Karaoke Forums

I'm designing some new business cards. I'm getting tired of
my old ones. I thought I'd get some ideas from what you're all are using.
I mainly want new ideas for phrasing. I don't put prices on my cards. I've seen a few
KJs or DJs do this and don't agree with it. My prices very to much - I take in consideration travel time and the type of event for price.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

 LMAO  LMAO  LMAO

Oh kappy

I don't think I'd get many gigs with that one

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Don't Have the word Professional on the card. It is in bad taste. One of the more Professional dj/kj entrepneurs in the area clued me in on this. The shows he does start at  $800.00 for 4 hours and goes up from there, and he has 25+  host's working for him at any one time.

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I'm Not Dead yet...... But every day Im getting Closer !

Bab's.   Then add a good buzz word that everybody is thinking about.  I revised the card..  Make them think of something pertinent, and associate it with your business !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I use a simple card with original art work

Mike, don't take this the wrong way, but with that card you'll never be accused of being in any type of business.    Even seeing it on a karaoke site doesn't help.   At least put the word entertainer or karaoke on it.   I should mention that I went to Art Institue for commercial art.    And that includes advertising anything and everything.

Babs, your business card is a reflection and an extension of you and your business.    It's not supposed to be, but our society is very rooted in first impressions.    They make assumptions based on looks, dress, your house, your car.   Your card is an advertisement and should be treated as such.   You want to make a good first impression.   So do a quality job.   First impressions are made in a matter of seconds.   A good impression and they keep your card, a bad one and it goes south.
It doesn't need your hourly rate on it, but it does need important stuff like, what you do, business name and phone number.   If you don't have enough artistic ability hire a pro to design one and maybe a logo.    Coke, Pepsi, Ford, GM all have them.   They are easily recognised by their logo.   It could be as simple as they way you write your business name.     Mr. October has a very good start on a logo, the card  just needs to have what he does, on it.    You have to make it real easy on people.   Have you ever heard they write the Wall Street Journal for an eighth grade education?    Well, you have to advertise to the eighth grader too.   Do not assume people know what you are talking about.     I print a monthly calender.    Before I had a computer I had to literally cut and paste items on it.    It took a lot of time to do this.    I never put the bar name on every day because of the time factor.  I had the bar name on the top of the day of the week with an arrow drawn to the last day, beside the arrow it said every Tuesday.   A girl came up to me pointing to one of the Tuesdays that had the arrow running though it and said, "Aren't you going to be here next week?"     It hit me right then, that I had to put it on every single day.  Even though it said every Tuesday beside the arrow drawn to the last Tuesday, [highlight=crimson]she didn't get it.[/highlight]   Now especially when dealing with idiot bar owners it becomes even more important.   I use a simple design that is clearly readable.   The letters are not some fancy scroll that you have to keep looking at to figure out what it says.    My logo is the way my business name is written.    No fancy type face.    I like things cut and dry.  I don't like wishy washy stuff.   I want everything to be as simple as black and white. (I'm talking about life in general, not my card, it's color.)  Then you know where you stand.   Talking about color, statistically it gets more notice than black and white.   Not saying black and white doesn't make a good ad.   Black and white can be used very effectively.    These are all constructive suggestions and should be taken as such.   My first business cards cost me $1 each.  It was very unique in design and the effect.    I mailed out 900 of them in a unique letter to every bar, club and tavern in the  yellow pages.   I was trying to be different than the crowd.    Bar owners get hundreds of business cards each year from a million venders, Dj's, Kj's, bands, etc.    The people that get the business stand out in one way or another.  It could have been the first impression.   Put a magnet on it so it is right where they can see it.    On a cooler or beside the cash register.

Babs, here is my business card. I have one side printed with the same logo and graphics and otherside is relevant information for myself. I also have printed out a bunch for my partner which has different information for him.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

No Problem at all.  I dont go around handing the cards out unless asked for one, and if someone ask's for one they know what I do. I hate Hosting Karaoke so I would never put that on a card, However everytime I do Host a show I get More work
I mostly Do a Solo Character Act  The " MrOctober " Show so I just wanted Something quick and simple.
I dont want to look TOO professional ... A few Shows a month is fine with me.

I agree with the advice to Babs on getting a small but recognizeable "Brand"
Kinda like the NIKE check. something original that makes it easier to identify her Business.
with your art experience it may not be a bad Idea to help some of us out for a few bucks creating " Brands" and Logo's
Just a thought
Michael

Thank you - this is helping.

I was going to post my old card, but I deleted it accidently. Beleive me I could kill someone. I make my own cards on the computer. I have a logo- it is a monkey holding a mic. I have to scan it back in the pc. It took for ever to get it the way I wanted it and I'm not going to try to recreate it again. The logo also bounces across my tv monitors in between songs at karaoke.

