Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

39 ways to hand out your business cards

Jemi

Welcome to the world of networking. Business cards are the most inexpensive way to get your name out there. They are small, thin, and easy to give out. Your name, contact, website, and slogan tell the prospect all they need to know about you and your business. You can get 500 for less than $60 in colour. This means when you have successfully handed out your 500 cards, that’s 500 people that didn’t know about you before. There’s no telling what this can do for your business. If you try these 39 ideas on a regular, you’ll see more traffic to your website, and more referrals coming your way.

  1. Post them on community bulletin boards (churches, laundromats, grocery stores, etc)
  2. Place them in thank you cards, birthday cards, anniversary cards to your clients with your handwritten notes
  3. Make sure you have more than enough to hand out at networking events
  4. Attach business cards to all your bags with products
  5. Place them at the bottom of gifts
  6. For an event place them in goodie bags to hand out
  7. Punch a hole in the corner of each business card and attach them to sucker to hand out
  8. Look for businesses that have a community table where you can place a stack of business cards for their customers to take
  9. Deliver them to mail boxes
  10. Before presentations, attach them to each folder
  11. Make sure you have an electronic copy as your signature of each e-mail
  12. Use your electronic copy as a banner for your social media platforms
  13. Place them on windshield wipers
  14. Place them in bathroom stalls
  15. Add them to your invoices
  16. When you are out running errands, use this opportunity to meet new prospects and exchange numbers. Hand out your business card
  17. Have a card display attached to your car with your business cards
  18. Attach your business cards to balloons at an event and hand them out
  19. Keep samples in individual bags with your card in each of them. Get their information in exchange for your samples
  20. Have a referral system with professionals similar to you but are not your competition. You keep their cards, and they keep yours and together you spread your business
  21. At networking events have your card in a clear plastic name tag
  22. At an event, hand out water bottles. Punch a hole in the top right hand corner of your business cards and tie with a string to each water bottle
  23. Glue your card to clothes pins and pin your card everywhere
  24. Stick your card onto a magnet and hand them out
  25. Give a few cards to friends and family to hand out for you
  26. Ask your good customers for referrals. Give them cards to hand out for you and for every business transaction that comes from a customer, give them a discount.
  27. Throw a party, hand out your cards to your guests
  28. Place them in individually wrapped bags with candy and hand them out
  29. Get mini cards and hole punch them for your customers to add to their key chains
  30. Canvas to restaurants and small businesses, and introduce yourself and your products
  31. When you leave a tip, give your business card with a thank you note
  32. Give your child(ren) to hand out your business cards at events. No one can resist cute children!
  33. Wear a clear lanyard  around your neck at all times with your business card
  34. Keep business cards in stands on tables or counters from businesses in your area. Make sure you make good connections with these business owners and recommend their business whenever you can
  35. Place them in books at your library related to your business
  36. Stick them in free newspapers
  37. Go door-to-door and introduce yourself with your business cards and products
  38. Stick them on a hat as a creative way to attract interest to you
  39. Bring a brightly covered basket of your products in crowded places and when people ask you about them, give them your card

Hope these ideas will inspire you to get out there and meet new prospects! For more information call Jemi Echevarria at (647)785-5851 or e-mail her at jemiechevarria@gmail.com.

What’s in a name? 6 tips for choosing the right company name

Evelyn Senyi

Choosing your organization’s name is probably one of the most important decisions you will make when starting your business. The identity you choose will be the public face of the company and your primary marketing tool. Choose correctly and your company will prosper. Choose incorrectly and you may lose valuable time and energy in your marketing efforts.

 

The name of your business should convey what you do or sell, the culture of the company and what makes it unique. With all this is mind, choosing the right name can be a daunting task.

 

30 years ago naming your business was as complicated as checking with your local business bureau to see if the name already existed and searching the federal trademark database. Now you have to take into consideration web domains, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages. There are millions of small businesses across the internet that you have to contend with for web addresses, search rankings and social media clout. It’s not easy to find unclaimed digital real estate.

 

To succeed in choosing the right name that is unique and available, you need to think outside the box.

