Internet Marketing For Small Business

Memorable business cards do help. My “Strange Duck Media” cards always illicit a response - usually “how cute” - which I am taking to be a positive reaction.

When I hand out a business card in a group exchange, I always notice that they stare at my card just a little bit longer, while others barely get a glance. They then look up from the card and stare at me - perhaps with just a bit more curiousity - and wonder who would choose such a company name for a company, and put Harpo glasses on a duck.

Well, I can answer who chose the name. I worked on the name with my sister, Helen Duma, a marketing guru (she used to be head of Alfred Sung marketing and discovered Monika Schnarre) - and that is precisely the reaction we were trying to get. I wanted to distinguish myself as the funny one full of funny ideas.

The why of it all is because I wanted to stick out from the crowd. Break from the pack. Be that nail that won’t hammer down. Fortunately, this is very easy to do in Canada, which for some reason lacks that extra oomph when it comes to marketing, self-promotion, and risk-taking. Well, especially in the field of business cards - which is still wide open.

And that’s how I became that Strange Duck. Odd bird. A Good Egg. I’m not sure why the English language is so bent on bird metaphors, but it is. We like our birds and fowl, and these expressions all means something that sticks out in a curious, but benign fashion.

Enough about me. Back to creating memorable business cards. Here are some ideas to try:

• Why not try a different card size? The standard is 31/2 x 2 inches. Go shorter and you instantly stand out. Don’t go wider, it doesn’t fit in wallets and people will get peeved.
• Same size but folded. This way you get twice the amount of space to write on.
• Try a different shape. You can round the corners. You can die cut the edges. I company that had the word Byte in it, had the card cut to look like a bite was taken out of the corner.
• You can get cards that are folded – that gives you more space.
• You can get cards that are perforated. They are bigger, like a postcard, but you can tear away a traditional business card from the body of the card. On the postcard part you can put a coupon for a discount, or an ad for an event, or a great photo that is memorable.
• Get moo.com cards. These are 2 sides cards that allow you to get different designs printed on your cards. That would surely impress in a crowd - each person you handed a card to would get a different design. Tell them to collect all five in the series.

More ideas for cards
Some marketers are advocating tools other than business cards. One career counselor I spoke with said if you are looking for a job, hand out “calling cards.” This is an old idea come around again. The counselor said going that extra mile to promote yourself is what counts, and to not be shy about your skills.

Be specific. Some experts advocate writing what you do on your cards goes a long way. Think about it this way - in a year when someone is cleaning out their desk and they see a card that says

Irene Duma
President
Strange Duck Media

It will mean nothing. Or they will wonder where they met the publisher of media for weird ducks.

But if I added

Irene Duma
President
Strange Duck Media
“funny videos that won’t put your clients to sleep.”

Well then, they might just put your card back in the pile. Or better- call for a video.

Your target demo
Always think of your target though when coming up with business cards. Is your card to impress clients? Of future bosses? Know this, and try to impress. People are judgmental - don’t turn off the person you are trying to impress. Once again, it’s all about research.

PS. Comedy helps. Don’t for get that “I write good. “

Tags: memorable business cards, marketing tips for small business