This post was most recently updated on November 30th, 2018
I’m seriously on the road quite a bit — and that makes it difficult to stay in touch with friends. I do a pretty good job of keeping up with family, but I still forget their birthdays or special dates once in awhile. Let’s face it, it’s hard to keep up a routine when you’re on the move. Or even when you’re not!
So, when I was introduced to Paperless Post, I was very intrigued. What is Paperless Post, you ask? Well…it’s kind of like a virtual stationery store and a personal graphics designer all in one. With endless design opportunities, you can create cards, invitations, greetings, and flyers.
Want to know more about how easy it is to stay in touch?
I thought you might.
First of all, I should tell you that Paperless Post provides many free options for sending your thoughts. There are basic designs and themes available for invitations, greetings, and flyers. Oh, and what a wonderful way to send a mass mailing of flyers. Let’s just say you’re letting several friends know you have a gallery opening – do a mass send-out of flyers! Or you’ve decided to hold a Tupperware Party (does anyone still have those?) – send out flyers free with Paperless Post. Or better yet, you’re planning a neighborhood block party. You don’t even have to be in town to post flyers around the neighborhood. Just import your neighbors’ email addresses into your Paperless Post address book and select their names. In an instant every neighbor will know about it!
So does it ever cost anything to stay in touch?
It just depends on how fancy you want to get. But I think you’ll LOVE all the extra touches Paperless Post provides to make your cards and invitations more personal and look like the real thing you might receive in the mail.
Like customized envelopes with your choice of color, font, stamp, postmark, and liner.
Or custom cards where you can add your own images, or a unique background, or a reply card. For those of you who travel a lot, imagine being able to use your own travel photos to adorn the messages you send to friends and family.
You can add gold or silver metallic trim and other embellishments. You can see the texture of the paper, too. These are very high-resolution images. (Click on one of these images to enlarge it and see for yourself) They look 3D because there is also enough animation to show the envelope opening and the card sliding out of the envelope!
Yes, some of these extra touches do cost something; you “buy” them with “coins.” When I first signed up for my free Paperless Post, I received 125 coins in my account to start out with. So far, no money spent. A typical “fancified” card might cost from 5-8 coins each to send.
When it’s time to buy more coins, you buy them in packages. The more you buy, the lower the cost is per coin. For example, 10 coins are $5.00 or 50 cents each. But if you buy 200 coins for $30.00, each coin is only 15 cents. If you send a card that uses only 8 coins, that’s the equivalent of $4.00 or 90 cents, in these two examples. Get it?! Either way, it’s a lot less expensive than sending a paper card you buy at the drugstore. No postage cost either!
But just how easy is it to use?
You can add email addresses individually or import them into your Paperless Post directory. Then it’s just a matter of selecting the names from your directory of who you want to stay in touch with. You can send the same card design to multiple people. Or you can custom design each card for its recipient.
As far as designing cards, the steps are very simple, and the program takes you through each step. First, choose the kind of card you wish to send: thank you, birthday, invitation, greetings, save-the-date, etc. Then select a design you like. Select format: horizontal, vertical, or square. Add text to the front or remove the text box and just have an image. Add text to the inside of the card or send a one-sided card.
Next, you can choose an envelope color, a liner (lots of fun choices), the background to the card when it opens (like a wooden desk or a slab of marble). You get to choose from different “stamp” images and postmarks, too.
For an invitation, you will be guided through the process of entering information about the event (like date, address, hours, etc.) and your reply card is customize-able too. Choose what information you need on the RSVP.
When you’re all done designing and selecting the names of the recipients, just push submit for instant gratification! Or you can schedule when it is sent.
Lots of bonuses with this way to stay in touch!
- Paperless Post offers several designer collections, such as Anthropologie, Rifle Paper, Ashley G, Crane & Co, Kate Spade, and Oscar de la Renta. Even Sesame Street!
- You’ll always know which cards have been opened and seen; you’ll receive an email
immediately. And if they send a reply, you’ll get that instantly, too. - Your Paperless Post dashboard helps you keep track of your coins balance, the cards you sent, and any you may have received. You can always go back to a card you’ve sent before and send it out to new recipients without going through a re-design. Your dashboard will tell you how many contacts are in your address book and keep track of how many flyers you’ve sent out. You’ll know at a glance who has not seen their flyer or invitation yet, so you can contact them another way.
- You can use Paperless Post on your mobile device, too, although you will be limited to using Paperless Post designs and not customizing with your own photos.
- You save a lot of money. With paper greeting cards costing an average of $5.oo now, this is a serious savings. More money for fun stuff like travel and going out to eat!
- Have you thought about how you’re going to get all your Christmas cards sent out yet this year? This would be a great option!
- It’s so much easier to stay in touch when you’re away from home. This is something you can do to reach out in the middle of the night, or in a different time zone, and you don’t have to worry about waking up your friends with a poorly timed text or phone call.
- Another plus! Paperless Post coins make a great gift for that “hard-to-shop-for” person on your list.
Are there any cons to using Paperless Post?
The only thing I found disappointing was that there didn’t seem to be a way to add more than one name to a specific email address. I still have a few family members where husband and wife share an email address, so I haven’t figured out how to get around that yet.
And then there’s the times when you really want to send a real paper card in the mail so someone can hold it in their hand. But Paperless Post has your back on this one because they also sell paper card sets if that’s what you really want. But they don’t mail the cards for you!
No excuses not to stay in touch!
I hope you’ll give Paperless Post a try. It’s free to open an account, and free to send many of the designs, plus you’ll get some coins to line your stationery pocket. Being creative was never so easy, and your friends and family will be impressed with your efforts.
While I was given some coins so I could give Paperless Post a try, I’ll be back to send more fun creations. I can’t wait to use the flyers option to save me from taping notices on my neighbor’s doors or letting my friends know when I hold more craft classes!
Oh how I’ll miss turning comatose in the card aisle at the drug store!
What a fun (and cheap!) idea for Christmas cards, too! Each year I wonder why in the world I keep sending physical cards to ALL of my past acquaintances and friends, but I still want to keep in touch without breaking the bank. This would be a much better option for those on my Christmas card list who aren’t close relatives or friends.