Seven Trends in Blogger Business Cards
It’s Day 3 of Bloggy B-Card Week! If you missed it, be sure to catch Monday’s post about what to put on a blogger business card and yesterday’s guest post If That’s Your Business Card, I Can’t Wait to See Your Blog.
Whether or not you’re the trend setting type, it’s still good to know what bloggy b-card snazziness is going on out there. As we move closer towards Friday’s blogger business card showcase, I wanted to share seven big trends I saw last week at the Type A Parent Conference.
1. Folded Cards
Tons of bloggers are using folded cards as a way to add more info to a card without overcrowding it. I didn’t see any cards that were fully folded but rather cards with folds that partially covered the full-sized card underneath. These are fun because they’re interactive, giving the recipient a little something to do. Hello, memorable!
This card is from Stacey at Tree, Root, and Twig.
2. Rounded Corners
While I’ve always been a fan of rounded corners on ANYTHING, they’ve definitely made their way into the business card scene as well. Rounded cards do cost more but if you’re the DIY type, you can buy a scrapbooking punch that rounds corners and punch them out yourself (I did this to two sides of my cards).
This card is the back of Amy Bradley-Hole’s card who blogs at Be Better Branding.
3. Matte Cards
Yesterday, guest poster Fadra wrote about the differences between glossy, matte and uncoated. While I saw a bit of everything at the conference, matte was definitely the most popular. It has a nice sheen to it but it’s easier to write on that gloss (for you card-writer-on-ers). It’s color is also more vibrant than uncoated.
Although it’s hard to tell in a scanned image, Amy from A Million Boxes has a nice matte card.
4. Double-Sided Cards
We all know you don’t just blog. You tweet, manage a Facebook fan page and generally just have a whole lot to say. Enter the double-sided business card. Use two sides so you can share more content or even just to add a visual element to your card.
Speaking of that Fadra chick, here’s her two-sided card for All Things Fadra.
5. Pictures on Cards
Pictures on cards were definitely a hit at Type A. But it doesn’t have to be just a headshot of yourself. Some bloggers showed pictures of their kids while others showed an image from their blog or a product they sold. Pictures sizes ranged from small headshots to images that took up an entire side of a card.
I really like how Catherine from Evolving Mommy used an image of herself that took up the entire card without being overbearing.
6. Blocks on Color on One Side
You won’t see many bloggers with plain white business cards these days. Most cards I received had some color to them. The ones that popped the most were the double-sided cards with a solid block of color on one side. Most of them used a white background on the side with their main contact info and then used a nice hunk of color on the other side.
Sheila’s from Clever Girls shows this off nicely.
7. QR Codes
QR codes were the hot thing at the conference. Not only were they on business cards, I even saw someone with a QR card embroidered on the back of her shirt!
Here’s the back of my business card (yes, I know about the space between EV and ERYDAY… it was a printing error and fresh ones are coming my way). Anyway, my QR code leads to a sign-up for my newsletter. Tomorrow, I’ll show you even more ways you can use them.
UPDATE: Eh, let’s make this more like six things because since I originally wrote this post, QR codes have all but disappeared. Why? They’re cumbersome to open. It’s better to just create a custom bit.ly link with an easy-to-remember URL and print that.
In addition to these seven trends, I saw some other interesting ideas for cards: cards with a shimmery cardstock, mini-cards, square cards and even a clear card. Lots of people also had About.Me cards that were printed free from Moo.com. You’ll see samples of all these types on Friday’s B-Card Showcase.
Where Can You Buy Blogger Business Cards?
MOO Business Cards (this link will get you free samples so you can test them out)
Tiny Prints (lots of great templates)
By the way, a few of these links are affiliate links but I hope the content I provided was worthy of a click.
This post was part of a week-long series of blogger business cards. If you want more b-card goodness, check out What to Put on a Blog Business Card, If That’s Your Business Card, I Can’t Wait to See Your Blog, QR Code Ideas for Business Cards and the Blogger Business Card Showcase.
What trends have you seen on blogger business cards these days?
