I’ve addressed the purpose of the business card and the strong points in the Rebound Designs business card. Now it’s time to look at how this card could do even more to get potential clients to take the next step. The original card is above and the mock-up of the redesign recommendation below. Please note that the mock-up is a rough cut to illustrate the concepts I’ll discuss here. It doesn’t reflect a finished, professional design.

How can this card be improved to attract more business, considering the 3 key marketing principles introduced in the prior post?

“What’s in it for ME?”
Although the bag photo and the tagline are very engaging, they don’t get a lot of space on the card. The contact info, which doesn’t promote benefits to the customer, gets nearly ¼ of the available space. In the revised concept I’ve developed, you see a lot more card space devoted to the photo, the tag and a new headline under the bag. “Held any good books lately?” is meant to create some intrigue and a little joke the reader gets on “read any good books lately”

Desirable Distinction
The photo size and text changes are important here, but there are some more subtle things going on as well. Repurposing books is about taking the old and making it fresh. The original card has a serif font (see the “foot” at the bottom of the R in “Rebound” and the “flag” at the top of the “d,” if you’re not familiar with that term). These fonts are generally viewed as more traditional or conservative, appropriate for a business about old books. But here I’ve added a second font that’s more styled for some of the text. This additional font shows how the business brings something new.

The diagonal cut of the space under the photo on the front and below the logo on the back also suggests something a little different. The vertical card orientation is no longer unusual, so it’s non-traditional without being radical.

Call to action
Now you’ll see a direct call to action. “Explore the collection” invites people to the web site to see more of the work. The site’s job is then to reinforce the product benefits and make the sale! “Explore” appeals to book-lovers who love to discover something new and wonderful. “Collection” likens the book bags to the books themselves and subtly implies you may want a collection of your own.

Do your business cards collect clients or gather dust? What questions do you have about business cards or other areas of design?

If you’d like your business card redesigned to get better results, watch for my very special offer coming this Wednesday.

Let’s look again at the Rebound Designs business card and see how well it achieves its purpose in getting people to take the next step. To evaluate it, I’ll use three key marketing concepts:

•    “What’s in it for ME?” Does the communication appeal to target clients by making clear to them the benefit in taking action?
•    Desirable Distinction. Is it clear what’s different, so the potential client will do business here instead of elsewhere?
•    Call to action. Does the piece ask the potential client to take the next step?

So how does the Rebound Designs card stack up?

What’s in it for me?
The book bag photo shows the attractive, unusual product being offered. The tag line “A second chance for well-loved books” also draws in the book-lover. Maybe this is someone who wants to reflect her love of reading in a unique fashion. Or maybe she feels a little sad about treasured volumes gathering dust on shelves, or worse yet being thrown out. The card conveys the customer benefits nicely.

Desirable Distinction
The identity is very tight, from the Rebound Designs name, which plays on both rebound / recycle and re-binding, to the heart logo that reflects the love of books and the sewing that gives them another life.

Call to Action
Like most business cards, this one provides all the contact information for people to learn more and buy. It doesn’t have any text that directly requests the reader to move forward, however.

Overall, a strong card. In my next post, I’ll look at how it could be even better.

Earlier this week, I attended Artomatic, a major art festival in Washington, D.C. I enjoyed an amazing variety of creative expression. I also looked for examples of good marketing communications.

At left you’ll see a two-sided business card I picked up for Rebound Designs. It does a lot of things right. I’ll use this card to talk about business cards in this post and two to follow.  First, I’ll talk about the role of the business card and what it can do for you. Then I’ll point out some of the strong points in the Rebound Designs card, Finally, I’ll offer suggestions for improving that card, including showing you a mock-up of a redesign.

So what’s the purpose of the business card? Historically business cards were just a way of sharing contact information. But they can be mini-ads that do more to promote what you offer. The one thing the business card should do is help convince people to take the next step with you.

Let’s say you had a lengthy conversation with someone at an event and she’s interested in what you offer. You both agreed that it would be worthwhile for her to check out your web site, and then sign-up for your email list. Seems like you’ve done all the work, so what do you need from the card?

Well, you probably know what it’s like when you go to an event and come back with a lot of cards. And now you’re also facing stacks of to-dos back in the rest of your life. Do you always follow-up on everything that sounded so exciting maybe just an hour ago? I know I don’t. I look at what I’ve gathered and decide which ones represent the most fun, value, information or whatever I’m looking for at the moment. I bet you and most other people do the same. So the purpose of your card is to remind people why they absolutely want to make it a priority to take the next step with your business!

Other times your card has to work even harder. Maybe you met someone quickly on an elevator or a plane, or spoke briefly at a party. Now the card has to give more of a picture of what’s great about your business to motivate that person to act.

