Now that you've decided to promote yourself and your business using digital business cards, it's time to break down the pricing and costs of digital business cards. Whenever you invest in promotional tools, it's understood that some investment is necessary. Therefore, don't fret too much over some of the costs. Just remember you are investing in your success.

There is a price difference when deciding between going with a professional digital business card designer or creating it yourself. Consider the following cost differences:

1. A professionally designed and packaged, silk screened digital business card, overflowing with video, graphics, and music, can cost $2,500 or more for a quantity of 1000 CDs.

2. If designing your own CD business cards, supplying your own packaging, discs, duplicating capabilities and software may cost in the $1,500 range.

3. It's possible to hire a digital business card designer to set up the basics, then do the duplicating yourself. This is a little more time consuming, but can be done from anywhere from $900 to $1600.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Go for multi-media loaded, DVD business cards

Set yourself apart from your competition by handing a potential client your professionally packaged, interactive business card. Seek out companies who specialize in digital promotional marketing.

I recommend: For the flashiest digital business cards on the market, makers of digital business cards, such as DiscWrite CD Promotions, offer a wide range of services starting at around $600. A custom size or a mini CD business card, chock-full of graphics and music is sure to be a real attention getter. Some companies, such as Business Cards on Disc, offer these options with the ease of online estimates.

Save money by creating your own digital business cards

A digital business card CD with an easy way to link to your email, a little text and perhaps your logo, can go a long way in attracting clients. These options are possible by investing a little time and money.

I recommend: Invest in computer software. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign are invaluable when designing your own digital business card. Purplus Software offers Adobe Design Standard for around $600. Stock up on your blank discs, labels, and packaging from Tape.com. For less than $200, ProAction Media can duplicate 100 discs.

Hire a digital business card designer, then do the packaging and duplicating yourself

If you like the idea of interactive business cards, but feel a bit daunted by putting it together yourself, hire a professional. Once your digital business card is complete, take on the packaging and duplicating yourself.

I recommend: Many digital business card designers, such as Business Card CD, will give you a quote online. Stock up on your supplies and start duplicating. Expect to pay between $0.99 to $3.99 each for 100 duplicated discs, depending on shape and size. Diskduper can duplicate or replicate any disc at a variety of quantities and prices. Or, you can buy your own duplicator. Noble House CD offers low to high end duplicators in the range of $500 to $8,000.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Negotiate with the makers of digital business cards. Most digital business card designers are flexible with their pricing and will work with you.

While traditional business cards have served their purpose well for many years, we now live in an era where nearly everything has become digitized, making digital business cards a natural outgrowth of modern technological advancement. Along with our cell phones, palm pilots, iPods and laptops, we've almost come to expect such things as interactive business cards.

As our businesses move farther into the 21st Century, thanks to modern technology, we can offer both our clientele and our business prospects so much more in a business card than we could just a few short years ago. CD business cards and their counterparts, DVD business cards, can help us put a large amount of critical company-related information into our customers' hands, easily and conveniently, by incorporating an entire multi-media presentation into a digital disc that's basically the size of a traditional business card.

Here are some advantages you'll enjoy by using digital business cards:

1. The ability to impart a great deal of information about your company during even a momentary or chance meeting with a prospect

2. The confidence that your digital business card has built-in safeguards to prevent your data from being stolen

3. The widespread name- and product-recognition your company will enjoy because most people watch DVD or CD business cards as soon as they receive them

4. The ability to place a link to your company's website in your interactive business card, making it easier for prospects to visit your site

5. The decreased likelihood that your CD or DVD business cards will be quickly discarded or easily misplaced, as traditional business cards might

6. The versatility of using CD business cards for other types of presentations, including sales proposals, brochures and product promotions

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn all you can about digital business cards and how they might benefit your company

Makers of digital business cards offer information and presentations, which often include sample downloads, to demonstrate the capabilities of their CD or DVD business cards.

I recommend: PPP Design describes its CD business cards on its website, offering samples for download. Mini CD Wizard also offers a free sample for viewing.

Once you decide which type of interactive business card would work best for you, compare pricing

Many online makers of digital business cards freely post their rates on their websites. Use that opportunity to compare prices, as well as features of different card types offered by various companies.

I recommend: Both Audio Sphere and Cheap CD Duplications offer pricing information, along with downloadable templates to help you prepare your data and graphics for your CD or DVD business cards. Cheap CD Duplications offers both CD business cards and DVD business cards.

If commercial versions of digital business cards don't fit your budget, consider making your own

Information on how to make your own interactive business cards is available online. Depending on your technical and artistic skills, these digital business cards can contain text and graphics (including animation), as well as live links to your website or e-mail.

I recommend: Tips and instructions for making your own digital business cards are available online from eSSORTMENT.

If you don't have the time, interest or ability to make your own digital business cards, get help

Some websites offer methods for digitizing the information found on traditional business cards to add to their convenience and give them at least some of the versatility of digital business cards.

