SMART BLAST

Not long ago, you’d go to the mailbox, open it up, and inside waiting for you would be a single sheet of cardstock. On one side was a glossy, colorful photo of a faraway land lush with palm trees, expansive beaches and happy people. On the other side was a hand-scrawled note from a friend saying how much they missed you.

Postcards.

How often do you get those nowadays?

Today, postcards have evolved from collectible friend-to-friend communication into one of the most popular formats in direct mail.

But what many people, and even many marketers, don’t know, is what one person calls a “postcard” may mean something else entirely to another. The term “postcard” is often generalized to describe any single sheet of cover-weight mail, when in fact the USPS has very specific definitions for what a postcard really is.

To the USPS, a postcard falls between the minimum dimensions of 3.5" high x 5" long (and .007" thick) and no larger than 4.25" high x 6" long (and .016" thick). Pieces that fall within these dimensions can qualify for postcard postage rates.

But pieces that exceed 4.25" x 6" get bumped up and categorized as a letter – regardless of if it’s a single sheet of cover-weight paper or a letter in an envelope.

You can still use "postcard" as a general term for all sizes of single-sheet mail pieces, and direct mailers won’t look at you like you’re speaking Gobbledegook. But if you start incorporating "self-mailer" into your vocabulary to describe these pieces over 4.25" x 6", it will make your conversations a little clearer.

Oh, and keep me in mind the next time you’re on vacation in a colorful, faraway land. I still love getting postcards.