A couple of weeks ago I went to Vegas to meet up with my friend, Chris. Chris and I met six years ago, Halloween night, in a backpacker bar in Noosa, Australia. We talked and danced and… stuff… for a few hours, then went our separate ways. The fact that we’re still in touch and still friends after all these years comes down to one simple act:
Before we said ‘goodbye’, he handed me his card.
What, you don’t have personal cards? Not business cards that give away enough details about you to make you easily stalkable, but cards that list just your email or blog address, so that you can keep in touch, if you want to.
Here are some options for creating your own, to help the people who you want to remember, remember you.
Moo Cards
These cute little mini cards can be made using one of their designs or by importing your own favorite photos. Moo can tap into your Flikr or Facebook accounts to pull those photos so you don’t have to waste time uploading the same photos over again.
Get 100 mini cards for $19.99, plus shipping.
Zazzle
Zazzle is a little cheaper and offers lots of designs and editing options. It also allows you to upload your own photos or designs, but isn’t connected to Flikr or any other site, so you’re starting from scratch.
Get 100 mini cards for $18.98, plus shipping.
Vista Print
Vista doesn’t offer mini cards, but you can get 250 free regular-sized business cards from them (if you don’t take any of the offered upgrades and you don’t mind having an ad for Vista Print on them – shipping is another $5+).
If you’re in Canada:
When you want something cheap, go to Walmart, right? This offer only seems to be available through their Facebook app, but you can get 20 mini cards for $1.97. You pick them up at your local store, so there’s no shipping charge, but they will have an ad for Walmart on them. Also, you can’t edit the text, and the cards will only have your name with a “Find me on Facebook” message.
And if you want to be really thrifty, why not make your own cards? Use your printer, some photo or other thick paper, or some marker pens and a photocopier.
Meeting people as you travel is wonderful, but being able to keep those people as friends and travel companions for years to come is an even better reward. So keep in touch!
This is a great tip! This past year, I ordered cute little calling cards for my 20-year-old daughter–just her name, cel number and e-dress, because she doesn’t have a fixed address at the moment. They were free at Vista print–well, maybe $6 for shipping, and you have to put up with a tiny little Vista print ad line on the back of the card, but it’s nothing offensive. She uses them at university as well as when she’s travelling…
Just FYI, I was so happy with Vista print’s quality on the free cards, that I ordered some custom ones for myself…highly recommended
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