Useful and important information to include on your business cards

A business card is a valuable tool and is useful for both marketing and networking. A professionally designed card with all the right information can be a great portable advertisement for both you and/or your company.

Some may think business cards are a thing of the past, but even in today's digital world there is still value in having a business card handy to distribute to customers, clients or other businesses when networking. Business cards are a convenient way for people to have all of your information at a glance.

A poorly designed card that is either lacking information or ladled in errors or poor graphics won't reflect well on you or your company. You also want to increase the probability the people you hand the card to will tuck it away rather than toss it in the trash. Be sure to have complete information when you create a template for your card. Some useful and important information you should include on your business card includes:

Name/title

Your name should be in a prominent place on your business card. Include a full name and, if your business name includes a nickname, in some cases, it is appropriate to include it (this may depend on what line of business you're in). Under your name is a usually a good place to include your title, but with some templates, directly following your name may be the ideal place to insert your title.

Company name and logo

A logo is always a valuable item to display on your business card. This image helps with recognition and it is important to include a company name (unless you work for yourself and operate under your own name, you may want to indicate you are a freelancer).

Email address/website

Including contact information for your online presence are also important pieces of information to include on a business card. This way people can easily contact you or look for more information about your company on the web. Keep in mind, a professional-sounding email address is a must—it is not a good idea to have a random-sounding Gmail, Yahoo! or AOL email account. If possible, have your own domain, or if you must use one of the above free email services, make your account name sounds professional. (As an aside, also carefully consider the domain name you choose for your business.

Phone number

A contact is a vital piece of information to include on your business card. If you use a mobile for business because you are frequently on the go, you'll want to include that as well. The inclusion of a phone number puts a tangible connection to you and generally increases the trust factor. Consumers want to know they are dealing with a real person/business, and not some obscure website with no way to contact for help with customer service needs.

Address

Traditionally, a business address was a must for business cards, but in modern cards this is not always necessary, it really is a case by case basis. Whether or not you include a physical address will vary, depending on the nature of your company. If you are an online business, it will be more important to prominently display your URL or, if you work freelance, you may not want to include your home address. Keep in mind, businesses that use a tangible address also tend to increase the trust factor, so this is something carefully to weigh.

Area of specialization

If you don't have a formal title, or if you work independently, including your area of specialization or expertise is another consideration for your business card. This is typically an optional idea, but for some styles of business cards, it is a real enhancer.

Space for appointments

If you work off appointments, you might want to leave a space for the date and time of an appointment. This is a good way to both leave an impression on a customer or client while at the same time serving as a reminder for a future meeting.

There is a lot of important information you can include on your business card and, when designing your card it is a good idea to think carefully about design and details contained on the card. In order for a business card to be an effective advertisement and marketing tool, you want to make a good presentation.

Even in this day and age of digital, business cards are a valuable marketing and networking tool. However, statistics do suggest most business cards are tossed so you want to increase the chances of your business card being held onto. That being the case, when creating a business card it is vital to include all the right information and be sure and choose an appropriate and attractive design that matches the personality and professionalism you want to convey and stands out above the rest.