MakeUseOf Directory » mail

Notes To Friends: Print & Mail Letters Online

Hammad — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:01:05 +0000

The days are long gone when you had to walk to the post office to post a letter to your pen pal or your family/relatives living away from you. The concept of emails, phones and fax took over.

However, Notes to Friends is a website that intends to keep the concept of letters alive in a different way, still using the Internet. But instead of sending an e-mail, you send a letter. Notes to Friends make this possible by asking the user the “Return Address” and the “Delivery Address”. Once you give those, you can write your letter and then pay through PayPal the cost of sending the envelope, which is $1.49.

This saves you the time and hassle of going to the post office, while at the same time keeps the concept of letters alive. However, the website will place its logo on the envelope. If you want to remove the logo, it will cost you an additional 10 cents.

Features

Free and easy to use.
Send letters without going to post office.
Similar tools: PostalShout, 1HRMail, MailWriter, SnailMailr, Zumbox and TheMailMonster.

Check out Notes To Friends @ www.notestofriends.com

Updater: Change Your Postal Address & Block Junkmail Online

Umar — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:01:20 +0000

Getting junk mail in your email inbox is inconvenient. But getting printed junk mail through your door is downright frustrating. If you are moving to a new place and do not want your junk snail mail to follow you, then Updater is just the service you need to check out.

Updater is a service that lets you fill out an official change-of-address form online. By filling out this form you update your address and also update businesses, schools, organizations, and personal contacts. You can also control who exactly has access to your physical address. In other words, you can create your own snail mail blacklist and ban letters from certain marketers and companies.

Update by web developer:

-The following sentence is a bit misleading: “By filling out this form you update your address and also update businesses, schools, organizations, and personal contacts.” Actually, by filling out the postal change of address form, you merely request mail forwarding from the postal service, but you still have to update all the businesses, schools, organizations and contacts that you value. That’s where Updater comes in. With Updater, a user can create an “Update List” (of all their valued mailers and affiliations), and Updater will then update all such affiliations so that the user does not need to waste time reaching out to each separately. Similarly, an Updater user can create his or her own “Do Not Mail List” and Updater will then request that each listed mailer remove the user’s info from their mailing lists. The result is that our users gain precision control over the privacy and communication settings for their postal address.

Watch video:

Updater charges you $1.99 for the address changing service. If you would like to add the latter feature as well, the overall charges become $14.99.

Features:

A user-friendly web service.
Lets you fill out a change-of-address form online.
Helps update businesses, schools, organizations, and personal contacts with your new address.
Lets you create a blacklist for your snail mail.
Helps get rid of physical junk mail.
Similar tools:Catalog Choice.

Check out Updater @ www.updater.com (By Umar from AllThatIsApple)

SnailMailMyEmail: Send A Handwritten Letter To Any Place In The World

MOin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 01:01:15 +0000

Emails are great – they are fast and convenient. But a handwritten letter nowadays is a refreshing form of communication. Here to help you surprise your loved ones with a short handwritten letter is a service called Snail Mail My Email.

Snail Mail My Email is a free to use service that uses volunteers to send handwritten letters to your loved ones. All you have to do is send an email to snailmailmyemail@gmail.com. Your email should contain the letter’s body; this body should not exceed 100 words. The letter should also contain the recipient’s physical address. You can also make a custom request such as adding a doodle to the letter, a flower petal, a lip stick kiss, or a spray of perfume.

Features:

An easy-to-use service.
Sends short handwritten letters for you.
Mails letters to any part of the world.
Lets you add a custom request for the letters.
Similar tool: PostalShout, 1HRMail, MailWriter, SnailMailr, Zumbox and TheMailMonster.

Check out Snail Mail My Email @ www.snailmailmyemail.org (via Redferret) (by MOin from Urban Savior)

PhpList Hosted: Popular Open Source Email List Manager Software Goes To The Cloud

Israel Nicolas — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:01:03 +0000

PhpList is one of the most popular e-mail marketing tools today and the most popular open-source tool for e-mail management. However, you have to download, install, and configure the software before you can start using it, which can limit the way you want to use it.