Being a girl I have a bit of a staulker problem, so I don't put my website or my personal phone numbers on the card. How I've learned to get around this is i use my boyfriends cell number on the card. It reads -

                                 Karaoke Monkey Business
                                 Karaoke for all Occasions
                                 Come sing with Babs your karaoke hostess
                                 Call Dave for more information
                                  111-123-1234
These are the cards I set out - if someone approaches me with a legitimate job I
write my phone number and website on the back. This prevents the loonies from calling me.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Eben - thank you for posting your card - I was hoping people would do that.

Bigdog- I'm glad to hear simplicity is good. I use a logo, I use popping color (usually
purple and green) and I keep the wording simple. I guess that was one of my worries - I don't put a lot of writing on my cards. I am mainly a KJ not a DJ. I'll only DJ for short spurts in between karaoke sets if neccessary, but it's not my forte, so I
don't advertise it.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

You are most welcome. Just as a business side. Designing a business card, or any marcom material is a fine balance between simplicity and information. You do want as much information as possible on it but you want to make it easy to read. This is from years of experience producing corporate material for small and large companies in the past.

From my point of view, you need to have a slogan/hook/line and that needs to be on your card. It should be what sets you apart from others who are doing the similar things. If you don't want to put your personal information, you should make sure there is an easy way for them to contact you at a phone/email where you check periodically. Lastly, the layout/color scheme should reflect your theme and geared towards your audience. If your customers are mostly corporate types, wild colors would turn them off but if they are individuals and you want to convey "party" theme, you want wild colors to reflect that. One more thing, your company's name or logo should be the largest elemeent on the card and should be in most prominent position. It doesn't hurt to be in a bright colors either. It's the name or logo you want to stick in their mind, rest they will look it up.

Just a basic marketing 101.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

Careful Mike, Reggie "Mr October" Jackson, just may come after your hide

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Yea Tim ...  He probably use's a bat for a cane By now. there's some Rapper In Georgia with the same name as well. I just may change it to Mr O.

I wouldn't, but hey. To each his own

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Mr. O, now I understand.   I thought you were a KJ.   I wanted to add a few more thoughts on the Business card thing for everyone.    

1. [highlight=crimson]No one can sell your business better than you[/highlight], face to face with the bar owner.  (Best) You are your best expert, on you.
2. Friends and people that liked your service selling you to someone is next. (This is called Word of Mouth)
3. Way down the list is your business card.   It talks for you when you can not be there.  The same as an advertisement.  Your ad or business card should absolutely have on it Your Business name, what you do and your phone number.   Big enough to read without glasses.   Assume most people need reading glasses.   Use an email address if you want but don't let that take the place of a phone number.   Bar owners do not have the time to be surfing the net.   They are too busy cleaning up puke, the broken beer bottles in the parking lot, worring about the $5/hour cook showing up, taking booze & food inventory, talking to venders, etc.   Look in your yellow pages.  Pretend every ad in there is a business card.   10-20,000 people ready to talk to you through their card.   Pick one at random A-Z.  Now pretend you want to buy or hire whatever catagory you selected.   Which one did you pick to call first?    Why?    Were they the first one to give you the important information you needed?    Their name, what they do and phone number.   Who was the number two call and why?   Who was last?    See how they talked to you.   Some said too much by not saying enough.   They lost you.   When it comes time for the bar owner to call someone for karaoke, he better find the card fast and be able to see the number quickly.    

That brings up the phone call thing.    If you call someone from the yellow pages, what happens if you get a busy signal?  You go to the next one.  And the next and the next until you talk to someone.   Your answering machine/ home phone needs to be able to forward calls to you if you are out.   You've passed up doing business with someone because they didn't answer, it will happen to you.    Everything is rush, rush, rush.   Remember the first impression your card gives.   It's talking for you.  Is it saying the right words to get you the job?    Cute is good to an extent.  But don't over do it.   I try to remain practical.  Cut and dry, right to the point.    Study the ads in the phone book look for things that grab your attention.  Why did they work.   Pick out the good ideas and use them in your business cards/ advertising.    Major corporations spend billions on cleaver ads and cards that get results.   It could mean the difference between success or failure.   That should be your main goal in designing B.Cards and ads.   Who do you want to do business with & why?

I would also venture to say that the majority of the people on this site have little or no experience with advertising or selling.    As in selling yourself to the bar owner.   Read up on the subjects, it can't hurt.  Polish your image and techniques.   They equal $$$$

I told you about the KJ that gave me his card the other night.    He has a picture of him on the card holding a guitar by the neck like a rubber chicken and the look on his face is saying what the heck is this??????     You tell me, because I don't get it.   He had some other stuff on there in really small print in the middle and 3/4 inch of decorative border stuff around the card.   Waste of good space if you ask me.   Don't clutter up the info.   Maybe that's why he wants me to get him jobs.

Eben, excellent logo by the way.

Thanks. I designed it along with my friend who is very talented. I do some graphic design work on the side, mostly for friends and family. It's a fun diversity. It gives me chance to be creative.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

Here is Mine Very Basic.