A properly designed business card distributed in unique ways can easily bring you all the business you can possibly take care of. The very best advertising that "money CAN'T buy" is word-of-mouth advertising, your satisfied customer recommending you to his or her friends. Better yet, is to get yourself, your company, product or service talked about positively in general conversation among friends. You can easily use your business card to generate this best-of-the-best advertising.

You can stop in any quick print shop and have five hundred business cards printed almost immediately for as little as $19.95. This cheap little "quickie" could very easily cost you thousands of dollars in lost sales. A business card worth handing out is worth having professionally designed and printed. And, it usually can NOT be done overnight... much less "while you wait."

There are literally billions of business cards distributed each year. Every person in business is selling something and every salesperson worth his or her salt has a business card. A recent survey showed however, that more than ninety-three percent of distributed cards end up in the trash before the day is over. (The day they were handed out.) Worse yet, less than one percent are retained by the recipient for thirty days or more.

Take a good close look at your business card. What sets it apart from your competitor's card? "Nothing", you say? Ya gotta make some changes, my friend!

First of all, why are you wasting the space on the BACK of your business card? It costs only very little more to print on the back as well as the front of a card. A folded "double" card with extra printing also costs very little more than a regular business card. This double card can be one of the most effective advertising media you would ever want! It's actually a mini-brochure and can present the complete story of your offer and/or business.

What should you print on the back or on the folded double? Always a direct response offer, of course. "Bring this card to our store and redeem it for a FREE widget, book, tool, or whatever." Or, "call me and I'll send you a FREE whatever." In most cases, the word FREE should be first word and the largest printed word on the back of your card.

You'll find that you'll increase your business by a factor of at least TEN by giving something away before you ask for a potential customer's hard-earned money. The Biblical statement, "give and ye shall receive" has never been more true than in business today!

If you don't PRINT something on the back of your business card please don't ever hand one out without writing some personal message on the back. The message can be, "Call me," "This Card Good For A 25% Discount On Your Next Purchase," "Do Your Best Friend A Favour And Give Him This Card!"... or something of this nature in your very best handwriting.

Sign the hand written note on the back with your first name only... Sam, Bill, Sue, Mohammed... or what ever YOUR FRIENDS call you. Putting Mr., Ms., or any other title before your name on the front or back of your card is a terrible No, No.

Most people who receive your business card will not have an immediate need or use for your product or service. Your objective should be to design your card in such a manner as to cause the recipient to keep the card in his or her wallet or roll-a-dex until your product or service IS needed or wanted. One method we've seen which will cause most people to keep a business card is to print USEFUL information on the back of your card. Phone numbers are among the most useful such info. If you're in the travel business by all means print some phone numbers useful to the traveller on the back of your card.

If you're a medical doctor print telephone numbers and hours of operation of local pharmacies on the back of your card. If you're a real estate salesperson print phone numbers of utility companies, home remodelling companies, etc. on your cards.

Anytime you print information about any other company, such as discussed for the real estate person above always try to make a deal with the other companies. You'll put their phone number on the back of your card if they will allow you to put a stack of your cards on their check out counter. How could they refuse?!

Printing a "cutie" on the back of your business card can get a person to keep your card. One of the best we've seen is a list of phone numbers...

The Most Important Phone Numbers On Earth
Bill Clinton, President USA 0-000-0000
Boris Yeltsin, Premier Russia 0-000-0000
Tony Blair, Prime Minister Great Britian 0-000-0000
Jacques Chirac, President France 0-000-0000
Joe Jones, Real Estate Broker 0-000-0000

I personally have a business card from a night club in Manila, Philippines which I've kept for over forty years. It has a cute cartoon on the back with a little mouse looking at a mouse trap baited with cheese. The caption has the cute little creature saying, "you go off so quickly and I get caught so easily."

Slick glossy business cards with your photo or a photo of your business or product are from two to three times more expensive than a regular card printed on ordinary paper. Test after test however, have shown them to be worth much, much more than the extra expense to print them.

If you're in direct sales insurance, real estate, stocks & bonds, or any direct sales field you simply MUST have a glossy photo business card. They will return a profit of at least a factor of ten over an ordinary "blah" type card.

Now that you have a unique, extra ordinary, super eye catching business card let's look at some unique, extra ordinary ways you can distribute them to quickly triple your profits!

You can actually make your simple little business card into a "profit centre" if you do this correctly! With some sort of FREE offer printed on the back of your card, you should make an effort to leave one or more of your cards EVERYWHERE you go... everywhere a potential customer may see it. These things can be the most effective as well as very lowest-cost advertising you can possibly buy.