Fortunately, they are now offering a beta service of PhpList Hosted, which is basically the cloud-based version of this email campaign manager. PhpList Hosted is ready-to-use and it will allow you to access and manage your email campaigns easily and conveniently, from any computer.

Once you have signed up for an account in phpList Hosted, you will be automatically provided with a trial account of the service. This will let you send up to 300 messages per month with a daily limit of 50 messages. If you wish to send larger volumes of emails after trying out the free service, you may then sign up for a paid account that will let you send from 2,000 messages per month up to 100,000 messages per month (depending on the subscription), which also allows attachments.

Aside from being a very convenient email campaign manager, PhpList Hosted allows you to experience the latest developments in PhpList without doing constant upgrades. This tool is a great, cheap, and powerful alternative for popular e-mail marketing tools.

Features:

Open source email list manager online.
Access you email campaigns from any computer.
No downloading, installation, and configuration required.
Automatically processes message queue and bounces.
Manages whitelisting and deliverability of your email campaigns.
Secure managing of account.
Experience first the latest developments from phpList.
Similar Tools: MadMimi, Minimalist G-mail, and Gtriage

Check out Phplist @ www.phplist.com

PostalShout: US & International Letter Postage Service Online

Umar — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 23:01:33 +0000

Jobs that involve mailing a lot of letters can be very time consuming as writing all the letters and physically posting them is not a quick process. Here to help you save a lot of time in sending letters is a service called PostalShout.

PostalShout is a web service that posts letters for you. You start by signing up on the website and then selecting the prepaid plan that suits you best. Next you download the site’s Microsoft Word template or OpenOffice template that include clear positions for the letter’s body and the addresses of sender and receiver. The letter you write in these templates can be emailed to PostalShout; the site’s servers automatically detects the addresses and post the letters. Addresses within the US are verified before the letter is posted; in case the verification fails, you are notified that such an address does not exist.

PostalShout does not add any logos or watermarks to your letters. The only things added are serial numbers and 2D bar-codes on the letter and envelope.

This is what a PostalShout envelope looks like:

Features:

A user-friendly web service.
Lets you post letters via the Internet.
Post letters within the US and internationally.
Verifies US addresses before posting the letters.
Offers various payment plans.
Similar tools: 1HRMail, MailWriter, SnailMailr, Zumbox and TheMailMonster.

Check out PostalShout @ www.postalshout.com (By Umar from TechCityInc)

1HRMail: Send Letters Online

TehseenBaweja — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:01:01 +0000

Want to send a quick note to Grandma but don’t want to run to the post office? 1HRMail is a new service that lets you send letters online. The app lets you write a letter online and once you submit, they print it, then mail it out to your specified address within 1 hour. You can write the contents of the letter using a built-in rich text editor and even insert images and signatures.

Moreover, the service also lets you attach files and send them along with the letter (or you have the option to send an attachment only letter). Currently the attachments supported include PDF, Word, Excel & PowerPoint.

All this costs 99 cents which is not a whole lot more than what it would cost somebody to drive out to the post office and buy a 44 cents stamp.

Features:

Send snail mail online.
The mail goes out within 1 hour.
Insert images and signatures.
Send PDF, Word and Excel files in mail.
Choose from different envelope and paper options.
No registration required.
Similar sites: MailWriter, SnailMailr, Zumbox, and TheMailMonster.

Visit 1HRMail @ www.1hrmail.com

MailWriter: Post Snail Mail Online

Israel Nicolas — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:01:56 +0000

While e-mail is one of the most convenient ways to send messages and documents to your friends, there are still instances when you are required to send a regular letter through a snail mail postal service. This can be very inconvenient and time consuming as you usually need to have stamps, envelopes, papers, a printer, and ink in order to produce one and bring it to a mailbox or a post office.

Fortunately, MailWriter is a web service that lets you send snail mails online in just three easy steps. You can compose the letter on the website or upload supported document formats.

To use MailWriter, the first step is to go to the website and write your letter, or attach a PDF, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint file, then fill up the details of the recipient’s address and your return address. You can also add multiple recipients in one letter.

