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Mini Business Cards

A few weeks ago I was so jealous of Michael Stephens’ business cards! They were an unusual size and they had variety and pictures on them. These are called “Minicards”. As Michael would say “That’s hot!”
There’s a new printing company that ties itself to Flickr called MOO. You can use any of your Flickr images on your Minicards. You order them batches as small as 100 and you get to choose which Flickr images you want and can have as many as there are cards in one batch.
How could you use them? I can brainstorm hundreds of ideas here but, for starters:
• Use them as business cards
• Have photos of your library club kids put on Flickr and make personalized business cards for them to promote the library
• Make up a set for your trustees with their photos so they can promote the library
• Take photos of story hour and promote it with cards. Lead them to library’s URL for the event calendar.
• Take photos of your volunteers and donors and make a mini Hall of Fame on Flickr and give them the cards
• Use the photo side of the card as trim on book displays
• Offer them as custom bookmarks with actual customers on them
• Leave them about in malls, hotels and clubs, like those restaurant recommendation cards
• Promote theme months and events with a picture (Imagine your Halloween costume winners on next year’s cards)
• Make Xmas themed ones with pictures of holiday books
• Make cards for your mascot (or their handler) to hand out to get invites to other community events. The mascot’s picture can be different on all of them!
• Ask for your community to send in community pictures on a theme (like libraries, reading, crafts, genealogy,…) and create a community themed card set.
• Give the summer reading club cool weekly incentives as cards
• Have something to hand out to school visits when they get their shiny new library card. Is there a celebrity TV, radio, sports start in your town who could send in a photo and message?
• Get personalized professional cards for staff that are easy to have with you when they’re recognized in the mall or food shopping or at the soccer / T-Ball / baseball game. Put the URL on it, for sure.
• Promote your tagline, mission, or vision in great graphical form. All it takes is a digital photo and a free Flickr account and a few bucks to buy some cards
Gee, I wonder if they’d make stickers too…. My imagination is running away with me! I love this service – Cheap and Cheerful. Used effectively, you can increase card ownership, traffic, circulation, program attendance…
Learn more at this posting on the Business Innovation blog. It shows you how to do it and it is simple!
Stephen

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Posted on: November 15, 2006, 1:07 am Category: Uncategorized

2 Responses

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  1. I have sent out for Moo.com business cards, and although I love the idea, there is much to be done as far as shipping, how long it takes to get your order, and the expense since it comes from afar. I don’t think I will use them again, or tell people about it, it has become quite a hastle ordering, and getting orders seperately or not at all, and in much too long a time for such a great shipping expense. Inconsistent in getting orders together. SOrry I wish this was better organized, it is a great idea.

  2. I totally agree with Kit,
    I think these minicards are really a great product but moo is expensive and it takes a while to get them plus their colors are very dark. I recently purchased new minicards which are slightly bigger than moo cards from myminicards.com and the colors were great, the cards come with 4 cool minicard dispenser and I received them in only 2 days. I read that moo now also provides a dispenser case but they charge you for it and it only carries a few cards. the other site give out 4 and they each carry 25 minicards and they are cheaper, so I will stick with myminicards.com for my future orders.