thanks for that buddy. tell me how can i make it better
Consider your cards as First Contact with a potential client and as a token that you want kept and passed on to the next potential client. Since relatively speaking business cards are cheap advertising you should be blanketing your service area with them in any possible spot that potential clients could come into contact with them. You should also be giving them out like candy and everyone gets at least two, I do three, with one to keep and one to share.
Now for the forgetable part. We have gotten the cards into contact with clients, you are doing the shoe leather marketing I assume, now why would they stop for half a minute and pick up your card? Your card has to stand out as should you if you get the opportunity to meet this potential client.
I once kept a business card in my wallet for years until it absolutely fell apart. It wasn't as if this service provider was a contact that I needed on a regular basis. Actually a client may have only needed to contact him once every ten years or so. This guy was a forestry consultant that my father hired to look over our timber, basically a one time service call. What made his card stand out to me as a timber owner was that it was printed on walnut veneer not card stock. I just was amazed at the wood and grain and like I said I kept it for years and I must have pulled it out and shown it off the dozens and dozens of folks.
I love it when a call comes in and starts with "I have your card here" or "I picked up your card at". That tells me that my cards are working for me, think of it as a baited trap set that is working for you.
There are alot of options out there, some gimmicky and some not so much. You can go all out with plastics, metals, odd shapes and forms but you don't have to go to extremes if you use good quality card stock and good eye appeal but it does have to have appeal and draw to be memorable or kept for future use. I've heard of trappers using trap tags as a card and one that appeals to me though I haven't done it is a company that makes "wooden nickel" cards.
These are mine, I use heavy stock and gloss printing for the pictures with rounded edges to make them different than the run of the mill cards you see. The logo card is printed on heavy matte stock for the classic look but does use color intead of the classic black ink.







Notice I use the backs of the card to add additional useful info as well.