Tips for Collecting and Distributing Business Cards

At first glance, about ten years ago, it seemed that paper business cards would soon become obsolete, as everyone began using mobile devices with wireless interfaces (at that time, infrared ports were popular), and the exchange of electronic business cards was expected to become commonplace. However, over time, Bluetooth became faster, Wi-Fi became a standard feature in every phone, and paper business cards continued to be created and distributed. Nevertheless, issues related to the culture of exchange, printing, and design remained relevant.

The ideal paper business card is one-sided. In the European tradition, the back of a standard business card is often used for notes. To leave space for these notes, it's best to avoid laminating the card. I have often seen laminated business cards that owners attempted to use for additional notes, which proved inconvenient. It's worth remembering that in Japan, it's considered inappropriate to write on business cards, so be cautious. If you plan to share your business cards with foreigners, it's recommended to have several cards in English. Avoid cutting costs by creating double-sided cards in different languages.

To effectively use business cards, you can regulate their distribution. For instance, if you are presenting at a seminar or conference, include your contact information on the final slide of your presentation. You can draw attention to it by explaining that even if someone doesn't take your business card, they still have your contact information on the screen (the slide usually remains visible for several minutes while you answer questions). This may reduce the number of people who want to take your card. If you want to distribute more cards, simply prepare a cardholder. Speakers at conferences typically receive more questions, and there is often more active engagement after the presentation. Since you can't answer all questions during the session, it's better to redirect deeper inquiries to personal correspondence. You can hand your business card to someone with a question and offer to provide more detailed answers via email. This often leads to several more people requesting your business card, simply because you've already given it to someone.

As for collecting a large number of business cards, one simple method is to deliver a good presentation at a conference and offer to send it electronically to anyone who provides their business card. This method works perfectly but requires you to actually provide the presentation in electronic format.

Also, let's not forget about digital business cards, which should always be at hand and can be distributed in any quantity.