Fascinating faces on business cards

In a previous post ‘How visible is your networking?’ I explored the idea of putting a photograph on your business card. I have found four examples of people who have done just that!

This is done solely to show who the cards belong to.  How many times have you got home, looked at the business cards you collected, and wondered what the owners looked like? Only the ones that made the most impression probably stuck in your memory. Ironically, it is the most rememberable ones that do put portraits on their networking material.

Mary Flavell is a flamoyant lady who takes over networking events by storm (she is not called the Queen of Networking for nothing). She always looks immaculate and her gushing friendliness emphasises her willingness to get to know what you do, and to see how she can help you. It seems only right that she should have a photograph of herself on her card, although once you’ve met Mary, it would be very difficult to forget her.

Graham Jones is well known as The Internet Pyschologist, and all his media includes a photograph of him, so it’s not surprising there is one on his business card. He has rigidly stuck to this branding, so much so that you only need to see the colours and his portrait at a distance to recognise his company. That’s why its a good thing to choose a particular photograph you are happy with and be consistent with its distribution, both on- and off-line, to enable instant recognition – all good marketing ploys.

Ophelia Messer is a lady who I’m sure was reluctant to put her photo on her business card, but I’m very glad she has. Another rememberable networker, recognition plays a major role if she is to be successful in recruiting for her business. Her invitation for ‘call me now for an informal chat’ is made much easier because of her welcoming grin; such call for actions are more personable if you can see your contact.

And finally John Cassidy, who for a photographer of the rich and famous (he does capture ordinary mortals to make them look fabulous too) it would be strange if he didn’t have a self-portrait on his card. It does, of course, make him look georgous, yet he has chosen a more down-to-earth representation of himself in his social networking. It’s always a good thing to get a chance to show off your expertise through your networking material, and John’s picture has done just that.

How visible is your networking?

I’ve been working recently with my photographer friend John Cassidy, mainly to get some proper portraits done of me, and to get a better understanding of how important it is to present yourself professionally to the outside world.

One idea we explored together was the idea of putting a photograph of yourself on your business card. Now if you had a series of pictures you were truly proud of, that showed you in your best light, wouldn’t you be pleased to put one on your networking material?

Why should you adorn your business cards with your face? It’s not to show off or try and get into the limelight. It’s because so many cards I receive fail to represent whom they came from.

When you’ve got home from a networking event and you take a look at the cards you’ve collected, how many of them can you remember who the owner was or what they did? Sometimes the information on the card doesn’t give you any clues, as so many descriptions are ambiguous and are full of jargon, and unless you were really efficient and wrote down on the back of the card they can become an enigma.

Now if there was a photograph it could jog your memory and you’d be more likely to retain the card for future reference, and should you meet up again at another meeting the possibility of recognition is more likely.

Therefore it is important to get a true representation for your networking material. It’s no good hiding behind another persona; you don’t want to give the wrong impression so that the reader forms an incorrect opinion of you, either good or bad.

Seth Godin’s blog post “The power of a tiny picture (how to improve your social network brand)” confirms how important it is to create the right kind of picture about yourself. He makes a number of very valid points to consider, such as backgrounds, true likeness, accessories, cropping, etc, plus loads more relevant to social networking. Don’t muddy the waters with fancy gimmicks, keep it clear and simple so that people can truly understand who you are.

How to get your successful leaflets to look good

The misfortune of the single leaflet (or postcard) campaign is that there is limited space for what you have to say. By choosing only one shot at your potential customer market, you will have to cram in a lot of information into a relatively small space to get the full message across.

The initial reaction, after scanning the grey mass in front of them, is that readers will look for a way out: get rid. Even if all the marketing criteria are met: headline, sub-headline, bullet points, call to action, special offer, contact details, the fact that they are virtually sitting on top of each other defeats their objective.

When laying out your leaflet, the first thing to consider is your margins; wide borders navigate the eye towards a focal point: the message inside. Adequate white space provides sufficient elbow room to allow the leaflet to breathe, so each marketing element has a chance to succeed.

Next, consider which kind of picture you are going to have. Background images can backfire: one particular advert had a relevant picture behind all its text, but it was so complex you couldn’t make out what it was trying to say. Presented by itself it would have been easier to understand its message, therefore providing a more effective contribution.

Another problem with a complex background is that it detracts from the words in front of it. Messages are not easily understood if they have to compete with their surroundings. Clean, clear backgrounds, preferably white or pale in colour, combined with a darker colour for the words, will have far more impact for quick recognition and readability than the reverse.

Pictures should be relevant, and not just a smiling tele-operator who looks good. It’s easy to get a picture off the net that will do, but then it may be so popular that everybody uses it, thus reducing your impact. A good quality, well produced photograph is vital, with excellent focus and presentation within its own frame; a home produced job with camera shake or low resolution taken from a mobile phone will not cut to the chase.

And finally how the leaflet is prepared for the printer will make or break a good campaign. Customers respond to quality, and an obvious product of the office ink-jet will certainly not provide the impression you are looking for. Neither will a leaflet whose pictures are not converted to the printers’ resolution, as failure to do so will result in flat, 2D, uninteresting images that also suggest low quality.

