You know that you need to order business cards, and have probably spent hours thinking about the design – but how many should you print? This option trips up many marketers during the business card ordering process, and for good reason. The answer is going to vary depending on the type of business, seniority level of the person you’re ordering for and how youHow Many Business Cards to Print plan on marketing using the cards. Order too few business cards and you’re going to miss opportunities, too many and they’ll just collect dust on the shelf. Don’t worry – we can help you determine how many business cards you should print.

Before we get into specific numbers, it’s important to note that the quantity you order is also going to effect cost. One thing you might not know, the more you order, the cheaper the cost per card. While this shouldn’t be the leading factor in determining how many business cards you order to be printed, it has to play some role in the final decision. Some people just don’t need to print 20,000 business cards at a time.

The other factor is the price of your product / service. If your business relies on high quantities of customers with smaller margins on each, your approach will be different from someone who targets a handful of specific clients that each spend significant amounts with their business. For example, if you’re selling custom designed business cards (like us!) you need more customers than a commercial real estate developer that works on just a few projects per year.

High Quality & High Quantity Orders

As a general rule, if your average customer spends less than $1,000 per transaction, we recommend printing standard or premium business cards because you will want to order in bulk. Do you ship orders to customers? Include 2 business cards in every package. Have orders picked up from your shop, drop a couple in the bag with the receipt!

For companies that rely on high value clients that spend over $1,000 per transaction, we recommend super thick business cards or custom shaped business cards to stand out from the rest. You won’t need to hand your card out as frequently as the first type of company, but will want to make a big first impression when you find the right opportunity. Having trouble finding ways to distribute your business card? You aren’t alone…

The Business Card Challenge

Need a little motivation to use those business cards you printed? Take the business card challenge! We want you to give out 1 business card per business day for an entire month to start. If you can make it that far – extend it to a quarter – then a year! Giving out one business card per business day of the year will help you introduce your company to 250 new people.

So, how many business cards should you print? Start with an order of 1,000 and see how long it lasts you. Pricing for 1,000 cards starts at just $19.99. Surprised? Get started on your design with our free business card templates now!

Published by Nick Artounian

I am the CEO of a successful online printing company in the Greater Los Angeles area. I enjoy professional networking with clients and members of the design community.