By Steve MacAulay

I've never really liked business cards. I don't know quite why, but ours has always been a stormy relationship. I either forgot to carry them or I'd get back from a trade fair with 75 of them, 2 of which were of any real use and then I'd get cold called by people I could barely remember. I very rarely like the standardised design or the comic attempts at being different. Then there's the question of titles and what information to put on the bloody thing. Do we really need to put the fax number?

Obviously, there's not much we can do about the business card if the company has a stock design. However, I believe that we should all carry another personal card. If the card is so important, then we definitely need our own personal version.

Whilst reading this advice, if you like any of what you read, then start to build a desire to accomplish it. Then make the desire burn, by adding fuel to it. This is how you'll get it done.

The new card should connect with your own personal website. This is the key to a whole universe of tactics and strategies that will enhance your career exponentially. The site is based on a WordPress and hosted by DreamHost and together you have the business card's big brother. And he's mean. By getting your own domain and setting up a blogsite entirely for professional purposes, you will have a very powerful tool at your disposal. And when your supercharge it with our very own DreamList, you have a crm system with teeth and attitude.

Your card is the first opportunity you have to spark the interest of your prospective client. Plus, done right it doesn't really matter if they become a client or not as there's great value to be had in the word of mouse (David Meerman Scott's phrase). Done right, you have a beautiful double helix of offline leading to online traffic. Over time this can only lead to subscribers, list members and even clients. Think about it; If 80% of the cards you handed out actually had a measureable benefit. On a repeat basis. Interested? Then here we go;

Most of us have considered a Facebook page and probably have a LinkedIn profile, but how useful is that when everybody else has one? And it's bigger and better than yours, and they have more friends than you do. Every time. Both these services are great, but it's not enough. You need to go one step further.

You may have noticed on a LinkedIn profile, there's a fast connection to your WordPress blog. And, you may also have noticed that if you Google your name, you stand a very high chance of getting on the front page if you have a LinkedIn profile. This becomes quite useful. You've got an immediate front page listing on the web. But how can this be fully leveraged? Read on an I'll show you. There's two ways. Organic, through the keywords and tags and such that you optimise on your LinkedIn profile and your blog, and then through your name being searched.

Back to the business card. What you need is a personal card that carries your blogsite url in big letters across the middle. No phone numbers, no email and no bloody fax number. Even your name becomes optional. Well, nearly.

So you've got the card. Blogsite address across the middle, name over the top in smaller text. If you insist on a title then go for something like chief negotiator, rebel-in-chief, underground, press officer, chief archivist, editor or something untraditional. That's it. No other coordinants. Because the rest would be available at the other end if they're sufficiently impressed to sign up at your site for more. On the back of the card, you can also put 3 interesting and provocative statements of intent. We'll cover them later.

When you present your corporate card, you then present the personal card with a quick suggestion that they might find it interesting. Which they will. In fact, they'll be occassions when your own card alone, would get the job done better.

At the site they will find 5 articles, written by you and covering the biggest issues facing your industry and your clients and insider tips on how to find the right provider. They will also see 5 10 minute screencasts outlining similar issues or, better yet, even more information. A screencast, by the way, involves capturing whatever is on your screen using ScreenFlow, Camtasia or CamStudio. That could be a slide presentation, narrated by you or some analysis of a burning issue. Throw in 3 podcasts featuring a few interviews of interest to your peers, and you have set up your Digital Business Card.

And it's very easy and inexpensive to accomplish. Don't do it for free by setting up a blog at WordPress.com. That's not the best way, no matter what you think. If you go over to .experts we'll show you how to do it right. We've created over 20 videos taking you step by step through the whole thing. And we offer a 50% discount on your first year's hosting. You should check it out, it's very cunning.

Your domain name could be your own name or something more creative that's connected to your business. I must stress, this blogsite will never see anything personal being posted. This is 100% for professional purposes.

So what about the back of those cards, ...or is it the front? On the reverse side place 3 bullet points that say something about what you can provide and help them with. All the information on your blogsite should be aimed at helping the client with helpful information, it's not for selling your wares. Let them know what to expect at your site. Stuff like; Analysis of the ______ Industry, Improve Your ______ Immediately, Insider Tips To ______ Better. Basically, state your intention in plain view. When they read these three statements, they will practically have to take a look at the site. If they don't, they're not interested enough.

The best way to sell in the modern economy, is not to sell. But, that's another article. The fact that remains is that it is imperative that you go beyond telling them about your products or services. So the bullet points could also tell people what to expect at your site. Tips & Tricks for Purchasing A New Roof, Insider Analysis of Freight Logistics or Security Locks Exposed. 3 lines that tell them that you go further than bland traditional marketing.

This is a brilliant system, that works wonders if you're prepared to invest a little time, effort and money. But, it's less than 100 bucks for a smoothe professional set up that has great power once you understand it better. If you're interested in some free videos covering the subject in greater detail then head over to our http://dotexperts.com members section.

Steve MacAulay is one of the team at http://dotexperts.com

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Steve MacAulay - EzineArticles Expert Author