Magnetic Business Cards: Make Your Marketing Message Stick
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? 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.
Putting Magnetic Business Cards to Work for You
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 magnetic business cards to fridges, filing cabinets,
vending machines, appliances, cars, lockers, and just about
any other metal surface.
When
your 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 countless minutes
or hours flipping through the yellow pages trying to pick
one company to fulfill their needs. With their 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. All I know is that they don't move from the prominent
spots they were placed months or years ago.
Creating
Magnetized Business Cards
Now
that you know the positive effects that magnetic business
cards can have for your company, what's the best way to obtain
them?
Option
1: Buy stick-on magnets and attach them to the back your current
business cards
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.
Option
2: Buy magnetized business card stock from your local office
supply store and print them yourself
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...
Option
3: Have your magnetic business cards professionally printed
by a commercial print shop
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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