Tools for the Trade: Postagram provides personalized postcards

In an era owned by smartphones, tablets and free Wi-Fi, the days of snail mail are becoming a distant memory. But since everyone loves a bit of nostalgia, Sincerely, a company dedicated to merging the old sentimentality of mail with new, ever-changing technology, created Postagram. Postagram is an app available for iPhone and Android devices…

An example of a Postagram shared on the Postagram blog. Image from blog.postagramapp.com.

In an era owned by smartphones, tablets and free Wi-Fi, the days of snail mail are becoming a distant memory. But since everyone loves a bit of nostalgia, Sincerely, a company dedicated to merging the old sentimentality of mail with new, ever-changing technology, created Postagram.

Postagram is an app available for iPhone and Android devices that allows users to send their personal photos as physical postcards anywhere in the world through the good ol’ USPS, complete with a customizable message. Another cool feature: the postcard has a removable bezel so you can pop the photo out and display it wherever you please.

Postagram provides customers a glossy photo and customizable message, among other offerings. Screenshot from blog.postagramapp.com.

Postagram allows you to send a personalized postcard without any of the hassle of remembering stamps or finding a mail dropbox. I’ve used Postagram for birthday wishes, thank-you notes and the simple wow factor, and all recipients have loved their Postagrams. 

After Tuesday’s announcement from Apple about its new app, Cards, I found this recent blog post from the Sincerely team quite interesting.

I exchanged emails with Doctor Popular (below, image from twitter.com), the Community Manger at Sincerely, about the product.

Silicon Prairie News: Tell me about Postagram and how it works.

Doctor Popular: Postagram is an app that allows you to send your own photos as physical postcards to anywhere in the world for just $.99. You can use images from Instagram, Facebook, or straight off your phone, and we handle the printing and shipping. The app is available for iPhone and Android devices.

SPN: How did the concept of Postagram come to life? When did it launch?

DP: Postagram launched mid-April 2011. It came to life when one of our founders was traveling in Maui and thinking how nice it’d be to send a picture of his travels back to his family in Pennsylvania. We realized a printed photo is the most ubiquitously appreciated gift on the planet, and from that Sincerely was born.

SPN: How/why did you initially decide to partner with Instagram?

DP: Instagram has an amazing community of photographers, and they help make these photographers turn a simple photo into a beautiful piece of art. We figured we could help make that real and share photos in real life. Everyone likes getting a postcard from a friend!

SPN: In Postagram’s blog, you feature different uses of Postagram. What is one of the coolest examples you’ve heard of something using Postagram?

DP: We like seeing Postagrams used as thank-you cards for fundraising campaigns and other cool things like that, but one of my favorite Postagram uses was the “surprise” gift announcement (http://blog.postagramapp.com/surprising-someone-via-postagram).

SPN: What does the future for Postagram look like? Any new features or changes?

DP: Our goal is to grow postagram and other Sincerely gifting experiences so that it is easy for anyone with a mobile phone to send a simple, thoughtful, meaningful gift to someone they care about. I can’t tell you too much specifically about future Postagram products, but we hope to impress you with what we have in store. Thanks!

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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