Thread: Networking Business Cards

Looking for opinions...Before you were doing individual gigs with your Picture business cards did you have plain cards for networking purposes. I am starting to go to alot of workshops and I feel like I should have something to give a dancer on how to contact me. I feel tacky pulling out my notebook and trying to scribble my email address. I am not ready for the pro cards with photo but should I have a general card with dance name/name/location/teacher/troupe just to give to network with other dancers? What are your feelings?

I know plenty of dancers who've done (or do) this. If you're not ready to invest in photo cards (or if you aren't trying to really market yourself as a performer, but rather as a teacher, vendor etc.) text-based cards make a lot of sense. Even as a performer, a card with text, no photo is better than nothing at all. (The main points behind having a photo cards, in theory anyway, is so that the person you hand the card to has some idea what you look like in performance--either to help them remember who they saw/talked to, or to "show the goods" for those situations where you meet someone when you're *not* in performance look/mode. Still, the critical info is your contact info.:-)

For my personal business, I use a photo card, but for our troupe we have text-and-logo cards.

it's a good idea, but if it's going to cost you the same, there is nothing wrong with having a picture card, even if you aren't pro. I like cards, they are easier for me to keep track of then scraps of paper and if there is a photo it's easier for me to put a name to a face later.

If you want them and can afford to buy them for the fun of it, why not? There are lots of cute pre-fab designs at www.vistaprint.com and places like that. They do charge out the wazzoo for shipping, but it's still not a big expense (under $20 total for several hundred of the 'free' cards).

But if you're not really marketing yourself for gigs or teaching, I don't think you should feel out of place for not having them. Writing your e-mail address on a piece of paper is a pretty normal way for people to exchange contact info. I don't think more or less of a person based on whether they have a business card to hand me -- unless I'm planning to hire them in a professional capacity.

If you are going to get text only cards, it really wouldn't cost much more to have your picture on them and I think it is easier to remember a person, if there's a face next to them name, even for networking purposes. And what if someone ask you for a card for booking you? You never know... Even if you're not ready go pro yet, if someone sees you dancing and likes what they see, they might ask you for your card.

I get my cards from overnightprint.com and occasionally they email specials out, such as free 100 color cards + shipping, which came to something like $8.00. Text only would have been the same.
So if you are looking to save money, you might want to shop around, you may find that it's about the same.

But text only cards are fine for networking, though.

I used to print my own business cards, because then I could tailor them to the occasion. With dance colleagues, I included address and home phone number. For festivals and other GP events, I just had my dance name, my business phone number, and the fact that I teach. Then I got picture cards and love them -- although now that I have a juicy new Michael Baxter photo, I want to redo them... ..l;,

I second VistaPrint. I needed some quick, inexpensive, cards made up quite recently and they're doing the trick! (colorful, cheap, and nice text options) Their ready made templates are great if you're not ready for pro picture cards or are waiting to get new photo cards designed (like I am...not a creative bone in my body!). :)

Definitely get something for networking. It's very useful, for sure.

Vistaprint is definitely a good choice for ordinary cards. And the shipping is high, but not unreasonable - business cards are heavy! (And I've been charged more to ship a DVD than their economy shipping rate.)

For photo cards, I highly recommend GotPrint.

another thing about vistaprint - pretty much everything goes on sale fairly frequently. this means that you can get *wonderful* deals on cards (i get mine for free usually - double sided, full color - about 500 at a time) and all you need to do is pay shipping.

*chiming in* yes, I'd say, go get cards!
I love to receive cards from my dance colleagues, and its a lot quicker than scribbling on pieces of paper.

I use Vistaprint as well, and I usually wait until they do one of their 'free cards!!' of 'free shipping!!' actions. The BCs are excellent quality and cheap if you time it right ;-)

I agree - sign up for a vistaprint account. Once you sign-up, you get on their mailing list. They send out deals like every week consisting of free shipping, free business cards, free notepads, free postcards, etc. Best value around!

just a side note - as somebody who has gotten cards from both vistaprints and overnight prints in the past - I prefer overnight's quality and I think they are just as cheap.

I use Business Cards & More at PrintsMadeEasy.com. I think they have reasonable prices. When I did my first card, I just ordered 100. It was maybe $15 plus shipping? Really cheap, and since I wasn't networking tons then, they lasted a while.

Originally Posted by shems

just a side note - as somebody who has gotten cards from both vistaprints and overnight prints in the past - I prefer overnight's quality and I think they are just as cheap.

I agree; I went with Overnight Prints and mine turned out awesome. We used vista print for a work project (printed post-it notes) and quality control was nonexistant. Half of the notepads were printed crooked, cropped funny, etc. Also my friend ordered business cards from them and they had the same problem. I'm sure both of these companies don't have 100% accuracy but wanted to share.

My cards are black on both sides and I was really worried they'd turn out horrible but they look very professional!