How to Design a Business Card + Question of the Month

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 of the Month Bloghop 

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.