What kind of invitation does your business card give? Does it get people to take the next step? Don’t miss my next post covering some of the strengths of the Rebound Designs card. The post after that will show you how to make a good card can be even better!

Whether you’re a raw food coach, raw food chef or restaurant owner or holistic health professional, or your raw lifestyle has you serving the world in some other great way, your business is a celebration of human potential! But will your marketing communications make people as inspired about what you do as you are?

Hopefully you’re not sending out an invitation like the one at left. But some sites do. How would you feel if you received an invitation like this? What would you think about the party behind this invitation? Would you rush to RSVP yes to this party? How about a business with a similarly poor quality site?

Usually the problems are more subtle than sloppy layout, clashing colors and illegible fonts. A brochure or web site may be beautiful, but not provide information in a way that’s compelling. Whether it’s copy that doesn’t speak to a reader’s needs or layout that’s confusing, the communication isn’t doing its job – to attract clients. Many designers fall into this trap, because they don’t have the background in marketing to understand how to motivate people to act. Design without marketing is just pretty pictures!

That’s a big part of why I got into design. I originally got involved in vegan advocacy and was really saddened to see some of the promotional materials that I knew would fall flat. It’s tough when you really believe in something, know people are working so hard to spread the word, but understand that what they’re doing will fall so much short of the potential. Now I want the world to experience the amazing benefits of raw food and I see many of the same mistakes.

So how can you make sure that your business is sending an invitation that gets people to say yes?

• Continue to look at invitations coming your way for products, services, events and other offerings. Don’t just focus on raw, as the best marketing practices may not always be in our field. What works and what doesn’t and why? Jot down some ideas that can work for you.

• Seek out materials for businesses that are similar to yours. Are you going to an event where you can pick up business cards, brochures, promotional mailers or other print materials to evaluate how well others promote their services and what you can learn? How about visiting sites, looking at ebook covers, checking out ezines and searching out other online design to see what others like you are doing?

Then you can begin an initial review of your own communications. How well do your logo, business card, blog, web site, ebook covers, etc. invite people to your business? (If you’re not so pleased with your current design, keep in mind Maya Angelou’s quote, “when we know better, we do better.”) Rather than make any quick changes – unless there’s something drastically wrong – I recommend you stick with the information I’m providing in this blog and be sure to sign-up for my FREE report coming in July “How to Avoid Costly Design Mistakes: 10 Key Questions You Must Answer BEFORE You Get Creative.” You’ll soon have the critical information you need to successfully rework old communications and add new ones, whether you’re doing it all yourself or working with a designer.

Be sure to read this blog on Wednesday for a very special invitation to work with me on a blog banner, ebook cover, web site review or other design service in July. If you’ve signed up for my newsletter, you’ll receive notice directly and get the first opportunity to take advantage of this opportunity.

You arranged a beautiful setting, put on a great outfit and, of course, prepared fabulous, enticing raw food. And then you sat and waited, because you forgot to send out the invitations.

Your business is that amazing party. You’ve been inspired by raw foods and now you want to share your special gift with the world. But unless you invite the right people in the right way, you’ll be celebrating alone.

Design is the look of your invitation. Marketing addresses who you send it to, what you say and much more. Together, they reach out to people who would just love to be your client and benefit from all you have to offer… if you only made sure they knew about how wonderful it will be.

Maybe you’re like a lot of people who hear “marketing” and assume it’s something bad. Don’t big companies spend millions of dollars to get people to buy carefully produced and packaged products that do more harm than good? Sure. But like a hammer that can be used to break a window or build a house, marketing is simply a tool. Its impact depends on the intention and skills of the person in charge.

And design’s just artsy stuff, right? Not at all! Great design gets people to take action by using color, images, fonts and layout to communicate your invitation in just the right way.

As an inspired raw professional, you have the right intention. Now you can learn a better way to make your business the biggest party ever. This blog will give you ideas, images and tips to help you –
• Decide who might love to join the festivities
• Let them know why they’ll have a great time
• Design compelling invitations that engage and delight your potential guests

What if a friend gave a fantastic party and you weren’t invited? When you don’t have strong design and marketing, you’re leaving out people whose lives could be enriched by the expertise, experience and enthusiasm reflected in your products and services.

In upcoming entries, I’ll clarify the difference between design and marketing. I’ll also show you why it’s essential that you focus on both in in order to maximize the impact of your web site, business cards, mail pieces, ezine, ebook covers and other promotion elements.

Designed to Inspire
What businesses have extended an exciting invitation to you with their design? What’s worked and why? How might you apply that in your own efforts? Capture your ideas in your business plan, time management system or journal.

Photo of me, Caryn Ginsberg, by Dad and Mom more years ago than I care to admit. Balloon background created from photo copyright istockphoto.com/ChristopherBernard.