Amateurs, do you carry business cards?

maninsuitcase

maninsuitcase

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Chris
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As an amateur is it worth getting some "business cards" made up? Either Just some samples from somewhere or I keep getting vouchers for 90% off some vista print premium cards so could do a custom design.

You always hear about people getting stopped and it resulting in a sale or similar and wondered if for the costs (at most a fiver) it's worth getting some cards in the bag?
 
simple awnser to your question is YES.

and Vistaprint often offer FREE 250 and sometimes 500 cards with a holder too,and you just pay postage.cards arrive normally within a week too.ive used them about 4 times in 2years.even if you chose to pay their current price i highly recommend you do so

Business cards are ideal for networking.when im photographing Gigs/music festivals and even at parties and where im meeting peeps ive not met before i hand them a card.though i am a hobbyist amatuer ive earned enough money from prints and cd's/dvd's to cover my photographic equipment outlay for the past couple of years and met a lot of loverly people too
 
I would turn that one round and if someone wanted a photo I would ask them to give me there email address.
 
pmiddleditch said:
simple awnser to your question is YES.

and Vistaprint often offer FREE 250 and sometimes 500 cards with a holder too,and you just pay postage.cards arrive normally within a week too.ive used them about 4 times in 2years.even if you chose to pay their current price i highly recommend you do so

Business cards are ideal for networking.when im photographing Gigs/music festivals and even at parties and where im meeting peeps ive not met before i hand them a card.though i am a hobbyist amatuer ive earned enough money from prints and cd's/dvd's to cover my photographic equipment outlay for the past couple of years and met a lot of loverly people too
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Well that's my evening gone then. Now I need to find a creative way to fill a 5x9cm space with nothing more than a name, email, web address and a phone number....
 
maninsuitcase said:
Well that's my evening gone then. Now I need to find a creative way to fill a 5x9cm space with nothing more than a name, email, web address and a phone number....
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really !! ...maybe more like 10 minutes or so


peter
 
maninsuitcase said:
I lack talent and I am indecisive, there will probably be many iterations of 10 minutes. Then once I have something I like I will be ready to order then decide I hate it and start over.
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be decisive my friend.Vistaprint have lots of FREE templates,some of which are actually quite good.just pick 1,i repeat just pick 1 and STOP being indecisive,STOP wasting your time,time is far to precious.we are talking less than a fiver her :thumbs:


peter
 
wouldnt bother with vistas free designs, ever man and his dog uses them and it can get quite confusing if you use one of the more common ones.

all you need is your logo and contact details, if you use someone like moo.com then you can put some examples of your work on the other side (100 of them for £21.98) :thumbs:
 
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I've been meaning to do this, so think I'll get on the case now, before festival season. I had quite a few people approach me at local summer festivals last year, and had to resort to writing my Flickr address down on a scrap of paper torn out of my notebook.
 
neil_g said:
wouldnt bother with vistas free designs, ever man and his dog uses them and it can get quite confusing if you use one of the more common ones.

all you need is your logo and contact details, if you use someone like moo.com then you can put some examples of your work on the other side (100 of them for £21.98) :thumbs:
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I quite like the moo ones, okay it's only 10 free ones not 100 but the likely hood I'll need many more any time soon is low and hopefully if I do need them it will pay for 100 in the 1st sale.
 
neil_g said:
100 of them for £21.98) :thumbs:
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at 22p each and as an amatuer/hobbyist i wouldnt want to be handing out to many of them to complete strangers especially when just casually networking


peter
 
pmiddleditch said:
at 22p each and as an amatuer/hobbyist i wouldnt want to be handing out to many of them to complete strangers especially when just casually networking


peter
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fair enough your money, your choice. but personally having come from vista cards they feel cheap and nasty in comparison. you dont want people to reflect that to your work ;)
 
Yes - and the vista ones are cheap, which means it won't make you cry when you hand them out.
 
neil_g said:
fair enough your money, your choice. but personally having come from vista cards they feel cheap and nasty in comparison. you dont want people to reflect that to your work ;)
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fair comment as far as not wanting a cheaper card to reflect on the quality of your work,though i do know quite afew pro's who use a mixture of hugh and low quality cards and incluse vistaprint cards as part as their cost cutting needs.

