If you want to stand out from your competition in 2018, you might have a real challenge on your hand. With entrepreneurship being the new buzzword of the last few years, businesses are popping up like daisies, meaning more competition and a bigger challenge.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to stand out from your new competition is to make an amazing business card. Many people have no idea how to make a business card, let alone a business card that can deliver on your marketing promises and bring in new clients.

A great business card will drive more business to you, give your business a more professional feel and reinforce the quality of your brand.

If you want to create a business card that will bring you, new customers, that stand out, then follow this guide on how to make a business card that will leave a lasting impression.

Why Business Cards?

It might surprise you to know that in the modern digital world why so many people are still turning to paper. Even today there are 27 million business cards printed daily.

Of those 27 million business cards made, you’ll find that over 88% of them get tossed within the first week.

Why then would you focus on business cards? Well, despite the fact that so many people throw them away almost immediately, sales increase by 2.5% for every 2000 cards that get passed out.

With business cards, there are a number of ways you can stop people tossing your card and keeping it, and ultimately driving business to you.

How to Make a Business Card Stand Out in 2018:

With so much competition and so many people throwing out business cards daily, you need to create effective business cards that deliver your brand message, becoming your best marketing tool, while staying out of the trash.

Here are our top tips for making your business cards stand out.

1. Go Premium With Your Product:

Did you know that a colored business card will last 10x longer than a standard white business card? If 88% of business cards get tossed, but a colored card is ten times more likely to stick around, why on earth would you bother with a plain white card?

Ditch the 1970’s approach and upgrade your business card design with a premium option.

Consider going for a plastic business card or something that feels more luxurious.

2. Stick to The Basics:

This might seem like an obvious suggestion. However, it’s worth mentioning that your business card is a piece of printed material. That means there are some simple rules of paper design that you should apply:

• Make sure your most important copy is more than 5mm from the trim of your card
• Don’t work at anything less than 300dpi for your images
• Make sure you keep a minimum size for your typography so it can remain legible
• Always design your cards in CMYK

You might also find it beneficial to stick to a grid format on the layout of your business card. This can help to keep the right information in different areas on your card.

Symmetry is often an admired quality in business cards.

3. Avoid Common Mistakes:

There are a ton of different mistakes commonly made when it comes to designing business cards. To make your business card stand out avoid common mistakes like not providing a bleed.

You should also look to avoid using a simple border around your card; this will show up any alignment issues in the trim if the card isn’t cut perfectly. This is something that makes you stand out but for all the wrong reasons.

4. Use a Custom Finish:

A way you can instantaneously add serious meaning to your business card is to use a custom finish. There are a variety of custom finishes you can use such as spot-UV, foil blocking, and even metallic finishes.

Adding these custom finishes can add some serious cost to producing your business cards, what they do provide though is the opportunity for your business card to be more memorable, impressive, and visibly impressive.

5. Get Your Card Embossed:

Another fantastic way to stand out from the crowd is to get your card cut or embossed. You can do this with a die-cut process to remove certain elements from the stock of your card, leaving a mixing piece.

You can even use a die to adjust the shape of your card; this is often done to round the corners of your business card. Dies can be expensive to create, but you will find that laser-cut options may be more economical in the long run.

If you want to get increasingly creative, you can combine the embossing and cut-out process with card creasing to create something that is truly unique.

6. Make Sure You Spell Check:

It doesn’t matter what print work you are attempting to complete; if you make a mistake in the spelling, nobody is going to take you seriously. Stand out from the competition by not making any mistakes on your print.

You don’t want to be in a situation where you’re throwing away hundreds of dollars worth of cards because you spelled ‘their’ the wrong way.

7. Use a Unique Material:

One of the more popular ways to now make your business card stand out is to use a material that nobody would expect. You can use everything from plastic to metal and even wood to create a business card design that stands out.

Remember about practicality when choosing the material for your card as well as cost. Depending on your industry and the number of customers you hand out business cards to, it might be worth investing in a higher quality option.

You can even go all out and invest in a quality rose gold metallic cards which make a huge difference in standing you out from the competition. You can shop here for access to these awesome materials.

Take Your Business Card Design to The Next Level:

When it comes to printing business cards, you can either go for the bare minimum or set yourself up to impress. With increasing business competition, how to make a business card shouldn’t be difficult.

Setting yourself apart from your competitors can give you the edge on getting those important customers. Time to go out there and make your next business card.

Read Also :

• 17 Ways to Push Business Card Design to the Limit
• How to Make Your Business Card Your Best Marketing Tool