Bulk Recipient Uploads for Handwritten Mail: CSV Format and Best Practices

If you are sending handwritten postcards to a customer list, event segment, or partner batch, the fastest workflow is usually a CSV upload. Handwrite also supports manual entry for smaller runs, so you can choose the path that matches the size of the campaign.

CSV uploads are especially useful for event follow-up, customer thank-you batches, renewal outreach, and holiday campaigns where the recipient list already lives in your CRM or spreadsheet.

Two ways to add recipients

In the Recipients step of the order flow, you can add people in two ways.

1. Manual entry

Manual entry is best for small batches or when you want to review every card one by one. Click Add Recipient and fill in:

• Name — required for the handwritten address
• Address Line 1 — required
• Address Line 2 — optional
• City — required
• Postal Code — required
• Country — required
• First Name / Last Name / Email / Gender — optional, but useful for personalization and review

2. CSV upload

CSV upload is the better option once you are working with a real list.

1. Open the Recipients step.
2. Click Download template.
3. Fill the file in Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet tool.
4. Click Upload CSV file.
5. After import, Handwrite switches to Table View so you can scan and correct rows before checkout.

Each row becomes one postcard.

Required CSV columns

These column names are accepted directly by the import flow:

Column	Required?	Notes
name	Yes	Full recipient name for the address
address line 1	Yes	Street and house number
city	Yes	City or town
postalcode	Yes	ZIP / postal code
country	Yes	Must be one of our supported recipient countries

Optional CSV columns

Column	Required?	Notes
firstname	No	Useful for \{firstName\} in the message
lastname	No	Useful for \{lastName\} and formal greetings
email	No	For your own reference and review
gender	No	Helps us generate the right German \{greeting\}
address line 2	No	Apartment, suite, c/o, floor, etc.

Personalization note

If your message uses placeholders such as \{firstName\}, \{lastName\}, or \{greeting\}, make sure the matching columns are present in the CSV. The upload itself succeeds without them, but the message cannot personalize fields that were never provided.

Supported countries

Self-serve recipient delivery is currently supported for:

• Germany

EU or international recipient lists are handled by manual quote so we can confirm VAT, shipping, and timing before production.

Transit times are measured after production is complete. Germany self-serve transit is usually 1-2 business days.

Best practices

• Verify addresses — Invalid addresses cause delivery failures
• Keep one row per recipient — Do not stack multiple names in one cell
• Use standard postal formatting — Especially for postal codes and country names
• Populate firstname and lastname when you want message personalization
• Use gender if you rely on \{greeting\} in German
• Remove duplicates — Avoid sending multiple cards to the same person

Before you submit

• Review the recipient count shown in the order summary
• Confirm that import errors are resolved in Table View
• Preview a sample card to see how names and greetings render
• Check whether your quantity has crossed a discount threshold

Common list types that work well

• Recent customers — post-purchase thank-you campaigns and first-order follow-up.
• Renewal or retention lists — account-based outreach for SaaS and service businesses.
• Event and conference leads — highly relevant after in-person meetings.
• Holiday and seasonal segments — year-end client appreciation and partner outreach.

Volume discounts reminder

Larger orders unlock automatic per-card savings:

• 100+ cards: ~4% off (€4.75 net / €5.65 incl. VAT)
• 200+ cards: ~9% off (€4.50 net / €5.36 incl. VAT)
• 500+ cards: ~14% off (€4.25 net / €5.06 incl. VAT)

See the pricing guide for the full breakdown.

Need help?

If a larger list needs cleanup before import, contact our support team. We can help you sanity-check the format before you place the order.