Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog : Law firm marketing, legal editor, legal marketing, attorney marketing, business development, marketing consultant, legal consultant, business development

If you think business cards aren't important marketing tools, you're wrong, as reported by Kimberly Atkins in an interview with yours truly in Lawyers USA:  

"Yet too may lawyers simply stick to the old, outdated format of white card stock with a name and number printed in boring black letters. Bad idea, says Larry Bodine, business development advisor at Larry Bodine Marketing and owner of the popular legal marketing site www.LawMarketing.com."

"A business card is like a mini-capsule of yourself," Bodine says. "Why not make it interesting?"

"Here are his suggestions for doing just that:

1. Add some pizzazz.

One advantage that smaller firms have over their white shoe counterparts is the ability to break away from the old black-and-white, block-letter mold.

Use color to make your cards pop. Add memorable pictures, and think of printing cards portrait style instead of the traditional landscape shape. Try using a glossy finish and nontraditional fonts – just make sure they are professional and easily readable.

2. A name and number isn't enough.

Your cards should include things like Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles and twitter and blog addresses.

"Make an effort to show that you are technologically hip," Bodine says.

And of course, don't forget your firm website address and email address – you'd be surprised how many lawyers omit such crucial information.

3. Make them user-friendly.

Print lines on the back, which allows the receiver to jot down notes.

"I always record the date and where and when I met a contact on the back of a card I receive" for easier reference later, Bodine says.

Make it easy for your contacts to do the same.

4. Banish cards from the wallet.

No one wants to wait for you to rustle through your pants or jacket pocket for a wallet, then watch you rummage through money and pictures of your kids before handing them a beaten-up, dog-eared card.

"That blows any classy impression you were trying to make," Bodine says.

5. Make the experience special.

One hugely important – yet frequently overlooked – tool for good business card marketing: a card case.

Not only does it eliminate the wallet problem, but "when you pull a card out of a card container, people feel you are handing them something special," says Bodine.

A leather case, silver card holder or even something more adorned – some cases look like "pieces of jewelry" Bodine notes – makes the experience memorable for the receiver.