Sending a card to your customers: envelopes, sizes, and a schedule for the fall
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
A physical card stands out among a hundred newsletters. This guide shows which envelope size fits which card, what each costs, and when you should start to be on time.
A customer of your webshop will likely receive sixty commercial emails this week. Of those, they might open five. In the same week, they'll receive three pieces of mail, two of which are from the municipality. You can easily figure out which of the two channels still captures attention.
That's precisely why small webshops, associations, and sole proprietorships consider sending a card every year – and why it just as often doesn't happen. Usually, it stumbles on the practical side: what envelope actually fits, how many do I need, and it's already too late. Below is how to check off those three questions well in advance.
Why you should start this in September or October
The reflex is to do this in the first week of December. That's exactly the week when your webshop is busiest, when the mail is busiest, and when your card ends up among twenty other cards on the doormat.
Two alternatives work better. The first: send your card in November, before the deluge. The second: skip December and send a New Year's card in the second week of January, when the mailbox is empty again and no one expects it. Both require you to get your materials now, not later.
The practical argument also counts: collecting addresses, writing a text, and writing 200 cards will take you more evenings than you think. Ordering envelopes is the easiest part – do that first, then something will be on the table to compel you to continue.
Which envelope size goes with which card
Most folded greeting cards in the Netherlands are approximately A6 (a folded A5). Two sizes go with this, depending on whether the card is portrait or landscape.
In short: C6 is the classic greeting card envelope for a card of approximately A6. C5/C6 is the long, narrow envelope that an A4 folded into three fits exactly – handy for a letter. Choose C5 if you only want to fold an A4 once, for example, for a brochure that shouldn't crease.
The size 156 x 220 mm falls just in between and is more spacious than C6. This is convenient if your card deviates slightly from the standard, or if a flyer or discount voucher needs to be included. With 500 pieces for € 2.95, a mistake won't cost you anything.
Calculate exactly what you really need once
Count your addresses, add ten percent for writing errors and tearing, and round up to a full bundle. For 180 customers, you'll need approximately 200 envelopes: then you take four bundles of C6 (€ 16.00) or one bundle of 500 in 156 x 220 mm and have plenty left for next year.
For writing, Topwrite Ballpoint Pens, 10 pieces (€ 2.00) are enough, but also place a set of Markers, 4 pieces (€ 4.00) next to them. An address in ballpoint pen on a white envelope reads neatly; a name or accent in marker makes it clear that there's a human behind it.
Handwritten or printed?
Handwritten addresses are demonstrably opened more often than printed labels, simply because they don't look like advertising. It does take about half a minute per envelope – for 200 pieces, that's one evening.
A good compromise: print the addresses on labels, but write the recipient's name by hand on the card itself and put a real signature underneath. This way you maintain the speed of a printed run with the effect of something personal.
If you do opt for entirely handwritten, spread it over several evenings. Fifty per evening is fine; two hundred in a row will result in unreadable addresses from about number seventy onwards.
If something needs to be included with the card
If you want to send a small thank you – a sticker, a sample, a keychain – then something changes: it's no longer a letter but a small parcel, with its own rules and rates. For current conditions and maximum dimensions, check the PostNL website about letterbox packages and the rates page; these are periodically adjusted, so don't rely on what you paid last year.
Now: Clean up the address list and order envelopes. This is the part that always gets delayed.
In two weeks: Write the text and have the card printed or make it yourself. Always ask for a proof.
Four weeks before mailing: Have everything at hand, including stamps or postage method.
Two weeks before mailing: Write, spread over several evenings.
Mailing day: Post everything at once. For a November card, that means: start now.
The biggest gain is not in the most beautiful card, but in the fact that you actually send it. Materials already on your table help more than a good intention.
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