Business Card Tips: Get Your Card Scanned & Read with Purposeful Design

Back in “the day” the more unusual the card, the more likely people would remember you, right? But today, the rules have changed! As people seek methods to consolidate the plethora of incoming data, business cards are now quickly scanned into cell phones (using iPhone or Blackberry apps), or scanned contact management software such as ACT! Which means that our business card design must be SCANNABLE. The purpose is much different than before.

Today I received a black business card with the Century 21 logo. Once scanned, the black background overpowered the card, the text was way too tiny for the software to interpret (meaning I had to type it in manually), and the logo was not readable when scanned (so I had to type in the company name manually). It made me think about what is needed to meet the requirements for today's business cards!

When you design your business card, the most important purpose should be for scanning; and therefore, endless contact retention! Here's some tips to help you design better cards:

Do:

• Use a sans serif font (such as Arial).
• Leave white space.
• Use a white background.
• Put your real estate license # on the card.
• Include your email, cell phone, and twitter handle.
• Realtor® registration mark.
• Max. 3 designations or certifications
• Company name printed as text, not just a logo (logo won’t scan as text)

Don’t:

• Use a black or dark background.
• Use tiny fonts.
• Cram words together.
• Put important info on the back.
• Include your street address (it's irrelevant).
• Include your fax # (very rarely used since most offers are emailed or uploaded).
• Put your name and title on the same line, it's hard to distinguish between them when scanning.
• Use fancy layout, such as a fold-over card, an extra-big card size, or text on an angle.
• Use thicker-than-normal paper or flimsy paper, these don't scan well.

What to put on the back of the card? It's a pain when the back of the card is glossy because it's to slick to write on. Also when the back is black or a dark color, it's annoying that you can't write on it. Always use white background, with a matte finish, so you or the recipient can write down notes to follow up. Here's ideas for the back of the card:

• A mortgage payment chart
• Appointment reminder on the back
• QR code link to your web site
• Simply leave it blank
  

Ready for the next topic: what type of card reader/ scanner is best?

Regina Brown