How to start a postcard marketing business

This guide covers a shared postcard advertising business, often called the 9x12 method. Several local businesses buy spots on the same card. It is different from selling printing services or mailing only your own company’s ad.

What you are actually selling

You sell a defined placement to a defined audience on an agreed mailing. State the delivery count, routes, ad size, number of mailings, included design work and any exclusivity. That gives the advertiser something concrete to buy and you a commitment you can check before production.

The community card guide explains the same purchase from the advertiser’s side.

The numbers

A quoted price is not a collected sale, and collected revenue is not profit. Use the budget to decide how much must be sold before committing to production.

Startup costs, honestly

There is no universal startup figure. Separate planning costs from the money needed to fulfill sold placements.

Expense	How to establish it
Card planning and preview	Free in 9x12 Tools
Publishing and advertiser checkout	A paid plan; see current pricing
Design and proofs	Your time or the designer’s agreed quote
Business setup, banking and administration	Requirements and costs applicable to your circumstances
Printing, shipping and mailing preparation	Written printer or provider quote
USPS postage	Actual selected deliveries and the applicable service
Payment processing and refunds	Your processor’s terms and your advertiser agreements

Collecting before printing can reduce the amount you advance yourself. It does not make the business cost-free or remove the obligation to fulfill or refund an order according to its terms.

The order to do it in

1. Pick one neighborhood

Select routes that businesses you can reach actually serve. Record the exact delivery count and obtain a printer quote for enough cards. Check the postal service’s limits before promising a large mailing.

In 9x12 Tools, saving EDDM routes automatically generates, scores and ranks local business prospects. Review the businesses and the reasons for their ranking, then qualify them. You do not have to begin by building a manual list.

2. Build the card first

Choose a readable grid, price the placements and preview the campaign. The campaign creates its website from the card and routes, and changes stay connected. You still prepare the ad artwork and obtain approval.

Make the proposal specific enough for a business to understand the placement, audience, timing and what is included in the price.

3. Set a mail date and work backwards

Build the schedule with your printer and mailing provider. Include time for selling, payment, ad preparation, advertiser approval, print proof, production, shipping, bundling and postal entry. Do not substitute a generic timeline for the providers’ actual requirements.

Agree on a decision date for proceeding with the campaign and what happens if there are too few paid placements to support it.

4. Sell enough to cover the full budget

Work through qualified businesses and follow up with people who have expressed interest. Track interest separately from payment. Count the amount actually collected after discounts and variable costs against the full budget.

The example above needs six collected spots to cover printing and postage; four do not cover it. Other expenses may require more. Read the follow-up guide for a way to organize the conversations.

5. Take the money properly

Collect against the specific placement and agreed terms. Keep the price, order and paid status together. In 9x12 Tools, advertiser checkout connects a successful payment with the purchased spot and lead history.

Publishing a campaign so it can sell, advertiser checkout and connecting a domain require a paid plan. Free building and previewing do not include those capabilities. See the free/paid boundary.

6. Print, bundle, drop

Prepare the ads and get recorded advertiser approval before ordering print. Complete the USPS mailing order and use its forms, or have your provider do that work. Prepare each route separately and use the designated postal unit. The USPS guide is the source for current requirements.

9x12 Tools does not currently print or mail the cards for you. That service is on the roadmap. Saving routes in the product does not purchase USPS postage.

7. Go back with the card in your hand

Provide the finished piece and the agreed mailing documentation. Ask advertisers what happened, compare tracked activity with their own records and discuss whether another mailing makes sense. A past purchase does not guarantee renewal.

Making it repeatable

Keep the route plan, pricing, ad approvals, order history and follow-up dates organized. Track your time as well as expenses so the next budget reflects what the business actually costs to run.

Offer a repeating schedule only when you can deliver it. Recurring drops in 9x12 Tools are currently a gated beta, not generally available. A promise of a monthly service must not depend on a feature you cannot access.

Where to go from here

• The 9x12 method: the model and postal workflow
• Community cards and shared EDDM: the advertiser’s questions
• The 9x12 side hustle: workload and earnings limits
• Advertised spot pricing: the reference data and its scope

Sources and scope

• USPS: Every Door Direct Mail — Primary source for Retail postage, mailing limits, route selection and preparation. Checked September 13, 2026; verify again before ordering a mailing.
• 9x12 Tools Community Card Pricing Survey (2026) — Our published snapshot of advertised prices on 76 operator sites across 81 markets. It does not measure completed sales, profit or success rates; the underlying records are not public.
• Printing and postage: the worked cost example — The site's published printing and postage inputs, with printer references. These are budgeting examples, not a current quote or a complete operating budget.

Published by 9x12 Tools, which sells software for community card operators. Read our sources and corrections policy.