 

  • Do your research – first, see what else is out there in your industry. What types of names do the industry leaders have? Are they fun, serious or quirky? This will let you know what is accepted and expected in your field. Second, make sure that you don’t choose something that is already taken or very popular. This will make securing a domain name and search rankings in Google difficult.

 

  • Keep it simple – creativity is great, but make sure that your potential customers can pronounce and spell your name. Using long words from languages other than that of our business can cause confusion and make you hard to find (for example Abrakebabra). Simple names are easy to market and easy to remember.

 

  • Stick to real words – with so few original names left out there, marketers have taken to creating their own words. While for some (Instagram) this has worked, chances are it will backfire for most. Stick to real, traditionally spelled words when thinking of your name. Names that have no meaning are difficult to market without a lot of paid advertising and are hard to search for.

 

  • Don’t limit yourself – if you own a cafe on St. Peter’s Street it might be tempting to call yourself St. Peter’s Cafe, but what if you move? Alternatively calling yourself Bob’s Door Repair might limit you if you were ever to expand your business to more than just door repair. Be sure to choose a name that can withstand change and growth.

 

  • Use keywords – using keywords makes your business easier to find and more marketable online. It also helps customers determine what it is that you offer. East Coffee Company clearly sells coffee or coffee products, so it will be easier for their name to pop up when customers search for “coffee”.
  • Get input – you might think your name is great but you may not have looked at it from every angle. Words that have one meaning for you might mean something very different to someone else. Take the word dog. To some it might mean that cute little puppy down the street. To others it might be a derogatory word for a person they don’t like. Talking to people about your name will allow you to test how it may be received by the general public.

Whatever name you choose, make sure that YOU like it because hopefully you will be using it for a very long time. Make sure to do your homework and check your local business registry to see if the name is already taken.

Evelyn Senyi is a Toronto-based freelance writer, blogger and digital marketer. Through her passion for technology, solid writing skills and creative flare, Evelyn helps individuals, small businesses and not-for-profits share their stories. Visit her website at www.evelynsenyi.com to learn more about her services or follow her on Twitter @evelynsenyi

What’s in a name?

Jennifer J

We spend countless hours trying to figure out the perfect name for our business. It is important. The right name can help you be the talk of the town. A bad name can fade away and lead to obscurity. So how do you pick the perfect name? Do you name the business after yourself? Do you pick a name that describes your service or product? Or, do you create catchy new words like ‘Google’ or ‘Zappos’?  Determining what to name your business comes down to three things:

–          The industry your business is in;

–          What is the vision you have for your business; and

–          Your long term plan for your business.

If you plan to be the main commodity of your business, e.g. an expert in a particular field, a coach or a speaker, than you should name the business after you. Should you go on to produce books, products and pod casts, the only thing that isn’t changing is you. Naming your business after yourself allows your customer and clients to identify your expertise. You also have the flexibility of creating different products whilst not having to be locked in to just one.

Should your long term plans include selling your business one day, you should consider a name that describes your product or service. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. There are many businesses where the owner became the brand and the business was subsequently sold.  However, remember that if you intend to sell your business, the name is likely trademarked which prevents you from using the name for future ventures. This includes your own name.

When considering the name of your business, it is important to determine what it is you are trying to communicate. This can be determined by using your mission statement as a guide. Once you have this clearly defined, it is important to consider the following when creating a name:

–          Pick something that appeals to your niche and that your niche will identify with;

–          Something that is not too long and confusing;

–          Don’t use plain language that won’t stand out in a crowd;

–          Avoid clichés;

–          Avoid unusual spelling; and

–          Try and adopt a name that gives some information about your business.

Once you have picked a few names make sure to check whether your names have already been trademarked or are in use. You want to ensure you are not infringing on anyone else’s rights.Failure to do this could lead to legal battles down the line and significant money spent when it could have been avoided.

You also want to check if the domain name you’d like to use is still available. There’s nothing worse than coming up with a brilliant name only to find someone else has already purchased the domain.

Happy naming!

Jennifer Jampala is a budding entrepreneur, traveller and yogi. She is passionate about building businesses, relationships and experiences. Follow Jennifer on Twitter @JenniferJampala