour business cards.

The following are some of the main factors that determine how many business cards you should order:

1. The extent to which you’re going to distribute your business cards beyond the sales staff and clients you already have. For instance, if you’re going to be distributing cards to potential distributors, then suddenly it becomes necessary for you to order more.
2. How many employees and/or salespeople do you have in your company — will they all be distributing business cards too? How many clients and customers will they each meet on a daily or weekly basis?

Do You Have Expansion Plans?

In other words, how quickly does the company need to grow? Take a look at your forecasting, and the number of potential new customers that your company might need to target within a specified period. This can sometimes be difficult to determine because it depends on market conditions and growth opportunities. It also depends on the nature of the industry. But in general, if you’ve got plans for your business to grow and expand, think ahead and order more cards than you currently need.

However, if you are a growing business, be mindful of the fact that if you’re planning to do any of the following in the near future:

1. Move to a different premises
2. Change the name of your business
3. Change your website domain address
4. Expand your social media accounts (start a TikTok or a Facebook page, for example)
5. Change your phone number

Then it’s probably best to avoid ordering thousands of business cards right now. If you change any details that are included on the card, you’ll need to replace them.

Where Can I Order Business Cards?

Some of the most common mistakes that people make when ordering business cards are:

1. They erroneously believe that a small order of business cards will do “for now” – and then end up having to place another order fairly quickly, and paying postage again. This postage cost adds up over time!
2. They go for the cheaper option – or even try to print business cards themselves (never a good idea unless you’re a professional!)
3. They fail to consider their business’s potential long-term and short-term growth, and therefore fail to plan for the future

The bottom line is that if you’re unsure how many business cards to order, then the best bet is to order more than what you think is necessary. Having too many business cards is always better than running out.
High-quality business card printing has never been more affordable or more accessible at 123Print.

With the introduction of the web, people are finally waking up to the fact that they can get anything they want, whenever they want it. This includes designing their own personalised business cards, and having them professionally printed on demand.

Check out our website to see our full range of products and services, including thousands of business card templates to get you started. Our easy editor allows you to quickly and effortlessly edit the design to your liking, and we always aim to ship orders within 48 working hours. With a 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back, what’s not to love?

Do People Throw Away Business Cards?

Business Cards, Uncategorized, , ,

There’s no doubt that people do throw away business cards – especially if they didn’t ask for them in the first place. In fact, it is estimated that around 63% of people who receive business cards throw them away because they don’t think that they need the service right now.
The good news is that there are things that you can do which can increase your chances of prospects saving your cards, rather than tossing them out.
By reading on, you’ll discover the top reasons why people throw away business cards. We’ll also share our top tips on designing an impressive business card that nobody will want to throw away.

The Top 6 Reasons People Throw Away Business Cards

The first thing to address is that not every business card is going to get thrown away. Obviously, no-one would bother using business cards if nobody ever kept them.
There are several distinguishing features of business cards that make it more likely that prospects will discard the cards, instead of giving them a proper read over. Without further ado, here are the top six reasons why people throw away business cards.

1. The Design is Unprofessional

Easily one of the biggest reasons why people throw out business cards is because the design looks unprofessional. It’s easy to try to save money by doing some generic or very basic business card. However, you need to invest in a business card that is well-designed to represent your business. With a generic, unprofessional design, your card won’t stand out against the other companies out there. A memorable business card, one that is well-designed and visually appealing, won’t just get tossed aside.

2. It Doesn’t Stand Out

If your business card is printed in a basic black-and-white design, in a traditional serif font with centralised text and absolutely no distinguishing features, it’s not going to stand out. It will blend in with every other business card your peer or client has ever seen, and will not grab their attention.
This means they’re more likely to throw it away, or toss it in the back of a drawer where it’s never seen again. You can find plenty of eye-catching full colour templates here at 123Print.

3. Bad Printing

Business cards that you use for your company should not just be printed on any old printer at the office. When you do, you end up with a whole slew of problems that can have a negative impact on how people view you. For example:

1. Printed on low-gsm (thin) cardstock, giving it a flimsy feeling
2. Low-resolution or grainy images
3. Uneven text or borders
4. Variations in ink colour or quality
5. Sharp or uneven edges to the card

All of the above issues can cause people to perceive your business as unprofessional, making it less likely that they will want to work with you.

4. Lack of Added Value

Business cards are supposed to show your value to prospects. If yours doesn’t, prospects will toss your business card aside. Many businesses don’t take the opportunity to ensure that their cards are made for building up relationships with prospects.

For instance, they don’t take advantage of the back of the card, which can be used for a variety of different purposes. The backs of the cards can be used to offer discounts to prospects for checking out your business or some other appealing offer. This will ensure that prospects keep your card in a safe spot.

5. It Has Incorrect Information or Typos

If a prospect tries to get a hold of you through the contact information on your card and can’t because the information is wrong, they will throw away the card. A card with incorrect information is no good to anyone. Typographical errors and spelling mistakes will also be instantly off-putting – it makes you seem incompetent and unprofessional.
This is why it’s so important to make sure that all of the information on your cards are correct, and that you update your business cards with any new contact information. Always double- and triple-check the proof before ordering your business cards.

