Want to generate more leads while you are out and about? Make sure you have plenty of your business cards with you! Digital marketing works wonders, however, there is still something to be said for more traditional forms of advertising and marketing. Business cards, brochures, promotional items, and catalogs make a personal connection through a tangible piece of marketing material. With printed materials, you have the potential to reach clients on a different plane – and possibly many who just don’t use technology (or use it very minimally).
You should always ask for permission from a business owner if you want to leave a stack of your cards, brochures or flyers around. Many businesses nowadays actually have a table or small section for local business to do this. However, there are also a few ways you can leave your card around for a potential customer to find if you are unable to find a business that lets you leave a stack.
Here are over 35 ideas on where to leave your business card or catalog and attract new customers!
Where to leave your business card
- Get some magnetic business cards and cool pens with your business information printed to leave around. People LOVE grabbing “freebies” like magnets and pens.
- Have catalogs or printed material? Next time you go to a doctors appointment or a dentist, Leave your flyers or catalogs in their stack of magazines. Make sure to attach a business card onto it or that the material has your information printed on it. If they have a few stacks of magazines, leave one in each.
- Ask or pay local restaurants to let you place business cards near the checkout counter.
- Find local businesses related to your product or service and leave cards at the counter.
- Stick some of your business cards on college campus bulletin boards.
- Pay college students to hand out your cards on different local campuses.
- Search for other public bulletin boards to leave your business cards on.
- Place your cards in the doors of local homes – do NOT place them in anyone’s mailbox!
- Ask a hotel if you can leave your business card in the lobby. There may be out of town guests who need your services!
- Mail your business cards along with other direct mail pieces to a targeted mailing list.
- Hire a “street team” to hand out your cards, magnets, and pens in high traffic areas such as in a city. (remember that people love freebies – if you want to grab the attention of people in a busy area, you may want to make a small kit with a business card, magnet, flyer and pen (or a printed marketing item they would enjoy)
- Give your cards out to family and friends so they can give them away when needed.
- Network with other local business owners and exchange business cards.
- Offer people a finders fee and give them business cards to pass out. You will need to come up with a referral system or way to track the referrals. You can use their name written on the back of a card or a special”coupon code” the customer would use that is assigned to the person passing out the card for you. This would mean if you had 10 people doing this, you would assign 10 unique coupon codes.
- Give more than one business card, so your recipients can give copies as they see fit.
- Mail business cards with promo codes that customers need to bring in to get a discount.
- If you have an area where people fall in line, such as checkout counters, leave a stack of your cards where they can reach it. Current customers are one of the most likely audience to check for your other services and they will be tempted to check your card.
- If you need to jot down a note to give to someone, use your business card.
- Ask taxi drivers or uber drivers if you can place a small business card holder with your cards on the divider window or somewhere inside of the vehicle (you can use suction cups so there is no damage done to a vehicle). Just like #13 – you may need to offer them a special promo code so they get a referral incentive.
- Staple a business card to any invoice or estimates you send out.
- If you answered an online inquiry or gave an online quote to a customer, and you have their address – send them a card in the mail to thank them for their inquiry and add a business card.
- Many neighborhoods have welcome packets/bundles to greet new residents. See if you can include business cards for your service.
- Apartment buildings often give new renters welcome sheets with a list of recommended services. Get on that list and print out cards for them to give away.
- Make sure everyone who works for you has standard or personalized business cards. Personal cards can boost employee morale. Ask those employees to leave the cards in public as well.
- Give away a business card with every product you ship.
- Attend community events, network there and hand out your cards.
- Contact shopping centers and work out a deal so you can leave business cards on car windshields. Check out the city and state laws however, in case it’s illegal in your area.
- Partner with real estate agents and agencies to get your business cards to new home buyers. Many agents may even let you leave their cards on the counter at their events and open houses.
- Every time you eat at a restaurant – leave a business card in the payment/receipt billfold with your tip. If you have a pen with your company info – leave that inside too! The waiters will continue to use that pen with other customers who may end up jotting down your info.
- Leave your cards in coffee shops. Many shops have a special area just for cards and bulletins from local businesses. Ask one of the employees. If they don’t, you can still leave your business card on a table.
- Restrooms! Yes – restrooms. If you are at a hotel, movie, restaurant or just about anywhere – you can leave your card in a clean corner of the counter.
- Community centers are a great place to leave cards. Local community members who may need your services and prefer to use local businesses will find them there!
- Do you commute via train daily? Make sure you accidentally leave a business card sitting on a train table, or in one of the pouches on the seat in front of you. Do this every time you take your journey. People are bored on rain journeys and will read anything that’s lying about and your card might reach the eyeballs of someone who needs your services.
