I just had the most awesome social network business cards designed and printed… in record time. And, I found the designer/printer via Twitter!
The gal I’ve been using for my business cards for years suddenly became unreachable for some reason. I was in a pinch. I needed new cards for an upcoming event (jvAlertLive in Las Vegas!).
I thought about sending a general tweet as I’ve done in the past when looking for a specific product or service provider. However, oftentimes that strategy can yield a lot of results which is great in most circumstances. But, in the interests of time, I tapped my mental rolodex for who I knew on Twitter in San Diego who might be able to refer me to a great designer/printer.
Tues @ 11:14am - I reached out to my friend @AmyMiyamoto via DM (direct message. By the way, you can only send direct messages to people on Twitter where you both follow each other - one of the primary reasons I like to follow peeps back).
Tues @ 11:25am - Amy responded very promptly and suggested I contact Laura Beulke @VPG_Printing. She mentioned that our mutual friend Angie Swartz of the SixFigureMomsClub (@aaswartz on Twitter) had used Laura’s services and was very happy with the results.
I loved that Laura was a fellow Twitterer! I checked out Laura and saw she was already following me. So, I quickly followed her back so I could DM (direct message) her. (Though my policy is to always follow peeps back who follow me, at times I get behind on my following back).
Tues @ 11:39 - Laura responded with "I would LOVE to help. Do you want to email me your artwork? [email address]."
Wow. I was IMPRESSED already! I sent Laura my design mockup and high resolution artwork. Within a few hours, Laura had a proof to me and after just a couple tweaks I had my fabulous new biz cards in my hand in LESS THAN 24 HOURS from sending that first tweet to Amy!! I just new it was possible with a little help from the Law of Attraction and the power of Twitter. I’m excited to give out my new cards here at Ken McArthur’s jvAlertLive in Las Vegas now!
Go look at your own business cards now - if they don’t reflect your current branding or you don’t have links to your favorite social networking sites, then for sure go connect with Laura on Twitter. She’s @VPG_Printing. Her customer service is exemplary.
And, get this - when you connect with Laura via Twitter and mention you were referred by @MariSmith, Laura tells me she’ll give you a nice discount to boot!
Let me know what you think of my new biz cards::
FRONT:
BACK:
(I’ve x’d out my mailing address on the backside image; due to my mobile lifestyle, I go to great efforts to receive *very* little paper mail so I don’t publish my snail mail addy online).
Great post Mari.
Amazing power of Twitter!
Thanks for what you do on Facebook!
Myron Rosenberg
http://www.MLMOnlineMillionaires.com
Wow Mari, I love the new business cards! I connected with Shama Hyder after seeing your website and now I’ll connect with Laura after seeing your biz cards — GOOD STUFF!!!
Laura and VPG are amazing. They aren’t just a talented printing company with amazing designs and outstanding customer service, they are charitable as well. They’ve offered to send 300 cards to a service member recovering in CA from wounds he sustained in Iraq. As if that weren’t amazing enough, they also donated hundreds - more like over 1,000 cards to our organization’s Holiday Love for our Troops project.
All this through a connection made on twitter. That’s pretty cool.
Wow,
Isn’t this the magical twitter power.
BTW, Love that business card design.
Shris last blog post..12 Ultimate Time Saving Tools
Thanks for sharing Mari. Great post - as always! I will start following Laura on Twitter and contact her to replace my existing business card. Thanks again.
Dieter @ http://lifecoaching.dieterpauwels.com
Hi Mari,
I am so glad I could be of help! Especially with such a spectacular outcome. I love your new business cards! They really capture what you are all about. Hopefully I can get my hands on one of them myself soon!? It is so inspiring how this whole Twitter “netweaving” experience (term coined by @CarolDeckert http://twurl.nl/uftd6z ) transpired. When I received your request, I immediately remembered seeing tweets from both Angie Swartz (@aaswartz) and Alan Underkofler (@alanunderkofler) regarding the exceptional service they had recently received from Laura at @VPG_Printing. Knowing the top quality work that Angie and Alan are known for, I felt comfortable passing along the referral. Again, I am thrilled with your result. And the beautiful irony is that I, too, am in the market for new business cards that reflect my new brand. I am sure it is no surprise that I will be giving Laura at @VPG_Printing a call very soon. Oh and I also want to echo the generosity of spirit I have already experienced from her first hand. She is known on Twitter for her fun promotions and contests and two nights ago I was one of her lucky winners! Here’s to Twitter Law of Attraction!
