Managing the Recipient List



Creating a Guest or Recipient List

You create a guest or recipient list to determine who will receive invitations to your event or who will receive your cards through Paperless Post. You may add to your guest/recipient list at any time, (even after you've sent a first round of invitations/cards). However, you will not be able to send to the contacts on your list if you do not have sufficient Stamps and/or Custom Coins in your account.

Note: Contacts who are added to the guest/recipient list with First Names and Last Names as well as Email addresses will receive personalized emails and RSVP cards. Contacts added with only email addresses will be asked to enter their names as they RSVP or reply. These contacts will receive envelopes in their inboxes with the name of the event or the name you gave the card written on them (this name is what was entered in the "Subject" field on the Details page).

Adding contacts to your guest/recipient list one at a time

There are two ways to add individual emails to your guest or recipient list. First, you should navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing (from the Drafts folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing you wish to send out to choose "Go to Delivery." If this option isn't available, you must finish filling out the required information on the Details page - click "Edit the Details").

Quick Add

  1. Quick Add will be the default function on Delivery. If the contact you would like to add is already in your Address Book, use the Quick Add field to search your Address Book and choose the correct contact from the results list that appears below as you type.
  2. You can also enter individual names and email addresses that you don't have saved in your Address Book already into the Quick Add field. Use the following format: Tom Sawyer tomsawyer@gmail.com
  3. Click the "Add to Guest/Recipient List" button and repeat if necessary.

Add Individual Email

  1. Click "Add Individual Email" on the left side of the page.
  2. Fill in the designated fields.
  3. Click the "Add to Guest/Recipient List" button and repeat if necessary.

Adding contacts to your guest/recipient list from a list

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing (from the Drafts folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing you wish to send out to choose "Go to Delivery." If this option isn't available, you must finish filling out the required information on the Details page - click "Edit the Details").
  2. On the left side of the page, click "Add list of emails."
  3. Copy and paste the contacts you would like to add to your guest/recipient list in the text box provided.

Available formats for this function

Names and emails in a column:
Paperless Post - Add from List

Names and emails separated by commas (or semicolons):
Paperless Post - Add from List

Names and emails separated by commas (or semicolons) - without quotes:
Paperless Post - Add from List

Names and emails separated by commas (or semicolons) - with quotes:Paperless Post - Add from List

Emails in a column:
Paperless Post - Add from List

Emails separated by commas (or semicolons):
Paperless Post - Add from List

Emails separated by commas (or semicolons):
Paperless Post - Add from List

Adding contacts to the guest/recipient list using a spreadsheet

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing (from the Drafts folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing you wish to send out to choose "Go to Delivery." If this option isn't available, you must finish filling out the required information on the Details page - click "Edit the Details").
  2. On the left side of the page, click "Add from spreadsheet."
  3. Prepare your spreadsheet following the exact format of the spreadsheet in the example in the main panel. If you have trouble formatting your spreadsheet, you may click the button that says "Download Template" to download an example spreadsheet, which you can simply fill in with your list of contacts.
  4. Save the spreadsheet as a .CSV file. In Microsoft Excel, select "Save As..." from the File menu and change the File Format drop-down menu to ".CSV" or "Comma Delimited/Separated Values." This file must be saved in .CSV format, not .xls, .txt, etc.
  5. Click the "Choose File" button, navigate to where you saved your .CSV file, and click "Upload Spreadsheet." This will port the contents of the entire spreadsheet to your Guest/Recipient List unless you are notified otherwise.

Note: The site will automatically de-duplicate your spreadsheet. Any instances of repeat email addresses will be pulled out of the spreadsheet and you'll be asked to choose one to re-upload. Invalid email addresses (e.g., "robertfrost@gmail.cm") will also be pulled out of your spreadsheet and you'll be asked to edit them on the site and re-upload.

Adding contacts to the guest/recipient list from your Paperless Post Address Book

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing (from the Drafts folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing you wish to send out to choose "Go to Delivery." If this option isn't available, you must finish filling out the required information on the Details page - click "Edit the Details").
  2. On the left side of the page, click "Address Book."
  3. When the Address Book window opens up to the right, select the contacts you would like to add to your guest/recipient list by clicking the checkboxes. To add all of the contacts in your Address Book, click the "Select All" checkbox in the toolbar above the Address Book contact list.
  4. Click the "Add to Guest/Recipient List" button above the list.

Note: You may only select contacts on one page of your Address Book at a time. Make sure to click the "Add to Guest/Recipient List" button before moving to the next page of your Address Book.

