The problem with ordinary business cards is that they have no call to action. You hope the potential client or customer will when you hand one out, but the business card itself doesn’t do anything to encourage him or her to do it.

With one clever foldover, the brochure business card solves this problem and gives you the space to explain why he or she should call, too. Here's what you need to know about designing your own brochure business cards.

More on Business Cards

• Make Your Business Card a Marketing Vehicle
• Don't Forget Your Promotion Kit
• Does Your Business Card Pass the Trash Test? (About.com Small Business Information)

Image (c) Susan Ward

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If you get a chance to listen to an expert talk about something you're trying to do, you should always take it. That's why I've signed up for How to Integrate Social Media Into Your Business Strategy, a free webcast from ClickZ.com and SearchEngineWatch.

The expert is Charlene Li, co-author of Groundswell and founder of Altimeter Group. Named "One of the Most Influential Women in Technology" by Fast Company magazine, she is a much sought-after speaker and has often presented at top technology conferences such as Web 2.0 Expo, SXSW, and adTech.

In this one hour webcast, she's going to speak about "breaking social media trends, discuss how to create customers who "evangelize" for your company, and how to establish and support relationships between and among your customers".

Register for How to Integrate Social Media Into Your Business Strategy Webcast

Webcast Date: July 8

Starts at 1 p.m. EDT, 10 a.m. PDT

More on Social Media

• Poll: What Types of Social Media Do You Use?
• What is Social Media?
• Social Media Marketing
• How to Promote Your Business on Twitter

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Here's what people are talking about in the Small Business Canada Forum right now. Why not pop in and see what other people have said about these topics and add your views?

• Have you had any Twitter success?
• Do I need to charge Retail Sales Tax (RST) on software development?
• Should I buy a POS machine from a company I've never heard of?
• Do I need to file income tax returns if I've done nothing with my corporation?

(If you're not a Forum member, why not join? Membership is free.)

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Successful marketing can be summed up in a sentence; market to the right people in the right place in the right way.

So what's the magic bullet that super-successful marketers use? A marketing plan. A marketing plan crystallizes your Unique Selling Proposition and lays out your pricing strategy, distribution plan and promotion and advertising. It coordinates and directs your marketing efforts so you don't waste time and money doing things that do nothing for your business.

• The Key to Marketing: The Marketing Plan - Learn more about marketing plans and marketing strategy.
• Writing the Marketing Plan - Learn how to put together a marketing plan of your own.

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