I’ve been post-crossing for over ten years now and often send postcards made from my own photos at moo.com. Some cards have been well-received, others not so much, so I thought it would be fun to list the topics that have been successful and to show some examples. You can read my article at
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Thanks Arina for reading. I have taken and sent photos with pens and the like. See these ones.
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Great question and article. I think it’s wonderful people want to share their creativity! Talents, creativity and kindness come in so many different forms and sending cards is ideal for showing skills and kindness through words and pictures (and also time, effort and cost!)
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Hi @Arina181 - As described in the forum guidelines, English is the forum language and other languages can only be used in #meetups and #communities. Could you please translate your post to English, so that everyone can understand you?!
What makes a good postcard is relative to the person receiving it. For me the combination of postcard and message is important. If you took a beautiful photo for a postcard and tell me about the place–then I will appreciate it. When I feel even just a little effort was put in with selecting a postcard it makes me feel good.
There is no one answer for “What makes a good postcard?”. What might be good for you may not be good for someone else.
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GJG, I think you are right. I always look at the profile before I decide on the card and hope that I’ve got a match for their tastes. I also write something even if it just to say what music I’m listening to.
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Thank you for this topic! I am very interested to hear what other postcrossers think on this matter, as it by default will be very subjective. I think what makes a postcard a good one is that it builds a connection between the sender and the recipient. This connection is built on both sides of the card. Put another way, both the image side and the message side are the foundation upon which the connection is built.
The image side is always subject oriented, or topical. Given that is the case, for that side, it might be good to ask what topics would be most appealing to most recipients. Within the context of Postcrossing, I’d make the case that postal oriented topics would likely have universal appeal. There are of course, dozens of popular topics, but popular and universal are two different things. What we all have in common is posting the card (stamps, postmarks, mailboxes, post offices for example), receiving the card (personal mailboxes and mai slots, postcards carriers), and writing (writing instruments, stationary, inks).
The message side needs to be personal, which is challenge with a stranger. Share something about yourself, about why you chose that card for them, about what you are experiencing in the moment as your write, about how you feel. Reach out, by asking a question, and showing that you care about what they think. Choice of stamps can play a role there as well.
What makes a good postcard is a well thought out communication. If it is clear that you made that effort, then you send the overall message that you dedicated your most precious resource, time. That, to me, is what makes a good postcard.
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After reading the message I feel “This is a really interesting person I could hang out with over coffee.”
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I looked at the postcards. Do you know what is missing in my opinion? Light and contrast! Well, the theme of still life is inexhaustible! I would like to receive one of your photo postcards. I promise to send my photos on postcards. I do that sometimes too))
You have very beautiful photos that you use for postcards. But the problem may be that not all people like photos. They just prefer painting more. Therefore, no matter how good pictures you take, there will always be those who will not appreciate them at all. And the topics are as diverse as life itself. It seems to me that topics related to photos of mailboxes, collages or still lifes from writing materials - pens, sheets of paper, envelopes, ink, scotch tape, sealing wax stamps, etc. will always be advantageous. Try yourself in this genre! I would love to receive such a postcard.
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I always try to send postcards that people have put on their wishlist and appreciate when the same is done for me however not many places sell postcards by me. I rely on ordering online to grow my collection of cards through places like Etsy or Zazzle. If I notice a lot of people asking for the same things over and over my next postcard orders are to fill the void I might have in those subjects. Most important to me though is the time and effort people put into writing more then just “Happy Post-crossing”. Often I have to step away from my card to think of something to write but I always make sure to fill my card.
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I order boxed sets online, or request something like that for birthdays and Christmas. My local bookshop had a few of the book-related sets but not recently. Maybe Penguin are no longer producing them? I always write a message and sometimes will use Google Translate to write something in another language if the user doesn’t appear to have much English. I usually listen to music while I write cards so if I’m stuck for something to say I’ll add the artist (and track if there’s room).
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