#OnePostcard is a postcard exchange between participants who are traveling during a particular month.
How it works
It’s pretty simple. Sign up each month that you have travel scheduled and want to participate. Then, while you’re on your trip, buy enough postcards to send to the entire cohort. Then, fill them out and send ’em! And…well, that’s sorta it.
Since everyone else will be doing the same, you’ll get a smattering of postcards throughout the next several weeks. And it’s always fun to find a postcard in the mailbox!
When you write a postcard, include #OnePostcard and the month/year of your cohort so the recipient can track which cards they received when. You might want to include your OPC username, too.
When you receive a postcard, please take a photo of the front of the postcard(s) and post it in the OPC community—use the #OnePostcard hashtag and if the sender(s) included their OPC username, please tag the sender(s) so we can follow along.
How to sign up
Before the start of each month, send me an email with:
- Your mailing address
- Your username on OPC (if you have one)
I’ll compile this information into an email and send it via “bcc” to that month’s cohort at the beginning of each month.
Get monthly reminders
Subscribe below to receive a simple email reminder one week before the start of next cohort, giving you time to sign up. Reply to the reminder if you’re in for that month, or just ignore it to sit the month out. You can also grab the RSS feed.
FAQ
How many postcards do I need to send?
During their trip, participants send one postcard to each member of their cohort. For example, if this month’s cohort includes five people, then each person sends a postcard to the other four travelers—and they in turn, receive a postcard back from each of those four people. If a month’s cohort is larger than 10 participants, I’ll split them into two groups.
Do I have to send the same postcard design to each person?
Nope, do as you wish. Just write a nice message.
Do I have to send the postcards while I’m on my trip?
That’s generally preferable, especially on a domestic trip. But it’s sometimes logistically challenging—especially overseas—so don’t fret if you can’t until you get home. It’s more important to mail them during/soon after the month than not mailing them at all.
Will my mailing address be posted anywhere?
Nope. Only the current cohort (and myself) will see the mailing addresses of the other participants (so they know where to send the postcards, of course).
I have more than one trip this month, do I need to send one from each trip?
You only need to send one postcard to each member each month.
But you’re welcome to send more than one if you’d like—whether that’s multiple postcards from a single trip, or one postcard from multiple trips in the month.
What happens if someone doesn’t send me a postcard?
Well, that all depends on the relevant extradition laws and/or the market rate of vigilante justice…
Can I participate in more than one month?
You sure can. But you’ll need to sign up each month to participate. The group gets reset each month.
I signed up but haven’t gotten the participant list yet. What gives?
Oh, that’s just because I forgot to send it (probably). Ping me with a reminder!
A few quick tips
- Especially if your travel is domestic, it’s easy to bring postcard stamps along with you so you don’t have to spend time finding them during your trip. In the US, you can even order them on usps.com and have them delivered right to your mailbox. Postcard stamps are currently 48¢, but you can also use a Forever stamp too (63¢). If you need an international postcard stamp for an overseas member, it’s $1.45. Packing stamps also serves as a nice reminder to buy and mail those postcards!
- Speaking of reminders, why not add a reminder to buy and send postcards right into your trip itinerary? You can also set a phone alarm for when you’ll be in an obvious touristy area, or even the airport before flying home. Just in case, right?
- Like swapping postcards? Postcrossing is an interesting free service that lets you trade postcards with random travelers from around the world.
Shoot me an email if you have any other questions.