Business Cards :: Promoting Yourself at a Conference

     

What do you hand out at a conference?!

Last month I had the opportunity to {finally} attend SNAP conference as I have been wanting to go for a few years and it worked out this year for me to go. What is SNAP conference you ask? Oh just this uber amazing conference where a ton of creative women & a couple men gather to join forces and take over the blogging world. LOL . . .what you didn't believe that last line? ;) Seriously, we all gather in one place and spend about 4 days together learning from each other, connecting with brands, listening to amazing speakers, attending jam-packed classes, having dance parties, going on fun outings and just being ourselves all in a judge-free zone. Sounds amazing doesnt it?

Well it is. BUT. What the heck do you bring to one of these conferences to promote yourself??? I started keeping my ears open to hear what others were doing since this was my FIRST time attending SNAP, I really wanted to make sure to do something cool and fab right? PLUS I had just re-branded and given myself a small 'name change' so new cards needed to be done anyway! ;)

I heard "oh just bring the standard business cards as no one wants all the frills with the special ones". Special ones? What did they mean "special ones"? And then I found out that people design these amazing business cards and then gave a "special" gift along with it . . .ya know  . . . to make it memorable! 

The business design part was NOT a problem since after all, I am a graphic designer. Then I heard you should put your photo on your card so the brands you talk to and all of the people you meet will remember you. OK, photo on business card - check!

Then I decided at the last minute that I SHOULD make some "special" business cards as I was so looking forward to meeting all of these amazing bloggers so surely I wanted to leave them with a special gift because after all, they will be my new friends right? So off to making art prints I went.

I have recently started sharing my hand lettering pieces with my fans, that I have been doing for years so I decided to make a mini one for everyone I met. AND I chose the word "CREATE" since it IS my "one little word" for the year! 
So this is what everyone received that I met at SNAP. It's the perfect size to put in a frame & keep it as a reminder to CREATE something everyday! ;)

(btw - I will have this CREATE art print available in my shop soon but email me if you can't wait ;)

 




But that's NOT all. I felt like I needed to do something just a little bit extra & then it hit me. Why not play up on my name! Ya know, the part of my name that says "candy"?

So I went and purchased packs of hot pink and neon green Sixlets to attach to the back of my promo package I was handing out to everyone. Because it IS all about branding - so the colors HAD to match! ;)

And if you met me at SNAP, I said something that went like this . . . 
"Hello my name is Laura and I designed you some eye candy, attached some candy and it's all from Eye Candy (creative studio)!"
Corny? YES. But I got quite a few laughs & people loved them. YAY me!

I really do love how they turned out & I specifically made 100 of them to hand out so it would force me to get out and meet & talk to 100 new people. I think I came home with about 10 left so that was pretty good. I did however have extra business cards as well that I handed out too so I DID hand out more then 100 business cards but just about 90 "special ones".

It was so much fun to see what other people did/used to promote themselves and make it memorable. I think after going, that doing a "special" card with an extra something IS effective when the item you are using to make it "special" is useful to people. I saw plenty of silly things attached to cards and I didn't mind them at all but someone else may have thought it unnecessary. I say do what you want. Make an impression whether it be silly or not, after all isn't that the point . . . to make YOURSELF memorable?


Have you ever attended a blogging conference and thought to create a "special package" to hand out to people? What creative ideas did you come up with? I would love to hear from you below . . . .