when considering the quality of any cards,one needs to consider if you are over estimating the quality of your photography.Imagine that you have expensive cards made up with a link to a not so well made website showing average or even poor quality images etc.that would then be rather pretentious or at least misleading...then consider you have average or even low cost business cards with a link to a well made but FREE website with very decent images etc showing that you are very capable.

this later scenario is the place where many hobbyist/amatuer photgraphers are and quite different to serious professionals needs.

but it really does come down to 'you pays your money and takes your choice'


peter
 
I print my own off using one of my seascape paintings as a background, guillotine them up as required. Mainly for my work as an artist rather than photography though.
 
Same as Ken....I print my own using Page Plus to design my card and MS Word to print out a page of 8 cards then guillotine to size.

I print them on slightly thicker glossy photo card. Ideal.
 
As an amateur myself ive had some cards done, mainly because I get asked by people if they could see some of the photos once they are done. So ive used vista print and got the freebie ones which contain my web address, email and mobile number on there.
 
I carry visiting cards rather than business cards - far easier to hand one over than to write out name, address, numbers etc every time somebody wants them! Home printed on Avery cards (still using up some freebies I was given) so no major investment!
 
Minor point,

if you are selling images then you're no longer an 'amateur' and handing out business cards is one of the easiest ways to get noticed by El Taxman.
 
admirable said:
Minor point,

if you are selling images then you're no longer an 'amateur' and handing out business cards is one of the easiest ways to get noticed by El Taxman.
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not neccessarily a bad thing when you consider how much money many amatuers invest in their equipment (not just photographic) this could include car/home office printers/computers etc etc (many might be suprised what they areentitled to claim against) which would then become tax deductable as depreciating asset investments and with the paltry amount of actual real profit made on any sales it could mean that many are owed a tax rebate on their total earnings,employed and self employed,and those not employed may find that they are entitled to tax credits

but back on topic

it is also possible to get 6" x 4" business cards from many shops like boots etc for £3.50 per 100,thats just 3.5p each.:).just edit your details on your fav pictures,Guillotine comes in handy if you want to cut into 2 or 3 pcs,cheaper than using your own 'manufacturers' ink too


peter
 
pmiddleditch said:
at 22p each and as an amatuer/hobbyist i wouldnt want to be handing out to many of them to complete strangers especially when just casually networking


peter
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am i being thick here if it £21.98 for 100 how is that 22p each? :shrug:
 
Sign up with Vista print and put business cards in your basket, if you don't purchase them, they'll keep on emailing you better offers. I managed to get 500 custom/my own design uploaded for £2.50+delivery (delivery isn't cheap considering). But 500 cards for less than a tenner delivered, can't complain (unless the quality is rubbish - I'll wait and see).
 
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Right me being thick again then i stand coorrected, no shock there really.
 
pmiddleditch said:
it is also possible to get 6" x 4" business cards from many shops like boots etc for £3.50 per 100,thats just 3.5p each.:).just edit your details on your fav pictures,Guillotine comes in handy if you want to cut into 2 or 3 pcs,cheaper than using your own 'manufacturers' ink too
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Good idea that, might have to make some up for next print run I do, got 50 free at snapfish too thanks to McDonalds.

alexw9 said:
Sign up with Vista print and put business cards in your basket, if you don't purchase them, they'll keep on emailing you better offers. I managed to get 500 custom/my own design uploaded for £2.50+delivery (delivery isn't cheap considering). But 500 cards for less than a tenner delivered, can't complain (unless the quality is rubbish - I'll wait and see).
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I have actually done just that, as they wanted £1.75 for post I left it while I checked out moo.com's prices (£0, free shipping too). I doubt I'll even need one nevermind 10.

If by some miracle I do sell something I will worry about the tax man then.
 
A friend of mine used vistaprint and the quality left a bit to be desired. I use 123print and went for the cheapy paper first time round and they were still pretty naff.