- In the bank – This is a great place to drop your business card especially if your bank has a separate section for business banking. Drop your card on one of the counters. You can also leave a brochure or card on the table next to the waiting area (where customers wait for a personal banker). While people are waiting to get their transactions put through or waiting for the personal banker to finish with the previous client, your card is shouting at them “˜Look at me, I offer a great service’.
- Depending on what service you offer you can drop your card on the local buses or buses that going into one of the major towns or cities in your area.
- Business center: There are business centers who offer local businesses services to help them get started in business or build their business up. On the main reception desk, you can discretely leave your business card so everyone coming through the center will be able to see it and pick it up while waiting for the appointment to be confirmed. Als,o leave it on the magazine desk in the waiting area.
Bonus Tip
Libraries and Book Stores: Head over to the section of the bookstore or library that represents your business products and/or services. Find the books that potential customers would pick up to learn more about how to “DIY” your services, use your products or make similar products etc. Slip Your business card in the middle of those books! For example: If you are a Personal Trainer, head over to the section that has all of the diet and exercise books. Slip your card into any book that someone wanting to learn more about “personal training/ exercise/ nutrition” may pick up.
Do you have a favorite place to leave your business card that we didn’t mention? We would love to hear it! Leave a comment below or let us know on our social media!
We offer printing services!
If you are in need of an eye-catching new business card or awesome printed promotional materials you can hand out, we can help! Caspian Services can help you create a beautifully designed printed marketing piece that can help convert your offline audience. You can get more information about our printing services here.
We spent dozens of hours researching, testing, and comparing some of the most highly regarded business card makers out there. In addition to our top pick, we also recommend Staples for same-day cards that work in a pinch, as well as Impress for those who don’t use a computer or simply prefer an app-based service.
Your business card is key to making a lasting first impression when meeting potential new clients. Moo delivers the best-looking, most premium-feeling business card you can buy online—an impressive memento for your brand.
If you prefer to order business cards from an iPhone or don’t use a computer, this is the easiest way to get a decent, well-priced card. But it’s unavailable for Android, and our top pick is better overall.
If you need cards right away, Staples provides pretty good print quality and same-day pickup at a reasonable price. But if you’re not in a hurry, these cards are not our top choice.
This service created the best-looking cards we tested and has fast and responsive customer service. It is more expensive than our other picks.
Our pick
Moo
The best business card printing service
This service created the best-looking cards we tested and has fast and responsive customer service. It is more expensive than our other picks.
Buying Options
$0
from
Moo
Though they cost a bit more than most of the competition, Moo cards stood out for their vibrant colors, sharp text and photographs, and careful trim (how closely and symmetrically a card is cut) around our tricky design test. They feel more luxurious than any other card we tested, with a soft finish on a noticeably thick cardstock.
Moo’s customer service was also friendly and prompt; they quickly resolved an issue with our delivery.
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Also great
Staples
If you need something today
If you need cards right away, Staples provides pretty good print quality and same-day pickup at a reasonable price. But if you’re not in a hurry, these cards are not our top choice.
Buying Options
Buy from
Staples
Staples is a good option if you need a business card printed right away at one of more than 1,000 locations nationwide. The same-day cards we had printed were flimsier than our top pick, but overall the print quality was okay with bright colors, sharp lines, and photos, as well as a tight trim. The website is simple but functional.
If you’re in a pinch and need a new business card tonight, Staples will do just fine, but if you have the time, it’s worth investing in a better card from our top pick.
Also great
Impress
Best for iPhone-only ordering
If you prefer to order business cards from an iPhone or don’t use a computer, this is the easiest way to get a decent, well-priced card. But it’s unavailable for Android, and our top pick is better overall.
Buying Options
Buy from
Apple App Store
Impress is an iPhone-only business card app that easily transformed our digital business card into a tangible one, no computer required. Its cards use thick stock and feature vibrant, crisp prints—much better than the cards from Staples, but not quite as luxe as that of Moo—at a per-card price that falls right in between the two.
As you’d expect from an app-only platform, Impress is slicker and more intuitive to use than our other picks’ mobile websites, and it allows you to upload your own design or pick from a range of simple but serviceable templates. Its design editor allows for basic tweaks, and its digital proofs are helpful for previewing your design in real-world scenarios. You can even try an interactive 360-degree view.
You can chat with the Impress team via iMessage to address any questions, which felt more immediate, convenient, and satisfying than the options provided by our other picks—more like texting a friend than a typical customer service interaction.