The next step is to preview your letter and documents, and make sure that the address you inputted is correct. You also need to select the type of envelope for your mail (C4 or C5).

Finally, you need to agree to the terms and conditions of MailWriter and select a payment method for the service (the site supports Paypal, Ideal, and credit cards). The price of the snail mail depends on the number of pages, size of the documents, recipients, and destination of your letter ““ but there is no need to worry as there is a price calculator that can tell you how much it’s going to cost you to use the service.

Features:

Send regular mails online.
Save a lot of your time.
Attach PDF, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents.
Add multiple recipients in one letter.
Choose either C4 or C5 envelope for your mail.
Supports Paypal, Ideal, and credit card payment.
Similar Tools: SnailMailr, Zumbox, and TheMailMonster.

Check out Mail Writer @ www.mailwriter.com

PoopSenders: Send A Poop As A Gift

Israel Nicolas — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:00:37 +0000

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. Why not serve it nasty and stinky? PoopSenders is a web service that lets you send a poop package to anyone anonymously. The site claims that it is the ultimate gag gift to get back at someone such as an annoying person, a mean boss, an inconsiderate ex, mechanic or salesman that ripped you, or basically anyone who you just don’t like.

The website lets you select the type and size of poop to send. You can choose between cow dung, elephant crap and gorilla poop. A quart of a poop ranges from $12.95 to $16.95 (plus $6.95 shipping) while a gallon of poop ranges from $19.95 to $23.95 (plus $9.95 shipping). As for the payment, the site accepts major credit cards and Paypal. Unfortunately, international customers will miss out since it is only available in the United States.

The poop packages contain a business card right on the poop with this message: “YOU’VE BEEN POOPED ON. WANT TO KNOW BY WHOM? OVER.” The recipient would then have to dig over the poop only to find out this message on the back: “WE’LL NEVER TELL. WWW.POOPSENDERS.COM”.

Features:

Send a poop package to a person that you don’t like anonymously
Choose the type of poop: cow dung, elephant crap or gorilla poop
Choose the size of the poop: a quart or a gallon

Check out PoopSenders @ www.poopsenders.com

MapEnvelope: Print Your Own Envelopes With Map

jpot — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:01:12 +0000

Emails are cool, but when you’re on the road there’s nothing quite as amazing as sending a physical letter to a friend or family member. There’s something about knowing that your loved one touched and prepared what you’re holding in your hand right now, and that somehow it got to you.

If you’re a letter-sending enthusiast and a traveller to boot, check out MapEnvelope. This web app will let you print your own envelopes with map to reveal location where you sent the letter from. Send your friend a hand-made souvenir with a geeky touch.

Using the application couldn’t be simpler: you just type where you want the map to point to and a custom message. Then you hit “preview” followed by “print.” You’ll have the template to fold your own Google Map envelope. This makes an easy-to-make gift dead simple, so check it out.

Features

Quickly print templates for homemade Google Map envelopes.
Simply type your current location and a custom message.
The most web-savvy way to send snail mail.

Check out MapEnvelope @ www.mapenvelope.com (thanks to Lifehacker for the find.)

USPS Mobile: Mobile Package Tracking Site

abhijeet — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:27:50 +0000

Although you can always access USPS’ (United States Postal Service) main website from your mobile phone (if it can connect to the net) and track packages, it is always better if one gets a simpler, trimmed-down version of the site on the small screen of the cellphone. USPS Mobile offers you just that. When you visit it’s mobile version, you’ll see 4 main links – Track & Confirm, Find USPS Locations, Find a ZIP Code and Find Cities in a ZIP Code.

These links help you in tracking packages and finding other USPS related information on your cellphone, all in a simple, neat interface that saves you from the hassle of navigating a site on that small device.

Features:

USPS mobile tracking.
A very clean interface which is easy to use.
Shows 4 main links on the front page.
Save time while tracking your package on your cellphone.
Similar tools: FollowMyStuff, PackageTrackr, TrackMyShipments and other shipping trackers.

Check out USPS Mobile @ m.usps.com (via Lifehacker, by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog)