Keeping Business Cards Relevant
19 July 2013

I don't know about you but my problem with business cards is I never give them all away before some of the information has become out of date. Whether the out of date information is a phone number or an email address, it is almost granted to change before getting to the bottom of the card stack.

I have been giving an out of date card for the last two years. I have been issuing each card with a line through an old phone number and giving an apology each time. Basically, I had given up trying to keep up with ever changing information and just went with what I had.

Then one day out of nowhere sat with friends on a beautiful sunny afternoon a solution came into my head. Reduce the information you give on the card and then the odds of out of date information will reduce too. I know it is obvious now! But it was not something I had paid much thought too.

So once I began thinking about what information I can reduce I asked myself: what do we have business cards for? It's a very simple answer: we give people business cards so people can find out more information about us and to contact us should the information agree with their needs. Again it is obvious, I know now, but it is in the making of the connections that matter.

I therefore realised that if you have a website that is in line with the goal of providing all the information people need, such as links to social media and ways to contact you, the card only needs to direct people there.

It also adds a spam firewall into the mix for free. Have you ever not given someone your card because they seem like they are a spammer? Well by directing new people to your website you get to see what they send you before giving away your email address. That is as long as your contact form handler does not send it to them for you.

Going with a card that only has your website address may be too minimal though. People may easily forget who to associate the card with. I thought a photograph is a good reminder of who they met. A picture should last ten years before people notice that I am aging away from it. As a male I am also unlikely to change my name so I thought that my name can be printed too.

Having a way of contacting you and a face and name to put the card to my just about be enough information. However, a job title is important, I thought, because it helps give a reason for why they may get in contact. I was careful to encapsulate what I do without being too specific as this is not necessarily timeless information.

Hey presto! I have a business card that should last the whole box. Check it out.