Quick Add

Alternatively, you may add contacts to your guest/recipient list using the Quick Add feature:

  1. Click "Quick Add" on the left side of the page.
  2. Use the Quick Add field in the black box to search your Address Book and choose the correct contact from the results list that appears below as you type.
  3. Click the "Add to Guest/Recipient List" button and repeat if necessary.

Importing contacts to your guest/recipient list from Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, MSN, Live, or Aol.

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing (from the Drafts folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing you wish to send out to choose "Go to Delivery." If this option isn't available, you must finish filling out the required information on the Details page - click "Edit the Details").
  2. Click "Import from Webmail" on the left.
  3. Select which email provider you are importing your contacts from, enter your login information, and press the "Retrieve My Contacts" button. Please be patient while Paperless Post works to retrieve your contacts.
  4. After your contacts load, follow the simple directions given to select and import them to your guest/recipient list (they will automatically be stored in your Paperless Post Address Book as well for future use).

Importing contacts to your guest/recipient list from Outlook or Outlook Express

If you are importing your contacts from Outlook or Outlook Express, you will first need to export a spreadsheet of your contacts from your email account. To do so, follow these instructions (instructions may vary slightly depending on your version of Outlook / Outlook Express):

Outlook:

  1. In Outlook, select "Import/Export" from the File menu.
  2. Choose "Export to a File." Click Next.
  3. Choose "Comma Separated Values (Windows)" from the list presented to you. Click Next.
  4. Select "Contacts" from the list and click Next.
  5. Save the exported file with a memorable name and in a location on your computer that you can easily navigate to.

Outlook Express:

  1. In Outlook Express, select "Export > Address Book" from the File menu.
  2. Select "Text File (Comma Separated Values)" from the list presented to you.
  3. Click Export.
  4. Save the exported file with a memorable name and in a location on your computer that you can easily navigate to.

Upload to Paperless Post:

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing, then click on "Import from Webmail" on the left side of the screen.
  2. Select "Upload from Email Client."
  3. Choose "Outlook/Outlook Express" from the drop-down menu.
  4. Click the "Choose File" button, navigate to where you saved the exported spreadsheet on your computer, and double click on it.
  5. Click the "Retrieve My Contacts" button.
  6. After your contacts load, follow the simple directions given to select and import them to Paperless Post.

Importing your contacts to your guest/recipient list from Apple Mail or OSX Address Book

If you are importing your contacts from Apple Mail/OSX Address Book, you will first need to export a Group vCard of your contacts from your OSX Address Book. To do so, follow these instructions:

Export a Group vCard:

  1. Open up the Address Book application on your Apple computer (it can be found in the Applications folder in your Finder).
  2. Click on "All" (or on the name of the list you'd like to export) on the left-hand side to highlight it.
  3. Select "Export > Export Group vCard" from the File menu.
  4. A "Save As" dialog box will open on your screen; select a location on your computer to save this .vcf file.

Upload to Paperless Post:

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing, then click on "Import from Webmail" on the left side of the screen.
  2. Select "Upload from Email Client."
  3. Choose "Apple Mail/OSX Address Book" from the drop-down menu.
  4. Click the "Choose File" button, navigate to where you saved the exported spreadsheet on your computer, and double click on it.
  5. Click the "Retrieve My Contacts" button.
  6. After your contacts load, follow the simple directions given to select and import them to Paperless Post.

For mailings with over 1,000 recipients

You should upload your recipient list using the "Add from spreadsheet" option on the Delivery page. Each spreadsheet (or .CSV file) should have no more that 1,000 contacts in it. Once you've separated your contacts into separate files of no more than 1,000 per file, do the following:

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing from the Drafts folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing you wish to send out to choose "Go to Delivery." If this option isn't available, you must finish filling out the required information on the Details page - click "Edit the Details").
  2. On the left side of the page, click "Add from spreadsheet."
  3. Click the "Choose File" button, navigate to where you saved your .CSV file, and click "Upload Spreadsheet." This will port the contents of the entire spreadsheet to your Guest or Recipient List unless you are notified otherwise.
  4. Click the "Send to All Guests/Recipients" button above the list.
  5. After the first batch has been successfully sent, navigate back to the Delivery page and repeat steps 2-4 until you have uploaded and sent to all of your contacts.

Sending Note Cards to over 10 recipients

The Note Cards section of the site is primarily meant for small, personalized correspondence, not larger mailings. If you want to send the same card to another 10 people, you'll have to make it again from scratch.

