Want More Writing Jobs? Try This Simple Trick.

You might be surprised how many writers don’t have business cards. Or maybe you don’t have them yourself—in which case I strongly urge you to get some ASAP. (You can get them very cheaply at any print shop or office supply superstore, or free on the web—just Google “free business cards.”)

“Why do I need business cards?” some writers ask. “I do almost all of my business via email, phone, and occasionally snail mail. If someone wants my contact information, I can email it to them. It’s not like there’s something magic about business cards.”

Wrong. There is something magic about business cards. It works like this: if you give someone your contact information in an email, or in a voice mail, or on a piece of paper, most of the time they’ll lose or misplace it. But if you give them a business card, most of the time they’ll save it. This isn’t logical or fair, but it’s how things work: people keep business cards and lose everything else.

Some folks even have special filing systems just for keeping other people’s business cards. Others, like me, file them in old-style rolodexes.

So if someone asks you for detailed contact information, don’t just give it to them. Also mail them three copies of your business card. This is one of a few ways in which snail mail is actually superior to electronic communication.

I’ve gotten at least $50,000 worth of additional business just because I have simple business cards and give them out when the situation warrants it.

Do you have a story of how your business card increased your income or advanced your writing career? Or do you have a story of how not having a business card hurt you professionally?