Creatives & Design - FAQs
What's the difference between a creative and a template?
A creative is a complete, named mail design: one front paired with one message, for one mailer type (a 4x6, 6x9 or 6x11 postcard, a windowed or windowless letter, a notecard, a MagnaCard, or a gift card). It's what you build, browse, and send in Creatives in the sidebar.
Underneath, every creative is made of two templates:
- An image template - the front design (for a letter, its optional background).
- A message template - the handwriting-style message, with its handwriting style, QR code, message background and, for gift cards, the brand and amount.
You don't manage templates as separate lists: editing a creative edits its own front and message. Templates still matter in two places. The API, Zapier, and other integrations can send by image and message template IDs (or by the creative's ID), and Send Mail's Separate front & message tab lets you pick a front and a message independently. See Creatives.
How do I create a creative?
Go to Creatives → New creative. Choose Design it with ThanksAI or Build it yourself, pick the mail piece, then set the front and the message and save it on the Review step. For the front you can upload a file (JPG, PNG, or PDF), start from an inspiration, design in Canva, build a Street View design, or bring a design made with your own AI tool. You can also build one without leaving a send, on the Make creative now tab of Send Mail's Design step. See Creating a creative.
When is a creative ready to send?
When it has a message, and also a front unless it's a letter (a letter's front is only an optional background). A creative that's missing something shows what it needs on its card (for example, "Add a front"). You can still start a send from an incomplete creative in Send Mail and fill in the missing side there, but the API and integrations only send complete creatives.
How do message editor modes work?
The message step (on a creative, or in Send Mail) offers these modes:
- Manual edit for direct control of your copy.
- Write with AI for chat-based drafting and iteration.
- Real estate CMA for CMA-focused real estate letters (real estate accounts).
Check my message rates your copy and suggests a stronger version.
Can I design in Canva?
Yes. The Canva integration is available on all plans, including Free. Click Design in Canva on the creative wizard's Front step; when you finish, Canva brings you back to the wizard with the design in place. See Canva Integration.
What file formats are accepted?
JPEG and PNG are most common. Letters also accept PDF. Check the dashboard upload interface for current accepted formats.
What are the correct dimensions?
| Mailer type | Inches (w × h) | Pixels (w × h) |
|---|---|---|
| Postcard (4×6) | 6.25 × 4.25 in | 1875 × 1275 px |
| Postcard (6×9) | 9.125 × 6.125 in | 2738 × 1838 px |
| Postcard (6×11) | 11.125 × 5.925 in | 3337 × 1777 px |
| Letter / Windowless Letter | 8.5 × 11 in | 2550 × 3300 px |
| Notecard / Gift Card | 5.625 × 4.3125 in | 1800 × 1313 px |
| MagnaCard | 10.25 × 6.75 in | 2588 × 1688 px |
These are the full canvas sizes at 300 DPI including bleed. Keep important content (text, logos, QR codes) inside the safe zone away from the edges. Each postcard size has its own creatives, so a 6×9 design needs its own 2738 × 1838 px file rather than a 4×6 file. An upload at the wrong size is saved cropped to fit, with a warning.
What is Branding?
Stores your company-wide branding (logo, name, phone, email, "Scan Me" background). Values are accessible as replacement variables (%YOUR_COMPANY%, %YOUR_PHONE%) in any message. Open it from Branding in the sidebar.
Can I use Street View on my mailers?
Yes. On the creative wizard's Front step, choose Street View design (4x6 and 6x9 postcards). It's part of the Dynamic Images feature, which builds automatically generated visuals into your mailer's front. Street View pulls a Google Street View photo of each recipient's property so every piece in a run is uniquely personalized.
Can I apply a style or effect to the Street View image?
