metal business cards

8 Important Business Card Rules

At Designit4free.com, we help to create thousands of professional business cards every week. As we’ve pointed out previously, a business card is one of the most important tools that a business has; they’re also an incredibly affordable option when it comes to marketing. Businesses often miss the opportunity to make a great impression if they choose to use an unprofessional or poorly looking card which is likely to end up in the trash.

Your business can rise above bad marketing tactics by following these eight business card rules:

1: Hand Out a Card That Stands Out From the Rest
The majority of business cards out there are quite boring and are easily forgotten. You want to hand out a card that both looks and feels great so that your business is remembered even after your first encounter with a prospective business associate or customer. There is no good reason for a business to choose unattractive or unprofessional-looking business cards.

2: Avoid a Mysterious Business Card
You have to ask yourself the question: when you hand someone your business card, can can they tell immediately what your business does? If your card does not make it clear what you do, later on down the road, the recipient will not remember who you are or why they have the card; this will result in less calls or referrals for your business.

3: Never Present a Poor Quality Card
DIY business cards may seem like a cheaper option, but they truly show that you have not taken pride in your company with respect to how you market. People who do not have a background in art, design, or printing will often attempt to print business cards them themselves or order them from a cheap, online company that preys on businesses who want to save a buck. Upon first glance they may look okay – good use of colors, fonts and a simple layout. But usually what ends up happening is the card feels cheaply made and has other quality issues, such as perforations around the sides or other defects. You should never skimp on money when it comes to your business card! You want to have premium card stock, a print that doesn’t bleed from a drop of water, a professional embossed logo, and the card should feel great in the hands of the recipient.

Remember that a poor quality business card will imply that a business has poor quality products and services.

4: Small Print is Not Better
Do your business cards have a font size that is so small that you will also need to hand out a magnifying glass in order for people to read them? Sure, you may be able to cram more information onto your cards with a small font, but what is the point when the recipient cannot read them? Unfortunately, when you use a DIY printing company, you will not be sure what size to use, or how much information is too much. Your business card should be your elevator speech, and your professionally designed, custom website that is listed on your card should say the rest.

5: Less is More
Do not go for an oversized business card, that’s what a brochure is for! A traditional and standard business card will easily fit in wallets or most business card holders. You may think that an oversized card will help you stand out but most people find it annoying and inconvenient. If you really want your business cards to shine brighter than the rest, consider something with more bling such as a card with glitter, foil, or embossed accents. Or get really daring with die cut, plastic, or 4D lenticular business cards.

6: Clutter is Never a Good Thing
You’ll be hard pressed to find a person who enjoys clutter, and the last thing you want is for your business to scream “we’re unorganized!” Your business cards do not need to contain every detail about you or your company; that’s what websites and social media are supposed to do for you. Too much print is hard to read, looks sloppy and is very unprofessional. Send all of the important information to your graphic designer, and he or she will help you to figure out what is necessary to make your pitch successful and allow prospects to contact you in the future.

7: Provide a Unique Selling Proposition
Most businesses miss the opportunity of using their business cards to their full marketing potential. Your cards should list at least one powerful reason that a customer should do business with you. Why are you the best? What services do you offer that no one else does? And be sure to work with a graphic designer who is willing to help you come up with a way to word your cards for maximum marketing power.

8: Business Cards That Sit Around
What good is having a box of business cards laying around if all they’re doing is collecting dust? It’s important to remember the old saying “use it or lose it” and you cannot afford to lose business! Never forget to take a good supply of cards with you everywhere you go. Be sure to hand them out when appropriate, and give out more than one so that you can get referrals. Make sure you do not forget to reorder your supply so you never have to worry about being the business owner who says “sorry, I don’t have any cards left.”

If you’re unsure how to get started, let our professional graphic designers and content creators help you make the best first impression with your business cards. Not only can we bring your design idea to reality, we can also create something special from scratch. Contact us at 323-391-4253 or email us at info@designit4.com so we can help.

We Have a New Location in Las Vegas!

Designit4free.com is now the closest business card and marketing material printer to the Las Vegas Strip!

We print: business cards, postcards, tri-fold brochures, metal cards, plastic cards, event flyers, club flyers, all-access passes, vip cards, luxury business cards, envelopes. We also print door hangers, rack cards, menus, magazines and catalogs, folding cards and much more. 

We are the fastest supplier of print products, trade show products and printing to the Las Vegas Convention Center and Sans Expo Center.

Our new location also prints materials for parties, conferences, weddings, wedding receptions, dances, trade shows, conventions, car shows, and sports events. Banners, flags, tradeshow booths, corrugated plastic signs, posters, retractable banners, vehicle graphics, and window lettering.

