Thinking Day Post Card Exchange
1st Timers Helpful Hints
First you must get your troop registered! Go to this web site.Click Here
Now get your troop organized to handle your exchanges.Print out the handy forms that are forwarded to you when you register or set up your own method to keep track of your trades. Review the rules of the exchange and print them out to review with your girls. Send out e mails to the troops in the database requesting post card exchanges.
Need a trade for Indiana? Check out our Needs list.Click here
Review these hints before you begin to save yourself time, money and wrist strain.
start as soon as you can filling out the postcards. it always takes longer than you think.
recruit helpers that you can trust and can put the stamps in the right place!
watch the size of the postcards. most are 3 X 5 but some come in 4 X 6 and those cost more to ship
put a return address label on there somewhere. some do come back
put your email address when signing the postcards so the troop getting it has a quick reference to you
make sure to send thank yous to the postcards you get and follow up on the ones you don't
use labels for your troop info part. saves the hand some stiffness!
Best advice is to utilize technology and print up label and such. The volume is too great to do by hand. Also, if you are having the girls sign the postcards make sure you have a space dedicated to their signatures or they wind up all over the card!
keep mailing info. in excel so you can do a mail merge and print labels instead of having to write all of them and ,use labels to put the troop info on the card so the girls do not have to write it.
ONE MORE IS BE PRO ACTIVE ABOUT SENDING THOSE EMAILS OUT!
Mail in early Jan so they have the 2003 post mark on them.
Get your contacts early. Stay oraganized and it is easy and a lot of fun.
Have each girl bring in 5 postcards with postage.
Do not take on more trades than you and your girls can realistically handle. Trade between 50 to 75 or occording to size of troop and interest
Get your 5 foreign countries ASAP. Eng, Scotland, Ireland are not as hard to get but the others fill up fast but at the end there are many which would do e-mail cards which usually are nicer than the postcards. Canada doesn't count as a foreign country. Zimbabwe was our favorite.
If you want all 50 states, go for the ones with least amount of groups first. Many do get additional ones later so keep checking and look for the most current added date.
KEEP Hard copies. Many had computer crashes.
Keep Virus protection programs up to date.
Foreign postcards take a month to go either way from some countries.
If you see a postcard you want to send - look at the back and try a search to e-mail co that produces. Sometimes can receive free cards. Don't ask for a particular card but any card that would be appropriate. Some state tourist boards will also give free cards.
May need to keep checking boards for last minute trades to complete all 50 states.
