5 Tips for Printing the Ultimate Real Estate Business Card

Real estate is a competitive industry and, as much as you may hate to admit it, looks definitely matter. No, not realtors’ physical appearance, but the appeal of a home, yard, town or school district. As a real estate agent, you know this, and that’s why you spend time and effort improving the atmosphere before letting customers loose on open houses or taking clients for a quick viewing.

However, for all the focus on appearance, realtors often forget the most important part: They, themselves, must look professional, and what better way to demonstrate your serious demeanor and battle-hardened integrity than a business card. After all, a great business card can make some people very jealous, while making other individuals honored to even receive one. On top of that, the Small Business Chronicle reported that business cards act as a form of credibility, as you display a level of trustworthiness by giving someone your personal information. This means having an awesome business card is essential in real estate.

However, you can’t just slap your name on a small card and call it a day. You must put some thought, time and effort into a business card’s creation, as this will represent you as brand, a person and a professional.

Here are five tips for creating the ultimate real estate business card.

1. Use high-quality materials
In the movie “American Psycho,” starring Christian Bale, a cast of a wealthy Manhattan businessman compare business cards, and with each one presented, Bale’s character laments how his coworkers’ cards are much higher quality than his own with regard to the printing and the paper.

While no one should aspire to be the main protagonist in that movie, the message is clear: A nice business card, printed on high-quality paper, without any inaccuracies can make quite the impression on colleagues, clients and customers.

2. Get creative with themes
On the topic of movies and books, real estate agents shouldn’t be afraid to inject some of their own personality into their business cards. Whether that’s mimicking a style from some of your favorite companies or colleagues, using a pop culture reference or simply sticking to real estate-inspired designs, don’t discount the importance of style.

For example, a Daily Dot article highlighted Donna MacAulay, a real estate agent for RE/MAX in Ottawa, Canada, who created a business card that resembles a Magic: the Gathering trading card. Complete with an ability, class and photo, MacAulay said that these have gotten her “a bunch of leads,” the source reported.

3. Stand out with color

If you don’t want to get too crazy with your business card designs – though there’s nothing wrong with that – then at least use some color to make yours stand out from other realtors’. Printaholic listed some “cool” real estate agent business cards, and one of them cleverly mixed black and white photos with highly contrasting yellows to really pop.

Another design on Printaholic used big, bold typeface and a red background to make the realtor’s name and number pop right away when someone sees the business card.

4. Keep it simple

More than just a mantra for the U.S. Navy, “Keep it simple, stupid” is also applicable to the world of real estate business cards.

So, make text readable, don’t be afraid of using blank space and if there isn’t enough room on the front of your business card, use the back. Furthermore, take advantage of the standard 3.5″ x 2″  size, as the Small Business Chronicle explained that this makes business cards easily fit in wallets, on bulletin boards or in envelopes.

Meanwhile, BrandCo noted that unnecessary functionality on business cards is simply a waste of money, pointing to those that include tip calculators on the back.

5. Remember to include all digital information

Just because you are using print marketing doesn’t mean that you want to keep clients away from your social media sites and real estate association’s homepage. You should always include an email address, a Facebook URL, a Twitter username and your website. If you want to give your customers an extra push to online channels, throw a QR code on your business card and watch the “Likes” stack up.

Business cards are an essential marketing tool, and the role they play in real estate is critical. So, make sure your business cards are up to snuff by adhering to these five tips.

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