Writing a postcard that doesn't go in the recycling
Three sentences. Specific reference. Soft CTA. The whole playbook in 4 minutes.
A postcard has maybe 90 words of usable space on the back. Email gives you 500. Treat that as a feature, not a bug — every word fights for the next one to be read.
The structure that converts: hook line, specific reference, soft ask, sign-off. Done.
The hook (1 sentence)
Skip 'I hope this finds you well.' Skip 'My name is Alex from Wildcard.' Open with the thing that made you write to them.
Good: "Saw your post about how you'd never run a paid pilot — same."
Bad: "In today's fast-paced talent market..."
The reference (1 sentence)
Show you actually looked at them. Reference something they wrote, built, or shipped — preferably from the last 90 days. The point isn't to flatter, it's to prove you're not blasting.
If you can name the thing that's most specific to that person — a feature they launched, a podcast they were on, a hire they made — they'll keep reading.
Do
Specific beats clever. "Loved how Acme's onboarding flow handles trial expiry" lands harder than any pun.
The ask (1 sentence)
End with something easy to say yes to. Not 'a 30-minute discovery call.' Not 'a quick chat about your tooling stack.' Just an opening.
Try: "Would love to compare notes," or "I'll be in NYC the 14th, coffee on me?" or "DM if curious — Twitter handle below."
Don't
Don't include a calendar link on a postcard. They'd have to type it. Use an email address or a short URL they can remember.
Sign-off
First name. Maybe initials. Skip the title — they know what you do, or they'll Google you.
If you're going to add anything extra, a single heart, smiley, or hand-drawn doodle does more than "All the best, [Title], [Company], [Phone]."