I recommend: ScanR helps you turn traditional business cards into vCards (or virtual cards) that can be used to transmit, store and access your business card information electronically, via the internet or e-mail. Using either a digital camera or a camera phone, all you need to do is photograph your business card and send the photo to ScanR, which either makes and e-mails your vCard to you or stores your scan online.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  While you may not yet be prepared to eliminate traditional business cards entirely, consider using digital business cards to attract special clients or prepare important presentations and promotional materials which you would save time, effort and expense by not having to present in person. That will give you a chance to test the waters and decide whether you might not later prefer to go completely digital.

In today's competitive markets, digital business cards are an excellent marketing tool to promote your business. Knowing what to include on your digital business card is the key to attracting potential clients.

If your business is technology based, chances are your clients are computer savvy and would appreciate well-designed DVD business cards or custom-shaped CD business cards. An interactive business card could revolutionize your business.

If your clients are average computer users, the digital business card can still be beneficial. A simple link to your email address would give your clients instant access to you with a click of a mouse.

With options such as video, animation and direct links to your website and email, it's easy to get carried away. Keep the following points in mind when designing your digital business card:

1. Who are you marketing to and how will they benefit from the information you put on your digital business card. What capabilities they have regarding digital access.

2. Would a standard sized CD or a mini CD business card be more practical for your clients?

3. Decide to go with professional makers of digital business cards or a "do it yourself" approach.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Hire a professional digital business card designer

There are many digital business card designers on the market. Many can incorporate your business look and logo on the disc itself as well as incorporate content to fit your needs.

I recommend: A slick silk screen label produced by companies like ProAction Media can be an impressive introduction when first presenting your digital business card. Most professional providers of digital business cards, will work with you and help you decide the best media to attract your clients. Hollywood Disc has a variety options.

Produce your own custom digital business cards

Find a digital business cards guide. Creating anything from a simple digital business card to high volume, interactive business cards is not such an ambitious undertaking. In-fact, with the advancement in desktop publishing, it can be a real money saver while keeping your creativity under your own control.

I recommend: Work.com's Guide to Digital Business Cards is a great resource when first initiating this endeavor. Beefing up your desktop publishing software with programs such as Photoshop and Flash is an important first step. Nextag can help you choose which software package would best fit your needs. As for the disc itself, NEATO offers all the money saver supplies needed without compromising too much on look.

Use the technology of digital business cards to promote your business

Utilize the many multi-media tools available for your digital business cards. Whether it be a short video presentation, animation with music, a dancing logo or a simple email link -- use the technology to work for you.

I recommend: DVD business cards can bring your video information to clients all over the world. Business Card CD gives a variety of options on content and packaging in high-end fashion. ProwaveMedia is a great source of information on all the exciting new technology.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  First impressions are lasting ones, so think about how you want to package your digital business card. Disc sizes and sleeve packaging can be as important as the information inside. Remember, from packaging to content, the digital business card is representing your company in today's newest technological showcase.

These days, digital business cards are getting a lot of attention as professionals brainstorm how to get their profiles out to hiring staff. A digital business card can take many forms, from a video enabled card to a simple data disc. Learning about the different types of digital business cards can help professionals figure out how to use these technologies to their advantage as they seek jobs and a more prominent role in their industry.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

CD business cards

CD business cards are compact discs, often mini-sized, that contain business information. Some also contain presentations in PowerPoint or a similar software. Individuals can hand them out to potential clients or whoever has interest in a given business.

I recommend: CDCardX.com designs and replicates CD business cards. You can check out some examples of their work.

DVD business cards

DVD business cards are DVDs with business information. The DVD business card differs from the CD business card in that digital video is directly accommodated. While recipients would need a file opening software to view video from a CD business card, a DVD business cards load all video materials at boot up.

I recommend: See more on DVD business cards at 877MiniDVD.com.

Interactive business card

The term 'interactive business card' applies to a business card that uses digital media to provide interactivity features. Most commonly, individuals use social networking sites and interfaces to promote themselves with interactive business cards that they post on a web-accessible site. The Internet has proven to be a powerful resource for this kind of business networking.

I recommend: See more on creating an interactive business card at Download Squad.

Live links

A digital business card can include live links to a web site or other page for connectivity. Live links are hyperlinks that the reader can click on to go directly to another page.

I recommend: Get more on live links from the Dummies Guide to Blogger.

Content

In the context of digital business cards, content refers to the interactive media contained on the CD, or DVD or web page where you direct potential customers or contacts. You can contract a company to design the content for you.

I recommend: DigitalBC Media can design multimedia content with 3D imaging, voice and video.

Replication

For any digital business card in CD or DVD format, replication is important. Replication is the process of getting data onto multiple disks for distribution.

I recommend: Find more on CD replication and terms for types of CDs at UltraDisc.