The best practices for using your business card include:

• First of all, be sure that you carry your cards with you at all times—keep a stack in your desk, your car, your briefcase or purse, and your wallet. This will ensure that you always have a card available when you meet someone who should have one!
• Take your business cards with you to business meetings, networking events, conferences, trade shows—everywhere you go that’s business related. And be sure to take some with you to the gym, the grocery store—you never know where you’ll meet a potential client.
• Don’t pass business cards out at random—wait until you’ve made a connection with someone or until you’ve been asked for it. Making a connection with a prospect will lead to a sale far more often than just “dealing cards” to everyone you meet.
• Include a copy of your card with correspondence or packages—it automatically puts a “business spin” on all of the mail you send out. It also provides a backup return address, in case the envelope has been damaged or thrown away.
• Give stacks of your cards to business partners and other possible sources of referral and business partners, so that they can hand them out when they’re telling people about your services—it makes the referral more likely to produce results.

About the Author: Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity packages, Erin helps her clients discover their brand differentiators, then designs logos, business cards, and other marketing materials and websites to reflect that differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and memorability. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping small business owners stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Hundreds of small business owners across the US and Canada have relied on Erin to create content and visuals that support their brands. www.elf-design.com