Not many business owners take advantage of the FREE advertising space on the back of their business card, and those that actually do, often use the space ineffectively.

Most business owners dont consider their business card a marketing tool, but in fact, it is! And not only should it be used to attract clients to your business, it should also be used as a vehicle to attract joint venture partners.

Have you ever attended an event, talked to so many people and collected their cards, then went home, looked at the cards, and discovered that you dont remember exactly what the person who gave you the card does? You probably file the card away for future reference, knowing that youll almost certainly never get round to looking at it again. And then, after a few months, you spring clean and throw the card away? Yes! Weve all been there.

Thats why you should ensure that your business card is one of those that reminds the person you give it to of who you are, and what you can do for them.

So how do you do this? Try one of these tips below, and watch your joint venture network and your client base increase significantly:

Tip #1: Offer an irresistible freebie that compels the recipient of your business card to get the freebie, and also share it with their clients and associates. The freebie should be something that relates to your products and services. For example, if youre a realtor, you may offer a special report entitled 20 Deadly Home Buying Mistakes To Avoid. If the recipient of your card is perhaps a financial planner with a client base of first-time home buyers, its likely that hell mention your free special report to his clients, so as to add value to what he already offers them.

Tip #2: Have a marketing-driven testimonial behind your business card, and make the testimonial indisputable by including the name and contact details of the client who gave it to you (ask their permission first). Your prospects should be able to relate to the testimonial. This will increase your credibility in the mind of a potential joint venture partner because a testimonial is proof that you deliver on your promise.

Tip #3: List a few problem-solving tips that your target market can benefit from. Youll be surprised how much you can fit in on the back of your card. The brief tips are a way of showcasing your expertise, and will in turn position you as an expert that can be trusted to meet the needs of the clients of a potential joint venture partner.

Tip #4: Add your tagline or motto to your business card. It must be something that stresses the client-focused benefits of working with you, otherwise the tagline or motto will just be taking up valuable space. The reason for including your tagline or motto is to explain what your business is about to a potential joint venture partner and to their clients.

These are only a few of the things you can have on the back of your business card. The objective is to make the recipient of your business card remember what you do, be keen to do business with you, and send clients your way.

Before you print large quantities of your business cards, hand out some of them and observe reactions from the recipients. What did they say? Did they laugh? Did it create more interest on their part? Did they turn it over to see what may be on the back? All of these observations will give you clues about what potential joint venture partners and their clients expect from a business card.

What you have on your business card will make a difference between the recipient wanting to recommend you to their clients (if theyre a potential joint venture partner), or wanting to call you as opposed to you calling them (if theyre a potential client), and your card being thrown in the trash after a few weeks or months.

Everything you put on your business card should have a purpose that ties into what you can do for your ideal client. This will make potential joint venture partners regard you as a value-adding expert they must team up with.

Copyright 2006 by Habiba Abubakar and Emprez. All rights reserved.

Note: You are welcome to republish this article as long as the resource box at the end is included fully and unaltered.

Habiba Abubakar

Habiba Abubakar, a.k.a. The Profit Diva, is President and CEO of Emprez – a marketing consultancy and information publishing company that helps small businesses grow and excel in profits.

It didn’t take long for Habiba’s entrepreneurial spirit to surface. In one way or another, she has been involved with small businesses since the 1990s. Her earliest business experience was at age 12, when she persuaded her Grandma to let her sell some Arabian veils to her school friends. Since then, Habiba continuously dabbled into several business opportunities - even during her university education, and when she had a day job - until she found her forte.

After graduating with a Law Degree (LL.B Honors), Habiba made her debut into the corporate world as a sales representative with Marcus Evans Conferences. She soon realized that marketing is her real passion. Habiba switched careers and consequently held marketing positions at Bloomberg L.P, Macfarlanes, HLB Lists, Salans, Buzzacott Chartered Accountants and other blue-chip organizations.

With years of experience in marketing, Habiba founded Emprez to help small businesses cure what she calls the "mediocre profits syndrome." Under Emprez, Habiba set up two subsidiaries to serve separate niche markets.

Through restaurantmarketingstrategy.com, she works with restaurant owners that are struggling to attract more customers and trying to build undying customer loyalty.

Through Profit Diva, Habiba specializes in helping small business owners attract more clients and increase profits by developing, implementing and managing joint venture projects as part of their marketing mix and overall business strategy.

As a speaker, author, consultant and entrepreneur, Habiba is no stranger to the ups and downs of running a business.

As an alumna of Middlesex University Law School, Habiba is often invited back for speaking engagements. She also participates in the university’s annual Alumni Mentoring Scheme by taking on penultimate year marketing students.

Known for her "more clients and greater profits in 180 days" promise, Habiba has been featured in Benefits Marketing Online Magazine, Restaurant Business Magazine, Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Magazine, Masala Magazine, and commpiled.com, to name a few.

Habiba’s philosophy is simple: "In this world there’s no CAN’T, only WON’T and more often than not, that’s the difference between success and failure."