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Do Online Marketers Need Business Cards?
by Diana Ratliff
You’ve probably heard this
before. In fact, you may very well have SAID this
before: “Oh, I don’t need business cards. I do most of
my business online.”
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That seems like a pretty safe assumption.
After all, one of the advantages of
conducting business online is the reduction in conventional paperwork
and
printing costs. If your prospect is in Australia and you’re
in the United States
(which is certainly possible over the Internet) the odds are pretty
slim that you’re
ever going to meet and exchange business cards in person.
However, like many assumptions, this
particular one is worth examining more
closely. Should you, as an online marketer, use business cards? (For
that
matter, OTHER offline marketing methods, too?) It depends on your
answer to
these questions:
• Is everybody who might *possibly*
have an interest in your business currently
--online?
• If yes, do they know how to find your
site?
• Will they be able to find your site
six months from now?
• Is your site getting all the traffic
you can handle?
• Does everyone you discuss
your business with around town have a pen and
--paper handy so they can write down your URL?
If the answer to ANY of these is
*No*, you could use traditional printed business
cards very profitably.
Business cards are among the most
versatile, affordable,portable, & accepted
marketing tools you can use. You meet people all the time: at church,
the
grocery store, the school function, the tradeshow, and so on. One
of the first
questions you're probably asked is "So, what do you do for a
living?" You tell the person about your online business, don't
you?
Now ask yourself this. Suppose you
spell out your website address. Do you
think they'll remember it after the game or after the meeting, when
they get back
to their computer and actually have a few minutes to go check it
out? Not much
chance.
And say your product or service intrigues
them, but they have no need of it now.
Could they find your site again in a few weeks or a few months? Maybe,
if they
remembered to bookmark your site. No guarantees, though. And they
probably
won’t bookmark your site anyway if they don’t anticipate
the need for your
product or service in the near future.
So a business card would sure be
a handy way to give that person your URL.
And if your URL changes, they might even be able to find you the
old-fashioned
way (through your postal address or phone number!)
A business card is also a terrific
way to generate more interest in your site,
simply because there are so many ways to prospect creatively with
business
cards. You can tuck a card with your URL on it in all your *snail
mail*. You can
introduce yourself with your card. You can tuck your card in related
books at the
library. You can post your card on bulletin boards. And you can hand
your card
directly to that really hot prospect you just met, with a big sincere
smile and
a firm handshake.
Finally, like it or not, having a
business card legitimizes your business in some
people’s eyes. It’s concrete evidence that your business
is real and that you
take it seriously.
So do you, as an online marketer,
need business cards? Only if you want more
business.
Copyright 2003, Diana Ratliff. All
rights reserved. Diana Ratliff <diana@dratliff.com> is a nationally
published writer, entrepreneur,
and BizCard Guru. Browse the web’s largest (and growing) collection
of
business-card-related information at http://www.businesscarddesign.com
Then
order gorgeous, full-color cards at http://www.bizcardguru.com
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