Know-How Exchange : Copywriting

I often find this when I look at cards from colleagues/contacts in Asia. Japan, especially, they seem to like to be very specific with titles and work group names an such, but that doesn't help people outside of their groups understand anything, as we don't know their group names.

In the States, it depends on how useful the name is, and if they have a slogan. For example, if someone says they work in Product Marketing for Amazon.com, I'd know what the do now, but wouldn't know back when Amazon was a startup. Usually titles give an idea what they do, but many of these new tech startups have names that don't describe what they are.

Looking at my cards:

For one of my jobs, I have a card that says "Editor" for "California Kayaker Magazine". I think that is pretty self explanatory.

The card for my consulting work says "Expand Abroad Consulting" and "International expansion and start-up development consultant". Doesn't say what type of consulting (marketing, management, etc.), but at least gives an idea, I think.

The thing about most business cards is that their
creators often lose sight of just what the card is FOR.

In truth, the card's FUNCTION is to be visually arresting or important enough to be deemed worthy of hanging
on to. Most business cards don’t clearly explain what business their producers are in because the producers miss the point that ideally, the purpose of the card is
for the recipient to value it enough to hang on to it.

The card isn't really about the person whose name and contact details are on it, it's for the person accepting it.

When it comes to effectively communicating a solid message that people will want to refer to again and again, most business cards are a waste of perfectly
good trees.

Bland. Vanilla. Name, rank and serial number cards with blank backs offer basic information, but that's about it.

What most business cards do NOT do is A] get kept, and B] become worthy of being remarked on to other people
by the person receiving them.

I'm currently working on the design and copy for an
eight page business card.

Yes, that's right, eight pages.

It's 7.75" long and 3.5 high and folds twice, once in half, then in half again. It folds down to the size of a normal business card and it will have about about 500 words of BENEFIT RICH text on it—text that talks TO the recipient ABOUT the recipient's DESIRED OUTCOMES.

It seals shut with a little sticker.

The sticker introduces an aspect of interactivity, and the copy, story line, and images turn what might otherwise be a bland little card into a marketing event that will get remembered, and that will be commented on.

A friend of mine carries with him in his wallet a business card he was given over SIX years ago. It's a bit tattered now and it's at least a six page card. He hangs on to it because it's a BRILLIANT piece of marketing real estate.

It's not the explanation of the business that the card giver is in that matters. It's the value of the solution being sought by the card's recipient.

Gary Bloomer
Princeton, NJ, USA