How to Make a Fold-out Portfolio Business Card

The question rattling around my brain was how do you get a business card to make such a great impression, people buy into you right away? I was leaving for a blog conference in 2 weeks, and as a new blogger who was fairly unknown to fellow bloggers, it was important to make an impression and do so in the first minute of meeting. A regular business card just wouldn't do it.

The average person sizes you up in the first few seconds of meeting you...so what about the first moments they glance at the card you just handed them? Business cards are a dime a dozen and can easily slip into oblivion. My goal was to create a card that worked hard for me, I wanted my card to tell people that I was innovative, had design capabilities, and great original content on my website. That's when the idea hit...I needed to create a business card sized portfolio! I promptly set out to design an accordion foldout that could house my business card and say everything I desired it to say.

I know, I'm asking a lot of a business card. But why not? I say take a chance, be creative, and think of ways to portray the important things you want your business card to say about you and your business.
Here is a peek into what my brainstorming session looked like, and how it was translated into content. Now, these thoughts were specific to meeting other bloggers and brands. I am creating a second portfolio card designed solely for the general public and potential readers. Sometimes we need narrow our field of vision to our target audience and create more than one business card portfolio. This allows us to passionately articulate that one message designed for that one person we want to reach.

There were a few extra details I could have added, but I chose not to include for specific reasons...remember, in my case some information could already be assumed, and some information was simply traded out for my most impressive information. You will need to determine your own message, your purpose, and make sure each item accomplishes that goal. The tricky part is keeping it clean and uncluttered while portraying as much information (non-literal) as possible. 

A few things you might decide to include are:

• Business Name, URL, & Contact: Don't take contact info and URL's for granted...if they can't find you or reach you, they won't make the effort. Under contact you may want to include relevant social media symbols (just to show you can be found there).
• Description/Mission Statement/Tagline: What does your business do? Unless everyone who will receive this runs in the same circle, clear descriptions and taglines are important. 
• Profile picture: Are you a part of your brand? Then making your thumbnail recognizable is just as important as your logo being recognizable. 
• Niche/Unique Message/Goals: What makes you unique? What is the message you want to convey...this is your brainstorm session from above.
• Media Kit info: Perhaps your portfolio is being designed as a media kit to reach out to various brands and companies. You may want to include website stats (pageviews, social media follows (#'s), etc.
• Projects: Show your outstanding work. Make sure it reflects the whole of what you do.
• Features/Who you've worked with: It's not always what you know but who you know. List people, companies, brands, you have worked with, or who have featured your work.
• Reviews/Recognition/Testimonials: Have you worked with big clients? Has your business been recognized or given a great rating somewhere? Sometimes it is important to humbly "brag", suddenly others will want to work with you, or at least see what you've got!
• Experience: Maybe in your particular business you are seeking clientele. Listing your most brag-worthy work experience is a must!
• Special Offers: Does your business provide a service or product that you can offer a discount on? Create a coupon and your card is less likely to be thrown away.

How To Create Your Portfolio

I used Photoshop, which is the best option for creating a professional graphic rich portfolio. However if you do not have access to a photo editing software and you have existing graphics... you could use any program that allows you to import and resize photos, and select a variety of fonts. 

Specs: Simply put it is half of an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet>> A folded portfolio card is 4-1/4 x 2-3/4. Opened it is  4-1/4 x 11. Printed in color on plain paper.

When designing your portfolio you will need to employ rulers in the program to know where each fold will go and how much space you have to work with. If you are using Photoshop start by creating a new project, change pixels to inch, input width: 4.25 inches, height: 11 inches. It is best to leave a 1/4 inch allowance around all edges for printing, but if you find that difficult to execute don't worry about it, your printing company will do it by default.

When designing the inside and the outside of the portfolio, remember that the outside will also become the front and back of the portfolio once it is folded. Your "front" will need to be upside down. 