Leave your card in the public telephone booth you just used, on the magazine table at the doctor's or dentist's office (or even IN the magazines), on the subway seat when you get off, on the supplies counter at the Post Office, on the seat when you get out of a taxi, in the vending machine when you buy a newspaper, hand one to each and every sales clerk with whom you deal.

Where else can you think to leave one of your "special" FREE OFFER business cards without appearing to litter? You usually don't want to leave but one card. Be sure to leave it with the FREE OFFER side UP so a prospect can see your "headline." You want to "tempt" him or her to pick up the card and see what it's all about!

As you see, your simple little inexpensive business card can quickly become a real, money making profit centre!

You also may want to make a deal with other businesses in your neighbourhood to leave a small stack of your cards on their check out counter. (In return for doing the same with their cards). Many business places such as washaterias, grocery stores, etc. have a bulletin board where you are welcome to attach your business card. If your product or service appeals to students a college campus usually has scads of bulletin boards where you can display your card. When placing your card on such public bulletin boards always try to pin your card as near the top and the centre of the board horizontally as you can possibly get it.

If you repair appliances, automobiles, or any other item made of metal, have your business cards produced on a "magnet" and stick them to the backs of the appliances or under the hood of the cars you work on. You will be almost assured of being called the next time the appliance, car, etc. needs repair.

With more and more computers in homes and offices, however watch yourself closely about where you place the "magnet" business card. Get one too close to a computer or computer disk and you can quickly cause a loss of valuable data. A magnet in effect erases or scrambles a computer disk when it is brought in near proximity.

So, if your business is one which makes it effective to attach your business card to computers or anything near computers... have your cards produced in a "peel and stick" format and attach them to the back or the computer, appliance, or whatever you work on. Here are some other very effective, profitable ways to distribute your business card.

A friend of ours named Jim is a real estate agent in Dallas. Jim specialises in selling high priced homes. He writes a hand-written note on the back of his business card... "please call me when you're ready to buy or sell a home." Then, when Jim is approaching the freeway toll booth, he always tries to be right ahead of a late model luxury automobile... a Mercedes, Jag, Caddie, or Lexus. Jim pays his toll to enter the expressway, then hands the toll-taker two extra dollars and his business card. With a big smile he tells the toll-taker, "I'm also paying for the car behind me, please hand them this card." Our friend reports the tactic so effective he has been known to pay the toll, get off at the first exit and return several times each day!

This one idea produces all the new business Jim can take care of. His idea is so unique that his name and phone number spreads rapidly via word of mouth, as well as the listings and sales he gets directly from the people who receive his card.

 A similar card distribution idea is to watch for parking meters about to expire. Put a coin in the meter and your business card on the window on the driver's side of the car (NEVER under the windshield wiper.) Again, a hand-written note should be on the back of your card. "I fed your expired meter, please call me when you need me again!"

Another very effective business card distribution idea is to spend an hour or so in your local public library. Put a batch of your business cards in your pocket. Go to the shelf which contains books related to your business. Move slowly, appear very inconspicuous, and place your business card into every book on the shelf related to your business. We know a stock broker who uses this ploy very successfully every month or six weeks. He inserts his card into every book about stocks and bonds, retirement plans, investments, etc. in his main library as well as in several branches across town.

This guy tells us he finds it most effective to place his card at the start of the table of contents in the front of the books, or at the index in the back. This business card distribution idea will be super profitable for you whether you're a stock broker, real estate agent, automobile salesman, home repair contractor, doctor, lawyer, or "Indian Chief." You'll easily find dozens of books on the library shelf related to your business. Try this and take note of how your profits jump almost immediately.

Every time you eat in a restaurant, always leave an ABOVE average tip attached to your business card with a hand written note "thanks for the excellent service!" You'll be surprised at how many people to whom your waiter and waitress will recommend your product or service!

Always enclose your business card anytime you write a letter to anyone. Include a card with every bill you pay by mail.

Whatever you sell, at the closing moments of EVERY sale you make, give your customer three business cards with this request. "Here is a card for you and two for your friends. You WILL give them to a couple of your friends and recommend my product/service, won't you?" Always nod your head up and down in acceptance as you hand your customer the cards. Better yet is to hand the three cards to your customer and say, "these cards will get you and your two best friends a 10% discount on my product/service. You WILL give these two extra cards to your two best friends, won't you?"

If you are a member of a health or exercise club, ask the receptionist if you can leave a small stack of cards on the check-in desk. They will very seldom refuse.

Anytime you spend money for anything, anywhere, hand the sales clerk a card and say: "I've brought you some business today to help pay your salary, now please help me in the same way."