Freelance writer Maria Schneider recently asked the following question on LinkedIn: “Is it considered unprofessional for a freelance writer (or any other professional) to have a head shot on their business card?”
She received 39 responses, the bulk of whom described business card head shots as “cheesy,” “narcissistic,” or “realtor,” according to Maria’s subsequent blog post when she indicated she won’t be printing her face on new cards.
I spotted her question tonight, after the LinkedIn Q&A period expired, or I would have responded.
I recently created business cards so I can exchange contact information with like-minded professionals and prospective clients. My business card includes six elements:
- My name
- My website address
- My personal branding statement
- My phone number
- My email address
- My face
It should be obvious to you why my name, website, phone number, and email address are listed.
My personal branding statement is an 8-word “elevator pitch” to describe who I am and what I do: Advising business leaders on social media & online marketing
My face, the subject of recent questions, is on my card because of two reasons:
- I am a commodity. People buy me for consulting and speaking services. I don’t have a logo. I have a face, though, that is representative of who I am. It is the same face that is on every social network profile of mine.
- I want my card — which is printed on glossy 100-pound stock, with a green-colored front and a white-colored back, and comprised of 10% post-consumer waste — to be remarkable.
Three months ago, I attended my first social networking event in Boston. Sponsored by the folks at Mashable.com, SummerMash attracted several hundred people and I made it a point to collect dozens of business cards.
Two weeks later, after reading Dan Schawbel’s personal branding advice on business cards, I flipped through the Mashable cards and found one with a head shot – belonging to Andy Pitre of Lewis PR.
I emailed Andy and asked him what he thought of the small black-and-white avatar on the company card.
He wasn’t a fan of what he called “his mugshot,” but he admitted it drew in prospects and business. After all, I emailed him after remembering who he was — because I could see his face and instantly recollected our conversation that led to him giving me his card.
What about you? Do you have your face on your card? Would you?
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I haven’t yet…but I don’t see any problem with having an offline avatar…it’s not cheesy…it’s useful…I’d think…
The question is, did you remember who the other 19 cards belonged to? I too originally thought it would be tacky to add a headshot, but it improves recall for me and for those who I give my card to. That’s more than worth the embarrassment.
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I think it’s a GREAT idea. I’ve always thought realtors had it right. We meet so many people in the course of our professional lives, all the networking events, business lunches, seminars… add in the personal contacts and well, that’s a lot of faces to remember. I’ve always had a hard time remembering names so any help I can get is a good thing. I was thrilled when my address book updated to allow photos to be attached. I immediately added as many headshots as I could find. And since cameras were added to cell phones have been known to ask for a quick photo, if appropriate. It has helped me immeasurably. I would be thrilled if headshots became the norm on business cards. It just makes sense in this day of personal branding and “selling yourself”. As for the politically correctness of it? I can see some people being concerned about the appropriateness of photos on resumes such as VisualCV.
I think it’s fine. My face is already all over the Internet anyway, so why not extend that to offline as well? As long as the mug shot doesn’t show a leisure suit, gold chains, and a shirt open to the navel, I don’t see what would make it repulsive to anyone on the receiving end, lol.
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Why not have your picture on your business card? Mostly everyone includes their avatars across all of their SoMe sites to keep their personal brands consistent, so it only makes sense to do the same with your business cards so you are easily recognizable and memorable after the event is said and done. I don’t currently have my photo on my business card, but should.
For those that do not want their mug shot on their cards, at least include your Twitter handle. My cards include my Twitter information (@cmajor) so people can find me, see my pic and continue the conversation we started and build that relationship.
I can see how many people would consider it to be tacky. I do not right have one on my business card right now, but understand how it can help out. I can understand more so for a freelance gig opposed to a standard business card representing a larger company. Different people will have different opinions and in these days in the social media world I can see it being more accepted. In traditional businesses I don’t think you should have it. It won’t be well received.
So far from the card stack I still keep I’ve seen only one, or rather two business cards that bear their photo or avatar on them. One was from a training consultant who ran his own business while the other came from a more corporate setup, the company being k0dak – so recipients of their biz cards would presumably understand that since they’re coming from an imaging biz viewpoint it was deemed ‘ok’ to have a portrait or so on their card. This was more than 5 years ago, when in my opinion (traditionally) people would giggle on or frown upon the practice – but then I’d prefer effectiveness over tradition. So what’s stopping you right?
Then I’m thinking of a potential next question: what would contribute to your personal branding in the future, when all business cards already bear avatars & the like? How to stand out via business cards?
At LEWIS, we may say we don’t like it, but it’s the ultimate meeting icebreaker…
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Personally, I’m horrible with names and faces, and I think it’s very helpful.
As for my own cards, however, I don’t have my mugshot on them because my website and my screen name almost all across the ‘net is “that damn redhead.” Obviously, I’m not the only redhead in the world, but many times I’m the only one in a room, or one of few. If I’m going to meet somebody who hasn’t met me in person yet nor seen a picture of me online, they automatically know what to look for.
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@Whitehall Webby: Do I remember faces of some of those Mashable-collected cards three months later? Some, but not all; and that’s my point. Pictures speak 1,000 words. And I’m a right-brained visual person. So matching names to faces is very helpful!
@Karen: Since you mentioned VisualCV (which I have; the link’s off to the right), employers using the tool can opt to not display photos. But what employers won’t google prospective employees? If anyone googles me, they’ll find my picture, so I’m saving them unnecessary time.
@Craig: Many “traditional businesses” may not be using social media for the same reason; they’re thinking traditionally. They’re usually the same organizations that block access to webmail and LinkedIn.
@mgo: Eventually, business cards will be go the way of analog phones. Thanks to Google, this will occur sooner than later, I’m hearing…
@Stacy: If you’re the damn redhead, then why not have your red hair on your card? It sets you apart from the other redheads who don’t.
@Ari Very true, but honestly, I’ve never had much of a problem with people recognizing me, nor forgetting me as it is. Heck, I still look the same as I did in high school way back in the 1990s. I think my face on a card might be a little much… I mean, I don’t want people looking at my card and being like, “Yeah, OK, we get it.”
I’m leaving the govment and will consult. I like cards with head shots for memory joggers and my new ones will have one. I think it’s important for the head shot to look like the real deal though and not be a glamour shot. I have a huge collection of cards to get on line — how do you get yours digitized? I’ve seen the readers but don’t think the expense warrants a one time use. Can they be rented?
I’ve been doing it for years (taking the pictures that get noticed)
and it’s funny to watch someone who would normally just pocket – or otherwise not take a second look as I hand them my business card – they can’t throw it away because it immediately has the value of a ‘real’ photograph. The photos I use all have stories and so it really opens up a conversation on a personal level. I highly recommend a real headshot as an investment in your networking ability!
http://ncfaces.com/portrait_photographer/professional_business_cards.html
As of today, my photo is not on my business cards, but I am becoming more comfortable with adding it. At this point, my photo is plastered all over the internet and social networking sites. I’ve used the same one everywhere, making it easy to be recognized. It only makes sense to tie my business cards into the overall strategy.
Thanks for adding your thought to my post on business cards. You raised some excellent points.
http://almostsavvy.com/2009/03/01/business-cards-so-important-or-so-over/
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I am a real estate agent and I *don’t* have a head shot on my card. I’m clearly in the minority in my profession, but that alone makes the card more memorable.
I do have social networking icons on my card, again putting me in the minority of real estate agents.
I’ve tried several iterations, with and without head shot and the one without garners the most attention, by far. I also don’t plaster my face across my web sites like more agents do.
I dunno, I just like to be different.
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