A business card can help attract new customers and increase profits, but it’s important to make yours stand out from the crowd.

A business card can help attract new customers and increase profits, but it’s important to make yours stand out from the crowd – after all, if it’s not eye-catching enough it could just get stuffed into a pocket (or, even worse, thrown into a bin) and forgotten about. So, with this in mind, here are several ways to create a card that will make a lasting impression:

1. Include a professional-looking photograph

Take out all the business cards in your wallet. Do many contain a picture of the cardholder? Probably not! Many companies forget to include images and this is a great shame because professional-looking snaps will not only make your card stand out but also help fellow business people connect faces with names and companies – a great networking tool. So whether you’re ordering business cards from Helloprint or whipping them up yourself, don’t forget this little trick.

2. Include a brightly-coloured image

Business cards with writing only tend to be boring and mundane. They fade into the background and can get lost amongst a host of other cards with bigger, bolder colours, so try to include a vibrant image if possible. This could be your company’s logo, slogan or an image associated with your brand and marketing materials. If you don’t have a specific image that seems appropriate, you could always opt for a black background with white writing as this colour scheme is the reverse of what many traditional business cards use.

3. Format your business card vertically

While the majority of business cards are horizontal, there’s no harm in formatting yours vertically. In fact, this will encourage people to turn your card around to read it meaning their eyes will at least skim over important details if nothing else. Anything you can do to make your card unique is worth a go, as with a microbusiness boom taking place in the UK, it’s essential to get your company noticed in any way possible to fend off competition.

4. Create a business card with a fun shape

Believe it or not, business cards do not have to be rectangular in shape. In fact, they can be anything you please with squares, triangles, circles, stars, hexagons and other designs catapulting companies into the forefront of prospective clients’ memories. Just make sure they’re small enough to fit neatly into wallets and business card holders and you’ll be onto a winner. Moreover, you could even make a business card booklet if you’ve simply too much information you want to share on a traditional card. Hey, why not even give pop-up cards a go?

5. Create a collection of business cards

Want people to take interest in your business cards? Then create a variety of different cards – perhaps with a different staff member printed on the front – and encourage people to collect all of them. They’ll need an incentive to do this, however, so perhaps offer a freebie from your product range, a complimentary meal or money off their next visit to your shop.

There are many ways to make your business card stand out, so don’t be afraid to get a little creative.