Promotional pens versus business cards

I've toyed with the idea of ditching business cards in favor of pens with my business name and web site on them.

I sell college sports action photos to parents of athletes and work out of my house. I have no studio or office. I sell pictures through Exposure Manager dot com.

So normally I pass out business cards to parents at the games. But it has occurred to me that many people might misplace or forget about the business card. If they had a pen, however, they would use it and remember to check out my pictures.

Does anyone else out there have experience using promotional pens they care to share with me and (hopefully) a lot of other interested photographers?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I lose pens all the time...

I might use pens as a supplement to, but definitely not a replacement for, the traditional business cards.

BreitlingFan wrote in post #13102115
I can't speak for anyone else, but I lose pens all the time...

Not only that, but I never look at any writing on the pen itself. Probably the only thing I look at is whether I want blue or black ink.

Why does it have to be either or. If you are trying to act like a real business you have to commit money to marketing your services. I do both of these plus some other items. Business cards get viewed at the time that you give them out but most people simply throw them in a drawer along with the hundreds of others they have. Pens, in my experience, tend to stay out and will sometime get picked up by others. I was convinced on pens when I had a call from someone who said they picked up one of my pens at a friends place and that call ended in a booking.

There is all sorts of advertising paraphernalia available. I think the best thing to choose is that that will be used by your target audience. When I chased sports teams I had water bottles. I now chase commercial work almost exclusively and I have items that will sit on a persons desk.

Pens might get costly depending how many you plan on passing out and how many game you are at doing this.

I print my own cards. I buy a box with 1000 perforated cards from Sam's Club and I put my business name, address, website, e-mail and phone number on it and I give the font a little color and print them on a color laser printer. They look like they were done at a printer....and it costs me about $12 total.

When I shoot an event...especially a day of tournaments....I might hand out 500 cards which is about $6. If these were pens...and I don't know what they would cost, but if bought in bulk, conservatively they may run 20 cents each....that would be $100 vs $6 for cards to pass out to spectators.

Also...over the years many people have approached me when shooting and have always asked "can I have a card". I never had a request for a pen.

flauri wrote in post #13107656
Also...over the years many people have approached me when shooting and have always asked "can I have a card". I never had a request for a pen.

An excellent point...

cdifoto wrote in post #13104339
I might use pens as a supplement to, but definitely not a replacement for, the traditional business cards.

Yes, this.

Cards can be pretty darned cheap, and for your purposes you don't need the most expensive. Pens will be significantly more expensive per eyeball--you can't hand them out with the same carefree abandon as you can cards. But pens can be useful in situations where the client would first use the pen when you handed it to her and then put it away...such as while signing a check or a model release.

Cards can easily be carried in a wallet or purse. Cards are easier for YOU to carry around and pass out. Promotional pens rarely last very long. Once they break or run out of ink, they are discarded.

I get picky about pens. I like a certain brand. If someone gives me a pen, unless I need it right then, it gets tossed. Even if I do use it right then, it still gets tossed when I get home and grab a pen that I do like.

Cards, on the other hand, are expected (by me). If I want to keep your card, I will file it with the other cards I want to keep. Everything in one place, so to speak, and I know where to look when I'm thinking "photographer".