Category Archives: Small Business tips

9 Features You Need on Your Next Business Card

18 November, 2021Building your small business, Business Cards, Marketing, Small Business tipsbusiness card colours, business card design, business card designs, Business Card Inspiration, business card tips, business cardsKath Payne

Whether you’re self-employed, own your own business, or are a high-achieving professional with big dreams in your industry, you want to make a good impression on people. You want your colleagues, peers, and clients to think you’re competent, confident, and professional.

Your business card is a powerful tool with which to achieve this. After all, your business card is the first thing people will see when they meet you or hear about your company. It’s important that it looks sharp and professional, and separates you from the rest of the competition!

If you don’t have a business card yet, or it’s been a while since you last updated yours, now’s the time to start thinking about how to approach your new card design. In this guide, we’re going to share 9 features that you need on your next business card to help you stand out from the crowd and make the best first impression possible.

1. Vertical Orientation

Did you know that business cards don’t have to be horizontal? Vertical business cards are still easy-to-read and will fit into a standard business card holder or rolodex, but they look fancier and will set you apart from the crowd.

When handed a vertical business card, the reader will have to turn it on its side, automatically engaging their brain in a different way than a standard horizontal card – forcing them to pay more attention to what they’re reading. It’ll help create the impression that your business card is more important or worthy of remembering than others.

At 123Print, we stock a wide range of vertically-oriented business card templates to suit a wide range of professions and niches. For example, this bright and bold Colour Swatches design would be perfect for anyone working in the paint, textile, or fashion industry.

2. A Clear Call to Action

The whole point of a business card is to drive business to you or your company. As such, it helps if there’s a clear call to action designed into the card itself, as well as your contact details and social media handles.

A call to action is a clear request for the reader to make contact. For example:

1) Check out our new summer range today on our website!
2) Show this business card when you’re next in-store for 5% off your purchase.
3) Scan the QR code to learn more about our new product line
4) Call us today for a free quote

The goal here is to make it as appealing as possible for your business card’s recipient to contact you and do business with you – so make sure to give them an incentive to do so!

3. Magnetic Backing

A business card should be easy for its recipient to keep hold of, and refer back to when necessary. That’s where magnetic business cards really come into their own.
Any standard business card can be set out on a table at a networking event so they catch people’s attention, but the next step is to ensure that they aren’t going to get lost, or shoved in a drawer and forgotten about.

By making your business card magnetic, your client or professional contact will be able to stick it to their refrigerator or filing cabinet, for easy access in the future. It’s also just a bit of a novelty that people will find fun, and again will help you to stand out from the crowd.
A magnetic business card shows that you’ve given some thought to how you can keep your card fresh in people’s minds after they have it in their hands. It’s also great for spreading brand recognition, as your card will be right in front of them whenever they go to the fridge to grab the milk.

4. Double-Sided Printing

If you’re not going with the magnetic option, you should at least ensure that you make full use of the space by giving your business card a double-sided design.
A business card with two sides is more professional and gives you the freedom to express yourself even further. It also lets you include extra information that wouldn’t necessarily fit on the front of the card, such as your store opening times, a tempting special offer or a fun fact about your business that might leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Sure, it might cost a little more to pay for printing on both sides, but it’s definitely worth it from a business point of view. You want to be as memorable as possible so that the recipient will be more likely to do business with you in future.

5. Your Photo

A business card should reflect who you are, what you do and the kind of image you want to project to others.
This is why you should include your photo on your business card: so that the reader can put a face to the name, and identify you as an individual, rather than a faceless corporation. You could add a photo of yourself standing in front of your shop, on the manufacturing line at work, or relaxing at home – whatever it is, make sure you look sharp and confident!

Including your photo is also a great way to inject your personality into your business card. You don’t want to go too overboard – your card should be professional and business-like, after all – but a photo of yourself can certainly help you to stand out and make a good first impression.

6. Your Logo

Your logo is the ultimate branding that defines you as an individual or company. It’s important that it appears on your business card so that people know what your business is all about before they even pick up the phone or meet you in person.

If you don’t have a logo, now is the time to think about getting one! Having a logo consistently implemented across your products and mailings will go a long way to helping your business stand out and be remembered by your clients.

Your logo must be eye-catching and impactful, so spend some time creating it – use professional designers if you don’t have any design skills yourself! It should reflect your brand personality – are you fun, flamboyant and friendly, for example? Or are you serious, slick and professional?

7. A QR Code

Including a QR code on your business card is an innovative way of making sure that your business card doesn’t go to waste after it’s been handed over.

A QR code is a great way to maximise your business card’s potential, as it eliminates the need for the recipient to type your website address into their browser. Instead, they can simply whip out their phone and follow the QR code using their camera to take them straight there. This will give them the chance to do more research on you and what you have to offer, which could increase interest in you or even lead to new business opportunities.

Simply save your QR code as an image file and you’ll be able to upload it directly to a template of your choice at 123Print. All of our business card templates can be fully customised with your own images.

