Which Side of the Moo Card Are You?
Filed Under: How do you fit a thousand words on a business card?
This is the story of how we did it.
We had just finished giving several presentations in the United States about our journey around the world, and we were down to a few business cards each. Our friendly business card printer in Bangkok, Thailand wouldn’t do the trick this time. TBEX, a travel blogging conference in New York, was only a few days away. We needed a business card refresh and we were in a bind.
Enter Moo Cards. At the time, a temporary solution. Now, a permanent one.
From creation to lasting impression, this is the lifecycle, with a twist.
The Creation Process
Because Moo (an online printing service) allows you to select and crop up to 50 different (yes, 50!) images to appear on the backs of your cards, you can select a slew of photos that communicate different dimensions of your personal or professional story.
For us, creating our Moo business cards served as a walk down memory lane. The last four years of our life played out as we evaluated who we were, what we were doing and which images from our collection might best communicate it all.
We’ve created and used two types of business cards from Moo:
1) Mini Cards – half size and thinner card stock. Message: Cute, Convenient, Different (unless everyone else happens to be carrying them, as was the case at TBEX)
2) Business Cards – full-size, thicker card stock. Message: Creative, Professional.
With all your business card versions, it’s time to figure out who gets which one.
The Psychology: Who Gets What
When you have multiple versions of your business card to give, it alters the business card exchange process.
Before handing over a card, I attempt to determine which one is the right match for the person I am giving it to. This is where my observational skills come into play. The key question: which image will evoke the biggest reaction?
A confident woman in India? Or a Burmese mother and child. Maybe Dancing penguins? Or perhaps a food scene from a market in Uzbekistan?
It’s a game of sorts.
The Moo Twist
Do you know the “Moo Twist”? This is the wrist action we use when we hand over our business cards. The idea: the person receiving it can see both sides and choose which side to connect to first.
For some, it’s the side with our business information: “Chief Storyteller. Oh, I like that.”
For others, it’s the image: “Ooh, beautiful. What’s going on there? Tell me about that photo.”
Either way, our cards provide an opening to share the back-story and connect it to who we are.
If, however, my inner psychologist fails and I’m stymied as to which card to give, I offer an option: “Which card would you like?” If the cards are in my hands, they crane their necks to see what’s on offer. And they always make a careful selection, as if it’s a gift.
This entire process satisfies me. I not only feel as though I’m giving a business card, I feel like I’m sharing a bit of myself.
The Lasting Impression: Worth Collecting
I recently handed one of my cards to a designer friend whose taste in all things design and decor I admire. She responded: “Where did you get these cards? I think I want them for my business.”
This was professional validation. It felt satisfying, as if our cards set us apart.
I also realize this is beginning to sound an awful lot like a commercial. It isn’t meant to. It’s just a good experience. And well, I hope, a good story.
Are Moo Cards Right For You?
When it comes to business cards, Moo Cards are by no means the lowest-cost option. So don’t expect 1000 cards for $10. But do expect people to be impressed and interested to know more about you and your work. That’s a successful business card — worth every bit the additional cost in our opinion.
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What story does your business card tell about you? If you use Moo Cards, which side tells more about you?
Disclosure: Links to Moo Cards above include our affiliate code. If you use the links above and make a purchase, the price remains the same to you, but we earn a small commission. It’s crucial to note that we would not promote anything that we ourselves didn’t actually use — and have an excellent experience with.
Moo Cards ship from the United States or the UK.
This post had already been on our October editorial schedule. When we heard of this blogging competition, we figured why not move the publish date up a couple of weeks.
September 13th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I ordered my Moo cards right after I came home from my trip to hand out to future employers, fellow travel bloggers and at networking opportunities for aspiring journalists. Not only have they served as great tools to make myself more known, but they’ve also been great conversation starters!
September 13th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Great idea! (Wonder which one you’d pick out for me?)
September 14th, 2010 at 6:34 am
I am totally in love with our Moo cards. We always get amazed comments when we hand our Moo cards to people. After our fantastic experience with the business cards, we have actually used them to design and print our own invitations for two different birthday events where we wanted something classy, graphic, and personal, but not as formal as the typical cream and embossed invitation. Yay for Moo!
September 14th, 2010 at 7:09 am
@Sarah: A unique business card certainly helps to make you stand out when you’re networking. Glad to hear you’ve had a similar experience with Moo Cards!
@Margaret: Ooh, good question. I like the challenge. I’d give you a card with this image from Burma. The reason is that I think the anthropology and foodie side of you would want to know more.
Dan said he’d let you choose your own card
Who wins??
