Getting Started with PostKnock: Your First 30 Minutes

PostKnock is built so you can go from "never used the product" to "first postcard in the mail" in about half an hour. There is no installer, no integration, no contract. This guide walks through every step in order, so you can follow along while your first campaign comes together.

If you get stuck at any point, email support@postknock.com — we reply to every message within a business day.

Step 1: Sign Up (2 minutes)

Head to app.postknock.com/signup and create your account using either Google or your work email. There's no credit card required to sign up — you only enter payment when you launch a paid campaign or upgrade to Pro.

Once your account is created, you'll land on the dashboard. The next thing you'll see is the guided onboarding wizard, which walks you through company setup. The wizard is designed to "always feel almost done" — you'll never see a long form or a settings page with 40 fields.

Step 2: Set Up Your Company (5 minutes)

The company setup step asks for the basics PostKnock needs to print accurate postcards and run sensible campaigns:

• Business name and industry. The industry you select determines which playbook templates and recommended messaging the wizard surfaces by default.
• Return address. This is the address printed on the back of your postcards. USPS requires a deliverable return address on every piece of mail. If you have multiple offices, set the primary location here — you can add more later.
• Phone number. Your main inbound number. This is what gets printed on your postcards as the call-to-action and what your front desk will see when calls come in.
• Logo upload. PNG or SVG with a transparent background works best. If you don't have one ready, skip this step — you can add a logo from the design editor later.

After company setup, the wizard moves you straight into picking a campaign goal. You don't have to read every settings page or configure ten things before you can do the first useful action.

Step 3: Upload Your First Contacts (5–10 minutes)

PostKnock's default assumption is that you're mailing to your own customer list — patients, clients, or prospects you already have. The fastest way to get them in is a CSV upload from your practice management or CRM system.

The required columns are simple:

• first_name
• last_name
• address1
• city
• state
• zip

Optional columns like phone, email, and last_visit unlock follow-up calls and smarter segmentation but aren't required for your first campaign.

When you drag your CSV into the import wizard, PostKnock auto-maps your column headers to the standard schema. If your headers don't match exactly (for example, "FirstName" instead of "first_name"), you'll see a one-click adjust panel so you can correct the mapping before importing.

For a deeper walkthrough — including how to export from Dentrix, ServiceTitan, ChiroTouch, and AVImark — see How to Import Contacts from a CSV File.

Step 4: Pick a Playbook (3 minutes)

A playbook is a pre-built campaign template. It defines how many waves there are, the timing between them, the suggested messaging, default UTMs, and starter call scripts. PostKnock ships with playbooks tuned for each industry — "Dental Recall," "HVAC Maintenance," "Veterinary Wellness Reminder," and so on.

Pick the playbook that matches what you're trying to accomplish. The most common starting playbook is the "Recall" or "Reactivation" template — reaching out to existing customers who haven't been seen in 6+ months. If none of the listed playbooks fit, you can start from scratch with the "Blank Campaign" option.

A key thing to understand: a playbook controls the messaging structure (timing, wave count, copy, scripts), but it does not include a postcard design. Designs and messaging are separate, shuffleable layers in PostKnock. Once you pick a playbook, you'll choose a postcard design template in the next step.

Step 5: Customize Your Postcard (5–10 minutes)

From the design picker, choose a template that fits your industry and brand vibe. Each template comes in three sizes:

• 4×6 — the lowest-cost option, good for short reminder messages.
• 6×9 — the workhorse size for most service businesses; gives you room for an offer and a hero image.
• 6×11 — the premium "letter-sized" postcard, hard to ignore in a stack of mail.

In the design editor you'll customize the headline, offer text, call-to-action, and any bullets. Your logo and brand colors automatically pull from your company setup, but you can override them per-design. The QR code is generated automatically and points to either a campaign-specific landing page or your booking URL.

For details on every editor feature, see Customizing Your Postcard Design.

Step 6: Review and Launch (3–5 minutes)

The final review screen shows you four things at a glance:

1. How many contacts will receive the campaign and how many addresses passed validation.
2. The total cost (postcards × per-card price), with postage and printing included.
3. A live proof of the front and back of the postcard, exactly as Lob will print it.
4. The wave schedule — when each card goes to the press and when it's expected to arrive.

If anything looks wrong, you can jump back to any earlier step without losing work. When you're happy, click "Launch." On the Free plan, you'll be prompted to add funds to your wallet (no monthly fee). On Pro, the cost is deducted from your monthly allotment or wallet, depending on your plan setup.

After launch, your dashboard updates with delivery progress, QR scan counts, and (if you opted in) the call queue for your front desk. For the basics on how multiple touches compound into higher response rates, see our blog post on patient recall best practices.

What Happens Next

USPS First-Class delivery takes 3–5 business days from the date the cards drop. Each scan of the QR code is logged against the recipient, so by the end of week one you'll start to see attribution data on your dashboard. If you opted into call follow-up (Pro only), the call queue activates automatically 3–5 days after the postcards are mailed.

From here, you can keep going: add more contacts, schedule wave 2, or start a second campaign for a different segment. A single PostKnock account can run as many concurrent campaigns as you want.

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Need more help? Email support@postknock.com and we'll respond within one business day.

Related articles

• How to Import Contacts from a CSV File
• Customizing Your Postcard Design
• Multi-Wave Campaigns: Sequencing Postcards Over Time