8. A Full-Colour Design

Your business card should be as unique and memorable as you and your brand. If you want to make a lasting impression on someone, it needs to stand out from all of the boring, black-and-white cards out there.

A full-colour design is one way in which you can make sure that your business cards jump out and catch people’s attention. The extra costs involved in going for a higher-quality, multicoloured design will almost always be recouped through higher sales and greater profits.

A full-colour business card is the perfect place to show off your creative side, too. You might want to consider including some cool infographic or photography – anything that reflects your brand personality and makes an impression. And think carefully about your colour scheme – it should tie into your business’s overall aesthetic, and stand out in a good way (not like a sore thumb).

9. Recycled Cardstock

In today’s eco-conscious world, when most consumers are looking to shop with businesses that care about the planet, it’s vitally important that you make sure your business card is eco-friendly.

Recycled paper is a perfect option for your business cards, as it makes use of post-consumer waste which would otherwise have been thrown away. It’s just another way for you to portray yourself as being sensitive towards environmental issues and reinforce your brand image.

Using recycled materials for your business cards doesn’t mean that you have to compromise on quality. The 100% recycled cardstock that we use at 123Print is 300gsm, and looks and feels just as nice as any standard business card. And as a nice bonus, it’s slightly cheaper!

Where Can I Buy Business Cards?

If you’re looking for professionally printed, high-quality business cards, look no further than 123Print. We offer a huge selection of business card templates which you can completely customise to reflect your unique brand personality, as well as a range of other printing products for your business and personal needs.

Visit our website today to choose the perfect design, and personalise it quickly and easily with our free-to-use online editor. Add your own artwork, photos and logos with our upload tool, and customise the font and colour scheme to your preferences.

Your order will be dispatched within 2 working days, so you’ll soon be holding your new, stand-out business cards in your hands. When it comes to getting business cards printed, there’s no need to go anywhere else!

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How To Get A Better Night’s Sleep When You’re Stressed

17 March, 2016StressScott Taylor

Everyone at some point or another knows the frustration of lying awake in bed with a busy mind ticking away. Whether it be an amazing idea, something you’ve forgotten to do, or a twinge of worry – these little niggles can keep you from drifting off no matter how relaxed or tired you feel. Adding stress to that equation will only make things worse and before you know it you’ll be staring at the clock at 3am wondering how many hours of sleep you can potentially get before the new day. A bad night’s sleep leads to even more stress, which can potentially lead to an even worse night sleep, so all in all it’s pretty important to break the cycle and fix the problem. Try some of these tips tonight for a night of sweet dreams.

Set a bed time. One of the best ways of making sure that you have yourself a good night’s sleep is to get into a routine. Statistics show that our bodies are built for a sleep pattern of 10pm – 6am however, it’s not always that simple, so set a realistic bedtime that will suit your lifestyle. It is a well-known fact that 9 hours is the recommended amount of sleep, so use your morning routine to figure out your evening – but make sure you leave yourself a good 15 minutes to fall asleep.

Choose your snacks wisely. For some reason most people believe that snacking before bed is a no-no, however, a light snack before bed can in some cases help you to sleep. Foods such as turkey sandwiches, whole-grain cereal, granola and bananas have been proven to calm the brain.

No electronics. We know how tempting it is to check your email or Twitter just one last time before you shut your eyes for the night, but the blue light from screens disrupts your brains ability to feel sleepy. Avoiding bright screens within 2 hours of your bedtime isn’t necessarily ideal but if you’re in desperate need of those Z’s and are sick of counting sheep, it may be the way forward.

Caffeine is not your friend. Busy schedules love coffee, it’s just the way it is, but caffeine can stay in your system for up to 14 hours after consumption. If you seem to be having trouble sleeping try and remove caffeine from your diet for a few weeks replacing it with water or herbal tea and see if you can spot any improvements.

Break a sweat. It has been reported that regular exercise can help you to sleep better and feel more energised throughout the day. It doesn’t need to be a high intensity work out, low-impact exercises such as yoga or walking can speed up your metabolism leading to improved sleep quality.

Have a soak. Having a bath before bed can really help to reduce stress levels and relax the body. A hot/warm bath with lavender extracts for around 20 minutes is a great idea – adjusting your body’s temperature to a point that signals your brain that “It’s time to snooze!”.

Stay asleep. If your waking up during the night the likelihood is – something is catching your attention whilst you’re in the lighter part of your sleep cycle. Try cutting down on your liquid intake before bed to prevent you from needing to use the bathroom mid-sleep, or invest in some dark curtains to block out any natural light entering your room.

We hope this helps and you’re full of beans in the morning!

Using Pinterest for Business: Things to Remember

20 July, 2015Small Business tipspinterest, Small Business Ideas, social media, social media marketingScott Taylor

Since starting up in 2010, Pinterest has gone from strength to strength. Nowadays, many businesses both small and large are choosing to venture in the world of Pinterest, using the social platform for both personal and business use.

When I first started to use Pinterest from a business perspective, I will admit I was more than a little sceptical. How can Pinterest, a platform that allows its users to pin images to a virtual pin board, be any better at driving website traffic than its older cousins Facebook and Twitter?

