How To Make An Unforgettable Boudoir Business Card

Business cards… we’ve all seen ‘em. We’ve all collected them from others at conventions, trade shows, and networking events. Most, if not all, were pretty forgettable, unimpressive, and lacked one very key ingredient. It’s something I like to call the “OMG” factor (or before social media, the “WOW” factor — same thing.)

Have you taken a look at your own boudoir business card lately? I mean, a good hard look. Does it impress you? Are you blown away by it? If not, then your boudoir business card is probably pretty average and thus, forgettable.

People to whom you give your boudoir business card to need be compelled to do one thing, and that is… be so impressed that they become inspired and motivated to immediately look up your website and check you out.

Now that’s a boudoir business card that’s doing its job! 

You see, a business card can serve two purposes but most business owners use it for only one. The first and most obvious purpose it serves is as a way for potential clients to contact you about your business. It has all your contact information on there, like name, phone number, and email. 

And that’s great. It should have all that… and be easy to read to boot. (Please don’t make your contact info so small that you need a magnifying glass to see it).

But what’s the second purpose your boudoir business card serves?

The second purpose your business card serves is to make an impression so strong that it inspires and motivates that person to go to your website ASAP. “Inspire” and “motivate” being the key words. 

“Motivate” meaning it causes them to “take action”. 

“Inspire” meaning it causes them to “take action” now… (or as soon as possible).

All Right Mr. Smarty Pants, So How Do I Make My Boudoir Business Card Have the “OMG” Factor?

I’m glad you asked.

Now, this isn’t some brilliant idea I came up with myself.

No, unfortunately I’m not that smart 🙁

I learned it from another photographer from another genre. Whether he learned it from someone else or came up with the idea himself, I’m not sure. He would not say when I was waterboarding him for his marketing prowess. 

Anywhooo…. when I saw it, I know immediately that it was — brilliant. 

The “OMG” boudoir business card requires three things, they are:

1. The killer image
2. A large template
3. Simplicity in design

Let’s now take a look at each of these key ingredients, shall we?

The Killer Image

The killer image is your best image, or one of your best images. Different factors my make several of your images killer in their own way but you get my point. 

This is an image that stops their fingers from scrolling once they see it, and forces them to spend time gazing at it. It reaches through the screen and grabs them by the throat, causing them to set that cafe-mocha-double-latte-frapachino-half-caf-double-decaf down on the table so they can place their thumb and index finger onto the screen and enlarge that sucker for a closer look!

You’ll have to decide which of your images does that, and it should change over time the better you become as a photographer. If you don’t have an image like that yet, just choose the one that comes closet to that and work on getting one (or two, or three, or four… etc. until you are consistently producing images at that level). 

Converting Your Image File To CMYK

Okay, once we have our killer image (or two, if you want to make two versions of your business card with two separate images) make sure you convert that JPG or TIFF file to have a CMYK  profile for printing. 

You can do that in Photoshop by first opening up your image > under Edit at the top of the menu, scroll down to Convert to Profile (the Convert to Profile window will pop up) > under the Destination Space / Profile: click the little down arrow icon so the menu appears > scroll down and select Coated GRACol 2006 > then click Okay

Note: This is the CMYK profile that moo.com uses for their printers. If using a different company contact them first to find out exactly which CMYK profile they recommend for their printers.

You see, you have to convert to the CMYK profile for most third-party print shops because the colors and ink they use for printing are different than the colors used for digital display on computer screens… or something like that. Close enough. 

In a nutshell, cameras and monitors use the sRBG color profile, printers use the CMYK color profile and that’s all you really need to know.

Note: There are some print places that may do the conversion for you but ask first to make sure.

A Large Template

Okay, this is really the secret sauce. 

You’re not going to use a dinky little standard-size business card for a number of reasons. First of which it’s not a good format for your image. You want your killer image to be killer, right? Well, it needs to be displayed in a larger format.

The format I use is 4 1/4” in height x 3 3/4″ in width — it’s half the size of the “Large Flyer” size on moo.com which is where I get my business cards printed (if you haven’t guessed by now — and “no” that’s not an affiliate link… yet… but some day I hope to earn one million dollars from it!).

In fact, you can’t just order this custom size. I design these on the “Long Flyer” size template so there’s two cards per one flyer then I cut them in half.

Did you catch that? I’ll explain it again.

I design my large size business cards on the “Long Flyer” size template, which is 3.67” x 8.5 so there’s two business cards per one flyer (one above the other) then I just cut them all in half to get two separate business cards.

You want a large business card because it displays your killer image much better and the card is more memorable, it makes a statement.

I also print them on the thickest stock available because I want it to feel substantial as well.

I’m tellin’ ya’, every person I hand my business card to spends the very next moment just looking at it because it’s so out of the ordinary and makes an impression.

They say, “This is your business card?”

And I say, “Yup.” 

And then they spend the next few moments examining it and looking at it, and commenting on my killer image.

“Wow, this looks great.” — Is not an uncommon reaction.

Note the “Wow” part — the “OMG” factor.

The Reason I Don’t Use Postcard Size

The reason I don’t use any of the postcard size templates is because to me, it just doesn’t have that special enough vibe to it — it’s a postcard.

You want your boudoir business card to be unique and special and not like anything else out there… including a regular postcard. Plus, I use that size for my Gift Vouchers. I want my business card to not feel like a gift voucher.

Simplicity In Design

The last key element is in the design itself. You want simplicity. 

One image.

One punch.

One knockout.

Boom!

Have it take up one whole side with no logo, info, or watermark. Save that for the other side. Display it like a work of art. They’ll turn it over because it creates curiosity to begin with.

Now, you can have different versions of your business card with different images, but stick to only one image per card that takes up one whole side. The other side is for your logo, website, and contact info.

The point of the one killer image is to inspire and motivate them to check out your website where they can see more of your work and then hopefully contact you for a consultation or to book a shoot. 

The Point of It All

You want to make your killer boudoir business card so nice that people will feel guilty about tossing it in the trash. They’ll hold on to it even if they’re not interested in a boudoir shoot… yet. 

“Hmm… maybe I’ll just hang onto this for awhile.” 

She says to herself as she’s cleaning her desk and getting rid of stuff she doesn’t need anymore. 

And there you have it. How to create a boudoir business card that is unique and unforgettable.

Thanks for your time!

If you found this article helpful, please forward it to someone else who may benefit from it as well. 

Charles Mitri

Founder / Lounge Boudoir

Bella Mitri Boudoir