Magnetic Business Cards: Make Your Marketing Message Stick

By Chris Brunner
Posted Saturday, February 5, 2005

What is it about magnets that draw people to leave them on fridges and file cabinets for years at a time? Many people like to have the contact information handy for common service providers without flipping through a bulky phone book. Magnets are the perfect solution for being seen in this situation. It's a win-win relationship for you and the customer.

Put Magnetic Business Cards to Work for You.

Almost any small business can take advantage of the advertising power a magnetic business card holds. This includes:

Pest control

Repairmen & Contractors

Veterinarians

Realtors

Food Delivery

Insurance agents; and

Hair/Nail/Tanning Salons

Hand them out at:

Conventions

Open houses

Tradeshows

Product launches; or

When you perform a service for the customer

You can stick magentic business cards to fridges, filing cabinets, vending machines, appliances, cars, lockers, and just about any other metal surface.

When your clients place your magnet, you instantly have an advantage over the competition. Now, all the client has to do is pick up the phone and call when they need you. They will appreciate the fact that they didn't have to spend countless minutes or hours flipping through the yellow pages trying to pick one company to fulfill their needs. With their satisfaction comes repeat and referral business for you. It's a snowball effect that can't be beat!

On my fridge, you'll find magnets from Hooters and Wing Stop restaurants, Domino's and Papa John's pizza, a heating and air specialist, a massage therapist, the local veterinarian, as well as the nail salon my wife goes to. I have no idea when these magnets were placed there. All I know is that they don't move from the prominent spots they were placed months or years ago.

Creating Magnetized Business Cards

Now that you are convinced of the positive effects that magnetic business cards can have for your company, what's the best way to obtain them?

Option #1: Buy stick-on magnets and attach them to the back your current business cards

You can buy magnets of various shapes and sizes at your local craft store at a relatively cheap price. Take a hot-glue gun and glue the magnets at each corner on the back of the cards. The upside is that this is a cheap and easy method of creating magnetized business cards. The downside is that it can be a very time consuming process to attach the magnets and the end result usually looks less than professional.

Option #2: Buy magnetized business card stock from your local office supply store and print them yourself

Avery is a popular brand that offers these types of do-it-yourself inkjet cards. With these, you print out your card design multiple times on a sheet of paper that already has a full magnetic backside. There is less work involved in creating them; however, magnetic paper can be costly.

Another downside to this method is that inkjet printers don't print well on magnetized card stock because the paper surface is so thin. The ink from your printer will tend to glob on the surface once the paper is saturated making your cards sticky with the possibility of staining clothes and hands. Inkjet printer ink cartridges aren't cheap either, so be sure to figure that into your costs as well.

Using this method, you will end up paying the same, if not more, than the next option...

Option #3: Have your magnetic business cards printed by a professional commercial printer

While you may pay slightly more money for this method, taking this route will save you time and earn much more business in the long run. Your magnets will be printed on glossy, full sheet, magnetized card stock paper specially formulated for high-resolution press printing. Your magnets will look and feel professional to your customers, and will have a better chance of getting placed in a prominent spot on the fridge or file cabinet.

With recent breakthroughs in online printing technology, you can design or upload your full color magnetic business cards online and have them printed for less than it would cost you to print on your inkjet. Take advantage of the marketing power of magnetic business cards, and start seeing long term results today.

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