Business cards aren't just for business people anymore. Yes, conventional working professionals still carry around business cards with their titles, companies, and contact information printed on them, but nowadays it has become common for other members of society to make and hand out 'business' cards. At the beginning of the school year my son's teacher handed out her 'card' in the form of a magnet - we keep it on our fridge and it has proved to be very handy. Teenagers looking for babysitting or lawn maintenance jobs have business cards just in case they happen to cross paths with a potential client/employer. Stay-at-home moms carry around 'mom cards' that they can hand to other moms who they meet at playgroups or at the park. And, if you are a genealogy blogger (or any type of blogger, for that matter), you should have some business cards, too.
Last year, I had some of my own cards made. My brother was getting married, and I knew I would be seeing some of my Dad's cousins who I really never see at any other time. I wanted an easy way to give them my genealogy website URL and email address, without them having to fiddle with their phone or find a pencil and paper to write it on. Sure enough, I handed out a few at his wedding, so that mission was accomplished.
Last year, I had some of my own cards made. My brother was getting married, and I knew I would be seeing some of my Dad's cousins who I really never see at any other time. I wanted an easy way to give them my genealogy website URL and email address, without them having to fiddle with their phone or find a pencil and paper to write it on. Sure enough, I handed out a few at his wedding, so that mission was accomplished.
My networking card, as made through Vistaprint.com.
Fast forward to just a couple of months ago. I was attending a seminar at the Indiana Historical Society. During one of our breaks, I introduced myself to one of the programming and education employees, gave her one of my cards, and simply let her know that if she or other members of the programming staff were interested in putting together a seminar on genealogy blogging, I could probably help out with that. She thanked me, the seminar started back up, and I went back home not really expecting much of it. A few days later, she emailed me and asked me to come in and speak with her about putting together some children's genealogy programs for them, based on my new blog, Growing Little Leaves.
Even if you only blog as a hobby (as I do), you never know when or where you may want to share your blog and/or contact information with someone. You could be doing research at a library and bump into someone researching the same areas and/or families as you, or you could be at a seminar or conference and meet someone who could even be a potential relative. Most bloggers focus on using digital social networks, such as Facebook, Google+, and Twitter to expand their readership, but it is important to keep utilizing this more traditional method of networking.
I ordered my cards through Vistaprint, but there are a handful of other websites on which you can design your own cards, usually at very economical prices. Office supply stores, like Staples and Office Depot, can also help you design and print cards. You are completely in charge of what you want on your card - I put my name, email address, phone number, and home address, along with my website URLs and the major surnames I research.
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
Even if you only blog as a hobby (as I do), you never know when or where you may want to share your blog and/or contact information with someone. You could be doing research at a library and bump into someone researching the same areas and/or families as you, or you could be at a seminar or conference and meet someone who could even be a potential relative. Most bloggers focus on using digital social networks, such as Facebook, Google+, and Twitter to expand their readership, but it is important to keep utilizing this more traditional method of networking.
I ordered my cards through Vistaprint, but there are a handful of other websites on which you can design your own cards, usually at very economical prices. Office supply stores, like Staples and Office Depot, can also help you design and print cards. You are completely in charge of what you want on your card - I put my name, email address, phone number, and home address, along with my website URLs and the major surnames I research.
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
