Some people may say that a business card is the thing of
the past, but I disagree. If you ever plan to do a giveaway, you can add a few
business cards to the package you ship to the lucky winner. If you do book
signings, you can have business cards on your table for visitors to grab. If
you go to conferences, you can give a card to an agent. If you talk to a
stranger at the post office or store and your career gets brought up, give that
person your business card.
I have even gotten sneaky with my business cards. I’ve
slipped one into the middle of books I checked out from libraries and enjoyed.
I’ve left them on bookshelves at thrift stores and Wal-Mart. NO SHAME! :P
Here’s how you can design a business card:
1. Go to VistaPrint.com They have deals all the time
that’ll cut down on the cost!
2. Decide what type of post card you want: Standard,
Signature or Ultra Thick. I picked Standard for mine.
3. Look through the hundreds of designs. Having an idea in
mind will help you narrow down the options. I liked the ones that allowed me to
add my logo/picture such as the sparks that I’ve used on my blog and website.
4. After you have a design, select the color scheme you
want and start making it your own.
TIP: There is a white line along the border. Make sure that
the images you add will not be cut off in an awkward way because of this border
(“safety line”) and make sure all of your words are inside it.
5. Add an image. This could be your author photo, a book
image, or an image that has become linked with your image/brand such as my
sparks.
6. Put your author name at the top and include your job
title below it if you want. Example: Author
7. Have an author tagline? Put it on your business card! Mine
is below my name. My author tagline is: Thrilling and Romantic with Heroines
of Steel.
SEE: How to Create an Author Tagline
8. Add your social media links. You might not be able to
put all of them on your business card, but you can put the post important one.
I have my website, Facebook, Twitter, and blog URLs on mine.
9. Decide if you want a backside. It will cost more, so you
don’t need it if you don’t want it. I opted for a backside to add more
information and to make my card standout. On the back of mine I put a small bio
(because there’s only so much you can get across about yourself with the scant
info on the front) with two eBook cover images to entice readers.
 |
| This one came out a bit blurry but you get the idea. :) |
TIP: Take your time to get it right!
10. Make sure everything is spelled correctly and placed
neatly on your card then PURCHASE IT! You can decide on the number of cards you
order. I first ordered 250 and those went quickly. Now I have 500. But you can
start small as I had.
As soon as you get your cards, hand them out to your
friends and family, and start leaving them everywhere!
QUESTION: Do you think author business cards are worth it? Do you have a business card?
QUESTION: If a friend came to you
looking for advice on starting a blog, what three pieces of advice would you
give them?
Last year I did a post FULL of blogging tips, so you can check
that out here: Blogging 101
My 3 pieces of advice would be:
1. Come up with a
catchy blog title and use that title in the URL. For example: Write with Fey,
www.WritewithFey.blogspot.com
2. Set up an “About Me” page. You may say, “Why? No one
cares to know anything about me.” But that’s not true in the blogosphere.
3. Participate. If you’re a writer, join the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and get to know the members one by one. Follow them and
comment. Do the A to Z Challenge, which happens every April, and again…follow
and comment. When you start visiting other blogs, you may come across sign-ups
for blog hops, these are a lot of fun and many people do them, so join in and…yes,
follow and comment.