Well, in a nutshell, Pinterest allows you to open up your business to a whole new range of potential clients and customers. Not only can customers re-pin what you have pinned to one of your boards, but you can also add your company website to each pin so that potential customers can access it, no matter where the original pin ends up!

That’s great but… is there anything I need to remember when I’m using Pinterest?

As with all social media platforms, Pinterest has it’s very own quirks and differences that make it stand out from the rest. Don’t worry, however, because with these facts and tips you’ll be well on your way to Pinterest greatness!

To give you a little taste of the world of Pinterest, here are some statistics to get you started:

Know Pinterest’s Image Requirements

Before you begin to pin, you need to double check that your image fits with the Pinterest requirements. The standard requirements for a large thumbnail on a board is 222 x 150 pixels. For the smaller thumbnails this is reduced to 50 x 55 pixels.

Add your company website to your description.

Make sure that your customers can get to your website easily by adding a link to your description at the top of your Pinterest page.

It is also essential that you add your website link in each pin description too, this makes it easier for Pinterest users to find your website even if they don’t have time to visit your main Pinterest page.

Add a hover ‘Pin It’ button to your images.

Adding a hover ‘Pin It’ button to your images allows your customers to add images from your website to their own Pinterest boards, which is a great way to get your content out there! Click here for Pinterest’s very own easy to follow instructions on setting up your own hover ‘Pin It’ button.

Want your image to be clicked on more? Use a skinny pin!

‘Skinny pins’ are long, skinny images that require the user to click on them to see the full picture. Using these types of pins piques the user’s curiosity, so don’t be afraid to add a long, thin infographic to your board every now and again!

Take note of the best times to pin.

Like any other social media platform, Pinterest has optimum times to post. Adhering to these times as best you can gives you are higher chance of getting noticed!

Add a watermark to your images.

Adding a watermark or logo to your original images not only makes them look more professional, it also means that the image can always be linked back to your brand and website.

Explore Rich Pins.

Rich pins enable you to add topic-specific descriptions to the pin itself, making it quicker and easier for your target audience to get the information that they need. Rich pins currently come in five categories: film, recipe, article, product and place and are a great way to really connect with any potential customers by understanding their needs. For more information on rich pins, click here.

Remember that the majority of Pinterest users click on blogs & articles rather than retail sites.

Pinterest is, primarily, a place where people can go to look at things that interest and excite them. It is important to remember this when you are deciding what to pin from your website. Pinterest users want content that is going to inspire them and, yes, this could be your latest product. However, the most clicked on pins are content based ones such as blog posts or articles so it is worth keeping this in mind.

Invite others to a group board.

A group board does exactly what it says on the tin. It is a board that anyone (you can choose if they have to be invited or not) can pin to. This is an especially useful tool for business that want to connect more with potential customers over Pinterest. Here is an example of a group board:

When creating a group board, think about what your customers would be interested in that you can create a (not so) little Pinterest community around!

Create appealing content that you can pin.

Content on Pinterest should be a good combination of original and found content. Above all you should be looking to pin content that you think will be useful to your customers. So if you are a wedding business, for example, creating a pin board for bridal hair & make-up tips is something that your customer base would find useful and interesting.

Keep in mind how long Pinterest users spend pinning.

The average Pinterest user spends just 14.2 minutes pinning content that they think is useful to them. Make sure that your pins have impact so that you can make the best impression in such a short space of time!

Pinterest as a business is going from strength to strength, so don’t be afraid of using it to enhance and expand your potential customer base! If you have any questions regarding Pinterest, or you have some Pinterest tips of your own that you would like to share, let us know in the comments!

6 Free Fonts To Help With Your Christmas Marketing

4 December, 2014Colour, Creating Blog Content, Flyers, Marketing, Small Business Inspiration, Small Business tipschristmas flyer fonts, christmas fonts, design fonts, fonts, free christmas fonts, free fontsScott Taylor

For many businesses Christmas can be the make it or break it season. The rise in Christmas shoppers offers the perfect antidote to a tough year in sales and it’s important that every avenue to increase sales is explored and utilised to maximise sales. Yet, with the huge increase in customers during the Christmas season there is also a huge increase in competition. More businesses than ever before are depending on Christmas to keep their business afloat and the competition to grab every last sale is growing into a fierce fight.

Thus making sure your marketing is top notch and is resonating with every single customer has never been more important. One element is simply making your advertising materials, like flyers or posters, that bit more appealing to the average Christmas shopper. One question we keep getting asked here at 123Print is, ‘Where can I find Christmas fonts to use in my artwork designs?’ Well, after recently releasing our very own font Debbie (and seeing as it’s Christmas) we have chosen 6 of our favourite Christmas or seasonal fonts, all of which can be downloaded and used for free. A little gift from us to you.

Santa’s Air Mail – http://www.dafont.com/santas-air-mail.font

Jump straight into your Christmas advertising designs with this Santa Air Mail font. Offering a quirky 3D design, this font brings a little winter scenery to your design by adding a little snowfall to each letter.