Many times, the first impression a customer sees of you may come from your business card. Is it attractive? Have you included photos of your artwork on your card? Printing costs for business cards are surprisingly low these days. There are many printers online and if you find quotes online for printing, check with your local printer to see if the online price can be matched. Price, however, is not the only consideration. Many of the online printers make it easy to set up your card and offer very attractive options for layouts without extra design or layout charges.

Many artists use Moo cards. Moo cards are inexpensive, provide color printing on both sides of the card and will even send you a free sample pack of cards that you design with your own artwork. They also sell postcards and mini cards. Another website I found that looked promising was Uprinting. Uprinting sells business cards, post cards, hang tags, letterhead and even banners that could be used for a booth sign.  There are hundreds of options online for printing and doing your research ahead of time is important. Shopping local is also important so do get a bid from local printers as well. If you are printing a variety of promotional and packaging items, ask to see if you can get a multiple item discount. (I have no connection to these companies and have not ordered from either of them.)

Your business card should include all your contact information so that people can reach you. Give them more than one option. There are people out there that don’t use computers much and giving only an e-mail address will prevent that customer from reaching you. Do you have a tag line? A tag line is a short phrase that summarizes your product and what it can do for the customer. If you have one, it should be on your business card. Other information that can be included is your website or ETSY address, your name, your company name and even if you don’t include a physical address, listing your town or region lets people know your general location. If you have a logo and use it on the rest of your presentation package, it should be included on your business card. Two sided printing is great because you can have photos of your artwork on one side and the informational bits on the other side.

Carry your business cards with you. If you meet someone who is interested in your work, handing them a business card is the first step towards making a sale. However, if you are doing a retail show, you don’t necessarily need to give everyone who steps in your booth a business card. Many times, someone who comes into your booth may not be interested in purchasing your work. If you offer them a business card, you are giving them a way to exit without buying anything. They will tell you that they “will think about it”, take your card and you’ll never hear from them again. Instead, tell them about your work, answer any questions they may have and if they are not interested, they will move on. Save your cards for customers who buy something or for someone who shows real interest.

Spending a little bit of extra money on professionally printed materials usually pays off in the long run. If this is your job or your business, treat it like a business, design an attractive business card and present yourself professionally.