To send a note to a recipient list of over 10 people, you can use the "Thank You Announcements" category under Note Cards, or you can use our Invitation papers to design and send your note. Detailed instructions to do so are here, at the bottom of the page.

Editing a contact's name on the guest/recipient list

  1. Navigate to the Delivery or Tracking page of your mailing from your Post Box or by using the "[Your Name]'s Post Box" menu in the top navigation bar.
  2. Click directly on the contact's name or email address in the list, and an information box will drop down. Alternatively, you can click on the checkbox next to the contact and click the Edit button at the top of the list.
  3. Enter or modify the information in the name fields and click the "Save" button within the contact information box or at the top of the list to store your changes.

Note: You may batch open your contacts by selecting the checkboxes next multiple contacts on one page of the guest/recipient list and clicking the Edit button at the top of the list. After making your modifications to the names, click the Save button at the top of the list to batch save your edits. This will close the contacts' information and it will be saved.

Manually changing a guest's Total Invited number

You can set the "Guests can bring" number on the Details page of your event, but if you would like to allow a different Total Invited number for specific guests, follow these directions:

  1. Go to the Delivery page of your event, and click the name of the guest whose Total Invited number you would like to change. Information will drop down below his or her name.
  2. Adjust the Total Invited drop-down menu to reflect your desired changes.
  3. Remember to click the Save button for each guest you update.

Deleting from the guest/recipient list before sending an invitation or card

  1. Enter the Delivery page
  2. Click the checkbox next to the contact you with to delete. You can select multiple.
  3. Click the "Delete" button at the top of the list to delete the contact from your guest/recipient list. If the contact has not yet been sent an invitation/card, he or she will be permanently removed and will not receive an email with the rest of your guests.

Adding new recipients to a mailing that has already been sent

For Invitations and Save the Dates, you may send to your guests at any time leading up to the event. For Announcements, you may send to your recipients at any time you wish. If you have already sent out a mailing but wish to send out more to new contacts, take the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing (from the Sent folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing to choose "Send to more Guests/Recipients").
  2. Add your new recipients to the guest/recipient list. They should appear on the guest/recipient list with a black "unsent" tag to the right of their names.
  3. Click the "Send to All New Guests/Recipients" button on the top right of the list. This will send new invitations or cards to any "unsent" (newly added) contact. No previously sent to recipient will receive a duplicate invitation or card.

Deleting a person from your guest/recipient list after the invitation or card has been sent

You cannot delete or retract an invitation or card after it has been sent. However, a guest or recipient can be removed from the guest/recipient list on the Tracking page in order to keep a proper and updated list:

  1. Go to the Tracking page of the event or mailing.
  2. Click the checkbox next to the contact you would like to remove.
  3. Click the Delete button at the top of the list to remove this person.

Note: The contact will still have an active link via the original email sent to him or her. However he or she will not appear on the guest/recipient list on the Tracking page, will not affect the final count, and will not receive future correspondence related to the event (such as reminders, messages, etc.).

Can my guests forward their invitations to other people?

Paperless Post specializes in personalized mailings, so each guest has his or her own unique link to the invitation and RSVP page. If a guest forwards his or her invitation to someone else, that person who received the forwarded message will not be able to RSVP because the invitation, essentially, belongs to the original guest. Anyone who you wish to be able to RSVP must be on the guest list on the website. You can, however, specify to your guests that they are allowed to bring friends and should indicate how many (and the friends' names, if you wish) when RSVP'ing.

This also applies to non-RSVP mailings, such as announcements, save the dates, and holiday cards. Many recipients do take advantage of the ability to leave a private comment for the sender; with forwarded emails, comments would become lost, overwritten, mixed up, and public to recipients of the forwarded email. Paperless Post's sophisticated email-tracking and follow-up systems will also become ineffective if emails are forwarded.

Forwarding of Paperless Post invitations or cards violates our Terms of Service Agreement.

I have sent out a mailing. How do I send to additional recipients and avoid resending to existing recipients?

For Invitations and Save the Dates, you may send to your guests at any time leading up to the event. For Announcements, you may send to your recipients at any time you wish. If you have already sent out a mailing but wish to send out more to new contacts, take the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing (from the Sent folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing to choose "Send to more Guests/Recipients").
  2. Add your new recipients to the guest (or recipient) list. They should appear on the guest/recipient list with a black "unsent" tag to the right of their names.
  3. Click the "Send to All New Guests/Recipients" button on the top right of the list. This will send new invitations or cards to any "unsent" (newly added) contact. No previously sent to recipient will receive a duplicate invitation or card.