There are two options when you are done designing. You can copy and place two of the same side onto one printable document (psd, jpg, etc.), and do this for the inside and out, and have the printers align, print, and cut. OR you can simply bring (on a thumb drive of course) each half sheet you have designed and let the printing company do the work! It is often better to let them do it, as they will have the expertise to make sure everything lines up properly. Ask for a test print, then fold it to ensure all your graphics line up properly.

How To Prepare Your Portfolio

Fold in half, careful to line up the ends before creasing your fold.

Then fold each side in half again, opposite of each other, this creates an M fold. Crease all folded edges using your nails to create a crisp crease.

Cut the corners off of one of your business cards to use as a template for where to cut slits in your portfolio. You will be sliding an uncut business card in here. Use a sharp exacto knife to cut your slits. 

Insert business cards into your fold-out portfolio. Be sure to design it so that the same information on your card is on the fold-out portfolio itself...this way if the card is removed (for filing), the portfolio still contains the business card logo and info. It is better than having a blank space in your design and allows you the flexibility of handing out the portfolio without business cards (if necessary).

And there you have it! An accordion styled business card/portfolio that actually does the work for you!

I had great success with it at the conference, many bloggers commented on it and voiced their assurance that they would be visiting my blog (for which I was eternally grateful!). In addition it got the attention of brands impressed enough to "talk shop" right then and there. 

Whatever your business, make an impression and give your business cards a voice!

Chip Wade...Oh, and I'm a Haven Maven!

Who is the most innovative team in the country? Uh, this guy and his team on HGTV's Elbow Room! Why yes, yes that is me with Chip Wade and Cristi Holcombe! Well, what do you think, wouldn't I make the perfect addition to the team? *heh heh* Oh come on, I'm creative...

So if you were wondering where I disappeared to this past weekend, now you know, it was clearly to stalk Chip Wade and some awesome bloggers at a fantastic blog conference called Haven! Just kidding, I'd probably make the worst stalker ever since I couldn't find half my bloggy friends in the Haven masses. Hey, you know what is really awkward? Not being able to recognize anyone from their thumbnail (or being unrecognizable from mine!)...*chortle* well confession is good for the soul.

{Awesome bloggy friend Rachel @ Maison De Pax, and her sweet beautiful kissable baby! }

{Julia @ Cuckoo 4 Design, one of my 3 car-mates. Eeep, I rented a car and drove us! And yes we made a couple U-turns...woops, such forgiving car mates! lol!}

{ My other two forgiving (and fun!) car mates: Ashley @ Domestic Imperfection, & Lauren @ Mom Home Guide }

I did meet and greet with quite a few bloggers I did not know before, and attended a bunch of great classes to help me bring my blog best for you, my fantastic readers!
Side note for my blogging readers, Dan R. Morris... yes... just do it. Look at the link. Can you say val.u.able? 

{ My totally rock'in roomates: Katie @ Addicted 2 DIY, & Melissa @ A Prudent Life }

Well, I won't bore you with all the details. It was a crazy busy weekend for me, but I'm baaaaack!
Oh, I almost forgot that I promised you more than a sneak peak at the business cards I designed to hand out at the conference...so here they are:

Well? What do you think? Are you looking at this thinking "THAT is a business card? What's happening right now." *wink & a chuckle*

Let me explain, being newer I wanted to make a splash right at the outset. It was important to leave bloggers and brands enough information to pique their interest right from the moment they received my card. I dreamt up this combination business card & portfolio (media kit) in one. It is a small accordion foldout with the business card tucked in the front. In the picture above you see it folded up, then what it looks like unfolded on the inside and the outside.

This is great for any business not just the business of blogging, so next week I'll be sharing all the details on how to create these little gold mines, and all the important elements to make it effective! (plus a few nuggets I learned at Haven to make it even better!) 

Ciao my lovelies!

Confessions of a Newbie Blogger - My Advice To The Next Rookie

Ooooooooouuuuuch! I peeled my face off the keyboard, wiped the drool off the side of my face, and slowly come back to waking reality. Then panic hit me and I scrambled to see if I'd mistakenly been pushing the publish button over and over again with my cheek. Oh thank goodness, no more stupid blunders after the last incident. (I mistakenly made my blog public two weeks earlier than I intended...*lopsided grin* don't ask). 