Also the kind of paper or card used will make a difference: good quality with a clean finish will easily sway the customer to read, absorb, understand and therefore take action – ultimately resulting in a sale.

How not to design your magazine

Which elements should you be aware of when producing a magazine? First is the layout and presentation that enables readability, second is its content and reputation for good value, and third is its readership and distribution.

Believe it or not, a magazine certainly benefits from being properly designed. Some are churned out by amateurs using a desktop publishing package downloaded from the internet, producing a collection of pages stapled together with pictures, page numbers and the odd headline.

Avoid cramming your pages up to the hilt with content with no regard for margins or columns. The result is a lack of space so the newsletter layout is unable to breathe, and provides an overall sense of clutter, impacting on the readability factor and easy access to the information required.

Magazines can easily be very busy publications, full of colour and conflicting designs, bombarding the poor reader so they are confused and overwhelmed. The smaller sized publications, such as the A5 versions, are not a very big space to work with, especially if you are including advertising, and particularly if you are typesetting for a customer who wants absolutely everything squeezed into a quarter page.

One thing that always makes me sigh is terrible front covers, especially those community magazines that have a sponsor or major advertiser on the front. As it’s the first thing a reader sees (generally), so wouldn’t a better designed version do more justice, not only to the advertiser, but also the magazine as well? Don’t stick with just the banner containing the magazine’s title (plus issue date and the name of the organisation) emblazoned across the top. Remember consistency creates professionalism. And the same goes for the back too – after all, what people see on the outside will also reflect what’s in the inside.

Images are important to maintain interest and emphasise a point, but use these with care. Don’t straddle pictures over columns to create unsightly word wrapping and without ample surrounding space. Get your photos suitably processed (such as correct sizing, converting to CMYK for printing, adapting to the correct dpi [dots per inch], lightening and fading facilities and colour conversions) to maintain quality. Avoid clipart like the plague as it only cheapens your publication, but finding a tasteful cartoonist is a bonus.

Getting a professional to design your magazine may be expensive initially, but the design factors will become costworthy in drawing in advertisers and increasing readership. And once the first issue has been completed, it’s generally easier to produce the next, therefore reducing the costs involved. Quality of print is also vital: don’t spoil your publication with smudges and misalignments – this doesn’t look good to the reader, and is not appreciated by the advertisers. Inexpensive flimsy paper (and also gloss finishes) can look cheap and nasty, and poor quality of colour, artwork and images result in the same reaction. Maintain your professional reputation by providing good quality from the beginning.

Include your imagery everywhere!

Continuing on the images theme, I was advising another business about their leafleting campaign, and as well as following the AIDA (attention, interest, desire and action) marketing system, suggestions were made that the same pictures should be incorporated into other areas of their visual presentation. They owned a shop, so the window should be dressed to include the same ideas taken from the images on their leaflets. This would add to the continuity of their visual identity and overall message, and would allow the recipients of their leaflets to recognise it whenever they drove or walked past their premises. This stimulation should encourage them to enter, ask questions and eventually make a purchase.

Using images to support description

Selecting the right kind of imagery for your promotional literature is just as important as choosing the right words. This was brought home to me when I visited a client recently who was very keen not to have the same kinds of pictures as her competitors, so that her publicity stuck out from the crowd. Her choice searched more into describing how her company would help her customers, not blagging on about her profession and the features they had on offer. These pictures’ poignancy sparked off a series of unconscience thought that stimulated her customers’ reaction and encouraged them to realise they needed her services. Very clever, especially as this concept had already proven its success!

Don’t divorce yourself from design

My friend Annie O’Neill (The Divorce Coach) took advantage today to have a free health check on her paper publicity.  She had produced three A5 four page leaflets, one which covered everything, and two others that concentrated on specific areas.

I advised her to have a large, relevant headline and her name and website address clearly on the front page.  This is so that the reader immediately understood what the leaflet was about, and even if they didn’t open it, they knew who the author was and how to find them on the web.

Inside I suggested the text should be put into columns. This is because quick reading benefits from shorter lines, especially as the leaflets were to provide information purposefully for fast scanning to see if it is relevant to the reader.  Sometimes putting benefits into bullet points is applicable here to facilitate the scanning process.

All the images should be relevant and colourful to draw attention to themselves.  Sometimes the pictures say as much as the words (as well as their captions which are also as important) and good quality in both content and presentation provide that professional edge for a good impression.

If your budget allows, getting your leaflets properly printed certainly contributes towards your public image.  But if you are unable to do this, make sure of the quality of the paper, the clearness of the font (typeface), the crispness of the printer’s performance and the colour control to ensure a better publication.

Don’t forget, if you want to know more, or to book your own health check, go ask Alice!

Alice’s Action #2 – keep your images relevant

My daughter Josie commented recently on some leaflets: “Shouldn’t the picture be relevant to whoever picks it up, so to grab their attention?”

She’s right – aim the visual aspects of your advertising towards your target market. Don’t reflect your personal favourites and be careful about your business’s image. The customer is king (or queen) and everything should be geared towards them and their preferences.

Take a good look at the pictures in your marketing material, and get feedback from your friends or past customers, to see if they work or not.

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