Just because we live in a digital world does not mean that business cards are a thing of the past. They are still important — both for you to have and to collect.

You might be asking, “Why gather business cards? I’ll just find the person on Facebook.”

True, you can do this. But at a networking event, do you actually get into your Facebook account during a conversation, find the person, and send him or her a connection request? And if you’re at a business meeting, a trade show, or looking for sponsors, Facebook is not where you should be starting. LinkedIn is the place you want to be connected.

Collecting contacts through business cards allows you to easily find the person on LinkedIn. If the person changes his or her job or email, the address you have will no longer work. If you are connected on LinkedIn, you can still easily connect. As well, you can search LinkedIn by titles, by business, and locations, which is so helpful.

Thanks to digital technology, you needn’t worry about storing collections of received business cards. You can use apps on your phone like Card Scan to enter people into your contacts (and then follow up by making that connection more permanent through LinkedIn).

It is not only important to collect business cards, it is important to share your card at events. Effective business cards serve as tangible prompts to help people follow up, remember your brand, and remind people who you are and what you do.

If you have a storefront location, make sure you have business cards by the till/register. If you do not have a storefront location, make sure you bring business cards with you and have extra in your car and briefcase. They are such a low cost item to print, yet every event I speak at and every business or networking event I attend, I am always surprised by how often I hear, “Sorry, I ran out of cards,” or “So sorry, I forgot my cards at home.”

To make your business card effective, be sure the font of your card is readable without a magnifying glass. From the events I attend, I often receive cards that have great images and look pretty, but you can’t read anything on the card… so into the recycle bin for those. There is a quote that comes to mind: “How you do something is how you do everything.” Don’t leave people with the impression that you are forgetful, unorganized, or do not check your work for readability.

So yes, business cards are still a thing.

~ Charmaine Hammond, Raise a Dream


About Raise a Dream: Charmaine Hammond, CSP, and Rebecca Kirstein helps authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs raise their dreams, launch their books, and make a bigger difference in the world through collaboration, partnership, and sponsorship. Charmaine is a 4-time best-selling author with five books and is authored in seven others. You can follow Raise a Dream at:

Website: www.raiseadream.com
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Download your free sponsorship ebook from www.raiseadream.com.