I recently ran out of business cards and decided not to purchase any more.
I'm sick of carrying cards around. I'm sick of running out. I'm sick of getting home from a conference with a stack of cards that I have to sort through and somehow digitize.
I actually had a pretty good system. I would take notes on the card about when and where I met someone. I'd also add any specific followup items. I would send all of my business cards to Shoeboxed and they scan them for me. After that I throw them into a 1 gallon plastic bag that currently holds every card I've ever received (just barely).
I wanted something better. Something that didn't cost money or create clutter. And of course I'm anti-paper so anything that eliminates the paper trail is a bonus for me.
I considered the various digital business card apps. But in the end, I just settled on a simple email template that I set up in Tout (one of my recent investments).
Why email? Everyone has it. It's the default way I want to communicate with someone that I meet. Nobody has to install anything and there is nothing to explain. I just tap the Tout app on my phone, select the template, and hand them the phone to ask them to type in their email address. If I'm at my computer it is a similar process, but I can also customize the email before I send it.
Tout sends them a template email with my background and contact info. It even has a vcard attached so they can easily add me to their address book.
Here is my default template.
Howdy {first_name},
It was a pleasure meeting you at {x}. I am the Founder of OtherInbox – the cure for email overload. With almost a million signups we are one of the most successful email applications. Without you doing anything differently, our Automatic Organizer will scan your email and file shopping and social networking emails into folders so they don't clutter up your Inbox. We also make it easy to stop unwanted emails by simply placing them in the Unsubscribe folder.
http://www.otherinbox.comI've been involved with email my entire career. I founded SKYLIST in 1996 in his college dormitory as a one of the first email marketing companies. In 2004, I created UnsubCentral to help email marketing companies comply with regulatory requirements. With customers like Disney, Microsoft and Nascar, both companies became top ranked solutions in their respective categories before they were purchased by Datran Media. I studied Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and live in Austin, TX with my wife Amy and two children (number three due in August).
I also am an active angel investor and advisor to early stage startups. I brought together 20 others like me to form the Capital Factory early stage accelerator in Austin to mentor and invest in tech startups. Each summer we select 5 companies and work with them to accelerate their business towards profitability or their first round of funding.
http://www.capitalfactory.com
This fall, I'll be joining with Bob Metcalfe and John Butler to teach a startup class at the University of Texas at Austin. We will be selecting teams of entrepreneurial undergraduate students from all departments to help them start their own company while still in school.
http://www.1semesterstartup.comI've attached a vCard file with all of my contact information. You should be able to double click it to import into your address book.
Here is the most important stuff:
Email: josh@xxxxxx.com
Phone: (512) XXX-XXXX
Twitter: joshuabaer
I look forward to getting to know you better. Please reply with your phone number and any other information you would like to provide.
~Josh
What would you include in your intro email?
What other digital business card solutions do you use?
Let me know in the comments!
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