Last Updated on April 12, 2024 by Carlos Alonso
Around 72% of people will judge your brand from the appearance of your card. On top of this, 39% said they wouldn’t do business with a company whose card looked ‘cheap’.
With such a large part of your business’s first impression relying on visually satisfying business cards and flyers, the importance of nailing this marketing element is higher than ever.
Unfortunately, many businesses are missing the mark when it comes to the design and portrayal of their printed marketing materials. From poorly arranged graphics to cheap materials, these common mistakes could be costing you valuable customers and sales.
So how can you ensure you don’t fall down the poorly designed business cards and flyers track? Follow along to learn the design mistakes that hurt business growth and how you can avoid them.
1. Doing It Yourself
If you are a small business, or in the beginning stages of development, it can be tempting to try to cut any possible costs by doing as much as possible on your own.
The problem with this approach is that wearing too many hats can often burn business owners out and land them in positions where they aren’t qualified or experienced in the intricacies of the task. You’ve already got enough on your plate and the cost of printing business cards and advertising flyers will make up for itself in the long run.
Skip printing on your own and send your designs to a reputable company printing company. They’ll ensure your business cards and flyers come out looking professional instead of cheap and help you make that valuable first impression.
2. Forgetting Digital Components
Custom made business cards and flyers serve as a great way to take your marketing offline, however, it’s never a bad idea to tie the online and offline approach together for maximum impact.
The easiest way to do this is to include a digital connection component on your printed materials. With all smartphones now including QR scanner right in the camera, you can use these fun features to drive more traffic to your online space.
Create a QR code for your event or promotion, or even direct people to your contact page, either way, including an avenue to connect with you digitally will go a long way. If QR codes aren’t your thing, be sure to at least include your social media handles with the familiar logos.
3. Boring Stock Photos
The images you use to design your own flyers and business cards work to direct your customer’s eye through the content and draw them in. Unfortunately, creating custom images can be costly and unreasonable for every event. Because of this, many businesses turn to stock image sites and source cheap or free photos for their design.
If you decide to use these stock images, be mindful of the selections you make and strive for relevant, interesting pieces. Many businesses before you will have used these images already and their impact is much lower when customers are seeing them for the tenth time on different brand’s cards.
Keep your images interesting and on-brand and try to customize images wherever possible.
4. Overstuffing
We know you have lots to say but stuffing your business cards and flyers with overwhelming amounts of information will actually deter your customers from reading through it.
Instead, aim for a simplistic look touching on the most important aspects and utilizing bullet points and bold or italics print to lead readers through your flyer. They’ll gather the gist of your content with a quick glance and have a better idea of what your brand can do for them.
5. Skipping Proofreading
There is nothing worse than ordering 2000 business cards and opening them up to discover you’ve mistyped your contact number or spelled your service type wrong.
Take away this money-wasting error by always proofreading your design before submitting it. Whether you take a break and come back with fresh eyes for a final look through or ask an employee or partner to comb through your lines, this final step is absolutely vital.
It’s not only embarrassing to explain to potential customers that the number is wrong or cross out the mistake with a pen. This mistake is unprofessional and sends the message that you aren’t a reliable business to work with.
6. Being Bland
The best part of custom-made business cards and flyers are the designer’s ability to get creative and think outside of the box. Instead of printing off the same old generic designs, take your flyers and cards up a notch and introduce innovative and fun elements.
Hire a design consultant for your next project and try out different shapes with your cards. You can even double up the efficiency of your flyers and business cards by building them into usable formats like menus or loyalty cards.
7. Color and Font
When choosing the color and font for your promotional materials, be sure to stay on-brand and relevant.
Take note of what fonts give a professional impression and use colors that reflect your services. Your favorite color may not be the best representative of your industry or offerings so be sure to stick with your already established brand colors and fonts for the most impactful design.
8. No CTA
Including a CTA or call to action is one of the most commonly forgotten steps for business creating content.
The reason this step is so important is that it lets customers know what to do next. Believe it or not, your leads aren’t mind readers and they need your guidance to arrive at your intended result.
Don’t be shy. Wrap your business cards and flyers up with a simple ‘call today’ or ‘visit our website’ CTA and watch your promo materials take flight.
Create Business Cards and Flyers
Now that you know the dos and don’ts of designing your own business cards and flyers, you can create impactful promotional materials. From choosing the right colors and fonts to sourcing help from the best printers and designers, we’re confident you’ll be drawing customers in with your professional-looking prints.
Ready to get started on your custom business cards and flyers? Get in touch with us today to ensure the best print results for your growing business.
