Hello, how do I add a message about a meeting and coordinate the layout of a postcard?
Hello @Zaychan, welcome to the Forum Community!
You are at the correct place here for publishing information about your planned meetup. If your meetup is in Russia, please go to Russia and open a topic by clicking on ânew topicâ.
You will be asked for all information thatâs necessary.
Then you have to wait for a few days until the admin who is responsible for updating the meetups calendar adds your meetup to the calendar.
For the layout of your postcard please make sure to stick to the logo guidelines if you like to use the 
logo on your card.
Some discussion about where and how to print your cards can be found here: Printing your own postcards - #130 by dictionary and also on other places in the forum.
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I have a couple of questions for everyone/anyone that is an old hand at organising meetupsâŠ
Do you only have meetup cards printed once you have a certain number of participants? Also, do you ask how many cards each person wants? Are the cards sold at the printing price, or does the organiser foot the bill? (No problem for me if I have to pay for them, because I wonât need thousands of cards.)
I am hoping to organise a meetup for July, and even though no-one replied to the post, 3 people have contacted me via PM. Even just two people is enough for a great chat and getting cards written, but printing cards?
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Hi June
No, itâs too complicated. Also, most printers will only print certain set quantities anyway (100, 250, etc.), so having an exact number in mind is not much use.
Itâs a bit of a gamble getting the numbers right, especially since you need to order in advance. But if you get it wrong the first time, youâll have a better idea for the next one.
Iâd go ahead and print them, even if it just ends up being three or four of you. Cards are a lot of fun to have for the meet up; it makes each occasion unique. And you may only have a small group right now, but hopefully other people in your area will see the meet up post or cards, and want to come in the future. And some people will be more interested if they know there is a card.
Good luck!
Iâd say go ahead and get a small number of cards printed
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Thank you for your help, Helen!
The smallest batch I can have printed is 25, which seems low for (letâs say) 4 people. So, Iâll probably go with 50 if the number of participants stays the same. I suppose I can limit the number of cards per person if more people join on short notice, or if I know a few days ahead of time I can have extras printed. (The printer is just down the street from where I want to host the meetup.)
Also, I havenât set up an official meetup yet. I have only posted about wanting to host a meetup in the meetup section to test the waters. The area is very small, so I think getting more than 5 participants (excluding yours truly) will already be a marvel. 
Speaking of which⊠- what constitutes a meetup? More than 2 people? 
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Hereâs my approach, for what it is worth:
1 - I determine how many cards intend to offer each participant. I have not ever charged or solicited donations for cards, but I have accepted donations if people have offered.
2 - I assume Iâll get ten participants, this then gives me a base number of cards to have on hand (5 each x 10 participants = 50 cards, etc.). Iâve usually gone with ten cards per participant. I usually bump that up some so i have some extras of my own to send , and have some flexibility in the number of attendees i can support.
The trade space here is cost/leftover cards and tediousness.
Cost goes up with more cards (but price per card drops), unless you charge for them
A large number of leftover cards can be hard to get rid of.
Too many cards can be a beast if you are trying to get them all signed.
RSVP and actual attendee numbers are rarely equal; almost always you will not get all of the people who RSVP. Life gets in the wayâŠ
Hereâs a rough example from the last face-to-face meetup I hosted:
I printed 200 cards with the intent of giving each attendee ten.
I got 12 participants, two of whom wanted less than ten cards and one of whom wanted 20.
All 200 hundred cards got signed by all participants which took a little over an hour.
I should note that for virtual meetups Iâve hosted on Zoom, the numbers are a bit different. I limited the number of cards per person to 6, because that was the maximum number I could send them (had to be sent in this case as it was not face-to-face) and still stay under the 1 ounce maximum for the cheapest postal rate. I also would have significantly larger turnouts for these meetups, sometimes upwards of 40 people. All infall, it depends on what you do, but the basic core concept is the same.
Hope this helps!
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Thank you very much, eta55.
Nice to have some sort of formula to figure out the number of cards. I like the idea of 10 cards per person.
I get what you are saying about the number of participants actually coming to the meetup. In all honesty, I didnât consider that fact at all. Still too excited at the prospect to think of reality. 
Am I ever so glad I hopped on here to ask for help and opinions!!
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Yes, always! I set a deadline for ordering and then I order the desired number of cards (rounded) with the printing company. Most German postcrossers do it this way.
Yes, everything else is against the guidelines (at least when they have the logo). As I only order the desired number, I canât tell what the price will be in the end (ordering more cards makes the individual card cheaper). In the German meetup subforum you will often see something like â25 cents / card max, depending on the total amountâ or similar phrases.
Meetup customs heavily vary from country to country. Check whatâs common in your area. For German meetups most often the cards are send in advance (or at least offered to send them in advance), so the attendees may prepare them ahead of the meetup.
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Thank you, Cassiopheia.
That is exactly what I meant by âselling postcardsâ. Not for profit, but to defray the cost. I will need such a small number that I will be paying for it out of my own pocket.
If I planned on hosting something local to my area, Iâd need a lot of cards! 
(The meetup I am hoping to organise will be part of my holiday adventure.)
Speaking of which - Iâm keeping my eyes glued on the meetup section for something close to me.
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Hello there!
If it possible, to pin a meetup in 2 categories? I want to do a Meetup on the germany side of border for the dutch and german ones. Because they ask about it. Its just 2km from the borderâŠ
Thanks!!!
I would rather say no, but @mundoo can give you the right answer.
Maybe you can ask @JetteLise to mention the meeting in Meet-Up Kalender NEDERLAND 2023 - 2024 đłđ± in Dutch - Nederlands .
Unfortunately no. The calendar only allows us to pick one location.
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I recently moved to Virginia Beach Va, USA and canât seem to find a Meetup here. Whatâs the best way to start one?
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I have downloaded the Meetup Logo and instructions. I have a card design worked out. Now do I need to get it approved before printing up my cards? And do I need to get it approved before posting the Meetup in the Forum? Thanks for any help you can offer.
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You can post the meeting here in the forum and also show the picture of your designed card in the topic.
mundoo will check the picture and If something does not correspond to the logo guidelines, then she writes it in the topic.
If everything is ok, she will write the meeting in the calendar on the main page and then you can print the cards.
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I just opened a new topic for a very firest meet-up on Sept 30th in Neustadt (Palatinate region). How can I get this event listed with a blue pin on the world map/calender at Postcrossing > Explore > meetups ?
All meeting topics are checked by @mundoo and if everything is in order, i.e. all details are complete, the meeting cards comply with the rules and there are no other complaints, then she adds your meeting to the calendar.
Any questions she may have for you should be answered quickly if possible.
I will add your meeting to the calendar once I have checked the information is complete and as I get to it in my queue.
I have sent you a more detailed reply via email.
Vicki
I have a question about copyright.
I saw a card for a meetup that was also a Sailor Moon fan meeting.
Wouldnât such a card be a copyright violation?
This is from this meetup:
I recently did a meetup at the Snoopy Museum. I considered making a card featuring a photo of the museum, but refrained because I thought it might be a copyright violation.
This is the one I wanted to make if the copyright doesnât matter:
Sorry if I missed something that is already in the guidelines.