6. Poor Presentation of the Cards

If you don’t care about your business cards, how can you expect your prospects to? Where do you store your business cards?

Are they safely stored on you for when you need them – in a protective case, for example – or are they just tossed in your back pocket? When you pull out business cards that are folded, dirty, or wrinkled, people will not get the best impression of you. It won’t give them much reason to keep your card on hand.

How to Design a Business Card People Won’t Throw Away

The main take away from that last section is that business cards are representative of who you are as a business. This means that you need to take a great deal of care when designing your business cards. Create a design that will appeal to your prospects, so that your business cards stand out, and there’s more incentive to keep them.
Here are our top tips for creating eye-catching and professional business cards that your contacts will want to keep.

Be Creative

Don’t just design a generic business card, because you’re not going to be memorable. Memorable cards make their way on the fridge or bulletin board. Boring cards find their way in the trash. The most important thing is to be memorable and to leave a positive first impression.
You want to take the time to really come up with a creative idea that will make your business card visually appealing and leave an impact on your prospects. For example, experiment with bright and bold colour schemes that will stand out from the crowd.

Vary the Shape

You’ve probably only seen the standard rectangle business cards. But, you can do so much and have such an impact if you decide to experiment with the shapes of the cards. Rectangles may be the easiest option, but is it the best option? You can make your card a part of your brand identity by going a more creative route.
Maybe you could just go with a rectangle with rounded corners, so that it feels different in the hand. Or, perhaps choose a vertical business card, so that the recipient will have to hold it a different way to read it – this will catch their attention a lot better than a traditional horizontal card.

Add Pictures

Photos and images have a great way of adding value to business cards as they give something for people to look at on the card. These pictures could be professional headshots of you or your products, or stylistic images related to your profession. A more visually interesting card is less likely to get thrown away.
It’s really important that you take the time and money to get high quality pictures if this is the route that you’re going to take. Use a professional service like 123Print rather than attempting to print images on your office printer – it’s well worth the difference in quality.

Add Interesting Texture or Feeling

Adding textural elements to the business card is another way that you can make your business card more appealing. Interesting textures or feelings to the card can make your business card stand out.

There are different options that you can choose from, including adding embossed elements or by going with a thicker cardstock that will feel nicer in the recipient’s hand. Making your business card look and feel more interesting can inspire people to notice your business card.

Add an Incentive for Keeping the Card

Another way to guarantee that contacts will keep your business card is by adding some incentive for keeping it. This is particularly easy if you sell physical products, or you run an establishment such as a café or hair salon. Here are some ideas:
• Include a section on the card where customers can collect loyalty stamps
• Add a voucher code for 10% off their next visit – they’ll need to keep the card so that they can bring it with them
You should also add a call to action: a phrase that’s tells the reader to do something, such as “check out our full range of products here”.

Triple-Check for Mistakes

A major reason why people throw away business cards is because of the mistakes on the cards. This could be typos, or it could be mistakes with your address or contact information.
Double- and triple-check your cards to make sure that any contact information is updated and correct. It’s also important to make sure that there aren’t any misprints as this could reflect poorly on your business. Get someone else to take a look before you order – a pair of fresh eyes can be helpful.
At 123Print, we aim to dispatch all orders within 48 working hours of customer proof approval. So, within a few days, you’ll be holding your brand new business cards! Browse our full range of templates today and start perfecting your design.

Help Your Business Correspondence Stand Out with Personalised Rubber Stamps

Building your small business, Marketing, Marketing Ideas, , , , ,

Personalised stamps are a great way to set business correspondence apart and increase brand recognition. The best thing about personalised self-inking stamps is that they’re so easy to use. All you have to do is stamp your information onto a piece of correspondence, send it off, and voila! It’s that easy.
Stamps come in many shapes, sizes, and colours. They can be customised with your company’s name, tagline, address or contact number. Rubber stamps make business correspondence faster and easier for busy people; stamping your information on the mail or an envelope takes just seconds. And you’ll save plenty of time with bulk mailings too. You just need one stamp for each envelope you send out. So there’s no need to spend the extra time writing out mailing addresses on every letter you send.

What Are Personalised Rubber Stamps?

A rubber stamp is, as you likely already know, a rubber tool etched with a design (shape, logo, or text). Traditional rubber stamps are dipped into ink and then pressed onto paper; however, self-inking stamps are a modern improvement, and are much easier to use.
Personalised rubber stamps can be customised with any text you’d like. Smaller stamps are great for stamping your business’s name or contact telephone number, while larger stamps can fit your business address as well.
You can also get stamps that use images, such as loyalty stamps, which are designed for stamping a small image onto a loyalty card.

Why Should I Invest in Personalised Rubber Stamps?

Business owners are always looking for ways to help their company stand out in a crowd, and personalised stamps are a great way to accomplish this goal. Using custom rubber stamps will help create a unique and professional image for your company.
Stamps are one of the most effective marketing tools you can invest in with your business, and they’re a great way to help your company get noticed.
Personalised stamps are very inexpensive when compared to other promotional items. They also help save you a lot of time – and time is money! Rather than writing your address or company name on all of your communications, you can stamp it quickly and easily.

