I go through business cards pretty quickly. Whenever I go to a networking event, a conference or just run into somebody at the store, there’s a good chance I’m handing out business cards. My cards have my name, some contact information and at least a hint of what I do — I actually have multiple sets of business cards at a time, based on what kind of work I’m currently focused on finding.

I mention this because I think you, as a freelance writer, should also have business cards. Before you start thinking that business cards and other marketing materials are too expensive, take a look at UPrinting. That link will take you to a special offer for 1,000 free business cards. I suggest trying them out: after all, it’s free until March 31st!

What Should Be On Your Business Card?

While I have seen business cards listing ten different ways of getting in tough with an individual, I don’t think it’s worth weighing a card down like that. You definitely need your name and your email address on your card — but it’s not necessary to even list your telephone number if that isn’t the way you prefer to communicate with clients.

For writers, I also recommend listing your website — especially if you have a link to your clips and past work clearly displayed on the front page of your site. Most potential clients will want to at least look at a few examples of your work before moving forward with hiring you, so make it easy for them to do so.

Who Should You Give Your Business Cards To?

Honestly, I hand my business cards out like candy. I get plenty of responses from them and even when I pay for my cards, I find it well worth my while to hand them out to anyone who expresses an interest in my work. When I’m working on a particular project, I will sometimes seek out certain people to give my card to at events, but I generally don’t worry too much about whose hands I get my cards into.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 8:02 pm and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.