See, this THIS is the risk of jumping into the blog world head first...the crazy that comes with it.
...The sleepless nights, because you just thought of another GREAT blog post and you're afraid if you wait until morning you'll forget.

...The vacation day you spent in your bathrobe and possibly scared the mailman with your Patty & Selma hair, all because you couldn't tear yourself away from your laptop long enough for a shower. 

...The flights of elation, then depression, then back to elation while comparing other blogs and perusing reader comments. 

...The bags under your eyes from Pinterest stalking. Yes, that's right. I stalked every repin of my blog pictures for a full month before cooling it to a more "sane" level of "following".

...The friends that remove you from their Facebook newsfeed because all your posts somehow have something to do with your area of blogging. (Yipes, this is worst than having a new baby!)

In short...the cra-cra. 

If you have not experienced this, be proud that you are a level headed patient blogger.

Whether you are an experienced blogger, or an aspiring blogger, I hope you'll learn, laugh, and blog well because of my experience. At the very least, you'll realize you're sane by comparison!. That's right, this isn't just going to be a "how to", I'm laying it all out on the line and 'fessing up! Hmm, let's see just how much I spill. *wink*

Learning To Build a Better Blog (or at least make the curve)

This has not been the easiest first year for me, but I wouldn't trade it for the world! See, I'm really hard on myself, I'm critical, and I'm a bit of a people pleaser. No I'm not...I'm lying, I'm a HUGE people pleaser. Not always a great combination. So I spend a lot of time comparing my work to big name blogs and professional websites. I figured if I compared what I was doing to what the successful were doing, I might learn a thing or two without going to a blogging seminar (which in hindsight, I should have gone to!). Comparing can be your worst enemy or your best friend. Don't do what I do, compare to see how well I'm doing, then get depressed because so many do it better... Compare to see what methods and styles work best. What do you love in a blog? Then most likely your readers will love it too. Take those observed tips and run with them! I'm building my blog myself without any experience (and some coding help from my brother), so it is a long drawn out work-in-progress. Confession: Half the time I'm frustrated with my blog because I have a vision for what it could be but lack the skill to take it there...but I'm willing to work hard to gain the skills, and I fervently believe the effort will pay off! This applies to all my photography skills, my Photoshop skills, my blog design skills, my decorating skills, my writing skills...you get the idea. I may be new to all of these things, with no prior experience whatsoever, but hard work and Google can take you far!

If imitation is the best form of flattery, then I hope blogs like IHeart Organizing, and A Bowl Full of Lemons feel flattered! *lol* I pretty much stalked their blogs for the first 5 months of blogging. Confession: I still do that, if I've visited your blog, I probably checked to see who designed your site, where you were featured (so I could go get a feature too), and examined the element of some awesome function you've built into your blog. Don't hate me, I didn't even READ blogs before I started blogging, so I needed to learn what the blogging world was all about and what they loved...which leads me to the next lesson I learned...

Make Them Love You (or at least recognize you).

I keep having this strange day dream that I am looking out at a sea of DIY lovers and they are sparkly, and misty like an 80's glamour photo, and cheering! I am throwing my best Marilyn Monroe smile, crying "they love me, they really love me!". Ah, ain't day dreams lovely?

In this year of blogging I have learned that if you want readers, you have to find ways to reach out to them, or just get them to know you exist! I thought if I was a stickler and just produced great content (and no filler) they would come flocking! Huh, how could they know I had great content if they never discovered me in the first place?
Many bloggers choose to join link parties and blog hops (which makes me wonder if there is anyone besides other bloggers actually reading), others choose to use submission sites, still others wrangle features from big name blogs...well however you do it -do it frequently. I have reached out to fellow bloggers for features and interviews the past year, and in hindsight I should have done it waaaaay more! There is nothing more trying than producing your best posts for no one to read. Thankfully, old content can gain new readers.
I am learning how to put my work out there. The more they see you, the more likely you are to become their household name. I admit that it is a lot of extra work, but it is well worth the effort! Here are four features I received this week alone, including two projects never before seen on my blog!

