The back of your business card can be powerful.

Or a wasted opportunity.

Take a look. Is the reverse side of your business card blank? Colorful but word-free? Full of features and benefits? Or something in between?

First of all, if it’s blank you need to rethink your priorities: why throw away the chance to stimulate/provoke/disrupt/encourage/uplift that prospect? To say something memorable? Because they’re often right in front of you, remember – make them ask you a question. Make sure your value proposition is clear in the first minute you meet.

If, by the by, you left it blank because you’re somehow conscious of the unit cost of business cards, you’re almost beyond redemption. I mean, c’mon.

Could an engaging, differentiated message capture one new customer/client every thousand cards? [SPOILER: YES!] Do the math.

Cost is never an excuse to do something ordinary. Want to use oversized cards, or folding cards, or singing cards – or oversized folding singing cards? Knock yourself out; business card expenses still won’t be a fraction of your coffee budget.

Okay, we sank the blank. What does belong on back?

The front side is (obviously) the home for your (impressive, stylish) logo, and all relevant contact info: name, address, URL (minus the “www.” which isn’t needed, please), email, phone(s). Limit of two harmonious fonts, please. If it includes a glossy postage-stamp of your smiling face (In Full Color!), it screams “my realtor or car dealership requires me to do this. Please don’t trust me.”

Now flip it over. How can we enhance your brand with this unpainted canvas? For starters, limit yourself to ten words or fewer. The back does not serve the same purpose as the front, and nobody is going to study it. Be brief, be provocative. We use the reverse side of our business card, for example, to drive prospects to a brand-explainer video, a tactic we recommend with enthusiasm.

The best way for you to evoke a response? Express your brand’s value prop in, say, five unexpected words.

If you can do it, do it. If you can’t, call me.