Recently ordered updated cards with a premium finish and better quality paper. 100 cards for about £10 delivered, bargain! Quality is good and the ink has a nice raised feel to it to add to the texture. Still got the matt backing which is handy for jotting notes on.

Worthy investment they are I think.
 
Vistaprint cards are horrible.
Moo are not too pricey and you'll end up with a card that's roughly 9,000 times nicer.
 
What are you directing people to with the cards though? Flickr - or your own website?
 
moo mini cards are great !!!

as an amatuer they are too big fit great in a pocket and you have the chance to use your own pictures on the back

love them and about to order set no 3 in the next few days
 
The ones I ordered link to my website. This is hosted for free and all it costs is the domain fees of about £5 every 2 years. The email is provided free by google using google apps.
 
maninsuitcase said:
The ones I ordered link to my website. This is hosted for free and all it costs is the domain fees of about £5 every 2 years. The email is provided free by google using google apps.
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Off topic, but just had a quick look at your site.. you might want to add in the missing words to this sentence in your 'about me' page. ;)

"ps. I don’t want photograph your wedding. And really you don’t me to either."
 
Zukabak said:
Off topic, but just had a quick look at your site.. you might want to add in the missing words to this sentence in your 'about me' page. ;)

"ps. I don’t want photograph your wedding. And really you don’t me to either."
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I changed that last night....it was late. Honest guv.
 
Because I shoot bands - and audiences I sometimes get people asking "where can I see the pictures". After realising tearing a beer mat apart is not the best - and nobody has a pen..I got about 250 free from Vistaprint. I wouldn't use them if I was a Pro..but they do the job for me.

BUT - once Vistaprint have your email address they never give up!!! I must get about 5 emails a week from them with offers, "your order is waiting" etc etc. I just delete and put it down to the price I paid for my free cards.
 
These days as i'm not soliciting work I dont bother - ive got my day job cards if someone does just want an email and i can always write my mobile on the back.

when I was actively soliciting work I used to use A7 postcards (half the size of a standard one) , they work out very cheap if you buy in bulk (for example I recently got a price from optima graphics in topsham to do some for work which came out a 6p each for a 5000 run ) - Most Biz cards are A8 so an A7 stands out and lets you put a pretty pic on one side with your contacts on the back
 
Vista print standard cards are horrid, but upgrade to premium and they are better.

Top tip for using Vista print.

Go on site, put something in your basket and do not checkout.
Wait a few days and you get lots of offers.

Go back in and add one of the offers eg: premium business cards, do not check out, log out and go back the next day, select another offer and add it to your baskeet eg: fridge magnets with a calendar attached and your business cards (please note - only add things that are FREE!)

Keep doing this until you have all that you want!

Then check out, yes your postage is higher, but I have had, 2 banners, 500 mailing labels, 500 premium business cards, 10 fridge magnets busines cards and calendars.

I also have about five different templates for my business cards some of them with an offer on the back, ie: 10% off your first on-line order etc.

My bill was less than forty pounds and delivery was snail mail but still came within three weeks.

Yes there is better out there and yes more expensive, you just have to decide what you want, obviously if you are high end, you would not be considering Vista Print but as a starting point its the way to go, my opinion anyway.

I ordered 1000 business cards for a haidresing friend, a good desing on front and appt card on reverse (please also tick the box to not include the tacky vista print logo!) Local printer price £215 plus VAT, vista print, £44 delivered!

Also watch out at checkout as they tick things you may want and if you don't untick them you will be billed for them, also make sure that the box to take monthly payments from your credit card is also not ticked (I can;t remember what they call this service but hopefully someone else will know). I only ever pay them with paypal, that way they only get what I am giving them.

Ellie
 
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WP-UK said:
A friend of mine used vistaprint and the quality left a bit to be desired. I use 123print and went for the cheapy paper first time round and they were still pretty naff.

Recently ordered updated cards with a premium finish and better quality paper. 100 cards for about £10 delivered, bargain! Quality is good and the ink has a nice raised feel to it to add to the texture. Still got the matt backing which is handy for jotting notes on.

Worthy investment they are I think.
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Yep i've used 123 print for cards before (not for photography ...) and they seem much better than Vista especially once you start customising things.
 
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