Seven trenchcoat-clad executives walked single file through the front doors of the café where I was seated. I stood to wave them over to our table. At the time, I was working for a non-profit organization, and we were building a new software product. I had spent weeks vetting developers, and this trechcoat-clad gaggle of executives represented one of the top three firms.
As they reached our table, each of them greeted me and placed their business card on the table in front of me. By the time I finished meeting all of them, I felt like I had been dealt into a game of Blackjack. It got me thinking about the oft-overrated business card.
It used to be that having a business card bolstered your claims of expertise. But in the age of the do-it-yourself Internet where you can get 250 professionally-designed business cards for free, anyone who can cover the shipping cost just cozied up next to you in first class.
These days, it takes more than a business card to establish you as an expert, and that is why your WordPress blog, and the concept of content marketing, are changing the way people do business. Your WordPress blog is more Important than your business cards.
1. Your Blog Has Far Greater Reach
Unless you are like this guy and can throw your business card like a ninja star, your blog will always be far more effective at reaching people. Your business cards are only available to whoever you can physically hand them to. They are geographically limited. No one in California is going to hear about your Georgia-based development firm from your business card.
Your blog, on the other hand, has tremendous reach and is available day and night around the clock to virtually anyone in the world. And with proper SEO, Google becomes your friend. People don’t even need to know your name to discover you’re an expert at what you do.
The potential reach between your business card and your blog is so stark, it is almost comical. Yet, it’s conventional wisdom to have business cards, but uncommon to create and market your content online through your blog. Something is backwards.
2. Your Blog Says Far More About You
The Trechcoat Seven that waltzed into the café that day dealt me their business cards, but that didn’t tell me much about them other than their contact info. There was no face, no voice, no personality and no expertise anywhere on that card. I had to get that elsewhere. The business card leaves so much unsaid.
Your WordPress blog, by contrast, is a stage where the light shines directly on you. People can get to know the person behind the name and job title. That’s how you build trust.
Once you have that, it is only a matter of time before you have their business, too.
3. Your Blog Does Far More to Establish You As an Expert
If you want to establish expertise, you must repeatedly show it to people. This is what your blog is for, and what your business card can never do.
On your blog, you get to stand on your platform on your little corner of the Internet and demonstrate your expertise at what you do. So get out there. Talk about what you know. Solve problems for people. Listen to your readers and respond to them. Your blog is your self-made opportunity. You don’t have to be the biggest expert on the Internet to be successful. Just own your niche.
So Should You Scrap Business Cards Altogether?
Having a business card probably doesn’t hurt, but not having a blog might. Understand the power of your blog when it comes to marketing your business. Build a great WordPress blog, in content and appearance.
At Todaymade, we use business cards to leave behind our contact info, but they are also great to put in the fishbowl at the local deli for a drawing to win a free lunch. More importantly, we blog, podcast and give out free eBooks on what we know. Our business cards drive people to our blog. That establishes our expertise more than a business card ever could.
Still not convinced? Consider this: You don’t have my business card, but you just read my blog post.
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