Yes. The Street View design editor includes an effect picker on the Street View background. Effects re-render each recipient's house in an illustrated style (watercolor, cartoon), decorate it for a season (Christmas lights, Halloween, snow day, twilight), improve the shot (curb appeal), or alter one specific element (new roof, fresh paint, lush lawn, solar panels). Effects are available on every plan and add a flat $0.10 per-mailer add-on fee. See Street View AI Effects for the full list and pricing details.
Which background image gets used on my mailer?
When an order is created, the system picks the background image using this priority order (highest wins):
- Manually set via API or in Send Mail - overrides everything else
- Set on the message - the background chosen on a creative's message step (A background just for this design), or No background for plain card stock
- Subaccount default - the default background configured on the subaccount
- Account default - the account-wide default background, set under Branding → Branded designs or by the brand builder
Do you offer a preview of your product offerings?
Yes. You can view a PDF portfolio featuring live samples of each mailer type.
Do you have holiday and Christmas card templates?
Yes. Go to Creatives → New creative, choose Build it yourself, pick the mail piece, and on the Front step choose Start from an inspiration to browse holiday and Christmas designs. Or upload your own artwork with Upload a file on the same step.
Do you have example or inspiration creatives?
Yes. The inspiration gallery is on the creative wizard's Front step (Start from an inspiration) and includes designs across many categories: Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Hanukkah, Holiday, HouseAversary, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Thank You, and more.
Can I share a creative with someone else?
Yes. Open the creative's menu in Creatives and choose Share to get a link. Whoever opens it sees the creative's name, product, and front, and a copy is added to their account (their active sub-account) only when they click Add to my creatives. See Creative defaults and sharing.
How do I reuse a design with changes?
Open the creative's menu and choose Duplicate. The copy gets its own front and message, so editing it never changes the original.
Can I customize the front of an envelope?
No. Envelopes are not customizable with images or graphics. Both windowed and non-windowed envelopes come as-is: letters mail in a standard US business envelope (#10, 4.125″ × 9.5″), and neither the size nor the design can be changed. The non-windowed style features a fixed handwritten-style font for a personal touch. See Handwriting & Fonts FAQs for details about the envelope address style.
Why are windowless letters more expensive than windowed letters?
Windowless letters include two features that add a personal touch and have been shown to increase open rates:
- Handwritten-style address - the recipient and return address are written in a handwriting-style font in blue ink.
- Real postage stamp - a genuine postage stamp is used instead of metered postage, giving the envelope a more personal feel.
Can I send a letter with a PDF file only (no cover letter)?
Yes. You can send a letter using just an uploaded PDF without a handwritten cover page:
- In a creative - on the Writing step of a letter creative, choose Upload Full PDF.
- In Send Mail - for a letter, choose Upload Full PDF on the letter method step.
- Via API or Zapier - provide the PDF link in the API's
pdf_only_urlparameter or the PDF field in your Zapier action. Publicly accessible PDF URLs and Google Drive PDF sharing links are supported. See the API docs for details.
How many additional pages can be included with letters?
| Letter type | Max pages | Included in base price |
|---|---|---|
| Letter with handwritten cover | Up to 10 additional PDF sheets (double-sided) | Cover included |
| PDF-only letter (no cover) | Up to 12 total PDF sheets (double-sided) | First 2 sheets included |
Each additional physical page beyond what is included in the base price costs $0.20.
Can I use merge fields in a PDF I upload?
No. Merge fields like %FIRSTNAME% or %CUSTOM1% only work in the handwritten message, not in uploaded PDFs. If personalization is important, choose Handwritten Cover Letter and write your message on the message step rather than uploading a PDF.
The colors on my mailer look wrong - what happened?
This is usually a CMYK vs. RGB issue. Computer screens use RGB color (a wider range), while physical printing uses CMYK (a narrower range). If you design in RGB mode (the default in most apps including Canva), colors may look noticeably different when printed.
Fix: Design in CMYK mode when possible. In Canva, you can create a CMYK color palette for more accurate print results. In Photoshop, work in CMYK color mode from the start.