|
Beautiful ideas for home, living and self-care
delivered to your inbox
|
|
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 all my business online."
That seems like a pretty safe assumption, doesn't it? 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? Depends on your answer
to these questions
*Is everybody who might possibly have an interest in our 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, and
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 our 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" correspondence. 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.
|
|
