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&lt;p&gt;Gawker picked up on a new trend: The &quot;Call Me Maybe&quot; business card. If you&#39;re not familiar with the song, consider yourself lucky, because it&#39;s definitely an ear worm. The lyrics: &quot;Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here&#39;s my number—call me, maybe?&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Gawker already scooped three images of cheeky business cards including the lyrics. But, while definitely cute, is a gimmick like song lyrics appropriate for a business card?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The answer may lie in what type of business you&#39;re in; if you wear a suit to work, you should probably sit this one out. But what if you&#39;re a freelancer, or work for a start-up? &#160;You&#39;ve got a little more leeway. Before having fun with trends, though, be sure your card has these basics down:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Don&#39;t forget to say what you do&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whether you use a gimmick or not, don&#39;t be so caught up in aesthetics or cultural references that you forget to tell the recipient of your card why they&#39;re holding it. Include a succinct description of the service you or your business provides.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Remember your audience&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Again, some types of business and job titles can get away with more mischief with their cards than others. Consider the line you&#39;re in, what people&#39;s expectations for your service might be (re: comedian vs. consultant). The target demographic you&#39;re handing your cards out to is also worth considering. Are they likely to be familiar with references you&#39;re making? Would they appreciate cleverness over quality?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Leave room for a note&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Maybe song lyrics work for your audience. But will the fit on your card? It&#39;s a good idea to leave a little room for a quick note about a conversation you had with a contact, or why they would want to contact you. Don&#39;t sacrifice this precious whitespace for non-essential information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Make sure your contact details are clear &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Again, function trumps form here: you don&#39;t want to get so excited about the look of your card that you run out of room for contact information, or end up putting it in tiny or indecipherable characters.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Remember too to keep your audience in mind when telling them how to reach you. Are your clients more likely to appreciate an office number, or a Twitter handle? Proceed accordingly.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;--Cathy Vandewater, Vault.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read More: &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://gawker.com/5912194/is-this-call-me-maybe-business-card-endearing-or-obnoxious&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Is This ‘Call Me Maybe’ Business Card Endearing or Obnoxious? &lt;/a&gt;(Gawker) &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/job-search/your-job-search-as-a-small-business-4-to-dos/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Your Job Search as a Business: 4 To-Dos&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/networking/networking-in-six-minutes-or-less/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Networking in Six Minutes or Less&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Call Me, Maybe? 4 Rules for Effective Business Cards

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