Networking is essential when it comes to building your brand. When those opportunities arise and you meet someone new – whether a fellow blogger or a brand client, having a card with all your information to pass along couldn’t be more effective and useful to maintain those new contacts.

True fact: your blog = YOUR BUSINESS and such as you would in a corporate job setting, having a business card with your personal brand information is something I highly suggest investing your time in creating for yourself.

When I first started out blogging, I attended several blogger conferences – such as Lucky Fabb – where networking with bloggers and brands was prime for building awareness for yourself. I remember the first conference I ever attended was a HUGE eye opener, as I hadn’t thought to make business cards and found myself in quite an embarrassing position when scribbling my name, email and blog site URL on a scrap piece of paper…my makeshift way of connecting with brands that were interested in working with me.

Oh yeah, you can imagine my lack of preparation probably prevented me from making more connections that would’ve helped me get a leg up with brand collaborations. Lesson learned. So here I am trying to inspire you to not make the same mistake I did and be prepared the next time you attend a conference, event or even press preview. HAVE BUSINESS CARDS HANDY!

I happened to be a graphic design major for two years before switching to public relations, so some of the basic 101 tools stuck with me and I designed my card myself. However, there are sites such as VistaPrint that have templates pre-made for you to easily add your information and saved logo images to make a perfect business card.

There are a few things you should definitely include in your design layout:

– BLOG NAME/LOGO AT TOP OF CARD

– YOUR FIRST NAME (LAST NAME OPTIONAL)

– SIMPLE TERMS THAT DESCRIBE YOUR BLOG (OUTFITS, FOOD, FITNESS ETC)

– YOUR CITY/STATE LOCATION (HELPS BRANDS TO KNOW WHERE YOUR BLOG IS BASED)

– SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLE/ICONS (ICONS ALONE ARE FINE IF THERE’S LIMITED ROOM)

– CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS

– BLOG SITE URL/LINK

– IMAGE OF YOURSELF (OPTIONAL)

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