Preparing for a craft fair part 5: Business cards

Craft fairs are, above all, a fantastic way to network and promote your crafts. You will have opportunities to meet and chat with lots of different people, including customers, potential future customers and other stallholders. You need to be prepared for this, and having a stack of business cards at the ready is the most effective way to prepare. 

My business cards, from Zazzle

Business cards are available from lots of online retailers, all clamouring with special offers of "free business cards", so it's difficult to know where really does offer best value for money, along with the best quality. 3 big contenders in this field are Vistaprint, Moo and Zazzle, and this post will explore my experience with each.

Vistaprint- I have used Vistaprint before, when I was running Baby Brain, my craft group for new mums. At the time, they were offering 250 premium business cards for £5, and the offer seemed too good to pass up. The premium cards were lovely, clearly excellent quality, printed on thick card, and my own logo looked great on them. They did end up costing a lot more than £5, however, as the shipping was quite pricey. There were also hidden charges on top, such as extra to use your own logo, and extra to opt out of having the Vistaprint logo on the back. 

Moo- This is a relatively new company, and it is unique in that they offer a sample pack of 10 personalised business cards for absolutely free (no postage either!) Another free option from Moo is a showcase sample pack (not personalised) which includes one of each product. I received these samples, which arrived well-packaged and quickly. The cards themselves (classic) were thick and did feel professional. 

10 free sample cards from Moo

The back of the Moo sample cards

Zazzle- My favourites overall. I found that Zazzle had by far the best range of designs available, and even had a ready-made design featuring a pink robot! I also favoured this company because they display costs upfront on their website, instead of adding "extras" on at the end. This honest approach means you can make up your mind while feeling fully informed, instead of a little cheated as you check out.   

The lovely people at Zazzle sent me a voucher to order and review some business cards, along with an adorable reusable coffee flask- which will be perfect for standing at a craft stall on a chilly day! I found that the whole design process was easy to follow, and the website was straightforward to navigate. I opted for the design featuring the pink robot (of course!) which comes printed both sides in colour as standard. Despite it being a ready-made design, it really feels true to my brand. I was able to add as much or as little text as I wanted, and here are my final designs: 

The front of my business cards

Full colour on the back too!

Pink Robot travel mug

Standard delivery on the business cards was very reasonable at £2.84, and it took just over a week for them to arrive. They come packaged in a handy little plastic box to keep them safe. There are loads of matching products on the website for most designs,  including stickers, leaflets, T-shirts and mugs, so in future I would find it easy to add to my Pink Robot merchandise. I am really pleased with my business cards and matching travel mug!