?
Amy @amymiyamoto
Laura is a perfect example of how a small business can use Twitter to their advantage. She does these regular freebies and discounts via her tweets and one week I won some note cards from her. They arrived so quickly, I was impressed.
One of the services I offer in my VA business is designing brochures, business cards, etc. but I was looking for someplace better than VistaPrint to send clients to when it comes time to get them printed. VPG Printing will be my first choice.
April Joness last blog post..Exciting News for Advantage VA
Mari,
You are a social networking visionary and your work is greatly appreciated. Keep it coming!
Thanks,
George
Hey Mari and Amy,
The story gets even better! I learned of @VPG_Printing from @AshleyMahaffey who came to a Six Figure Moms Club meeting last week that she heard about on Twitter (See my post here http://tinyurl.com/4u6gol). Also, our speaker was another tweeple, @rachelpradhan.
Another piece of Twitter irony, last week I clicked on a random link on twitter from @zaellen (my Blog World Expo Buddy) and read an article on customer service and guess who just happened to be mentioned? Me! There was my tweet commending @VGP_Printing on great customer service. This was a total coincidence. You can see this article here too. http://tinyurl.com/4b53ug
So the serendipity of Twitter is amazing. And takes me to the question. Is Twitter a social networking tool or is it a living, breathing sole much bigger than we realize =-)
So much fun ladies!!! What will BE NEXT?
Angie A. Swartzs last blog post..Poverty is Not Just in Africa. Sometimes It’s Right Next Door.
Oh, and by the way. My Cards from @VPG_Printing were Awesome too!
Angie A. Swartzs last blog post..Poverty is Not Just in Africa. Sometimes It’s Right Next Door.
@Myron & @Shri - Thanks heaps for your kind feedback.
@Monikah & @Dieter - My pleasure to find the great peeps for all of us to share! hehe
@Trish - I got teary eyed reading your comment. That is just brilliant!!
@Amy & @Angie - omgosh, I love it!!! Between the two of you, this story is just unfolding wonderfully more and more! What amazing synchronous events. Twitter has absolutely incredible power way beyond what most people realize. It’s a tool with myriad uses that helps the whole world be more connected.
@April - Whew, truly!! Agreed. I love to send referrals to entrepreneurs who provide stellar customer service vs. a big huge company, even if their service is great… I just like to support small biz growth!
@George - you’ve made my day. Wow, I believe that’s the first time I’ve been called a social networking visionary!!
Hi Mari,
That’s a really wonderful Social Network business card. To the point and precise. Clean look and very easy on the eyes. Now, I will try and find a printer here in my city Pune and get a similar one. Thanks again for the awesome informative post.
Best Wishes,
Shinil.
@shinils on Twitter - http://twitter.com/shinils
Hi Mari,
Just followed you on Twitter. I’m a (San Diego) local.
Steve
Mari, nice card. I’ve been contemplating on including S/N links on the biz card but I think I’ll give it a try and check the responses.
I am amazed how you could breeze through your 4.5k followers and found that resource. I guess they don’t call you a relationship marketing expert for nothing! :->
Great post. This was very useful to me as I use facebook very often. Thank you so much!
A great example of social media commerce. Sure the cards are outstanding, but the way you obtained them is equally amazing. Not rocket science, just an example of what someone might do in the offline world, yet online.
The great thing about doing it online, is that you have an opportunity to s-h-a-r-e your story quickly, and you went the extra mile by helping out everyone involved with your reference and offer.
Thanks so much Mari!
Travis Campbells last blog post..Explode Your Blogging Results with Email Marketing