The Delivery page says I can only mail to 1,000 contacts at once, but I have over 1,000 contacts. What do I do?

You should upload your recipient list using the "Add from spreadsheet" option on the Delivery page. Each spreadsheet (or .CSV file) should have no more that 1,000 contacts in it. Once you've separated your contacts into separate files of no more than 1,000 per file, do the following:

  1. Navigate to the Delivery page of your mailing (from the Drafts folder of your Post Box, use the menu to the right of your mailing you wish to send out to choose "Go to Delivery." If this option isn't available, you must finish filling out the required information on the Details page - click "Edit the Details").
  2. On the left side of the page, click "Add from spreadsheet."
  3. Click the "Choose File" button, navigate to where you saved your .CSV file, and click "Upload Spreadsheet." This will port the contents of the entire spreadsheet to your Guest or Recipient List unless you are notified otherwise.
  4. Click the "Send to All Guests/Recipients" button above the list.
  5. After the first batch has been successfully sent, navigate back to the Delivery page and repeat steps 2-4 until you have uploaded and sent to all of your contacts.

How do I send my Note Card to more than 10 recipients?

The Note Cards section of the site is primarily meant for small, personalized correspondence, not larger mailings. If you want to send the same card to another 10 people, you'll have to make it again from scratch.

To send a note to a recipient list of over 10 people, you can use the "Thank You Announcements" category under Note Cards, or you can use our Invitation papers to design and send your note. Detailed instructions to do so are here, at the bottom of the page.

Why can't I resend my Invitation or Card to my entire list?

An invitation or card can only be sent to a recipient through the website once in order to avoid recipients receiving multiple versions of the same mailing accidentally, and this way, you will only use one Stamp per recipient. If you need to reach your recipients after you have sent your initial mailing, you can do so on the Tracking page of the event using the Follow-up Tools. Here you will find multiple methods of corresponding with your recipients after the initial mailing has been sent.

To resend to your recipients individually, you can follow the directions here.

How do I resend an Invitation or Card to someone on my list?

To resend an Invitation or Card to a recipient, do the following:

  1. On the Tracking page of the mailing, click directly on the contact's name, and an information box will drop down.
  2. Click the "Send Me This Invitation/Card" button. This contact's personal envelope will be sent to the primary email address on your account.
  3. You can then forward that email to the contact from your personal email account. Remember to remove the "Fwd:" from the subject line of the email, and to delete any forwarding information from the top of the email.

Can Paperless Post handle bulk mailings?

Each event or mailing on Paperless Post can handle up to 5,000 recipients successfully, and we do not recommend mailing to more than that number.

I accidentally sent to the wrong email address. How do I fix this?

If you accidentally sent an invitation or card to the wrong email address for a contact, you can correct the mistake by following these steps (note: you must use another Stamp to send it to the correct address, and you may also be charged additional Custom Coins):

  1. Go to the "Delivery" page of your event or mailing.
  2. Use the "Add Individual Email" option to re-enter your recipient with the correct contact information, and click the Add to Guest/Recipient List button.
  3. Repeat this for any other incorrectly entered email addresses until you have all of the correct emails on your guest/recipient list. Click the Send to All New Guests/Recipients button.
  4. You may now delete any incorrect contacts from the Tracking page of your event or mailing. Click on the checkbox(es) next to the contact(s) you'd like to delete and click the Delete button at the top of the list.

NOTE: Once a contact has been deleted from the Tracking page, he or she cannot be re-added to the Tracking page with the same email address. The steps above are to be executed for incorrect email addresses only, NOT incorrect spellings of names. You can correct the spelling of names on the Tracking page of the event or mailing by clicking on the contact you'd like to edit.

Can my guests (or recipients) forward their invitations (or cards) to other people?

Paperless Post specializes in personalized mailings, so each guest has his or her own unique link to the invitation and RSVP page. If a guest forwards his or her invitation to someone else, that person who received the forwarded message will not be able to RSVP because the invitation, essentially, belongs to the original guest. Anyone who you wish to be able to RSVP must be on the guest list on the website. You can, however, specify to your guests that they are allowed to bring friends and should indicate how many (and the friends' names, if you wish) when RSVP'ing.

This also applies to non-RSVP mailings, such as announcements, save the dates, and holiday cards. Many recipients do take advantage of the ability to leave a private comment for the sender; with forwarded emails, comments would become lost, overwritten, mixed up, and public to recipients of the forwarded email. Paperless Post's sophisticated email-tracking and follow-up systems will also become ineffective if emails are forwarded.

Forwarding of Paperless Post invitations or cards violates our Terms of Service Agreement.