Sarah Baker

Great business cards are hard to get if you know the steps to take and the items to use when putting them together.

1. Free Business Cards Aren't Free

Wait, what? That's right. They're not free. They cost you money you don't even have yet. Free business cards are often cheap-looking and have the printing company's logo on it (like VistaPrint). Every time you hand them out you're giving people a quick look at how you perceive your own business. When they look at your business card and see and/or feel "cheap" or "this didn't cost me anything" then they're likely to think you don't take your business seriously. If a potential client thinks you don't take your own business seriously then why should they? Well, they won't and that just cost you money, a lot more than you would have spent on great business cards.

2. Feel

Business cards should be heavy on at least 120# card stock - and heavier is better. They shouldn't bend too easily. Imagine being at a networking event and you're handing out cards to dozens (maybe hundreds *fingers crossed*) of people you have to understand that those people are getting many other cards as well. If at the end of the night or the next morning they pull out that stack of cards but yours is ripped or crumpled they will likely throw it away because they think "I'm sure I have someone else that does a similar service in this stack." The likelihood that they'd call you to get a replacement is pretty slim too.

In addition to the weight always go with glossy or screen-printed cards. The feel is more professional and the colors and text will last longer without as much fading over time. When I worked for a VP of a larger company every few months I was asked to go through her business card Rolodex and clear out the "old" (old-looking) ones. There were some in there that were really old but they still looked great so they always stayed.

3. Color

Colors matter. I'm a huge proponent of full color and color-blocked cards. This doesn't mean I dislike white or off-white cards all the time but whenever possible I recommend the former. Cleaning companies, lawn care, or other industries that deal in "clean" benefit more from white cards, simply through the association of cleanliness with the color white. If your company has a not-so-wonderful color scheme in their logo use less of that color or sometimes it's even acceptable to go with a more understated black-and-white or gray-scale version (you'd need to confirm that this is acceptable with your company/office) and offset it with a complimentary color. Need help color picking? Try using Kuler.Adobe.com.

4. Graphics and Photos

Use high-quality and high-resolution graphics and photos. Never use Clipart. Ever. Your photo, should you choose to include one, should represent the type of business you run. If you want to attract high-end clients then you should look high-end. Laid back and friendly? Business casual. Every once in a while I come across someone that does shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops but this is rarely successful.

A professional designer or design firm generally has access to high-quality stock photos and graphics or can create some just for you. Nothing should be "fuzzy" on your card. Clean, sharp, crisp.

5. Avoid Clutter

Only put pertinent information on your card. Less is more. Your name, company name, your title, contact information, website address, email, and social media information (badges are great if they compliment your design) are the most important. If your services are not obvious (i.e. REALTOR®, mortgage broker, home stager, appraiser, etc.) then you can list a few of your prominent services on the back. Don't include tip charts (as a former waitress I hated when people went off these because it was never enough), "The best compliment I can receive...," inspirational quotes, etc., on the back either - this is a waste of money. A raving testimonial, logos to respected professional organizations you are a member of, or QR codes are great things to put on the back.

Don't know where to start? How about getting a custom-designed card. Contact me for more information on getting high-quality business cards and other marketing materials.

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Why Wordpress is Good for Real Estate Websites

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When most people hear "Wordpress" they think about is its popular blogging platform Wordpress.com; however Wordpress.org, the content management system (CMS), is quickly becoming one of the most popular choices for setting up a small business website. As a real estate professional - be it a REALTOR®, mortgage broker, appraiser, or even a real estate brokerage - Wordpress is a great option for setting up a dynamic, interactive, and professional-looking website. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider using Wordpress to set up your real estate website: (in no particular order)

1. Cost

First off, Wordpress is a free platform. Second, hosting fees can be as low as $4 per month (in order to get prices this low you pay for several years at a time though). Even if you pay month-to-month you can easily be under $10 per month. Keeping your website updated is so easy you won't have to worry about paying a high-priced developer to do it for you.

2. User-Friendly and Excellent Support

You're not required to be an expert to use Wordpress effectively. You don't have to know HTML, PHP, or CSS to use it. As with anything you will need to spend a little time becoming familiar with the aspects and tools. Installing Wordpress is easy too; almost all hosting providers now offer one-click installation for Wordpress. Updating content is a breeze using the rich text editor; if you've ever used Microsoft Word you'll have no trouble creating new posts and pages for your site. In the event you run across something you don't know how to do help is only a Google search away; there are thousands of Wordpress developers writing and video-blogging about how-to's, tutorials, troubleshooting, expansion, customization, and practically every other topic you can think of.

The user interface (UI) is so easy you can't help falling in love with it. What's more is that with every update Wordpress releases the better the UI gets. It's clean, concise, and self-explanatory. What more could you ask for?

3. Look and Feel

You shouldn't have any problems fining a theme that suits your needs and style. There are thousands of themes available and hundreds that are real estate specific. Some themes are free and some are not. My advice, spend a little extra money and invest in a quality premium theme. Conducting a simple Google search for "free Wordpress themes" or "premium Wordpress themes" will provide you with a plethora of options to choose from.

Pro Tip: You can easily set up your website yourself or you can spend the extra money and have a theme customized by a professional for you.

4. Extensions

There are tens of thousands of plug-ins and widgets for Wordpress and more being developed each day. Plug-ins and widgets add specific abilities to your site. A few examples of types of plug-ins and widgets are social sharing, search engine optimization (SEO), maps, real estate listings, IDX integration/MLS search, RSS feed subscriptions, polls, contact forms, and local weather displays. Don't think that these are all the types because as my husband put it "There's a plug-in for everything! I wouldn't be surprised if there is one that will come cook us dinner."

5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Out of the box, Wordpress provides great SEO with just a few easy tweaks on your part. Matt Cutts, head of Web Spam at Google, says that "Wordpress is made for SEO." Click here to see the full interview (although this video is several years old it is still very relevant).

6. SPAM Protection

Out of the box WordPress comes with very robust tools such as an integrated blacklist and open proxy checker to manage and eliminate comment spam on your blog, and there is also a rich array of plugins that can take this functionality a step further." - original content posted here.

7. Cross-browser Compatibility and Web Compliance

Wordpress has made sure that all generated code is W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) Standards compliant. This insures browser interoperability and compatibility with future tools.

8. Full User Registration

WordPress has a built-in user registration system that (if you choose) can allow people to register and maintain profiles and leave authenticated comments on your blog. You can optionally close comments for non-registered users. There are also plugins that hide posts from lower level users.

9. Let's not forget blogging!

Blogging is a fantastic way to increase your site ranking. Blogging allows you to keep fresh, current content on your website thus enabling web spiders to regularly index your web page (think SEO). It also helps to establish you as a real estate expert in your area.

There are so many other reasons but this is just a quick list of some of the top reasons. Want to know more? Subscribe to my blog!