Getting Creative at Work

Last week, "Nametag" Scott Ginsberg (@nametagscott) posted a blog entry titled How to Create an Autoresponder That Customers Print Out & Show to Their Boss that got me thinking. If in our day-to-day business world we can spark creativity in something as simple as an email autoresponder, what else are we neglecting?

So I got to thinking. And with a little help from my friends, an idea hit me like a ton of bricks. Well, Maybe a ton of 2-inch by 3-inch pieces of cardstock. Yes, friends, I am talking about the miniature billboard most of us carry around in our planner, wallet, or purse. The business card.

If you're like me, your company's business card is quite generic. Sure, it has your firm's color scheme on is, but the presentation is basically the same. It has your contact information—sometimes in embossed type, for the big spenders—but it is that standard one-sided list of contact methods on white cardstock.

So, you may find yourself asking, "Eric, what's wrong with that? It's what everyone has." And that, my friends, is the problem: Everyone has the same thing. Using the traditional business card approach does not help you or your company stand out from the crowd. It does not leave a memorable impression in the minds of your customers or colleagues. It does not force the recipient to stop and take a second look.

So what is a businessperson to do? Think outside the box, er, card (as the case may be). Well, while perusing my conglomeration of RSS feeds, the fine folks at Photojojo (@photojojo) published an article dealing with this very topic. Although geared toward photographers, 12 Awesome Photography Business Card Ideas is chock-full of ideas that can be put to use by a variety of corporations and individuals alike.

From utilizing both sides of the business card to breaking out of the traditional card size, each of the ideas in this article are sure to get your mind going and inspire you to give your business card a powerful makeover. Even if their ideas won't work for your particular firm, it should get the mental gears started to turn and rethink your approach to business cards to help break out of the mold and get noticed.