Easy, quick delivery guaranteed to all hotels: Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Tropicana, New York New York, MGM Grand, Park MGM, Planet Hollywood, Aria, Vdara, Cosmopolitan, Polo Towers, Paris, Belagio, Caesar’s Palace, Ballys, Flamingo, Harris, Linq, the Venetian, Palazzo, the Mirage, Treasure Island, Wynn and Encore.

And we deliver quickly to Fremont Street: locations including the D, Golden Nugget, the Plaza Hotel, Downtown Grand, and we also deliver to Summerlin and Henderson!



You don’t need to use design templates because we have professional, talented free graphic designers that handle every job!


We handle runs from 25 prints to 250,000 prints, so no job is too big or too small.

Call or email for quote! We are open 24/7.

If you’re in town for a convention and forgot your business cards, we can help print new cards for you quickly!


Find Out More by Visiting:

4 Business Card Etiquette Tips

In this day and age, one bad business move could put your professional image at risk. The rule of thumb is that you have a total of thirty seconds to make your best, first impression. And according to proven psychological analysis, people are going to judge you not only by appearances, but by how they feel at the first meeting. And it’s not just about the way you dress, or how attractive you are, many people who decide to do business with you are judging you based on your networking techniques. And they make the decision fairly quickly. You do not have a lot of time to waste, and you certainly do not want to hand over a pixelated, terribly printed business card that you designed yourself in order to save a few bucks. Here are a few tips for business card etiquette that you can use in order to stand out from the competition and land the deal:

  1. Do Not Hand Over Poorly Made Marketing Materials

    There are print companies out there who use cheap pricing tactics to reel in unsuspecting customers; they will make incredible offers like “500 business cards for $9.99” and just as the saying goes, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” - in this case, it is. These companies expect you, the non-artist, the person who knows nothing about graphic design, to design your own business cards. Upon first glance, it may seem easy, but something as simple as not understanding how color works on a computer screen versus on printed material, can ruin your card. Also things like not knowing how to set the dimensions of logos and fonts, can have your card looking like it was printed from your own computer. Immediately your business associates or potential customers will judge you as not taking pride in your work, and will pass you over for someone more professional. In this case, it’s better to spend a little more up front, and get free, custom graphic design that guarantees your cards will be the best in the bunch!

  2. Never Interrupt a Conversation to Hand Over Your Business Card

    For one, people who are engaged in a conversation will be distracted by you handing over a card and walking away. More than likely, the card will be ignored because you did not engage with the recipient in a meaningful way. It’s better to wait for their conversation to be finished, so that you may properly introduce yourself and your business. This is a great opportunity to stand out from others who are merely handing out cards and moving on…especially if your card is better than the others.

  3. Use Smart Business Cards That Will Stand Out From the Rest

    Most people go for standard business cards, and while there is nothing wrong with wanting to keep it simple, opting for a magnetic business card that will last a long time might be a better option. Even considering a business card sticker, will prove to have more longevity than a plain card. You can still have a simplistic design, but a card with a magnet or sticker is unlikely to be ignored. But if you really wan’t to stand out from all of the boring cards that are being handed out, you could consider a dynamic, die cut business card, or a card that is printed with bold foil accents. Whatever you choose, if you select options that make your card nicer than the others, yours is less likely to end up in the trash.

  4. Utilize a Unique Logo and Design

    Your business cards and marketing materials such as brochures and postcards should be treated as the gems of your business…after all, these are your advertising tools and represent your image and words long after you have verbally given your pitch. When you purchase a logo from a basic print company that offers discount cards, you are not getting something custom made for business, you are just getting a standard, copyright-free logo that may have been used by other companies. Business associates and customers can tell the difference between a brand who takes pride in their image versus one who does not. You are essentially doing your business an injustice by not hiring a professional graphic designer to design a unique logo and marketing materials. Successful companies have a recognizable logo that represents their brand and what they stand for. Your business is just as good as theirs and deserves nothing but the best.

Customer Referral Program

Word of mouth is great for everyone involved: you get to have a conversation with a friend or an associate about print and design services that were helpful for you; they in turn get an opportunity to try something new and exciting with their business cards and marketing supplies, and Designit4free.com gets a chance to do our best work for all of you! It could even be a quick way for work-at-home people to make some extra cash on the side.

For every new customer that you bring in that orders $200 or more, we will give you $30! This is for the entire life of the new customer account!

That means every time the new customer reorders with us or spends over $200 on each order, you will get $30 commission for each of those orders! If the new customer orders 1 set of $200 business cards, you get $30. If they order 2 sets of $200 business cards, you get $60! And so on. Just have the new referral give us your information and email us so that we know you sent someone our way.

Since all of our print products include free graphic design and *shipping, all day, every day, why not share this excellent deal with someone you know? Have your friends and associates contact us today!