The MOO MiniCards Networking Hack!

My MOO MiniCard Holder

If you have ever struggled to swap business cards without coming across as a complete networking n00b, then this hack is for you!

I accidentally stumbled upon this hack at a conference; my pockets were full so I clipped my MOO MiniCard Holder to my lanyard.

Someone spotted the holder and asked what it was, so I flipped it open to reveal the MOO MiniCards inside; they got a kick out of it and asked if they could take a card—pretty slick don’t you think?

Why it Works…

The MOO MiniCards networking hack is pretty simple yet effective for two reasons:

  • First, the holder is discreet yet unique enough to make someone take notice and hopefully wonder what it is.
  • Second, the MOO MiniCards themselves are extremely unique; I have yet to see someone react negatively or indifferent towards them.

Obviously, not everyone asks about the holder, yet people still find amusement in seeing you reveal the unique cards that hide inside.

Also, there’s no substitute for old-fashioned networking and mingling—MOO MiniCards will help you make an impression but they won’t do all the work for you.

Designing Your Own…

Tomas Carrillo MOO MiniCards

Thankfully, MOO provides a myriad of ways to design your own MOO MiniCards; currently you can upload a custom design, you can select from a set of ready made designs, or you can import photos from Flickr and a slew of other social networking sites.

Personally, I went with a simple retro look based on Fruit Stripe gum; although I’ve seen some really neat designs like Jeff Moriarty’s MOO MiniCards.

MOO MiniCard Gallery

The striped design was created in Adobe Illustrator, although you could easily do something like this using any image editing software like Photoshop—you could even try using PowerPoint or Keynote if your resources are limited.

Design Tips

If you’re a DIY kind of person, then here are some important things to note:

MOO provides a PhotoShop (PSD) MiniCard Template for you to use. When I first created my MOO MiniCards, I created them as jpegs that were about 10 times larger than the template dimensions to make my edges sharper. Since then, MOO now has the option to upload a PDF of your artwork and that’s what I’ve been using (that’s also what MOO recommends).

Design Resources

It wouldn’t be The Closet Entrepreneur blog if I didn’t have some freebies to give, so here you go:

NOTE: The retro Fruit Stripe style template is being provided free under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Basically what that means is:

  • You’re free to copy, distribute, and remix the template.
  • If you do alter, transform, or build upon the template, then please distribute the resulting work under the same or similar Creative Commons license.
  • You may not use the template for commercial purposes.
  • Lastly, give me some props by attributing the template to ‘The Closet Entrepreneur’ and provide a link back to this blog post on your blog/site.

Design Ideas

There are hundreds of business card galleries out there, but here are some of the latest ones I’ve come across:

In Conclusion…

I’m a huge MOO MiniCard fan, although I wish MOO would let us create MiniCards using their 100% post-consumer chlorine-free recycled paper. Regardless, the MiniCards are printed on elemental chlorine free (ECF) paper sourced from sustainable forests so I’ll remain patient for now.

So have you had any success with a unique business card design, or do you have any networking hacks that you’ve employed successfully? If so, then feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

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23 Comments

  1. Cool post, I found your blog after looking through Moo card photos on Flickr. I am adding you to my RSS feed, and look forward to reading more.
    -Ezra Hilyer
    http://www.straypoetry.com

  2. Now that is one of the simplest, most effective little networking tools I have seen in quite a while. It gets attention, it stands out, and it still communicates the things that you need to communicate.

    I guarantee you I will be heading over there shortly to see what they have to offer. Thanks for the review!

  3. @GoEverywhere Team – You’re welcome and definitely check them out! 🙂

    Another nice thing about them is that small quantities can be purchased—so if you’re the kind of person that likes to make changes to business cards often, then you don’t have to worry about ordering too many cards that will eventually be thrown out.

  4. I have been wanting to get some minicards, I love how customizable they are!

    Also, I love the shirt, I have that shirt and it’s one of my favorites.

  5. @Vince – The MOO MiniCards are definitely worth a try! I totally hear you on the shirt too; I was so glad to see it win that weeks derby. 🙂

  6. Rob

    Whoa, thats a woot! shirt! I wanted that one!

  7. @Rob – Yeah, I jumped on the deal the second that shirt showed up in my feed reader. 😉

  8. awesome suggestion! this is one of those “why didn’t i think of that” solutions. putting minicards in your wallet probably doesn’t hold up as well as this does 🙂

  9. @Roy Vergara – Thanks! BTW, don’t abandon the MiniCards in your wallet idea; I’ve run out of MiniCards before and now stash a few extra in my wallet just in case I run out again. 😉

  10. Personally, I like moo cards. They’re different…unique. I’ve heard others react in a negative way but whatever, I like them. They invoke a reaction from people and the reaction is what I’m looking for. That has a bigger impact in my opinion than no reaction at all.

  11. ben

    I guarantee you I will be heading over there shortly to see what they have to offer. Thanks for the review!

  12. @Ricardo Bueno – Thankfully, I have yet to witness someone react differently to them, then again I’ve busted them out during events catering to creative and design folks—it would be interesting to see how they fare in ‘professional’ environment. 🙂

    @ben – You’re welcome. 😉

  13. Hey mate
    great blog. I would totally agree that the little card holder + the cards is a sure way to grab peoples attention. That’s how I got hooked myself! I even like the little plastic box the spare cards come in to be honest. I never was a fan of vista prints cardboard boxes that get wrecked in their travels!

    There’s a pic of mine at http://www.aussiejoyslife.com

    Onya

    Joy

  14. @Joy Argow – Nice Moo MiniCards Joy, thanks for sharing! 🙂

  15. Great review! Moo cards are great because you can print each card with a different design! I decided to take advantage of this by using a different design for each industry that I target with my designs. For example; I approach the construction industry, plumbers, lawn mowers, sparkys etc. Having a design for each industry gives the impression that I am solely designing for them.

    Here are some examples of what I mean:
    http://www.scottletts.com/moo_minicards.php

  16. fortrelly

    MOO uses terrible quality paper stock – you will look like an amateur using these guys to print your designs. In addition, their customer service is absolutely abominable and they are not cheap for what you get. There are MUCH MUCH better companies out there if you do your research. MOO will take your money and send you crap (probably late and in some cases, the wrong order). Too many people have complained about these guys. Go elsewhere!

  17. The lanyard is neat and I’m glad it works well for you. Personally, I’m not a fan of MOO cards or any dramatically offsized business card simply because it goes from standing out to being obnoxious to keep track of and file.

  18. Sandra

    I did read bad reviews about Moo’s customer service and a few delays or order mistakes but I wouldn’t say their paper quality is terrible…
    I don’t use them anymore because of their price and matt finish that darkens the designs too much, colors are not popping out…
    I found another company that does minicards http://www.myminicards.com and they’re definitely cheaper than Moo
    I’ve placed a few orders in the past year or so and have never experienced a single glitch.
    Sandra

  19. Claire

    How is this a ‘hack’ exactly?

  20. Meme

    I so love all of your info, You have inspired me! Thanks sooooo much!!!!

  21. Jeff J

    Thanks for all of the help. Its ridiculous to search Moo’s site for that template. That helped me immensely!

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