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home > Graphic Design Articles > Business Cards Design > HOW TO BEAT YOUR COMPETITION OUTSIDE THE PHONEBOOK WITH MAGNETIC BUSINESS CARDS
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Coolest Business Card Designs, Part I - Here are the coolest, most innovative business cards that you have ever seen. Here is Part II.
Coolest Business Card Designs, Part II - Here are the coolest, most innovative business cards that you have ever seen.
Coolest Business Cards, Part III - Here are the coolest, most innovative business cards that you have ever seen.
Coolest Business Cards, Part IV - Yet again, more of the most unique business cards around.
by Christopher Brunner
What is it about magnets that draw people to leave dozens of them on fridges and file cabinets for years at a time?
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Many people like to have the contact information handy for common service providers without flipping through a bulky phone book. Magnets are the perfect solution for being seen in this situation. It's a win-win relationship for you AND the customer.
Any small business can take advantage of the advertising power a magnetic business card holds. This includes:
Pest control
Repairmen & Contractors
Veterinarians
Realtors
Food Delivery
Insurance agents; and
Hair/Nail/Tanning Salons
Hand them out at:
Conventions
Open houses
Tradeshows
Product launches; or
When you perform a service for the customer
You can stick magentic business cards to fridges, filing cabinets, vending machines, appliances, cars, lockers, and just about any other metal surface.
When clients place your magnet, you instantly have an advantage over the competition. Now, all the client has to do is pick up the phone and call when they need you. They will appreciate the fact that they didn't have to spend time thumbing through the yellow pages trying to pick one company to fulfill their needs. With their initial satisfaction comes repeat and referral business for you. It's a snowball effect that can't be beat!
On my fridge, you'll find magnets from Domino's and Papa John's pizza, a heating and air specialist, a massage therapist, a neighborhood veterinarian, as well as the nail salon my wife goes to. I have no idea when these magnets were placed there but I do know that they don't move from the prominent spots they were placed months or years ago.
Now that you've discovered the positive effects that magnetic business cards can have for your company, what's the best way to obtain them?
You can buy magnets of various shapes and sizes at your local craft store at a relatively cheap price. Take a hot-glue gun and glue the magnets at each corner on the back of the cards. The upside is that this is a cheap and easy method of creating magnetized business cards. The downside is that it can be a very time consuming process to attach the magnets and the end result usually looks less than professional. Remember that in this situational type of marketing, image is everything.
Avery is a popular brand that offers these types of do-it-yourself inkjet cards. With these, you print out your card design multiple times on a sheet of paper that already has a full magnetic backside. There is less work involved in creating them; however, magnetic paper can be costly.
Another downside to this method is that inkjet printers don't print well on magnetized card stock because the paper surface is so thin. The ink from your printer will tend to glob on the surface once the paper is saturated making your cards sticky with the possibility of staining clothes and hands. Ink cartridges aren't cheap either, so be sure to figure that into your costs as well.
Using this method, you will end up paying the same, if not more, than the next option...
While you may pay a few extra dollars for this method, in the long run, it will save you time and earn much more business for your company. Your magnets will be printed on glossy, full sheet, magnetized card stock paper specially formulated for high-resolution press printing. The magnets will look and feel professional to your customers, and will have a better chance of getting placed in a prominent spot on the fridge or file cabinet.
With recent breakthroughs in online printing technology, you can design or upload full color magnetic business cards online, and have them printed for less than it would cost you to print on your inkjet. Take advantage of the marketing power of magnetic business cards, and start seeing long-term results today.
Christopher Brunner is interested in helping you gain more clients with your business cards. Browse one of the web's largest collection of business card networking articles and create eye-catching business cards online at http://www.greatfxbusinesscards.com
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