  

 

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  Looking forward to seeing you again! :)

{DESIGN DEAL} Custom Business GRAPHIC packages

I am super excited for this New Year & one of the things I have been working on is offering YOU a great DEAL on my GRAPHIC DESIGN services that I offer. I have BIG plans to E-X-P-A-N-D this part of the business this year. (but more on that later). I have had the honor of designing for so many of you  & have had requests to offer 'package deals' so I have decided to put together a few that I hope you will LOVE & be EXCITED about! 

custom "Business DESIGN" starter package

- CUSTOM logo design

- header OR 1-sided business card design

**plus 1 FREE item of choice: 

- button, FB avatar, blog signature

$155

 

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custom "ETSY SHOP" DESIGN package

- CUSTOM logo design

- business card design

- Etsy header

**plus 1 FREE item of choice: 

- watermark, Etsy button, 2-sided business card upgrade

$185

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custom "Deluxe BUSINESS DESIGN" package

- CUSTOM logo design

- 2-sided business card design

- Ad layout or business postcard design

**plus 2 FREE items of choice: 

- watermark, FB avatar, button, blog signature

$200

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Are you looking maybe for just a mini "facelift"?

"MAKE-OVER" design package

- 2-sided business card

- business SUBWAY ART design

- blog/Etsy header

$100

**plus 1 FREE item of your choice:

- FB avatar, button, blog signature

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And for all my photographer friends . . .

 Photographers "BUSINESS" DESIGN" package

- CUSTOM logo design

- 2-sided business card design

- watermark

- CD/ DVD label design

$215

**plus 2 FREE items of choice: 

- letterhead design, postcard, blog/web header, gift certificate, ad layout, sticker design, blog button

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GRAPHIC DESIGN MENU:

- custom LOGO DESIGN = you will receive a CUSTOM design that I work with you on. I have a questionnaire for you to complete & you will be given multiple design choices & file formats when completed. Complete details will be given to you upon booking.

-  header = this can be YOUR choice of a custom header for your Etsy shop, blog or website. All headers are for design only. Uploads are NOT included.

- business card design = custom business card layout design with your choice of colors, fonts, design. Using your logo & creating a look that mirrors your brand. Does NOT include printing. This is for 1-sided card design unless otherwise stated.

- button = this can be YOUR choice of a custom button for your Etsy shop, blog, website or Pinterest. All buttons are for design only. Uploads, coding, activating are NOT included.

- FB avatar = this is a custom design used on your FB page under the profile picture. I will use your logo & any photos to create a collage for your avatar.

- blog signature = custom design signature that can be used on your blog, email or web. Most use their first name & some graphic elements from their logo to create a look for the signature.

- watermark = this is a custom design digital file that is created that can (but doesn't have to) match your logo that is great to use for copywriting your photos to decrease others claiming your photos as their own. Also a great way to keep your name on your photos when posting on your website or blog.

- ad layout = these are great to use for magazine advertisements & features photos of your designs and your logo laid out in a fantastic looking ad. Can request any size.

- postcard = these can be used for marketing purposes, attaching a product to, sending out to clients. Can be designed for any purpose you have in mind.

- CD/DVD label = great for attaching to CD's or DVD's when you send them out to clients. Great for marketing your product or showcasing your photos.

- letterhead = if you send letters out to clients or prospects, this is a good piece to have that will coordinate with your logo & brand your look all together.

-gift certificate = can be designed to have on hand to send to clients, customers or participation in giveaways with other vendors.

- sticker design - a design will be created to match your branding & coordinate with the overall look. Use for adhering to projects/ letters/ packages that you mail out.

- Subway Art print - a design will be created to match your branding & coordinate with the overall look. It will be tailored with descriptive words/ phrases for your business, contain your logo & colors. Great to use for advertising, an art print, customer mailings, etc.

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Everything listed in these packages are for the digital files ONLY! 
It does NOT include printing or coding for the online graphics.

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If you would like to see EXAMPLES of my work, please visit my FB page & check out my photo albums for what I have designed lately.

If you would like to talk to a past client, let me know & I can arrange that as well.
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Didn't see the right package for YOU? Email me & I can build you a CUSTOM package tailored to EXACTLY what you need! 

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PLEASE email me at laura@eyecandyeventdetails.com to book your package & reserve your spot on my design calendar as spots are limited! All invoices MUST be paid in full, up front, in order to reserve your spot!