Legitimate Ways To Get Free Business Cards Online
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A good business card is more than just a luxury for anyone who’s in business. Networking events like those hosted by BNI chapters or local chambers of commerce require large quantities of business cards. Yet it’s not something that everyone who starts a business can immediately afford. Thankfully there are some ways for you to order free business cards from online providers.
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You can get free business cards from all of the following 7 online business card providers below.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- There are three companies legitimately offering free business cards online.
- The quantities and terms and conditions vary from provider to provider.
- Some offer this as a marketing expense, while others offer it as an opportunity to upsell.
- All of these companies are top-notch printing service providers, offering high-quality business cards for free.
- There are other alternatives as well, like free professional business card templates that you can print yourself or electronic business card platforms that you can also use.
Seven Legitimate Ways To Get Free Business Cards Online
Getting caught without a business card on you can be humiliating and frustrating. That one deal you’ve been hoping for could rely on having your business card ready. Times are tough for business owners, but you never have to get caught without a business card again, thanks to these services.
1. 4over4
4over4 comes highly recommended by a significant number of internet users. Its reviews are excellent, and the company has built up quite a name for itself in the printing industry. This is due to its simplicity and the exceptional printing quality that 4over4 is known for.
4over4 offers you 200 free business cards. You don’t even pay for the shipping. This is entirely legitimate, even if it may seem unbelievable. To 4over4, these free business cards are simply a marketing expense, which justifies the large quantities of free business cards they regularly give. This fact points to the two things that could be seen as “catches.”
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The first catch is that your free business cards will have all of your details on the front of the card, with the tagline “Free by 4over4.com” on the back. This way, you are actually marketing 4over4 while you are marketing your own business as well, making it worth the expense for 4over4. Your cards will still be printed as per your design and layout choices despite the slogan on the other side.
The second catch is that you must earn 500 4over4 coins (loyalty points), which you can then redeem for your free business cards. You make these points by performing ten actions of your choice from a list of activities that 4over4 specifies. You can earn the 500 points in a few minutes by signing up, sharing links to the 4over4 website, leaving reviews, or making purchases.
The process is straightforward and easy to do, but you can only order your free business cards once. A possible downside is the slogan printed on the back of your cards; telling a prospective customer that you got your business cards for free does not necessarily create the image you want to portray. But it is worth it since it’s still better than not having any business cards at all.
2. InoPrints
InoPrints offers you 100 free 16pt C2S Cardstock business cards. You can design your business card using their free downloadable template, then upload the design to InoPrints’ website along with your order for your free business cards. You have to pay for shipping, though, but once you’ve done that, your 100 free business cards will be on their way within two to three business days.
According to InoPrints’ website, it’s their way of helping other businesses while helping themselves. In return for giving you your business cards for free, the InoPrints logo and slogan will be printed small on the other side of your card. This way, you will be marketing InoPrints while promoting your own business.
InoPrints may only provide 100 business cards compared to 4over4’s 200. Still, the fact that the cards don’t say anything about you getting your cards for free might create a better first impression with your prospective customers than 4over4’s offering.
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InoPrints also gets four- to five-star reviews on all platforms, with compliments on its printing quality and the excellent service that its customers get. If you want 100 free, high-quality business cards from a company that’s trying to make a difference and help other businesses, InoPrints might just be the right option for you.
3. Printastic
Printastic offers a service very similar to that of InoPrints, but with some distinct differences. You can get 250 free business cards from Printastic, which is enough to get any business off to a great running start. Your cards will be professionally printed on 12pt coated card stock with your own design on the front of the cards.
The cards are completely free, but you need to pay approximately $8 for shipping and handling. To justify the expense of the free business cards, Printastic will also print their logo on the back of the cards. The website specifically states that the logo is discreet, but the marketing they get from that makes it worthwhile for them to give you 250 free business cards.
If you want to make some changes, like removing Printastic’s logo and leaving the back of the cards blank, it can be done for a minimal extra fee.
One thing that sets Printastic apart from the others is that you can re-order free business cards with each paid order that you place. So after the first batch, whenever you order something else, you can get another set of free business cards. You never have to run out of cards again!
4. Canva
We are now moving away from printing companies that actually print and ship free business cards. Let’s be honest, very few companies are willing to do that, and it’s not always the best idea to have cards that promote the fact that you got them for free. Luckily, it’s pretty easy and affordable to print your own business cards today.
If you have a proper printer and some thin cardboard for printing, all you need is a template. Canva is one of the most popular providers of free professional business card templates. With a library of around 4,000 free templates, and the capability to design your own from scratch, you will have a hard time finding a better solution than Canva.
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All the business card templates are sorted by style and theme, and you can easily filter them by color schemes as well. Designing your business card is a simple step-by-step process, and once you’re happy with the end result, you can download or print your cards directly.
