All right fellow writers, it’s time to get serious about your offline presence. There are lots of different types of writers, from web only SEO copywriters to published authors and freelance journalists. These facets of the profession have more things in common than perfect grammar, and by that I mean unimaginative business cards. I get that many writers struggle to express themselves visually, but I don’t see that as a valid excuse for yet another typewriter based graphic. Unless you actually use an antique typewriter, there are plenty of better ways to represent your talents. Besides, you don’t want to give the wrong impression to potential clients by associating yourself with outdated technology.
Creative Inspiration
You’ve probably worked around enough designers to know that the cardinal rule of print design is keep it simple, stooge! This basically means don’t overdue it by trying to cram too much into a small space. It’s easy to get caught into this trap by overloading the contact info, but there’s no need to list everything that can easily be found on your website. Aside from your logo, name, title, phone number, and web address, you should include 2 or 3 social networks where you’re the most active career wise.
But that’s the easy part of creating cards. Coming up with a unique concept takes a lot of thought; writers are known for superior critical thinking skills, so put on your thinking caps and explore the following design ideas:
Bookmark Business Cards
The internet is filled with photos of author boomarks, but they’re almost entirely released by publishing companies to promote specific works. I couldn’t find a single example of a writer who used custom bookmarks as a substitute for standard cards. Of course, the above template won’t fit inside a wallet, so you might want to make a regular sized set to go along with your cooler cards.
Mini Cards with Personal Quotes
Now you could simply use quotes from your favorite famous authors, although that seems a bit counterproductive to promoting your own expertise. Besides, you don’t want to violate any applicable trademarks. Put 5 of your favorite lines from articles you’ve written or brainstorm a handful of awesome original inspirational one liners.
Folded Cards for Fiction Writers
This would work for non-fiction writers as well. As long as you’re an author, you can put one of your book covers on the front of a folded card. If you haven’t published anything yet, then a generic book cover with your logo on it will do for the front. Another angle would be to make a mock autobiography. The inside portion will be a kind of centerfold, which would be the perfect place to add your career highlights or a catchy tagline.
For the Modern Freelancer
This one’s more for the web copy crowd interested in giving off a tech-savy vibe. The key components here are bold colors, strong typography, sleek round corners, and minimalist style. The rounded corners aren’t seen in the image above, but this seems like a nice touch to me.
Notebook Paper
A tad more conventional than the other options, a paper theme is still preferable to the typewriter you’ve never used.
Community Sound Off
Are you a freelance writer with awesome business cards? Have you ever designed cards for a writer client? Share your thoughts or projects in the comments below!