CRITIQUE YOUR BUSINESS CARD FOR MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS DURING “BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH BUSINESS CARDS WEEK”

Columbia, Missouri October 7, 2007 – With Build Your Business with Business Cards Week rapidly approaching, Business Card Expert Diana Ratliff is offering a free checklist to help business card users assess the effectiveness of their current business card. Her 16-point checklist covers the aspects of design, content and marketing potential that transform ordinary business cards into powerful attention-getters.

According to industry lore, more than 90% of business cards are thrown away within a day of being received; less than 1% of business cards are kept more than 30 days. However, Ratliff says that any businessperson who takes the time to analyze new or current business cards and modify them if necessary can create business cards that function as effective marketing tools.

Ratliff created “Build Your Business with Business Cards Week” several years ago to celebrate this ubiquitous bit of advertising material, give users a reason to mingle and exchange business cards, and help new and experienced business card wielders fine-tune their business card design and marketing techniques.

“You need to step back and look at your business card through the eyes of a prospective customer,” says Ratliff, “and ask yourself whether your card’s design and content gives people the information they truly need. A card given to prospective customers, for example, needs to sell them on doing business with you, so marketing-oriented content such as product benefits are good to include. Existing customers might appreciate expanded contact options.”

Among the criteria included in the Business Card Critique Checklist are:

* Card conveys the desired impression (e.g. serious, bold, friendly, precise, casual)

* Logo (if used) is professional and unique — not stock clip art

* Users can tell what you do just by looking at your card

* Card is consistently carried and given out at every possible opportunity (If not, why?)

“Build Your Business with Business Cards Week” will be celebrated October 14-20, 2007. A free printable version of the entire Business Card Critique Checklist is available at her website, www.BusinessCardDesign.com. Also available is a recent review and comparison chart of popular online business card printers and a printing discount code.