5. Brother CreativeCenter
The famous printer manufacturer, Brother, also created an online business card designer as a part of its CreativeCenter. Of course, these templates are designed to be easy to print on Brother printers, but even if you have a different printer brand, you will likely still be able to print your business cards on it.
The templates are sorted by seventeen different categories, including General, Automotive & Transport, Beauty Salon & Spa, Sports & Fitness, Technology, etc. You can choose your category, and from there, you can select a template that you like within that category. Then you customize your details and export the design for printing. It’s as simple as that.
As an added extra, Brother even includes tips on how to design a professional business card right there on the website. We are not all experienced graphic designers and marketers. We don’t all understand the complicated nuances of good design. Brother makes the process simple and guides you along the way to a good, professional business card.
6. PsPrint
PsPrint is a well-known and respected printing service that’s known for its fast printing turnaround time. Though PsPrint doesn’t offer you free business cards, there is a handy business card designer tool with hundreds of free templates available on its website.
You start off the design by selecting either landscape or portrait orientation. From there, you can choose different edges, the size, and whether you want your card to be single- or double-sided.
You can simply follow the steps as the website guides you through the process of choosing your template and colors for the look and feel, then add your logo and information to the card. Once you’re done designing your card, you can download your completed design so you can print it yourself or submit it to PsPrint to print for you.
Though PsPrint doesn’t have the most modern interface, the system works effectively, and it’s a simple step-by-step process to design a professional, good-looking business card that you can print yourself or have printed professionally. Even if it’s not entirely free, PsPrint can save you a lot of money while you’re just getting your business started.
7. HiHello
In the information age, many people are starting to see traditional business cards as old-fashioned and are beginning to move to digital business cards. HiHello is one of the most highly-rated providers of digital business cards.
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It’s crucial to note at this point that digital business cards are not a complete alternative to traditional business cards. For one, a big part of a conventional business card’s usefulness lies in people repeatedly seeing your business card, and they’re constantly reminded of you and your business. This could lead to potential new business even years after meeting someone.
Another aspect where digital business cards fall short is with business networking organizations like BNI, where you are expected to leave a stack of business cards at the chapter so people can find you later. Digital business cards cannot be left on a counter for people to take.
Having said all that, there are some distinct advantages that digital business card platforms, like HiHello, offer.
HiHello has an app that you can download for both iPhone and Android, or you can also use it on the web. The free plan allows you to design four business cards for yourself that you can then share with contacts through a QR code or NFC tag or send via email or text. This means that you will never be stuck without a business card.
An added advantage is that, in order to send your business card to someone, you might need to get their contact details, which places you in the perfect position to arrange a follow-up meeting and remind them of your conversation.
If you upgrade to HiHello’s premium versions, you can even create an introduction video that will be shared with people along with your business card. This is the perfect way to make an elevator pitch in the convenience of an app. All in all, HiHello is an excellent marketing tool, and the free plan is all that any start-up business will require.
Related Questions
What’s In It For These Companies?
That’s always the question, isn’t it? If you’re not paying for a service or a product, who is? For the most part, these companies are hoping to get two things from you.
The first is that you will market their services to your friends, family, colleagues, and your business network. By printing their own slogan or logo on the back of your business cards or by placing a link to their app in the digital business cards you send, you are providing a valuable marketing service in return for the free services or products that you receive.
The second aim is upselling. Once you’ve been using their products, it’s easy for you to either order your next batch of business cards (which are not free) or additional business tools like flyers, brochures, or letterheads or buy the premium version of an app. So despite giving you something for free, they are always getting something in return, making it worthwhile for them.
Aren’t Business Cards Outdated?
Even though business cards have been around since the 17th century, their usefulness is still evident to anyone who’s been pursuing a business for any amount of time. Some people feel that having a stack of business cards from different people lying around is unnecessary clutter. But that is precisely one of its strong points.
Any experienced marketer will tell you that the power of marketing lies in repeated exposure. The more often people see your ads, whether consciously or subconsciously, the more likely they are to buy from you in the end.
Having business cards cluttering up your desk, car, and working area ensures that you will eventually buy from some of those people. That’s something that digital business cards, as brilliant as they are, will never be able to replace.
I’m Designing My Business Card Now, But What Is The Bleed?
The printing industry has a few terms that don’t make sense to those of us who are not a part of that industry. One of those terms is “bleed.”
The bleed is the area (usually around 1/8 of an inch) between your business card’s design or printing and the edge of the card. The bleed ensures that your business card doesn’t look awkward after printing since printing in bulk can sometimes lead to some lines printing somewhat off-target.
The bleed is an important consideration, whether you intend to print your business cards yourself or if you’re designing a card to submit to one of the free business card printers.