@Akila: Isn’t it funny how Moo Cards elicit an emotion?! That’s the sign of a happy customer
We haven’t used Moo yet for invitations and postcards, but I can completely see how the end result would be awesome and unique. I did notice that they also print stickers…that sounds like fun, too.
September 14th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Moo cards are such works of art! Great post!!!
September 14th, 2010 at 9:16 am
I also use Moo cards and every one is different. More than a few times people have wanted to go through the entire box to pick the one they liked most.
September 14th, 2010 at 10:12 am
@Andi: They do look pretty nice, don’t they? Glad you enjoyed this.
@Ayngelina: We’ve had the same experience – where people really take the card decision seriously and want to pick the “right” one. Not many business cards elicit that emotion. Love it!
September 14th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Wow, these are simply amazing! Thanks for the review of Moo business card, I think there is a benefit of having these option and images on many type of business. Next time I am in market for it, these are the one I will get! Thanks for introducing it me!
September 14th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Love the Moo cards and have found that they really do change the whole interaction and sink it down to a personal level…most often I lay a few out and let them pick…I’m always surprised by how off my own pick for them would have been…guess I need to work on those observational skills!
September 14th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Very cool guys! I love taking something that is old, traditional and just a necessary transaction and spicing it up. This is when people are usually impressed. I love this idea.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:28 am
I’m a big fan of the Moo cards- they never fail to impress (except, maybe, at TBEX).
September 14th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
@Mike: Glad you found this review helpful and hope you enjoy your Moo Cards next time you need business cards.
@Shannon: An interesting exercise would be to mentally pick a card for a person and then have him/her choose and see if it’s the same card. I can imagine that I pick “wrong” many times!
@Jason: It’s hard to make business cards hip, but Moo Cards has succeeded. If you take a look at some of the examples on their site, the creativity is quite impressive.
@Stephanie: Ha! Moo Cards were everywhere at TBEX, but fortunately that’s not the case when you’re on the road. Safe travels!
September 14th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
I heart the Moo for all the reasons stated above, but also because I cannot help but squee when the box arrives, I open it and it says in bold green print “Created by Moo and You”. Loves it.
September 14th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I confess to not being sold on Moo cards. At times I have this internal button that rebels against what others might say is fab, even if it is.
It’s kind of silly, because I’ve heard Moo cards are terrific! I settled on 500 standard ones. Not exactly practical either, for one they are heavy, secondly how the heck am I going to hand out 500 cards? Hehe, that internal voice should be squashed.
Your cards look great, by the way.
September 14th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
@Jodi: Completely get the “Moo Squeal”! And, Moo is great at all those little touches in their packaging.
@Nomadic Chick: We held off on Moo Cards for a long time as well, but then decided to give them a try when we were in a bind because the process and turnaround was so easy. Just think, as long as you don’t change your email address you can use your 500 cards for a long, long time!
September 15th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I want to see all the cards! Then see if I can pick the one that I think fits you
September 15th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Thanks for this review! I need to deplete my current supply of cards so I can get these…I love the idea of putting different photos on the back.
September 15th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
@Layne: You’re on! We’ll try that next time we meet up!
@Heather: Glad this was useful! Hope you deplete your current supply soon so you can try out Moo Cards. Let us know how you like them.
September 16th, 2010 at 12:48 am
It’s probably time for me to go with Moo Cards as well. I tend to be another holdout on such things until long after the initial excitement has faded but I do like the idea. They do seem to offer something quite unique and impressive.
I guess that gives me some motivation to start handing out the rest of the business cards I currently have as quickly as possible!
September 17th, 2010 at 3:29 am
@Earl: I’m sure you’ll be meeting lots of people in the States on your way to the Middle East, so many opportunities to hand out your business card
For us, Moo helped us avoid the costs and time of getting another business card designed (our previous one had become too busy) so it helped kill two birds with one stone – a new supply & a new design.
September 18th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
We love Moo Cards too – being able to allow people to pick their own image really makes you stand out. We have the full business cards & just got some more sent to us in Argentina as we couldn’t bear to go back to ordinary cards.
September 19th, 2010 at 5:20 am
@Erin: That shows dedication – getting Moo Cards mailed to you in Argentina! But, I can kind of understand
September 19th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Got my Moo cards recently and everyone seemed to love them. People definitely remember you more if they remember something funny or interesting on your card.
September 20th, 2010 at 6:30 am
@Brian: The photos are fun and people respond well to them, but I agree that writing something funny or different on your card will really make people remember you. I quite enjoy my “Chief Storyteller” title.
September 21st, 2010 at 5:48 am
I love these with the photos on them! What a great idea, especially since your photography is outstanding.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:02 am
@Laura: Thank you! Making Moo Cards are fun too since you can scroll through your flickr (or other) collection and choose the “right” photos that best represent you.