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Help Center › Admin screens, field by field › Postcards: audience, card text, QR code, cost approval and settings
Postcards: audience, card text, QR code, cost approval and settings
Every box on the Postcards screen: who gets a card, the town list, headline and offer, QR landing page, approval, budget caps, return address and print account keys.
Where to find it: Contractor Hub → Marketing & Growth → Postcards (address #/grow/postcards). Needs a plan that includes postcards. Owner.
You choose who gets a printed postcard, edit the card, see the cost, and approve. Nothing is ordered until you approve a stated total. Then there is a cancel window. Printing and mailing are done by your own print-and-mail account (VisionScaper speaks the Lob service). Live printing has not been tested. The per-card price is a placeholder, not approved.
Before you start
- You need your own print-and-mail account with money in it. Follow the provider’s current instructions to get an API key and a security key.
- Fill the Return address in Settings before you approve.
- A key that starts with
test_runs in test mode: nothing is printed or mailed.
Fields: 1. Who gets a card
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| People who asked for a quote | Includes people at that stage. | Tick or untick. | Off. |
| Prospects | Includes prospects. | Tick or untick. | Off. |
| Current customers | Includes current customers. | Tick or untick. | On. |
| Past customers | Includes past customers. | Tick or untick. | On. |
Only these towns (audience.towns, max 200; placeholder “e.g. Avon, Simsbury (leave empty for everyone)”) |
Limits the mailing to customers whose town is in the list. Empty means every town. | Towns separated by commas. Example: Avon, Simsbury. |
Empty (everyone). |
Last job at least this many days ago (last_job_days_min, 0 to 3650) |
Only people whose last job was at least that long ago. Good for win-back. | Example: 365. |
Empty (any). |
The count line shows “N can get a card · M skipped · K on the list” and an estimate. Skipped automatically: anyone marked “do not mail” or do-not-contact, incomplete addresses, mail that came back before, and a second card to the same address. Postcards need no text or email consent.
Fields: 2. The card
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template cards | Start from a design. | Spring cleanup, Summer lawn care, Fall cleanup. Picking another clears your edits (the QR choice stays). | Spring cleanup. |
| Headline (max 70) | Big line on the front. | Example: Ready for spring, {first_name}? |
The template’s headline. |
| Line under it (max 120) | Sub-line. | Example: Let {business} get your yard ready. |
The template’s line. |
| Call to action (max 90) | The ask. | Example: Call today to book. |
The template’s. |
| Offer (optional – only what you want to promise) (max 100) | Printed only if you type it. VisionScaper never invents an offer. | Example: 10% off if you book by March 31. |
Empty. |
| Three or four short points (one per line) (max 4 lines) | Bullet list on the card. | One point per line. | The template’s points. |
| Put a QR code on the back | Adds a QR code that is unique per card, so you can count scans. | Tick. | Off. |
Where the QR code goes (landing) |
The page people reach when they scan. Shown when the QR box is ticked. | Example: https://your-website.com/spring. Empty sends them to your home page. |
Your default destination from Settings. |
| Refresh the preview | Redraws front and back for a sample customer. | Click. |
You can use {first_name}, {business}, {phone} and {town} in the text.
Fields: 3. Cost and approval
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continue to cost and approval | Saves a draft order and opens it. Nothing is ordered. | Click. | |
| I approve N postcards for about $X. | Your confirmation. Required: “Tick the box to confirm you approve this order.” | Tick. | Off. |
| Approve and start the cancel window | Approves the exact count and total. Cards go to the printer after the cancel window. | Click. | Off if blockers are listed (for example an over-budget order or no return address). |
| Change the list or card | Returns to the edit screens with this order’s choices. | Click. | |
| Discard this draft | Deletes the draft after you confirm. | Click. | |
| Cancel this order | Stops it during the cancel window. | Click. | |
| Send now (skip the wait) | Sends immediately after you confirm. Cannot be undone. | Click. | |
| Send again | Retries a stopped order or one failed card. | Click. | |
| Do not mail this person | Leaves one person off the draft and stops future postcards to them. | Click. |
Fields: Settings tab
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Price per card ($) (unit_cents, 0 to 50 dollars) |
The per-card cost used for estimates. | What your print company charges you. | 1.25 (placeholder, not approved; set your own). |
Your margin (%) (margin_pct, 0 to 500) |
Added on top of the price in the estimate. | 0 for none. |
0. |
Most for one order ($) (cap_order) |
An order over this cannot be approved. | Example: 250. |
250.00 (placeholder, not approved). |
Most per month ($) (cap_month) |
The most you may approve in a calendar month, counting every approved order. | Example: 1000. |
1000.00 (placeholder, not approved). |
Cancel window (minutes) (cancel_minutes, 0 to 1440) |
How long you can cancel before cards go to the printer. | Example: 60. |
60. |
Name, Street, City, State (2 letters), ZIP (return_to) |
Printed on the back and used as sender. Required before approval. | Your business address. | Empty. |
| API key (password) | Lets VisionScaper send orders to your print account. Stored scrambled and never shown again; the saved hint shows. | Paste a live_… or test_… key. Leave empty to keep the saved one. |
Empty. |
| Security key from the print company (password) | Lets VisionScaper trust automatic delivery updates. | Paste it. Leave empty to keep the saved one. | Empty. |
| Update address (read-only) and Copy | The address to enter under “automatic updates” on your print company’s website so each card’s progress appears. | Click Copy and paste it there. | Generated. |
Default QR code destination (landing) |
Used when an order has no QR address. | https://… |
Empty. |
| Save settings | Saves the above. | Click. | |
| Allow postcards again (Do not mail list) | Removes a person from the skip list. | Click. |
Steps
- Open Settings, fill the return address, set your price and caps, paste the keys, and press Save settings.
- Open New postcards. Tick who gets a card, add towns if you want.
- Pick a template, edit the text, add a QR code if you want, and press Refresh the preview.
- Press Continue to cost and approval, read the total, tick the box and press Approve and start the cancel window.
- Watch the Orders tab for status.
If something goes wrong
- Approve is off: read the list of reasons above it (return address, budget caps, account not connected).
- “Your print-and-mail account isn’t connected yet.” You can build and preview, but not approve.
- A card shows “Needs a new address”: fix the customer’s address, then press Send again.