Blue Moon Blog

I don’t like business cards much. During nearly twenty-five years of freelancing as an artist, I’ve found I rarely need or use them. But a few times each year, I’d get caught empty-handed when someone would ask me for one, and I knew I needed something to hand out in those situations. So instead I had printed up a bunch of bookmarks.

I figure people may just keep a bookmark around for a while longer than any old business card as it actually has a use beyond itself. And one can never have too many bookmarks. The illustration on one side of the mark depicts a couple children reading at night under a blue moon, so people may also use it while reading to their kids, or give it to their kids to use. The idea is to provide a built-in reason for people to keep it around and out, so they’ll see it more often and be reminded of our little company and what we do. And if it encourages anyone to read a bit more, all the better.

They’re a little bigger to carry than business cards, but I keep them in my car or carry bag whenever I go out. It usually gets folks’ attention just because it’s different — it stands out. On the back of the bookmark, I simply list the web site address and few things one can find at our site.

For more thoughts on trying something new with business cards or the like, my pal and fellow artist, Cedric Hohnstadt has designed a set of new cards for himself, prompted by a helpful article on the subject at the Pro Freelancing site.