    

Creating Great Content (or shocking, or attention grabbing)

That leads me to another thing I have learned. First, publishing at least a couple fantastic and creative posts in the first year is so helpful! It takes time for your great content to get out there (no matter how much you keep throwing it at people), but once it is out it just keeps gathering speed and it can become your claim to fame. When it does, you need to be prepared to ride that wave all the way to the bank. I've learned that people might come to see what all the hubbub is about, but will not stay if you don't have something that says "hello, you'll love me...do stay". 
Be sure you have at least two mind-blowingly fantastic ideas...they come for one, and you hook them with the other...they think "hey, this blog has great content, I should hang around or come back and see what else this gal can do"!
For me, it was the menu planner and chore system posts I published in the first week of blogging. Looking back I cringe at the photography, but in spite of my photo virgin ways, these two original ideas catapulted my new blog from a few hundred views per day to a few thousand per day, all inside of a two week period. I had other creative DIY posts, but some of them were not properly spaced out or adequately advertised. Now I am going back and pinning pictures from those posts, submitting them for features, and giving them a little more attention.

By the way, when you first start your blog, fill it with a few fantastic things before opening it up to the public. THAT is why my blog features more than one year of posts although I am only a year old. Before making it public, I took a week to pre-post 3 months worth of my best projects so people would have something to read and be willing to follow a brand new blogger! Yes, I tried to trap you. I regret nothing. 

Birds of a Feather (and all that jazz)

Oh mercy mercy. The hardest thing with getting your content out there if you're a loner, is...well... frankly breaking into a bbg (bloggy bestie group)! This year I am SO going to a blogger conference. Every time there is a blog convention, it is followed by 3 months of bloggers uniting right and left. All those smart bloggers, networking and what-not. Lets face it, sometimes who you know determines who knows you. Confession: I'm totally jealous of those fantastic new friendships...I want some awesome bloggy besties who stick together no matter what. *pout*  I swoon over their gorg spaces, and constantly swear they are my soul mates and kindred spirits...I may also wish I had their houses. *grin*
So instead of sitting at home by the phone wondering why no one has called to ask you to the dance, perhaps think about picking up your metaphorical phone yourself and start calling around. Bloggers are a pretty nice group, just busy out of their minds! Rub shoulders like your life depends on it, soon they will be your besties too.
After all, networking saves blogs lives *said in a serious TV voice*. Remember those interviews I said I should have done more of? An interview with Jen Jones got me an invitation to guest post on her blog, which made a particular post popular, which got me an invitation to share that post's tip in Good Housekeeping magazine (eeeep! I can't wait to tell you more! ). So not only is it great to know kindred spirits, it's good for blogging! 

One year of blogging may not make me an expert, but it makes me a little more exhausted and little less naive. I can at least pass off my rookie torch to the next newbie that passes my way. Let her burn bright my friend. And remember, it isn't the destination that counts (until you get there), it is the journey. And other random cliche sayings... *giggle* Just stay sane, this too shall pass, and afterwards it will be better than you can imagine!

But don't take it from me, how about taking it from a real pro? Ladies and gentlemen, I am so happy I "rubbed shoulders" with the incredible blogger that is next in this series...KariAnne @ Thistlewood Farms! She is our featured experienced blogger who is an authority on how to build a better blog. Visit her tomorrow as she shares her insights. 
And don't forget to visit each of these awesome bloggers and wonderful ladies in the series!
Join us Friday for the blogging resources link party, and the live chat via Facebook & Twitter, Friday 3-5pm EST. Get ready to ask us all your bloggy questions, and join in the fun by sharing your confessions! Finish the sentence "You know you are a blogger when..." #bloggingconfessions.