Tips on Starting a Postcard Exchange Group

We often receive inquiries on how people can start their own postcard groups. The simple answer is to get a group of friends together and do it!

Here are some tips to make it a bit easier:

• Choose a moderator for the group (or ask for someone to volunteer). Occasionally it's necessary to have someone in charge to make decisions, and it's easier if this has been done in advance.

• Decide on the size of the group. In our experience, artists should plan to make the equivalent of one card per week. This will permit each person to exchange one card a year with about 50 other people, or twice a year with 25. Attempting to commit to more than this usually leads to stress and people dropping out of the group because it becomes a chore. This is supposed to be fun!

• Decide on a deadline. You can choose to send all the cards at one time, or as we do, at any time within the allotted period.

• The moderator should compile a list of names and mailing addresses of all the group members and email it to everyone, so that all members are working from the correct list.

• You will probably want to set up a way to communicate easily with each other, such as forming a Yahoo group for email and photo sharing.

• And most importantly, be sure to have fun!