Marketing - Business Cards

The success or failure of the goals you've set for your wedding planning business are tied to many things besides your personal effort. Economic climate, consumer psyche, your competition...are all things that are largely out of your control. Your business collateral, on the other hand, is...are? Forgive my grammer mis-step...

Today I want to talk about your business cards. In addition to your "30-second commercial", they are essential when marketing your business one to one and when you attend networking events. They're also very economical so they won't bust your marketing budget. Always carry them with you and hand them out liberally because you never know where your next opportunity will come from. Think of your business card as a mini billboard for your company.

Invest some quality time in creating them and be sure to use imagery that will appeal to your market. If you can afford it, hire a good graphic artist. They will listen to your vision and then transform it into collateral that matches your brand.

I love butterflies and I love the colors pink and purple. The graphic artist I worked with early on in my business, came up with this beautiful butterfly as my logo.

Pretty, right? Yes. Good for business? Not so much. It caught the attention of many brides but didn't end up converting well. The image was juvenile and whimsical...it didn't project a professional enough image for brides to take me seriously. Lesson? Make sure your logo and font choices match the market you are trying to reach.

Other tips:

Don't skimp on quality. If you are trying to decide what to spend your limited marketing dollars on, your business collateral is one of them. Cheap makes you look cheap!

Don't over do it on the fonts and graphics. Your service to your client should always be dazzling but keep the swirls and swooshes to a minimum when it comes to your business cards and brochures.

Don't overload your card either. Including your name and title are no brainers but seriously...three phone numbers, two email addresses, a website and blog address, fax number etc. is overkill. Keep it simple!

Tomorrow we'll talk about brochures and low cost ways to advertise your new wedding planning business. I'll share some thoughts on print advertising versus online advertising. I'll also tell you what to do with that Twitter account you signed up for months ago, but haven't found the time to use!

Until then...

Aspire to Plan!