photo credit: massdistraction via photopin cc
- On counters of non-competing businesses that share your target customer base
- In hotel card racks; if you’re a B2B company, in hotel rooms. Some concierges will hand your business cards out for you
- Chamber of Commerce card rack
- Convention and Visitors’ Bureau card rack
- In relevant library and bookstore books, especially how-to’s
- In with all product shipments
- At trade show booths
- On public bulletin boards
- In clean public restrooms, perhaps taped or inserted along the edges of mirrors
- In all sales letters/sales packages
- At restaurants and bars
- At the barber – many have bulletin boards for business cards
- At salons, especially if you offer a relevant and non-competing service
- In phone books, specifically public yellow pages where your business is listed
- In with all invoices
- In with all bill payments – you never know when your payees need your products and services
- Gas station counters and card racks
- Coffee shops
- Under windshield wipers, where legal and relevant
- In doctor office waiting rooms
- At airports, airport lounges, etc.
- At bus stations and bus stops
- In taxis; some drivers will hand your business cards out for you for a kickback
- Specialty shops, particularly niche retailers relevant to your business and audience
- College bulletin boards – on campus
- At the bank; network with tellers, loan officers, and managers who will promote your services
- With your accountant or bookkeeper, especially if you’re a B2B or residential service company
- Business/startup centers if you’re a B2B
- Vending areas
- Friend and family member automobiles – it sparks conversation, and they might be willing to help distribute your business cards
Remember, the key is relevance. Place your business cards in areas your target audience is likely to see them, and you’ll increase your brand awareness and even motivate a few phone calls. Where else can you distribute your business cards?
These are quite clever, Brian. Especially slipping them into relevant books at stores and libraries. Its fun to wonder just when that card you "planted" will work for you. Do you track your biz cards?
Thank you, Kevin! You could track business cards in a number of ways (custom phone numbers, custom URLs, QR codes, etc.) but it might prove difficult to track individual business cards unless you specifically ask prospects where they found them. Those placed in certain geographic locations might be easier to track, simply based on where a client lives. Of course, with a bit of creativity you could print sticker sheets with variable data, and place stickers on business cards to help track them individually. Or, you could print smaller batches of business cards, each batch for a specific distribution strategy, which could aid in tracking. I agree the ability to measure response is valuable; at the same time, business cards are so cheap to print it's worth planting them everywhere to see what response you get as a whole. Thanks for posting!