What Types of Rubber Stamps Are There?

When choosing a stamp, take into consideration how many letters you’ll be able to fit onto the stamp and where exactly you want those letters placed.
Personalised rubber stamps can be customised for practically any use, but some more common usages for them include:

Name/Title Stamps

These stamps show your name or title together with the business name in a very professional way. They’re great to use on completed proposals, letters sent to customers, or anywhere else you need to display your name as well as the business’ name.
Business name stamps can also contain your company’s name with one line of text underneath, such as a motto or telephone number.

Address Stamps

These stamps allow you to stamp your business’s address on large envelopes or documents, so that your employees don’t have to write it out by hand. It has the added benefit of making your letters appear more official and professional.
Address stamps can also be used in other unique ways, as you can customise the eight lines of text in any way you’d like. For example, create a stamp to display your business’s opening hours, or your social media handles.

Loyalty Stamps

Loyalty stamps don’t use text at all – instead, they are designed to print a small image. They’re mostly used for stamping loyalty cards (where customers can ‘save up’ stamps for a free gift or discount). You can choose from a variety of images, such as a pizza slice or a paw print, and choose your preferred ink colour.

Date Stamps

If you have to stamp dates onto your mail, you’ll obviously need to change the date on the stamp regularly. You can purchase special dater stamps that use a simple roller mechanism to allow you to change the day, month and year.

How to Use Personalised Rubber Stamps

Most businesses get a good return on investment when they use personalised rubber stamps in their correspondence. In addition, because they make mail easier to send, they can be sure of getting their message across promptly and accurately.
Personalised rubber stamps are also fun to use because it’s almost like using your own personal seal. When you see how much time you can save each day on correspondence with personalised stamps, you’ll be amazed at how much more productive they can make you.
To make sure you get the most out of your personalised rubber stamps, follow these tips:

1. Buy from a Reputable Company

You don’t want to buy cheap, low-quality stamps that won’t stick properly and will damage easily if they accidentally hit something hard like a countertop. Instead, be sure to find a company that sells high-quality products, such as 123Print. That way, you’ll get the most out of your investment.

2. Stamp Smartly

Choosing the correct type of stamp and message for your business can be a daunting task. To help you decide, take some time to think about how often you send out letters or proposals, who they’re going to, and what you want them to remember about your business.
Once you’ve got that down, all that’s left is to choose the perfect rubber stamp, and customise the text to your liking. You can even choose the ink that best matches your business’s colour scheme!

3. Test the Stamp Before Using It

If you buy pre-inked stamps, make sure they work properly before using them on important documents or correspondence. This will ensure that the stamp is not defective, and prevent problems down the line. It’s also a good idea to test out any non-inked stamp before using it to make sure you like the positioning of your message.

4. Buy in Bulk

Buying in bulk saves you a lot of money on each stamp and lets you get more uses out of them as well. Plan ahead to buy stamps before you run out, and be sure to take advantage of bulk pricing when you can. The best place to look for deals is online. For example, the more stamps you order with 123Print, the more you save.

5. Use a Self-Inking Stamp

If you have multiple names or titles that would fit on a single personalised rubber stamp, using an ink pad can get quite messy. It can also waste valuable time. Instead, use a self-inking stamp which eliminates the need for an ink pad and is much more convenient to store and carry around.

6. Select a Stamp Size that Fits Your Needs

There are many different sizes of personalised rubber stamps available on the market today. Therefore, it’s crucial to select the right size for your needs. This will ensure that you can use it across all your correspondence and make sure the impression left on letters is large enough to recognise easily.

7. Apply the Stamp Appropriately

Be sure to position a personalised rubber stamp correctly so that your text looks great when it’s stamped. Choose a location on the document that is flat, and large enough to display all of the text. Don’t press too hard, or you could damage the rubber.
Check for flaws in the design before you put it on a document. If it’s not perfect, reach out to the company that designed it. At 123Print, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee – so if for any reason you’re not pleased with your stamps, we won’t give up until we’ve fixed the issue.

8. Store Your Stamp Correctly

Always replace the lid on your stamp after using it, to ensure that the ink doesn’t dry out. This will help you get the most use and longevity out of your rubber stamp.
Over time, the ink will begin to run out. The easiest way to find out if a stamp needs replacing is by running your fingers across it. If it’s dried up, discard it and use a fresh one to get better stamping results. (You should always make sure you have lots of new stamps on hand!)

Where Can I Buy Personalised Rubber Stamps?

Stamps add a professional touch to business correspondence, envelopes, documents, and promotional materials. Your customers are more likely to respond to you if they feel like you’re a true professional.
Stamps also save time and money by ensuring that letters are promptly sent to their destinations with the correct return address information. But, most importantly, they help you stand out from the crowd.
When choosing where to buy your personalised rubber stamps online from, remember that service is key! You want to find an online store with plenty of customisation options available and fast delivery, such as 123Print.
We offer a wide selection of personalised rubber stamps, great for any business of any size. We pride ourselves on our excellent customer service, fast delivery, and low prices – so shop online with us today to find your perfect stamp!