This one is to promote Oktoberfest at Jovenes in Boyle Heights. It qualifies because there is room on the back for a message.
Another Free Postcard
Free Postcards 3
On the Alaska cruise Lindblad Expeditions gave out free postcards.
This one of them. There are three others, if you click the photo above you can see them all.
Two of the cards although beautiful violate one of my rules of postcards that they meet the international size standard to be mailed at the reduced postcard rate. They can be no bigger than about 4 inches by 6 inches.
Lindblad is an excellent tour operator and I highly recommend them for adventure type travel. They have free postcards, excellent naturalist, very interesting guests and delicious food.
Free Postcards 2
This free postcard was sent to me by Andy B. Andy is one of the world’s greatest warm water divers. Because of Global Warming he has just started diving in Puget Sound. What a great man turning a problem into an opportunity.
Redhook Ale
Redhook Ale Brewery, 14300 NE 145th Street, Woodinville, WA 98072. Free postcards, no purchase necessary although the beer is terrific.
Free Postcards
Here are a few of the many places in the world where they give out free postcard. Postcards are a great advertising medium that are guaranteed to hit the target market
Mama’s Fish House a magnificent restaurant in Paia, Maui, Hawaii gives out beautiful cards at the hostess desk. Be sure to make a reservation because they are extremely busy, probably because of the free postcards.
Wayfarers Tours gives about five free postcards to each person that goes on its tours. They are based in England but give great walking tours around the world. They even pay the postage for you.
The Carmel Valley Lodge in Carmel Valley, CA has free postcards at the reception desk. Carmel Valley is the country cousin of Carmel by the Sea. It is warmer, more rustic and much more laid back. The Valley Lodge is a dog friendly rural inn that has a great breakfast among other things.
The Ravello Festival a music festival in Ravello, Italy has free postcards at the ticket booth in the main plaza. They gave me a large stack of last year’s cards that didn’t have much space for writing, but they were free.
Mom Tri’s Boathouse, Phuket Island, Thailand has free postcards in the guest rooms that have a preprinted message and enough room for a note. They also pay the postage for you.
Writing Postcards
I write about two hundred postcards a month many of them to people I have never met. The question is why do I bother? The following is a cosmic big picture reason. But the main reason is that I enjoy it. It gives me pleasure to try and condense a moment into a 3″ by 4″ space. I know that some of the cards give the recipients pleasure but the reason I write them is entirely selfish. I laugh at my own jokes.
Some cards are of beautiful scenes
Life lessons to be learned from sending postcards:
1. The 80/20 law. 80% of the value of the card comes from sending it. The message, the picture and where it is from are incidental to the value. In the words of Woody Allen “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”
2. Just because you will get very little feedback you shouldn’t stop. Postcards don’t have return addresses and an acknowledgement should not be expected. The benefit should be from the sending. However the people who receive cards from you will be a network of good friends far into the future.
Some of them are not beautiful.
3. Everybody loves personal attention. Hand addressed mail is getting as rare as customer service in retail stores and doctors who make house calls. Sending postcards give the recipient a unique experience which they will appreciate.
Multi-picture cards are a popular
choice for people who can’t decide.
4. Accept the constraints of the situation. The space for the message is very restricted. Make your messages shorter. Think of it as “American Haiku.”
Exotic places are always popular.
5. Fun is an acceptable goal in its own right. Don’t be too serious or preachy. Be quirky, current, clever or informational.
6. Change is…. In the next two generations mail will stop being delivered to homes every day. The cards that are sent today will be the collectables of the future.
Sadly this one is already a collectable.