Five ways to send a physical postcard from your phone or laptop

While postcards are a great way to tell someone you're thinking of them on a trip, they're one of those nostalgic items that haven't changed since your grandmother was writing cursive and carefully placing stamps on each one (kids, ask your parents what cursive is. And what a stamp is). Fortunately, you can use technology to send a more modern version, thanks to these apps and platforms. Note: All apps listed are free on iOS and Android unless otherwise specified.

1. Postcard on the Run This old-meets-new approach to postcards allows you to create digital versions using your own trip photos, adding personalized messages and then sending a physical copy in the mail. A cellular or Wi-Fi network is all you need, as well as $2.49 (to send them within US) or $2.89 (international) for the cost of printing, addressing and mailing the postcard.

2. Wish You Were Here ePostcards Blogger and perpetual traveler Barbara Weibel of Hole in the Donut recently launched Wish You Were Here ePostcards, allowing travelers to send one of her 300+ destination photographs as digital postcards for $1 each (or $4.75 for five, and $9 for 10). As a bonus, 20% of all revenue is donated to Water Missions International, a nonprofit that works to deliver sustainable water and sanitation solutions to developing and disaster areas.

3. Touchnote This website (and app) allows you to turn photos from your computer or smartphone into real greeting cards and glossy postcards. They guarantee all cards are printed and shipped within one business day (although delivery times may vary by country). In terms of payment, Touchnote works on a credit system, with credit packages ranging from six cards for $9.95 to 75 for $99.95 (the more you buy, the more you save). A postcard requires one credit and a greeting card is two, and each credit includes the cost of printing and shipping.

4. Postagram With Postagram, users upload Instagram, Facebook and camera roll photos to the app, where they are made into glossy postcards with personalized messages. Each postcard comes with a QR code recipients can scan to save the postcard to their phone and thank the sender. Additionally, photos can be easily cut out of the postcard themselves, which makes them easy to frame. Prices range from $0.99 (sent within the US) to $1.99 (international), including printing and postage.

5. Gogobot Many of you may know Gogobot as a travel review alternative to TripAdvisor, focusing on recommendations from users and experts; however, that's not all the company does. Their app's Postcards feature lets road warriors create digital postcards from their travel photos – editing them Instagram-style and choosing a vintage postcard design  – to be shared on Facebook and Twitter. These postcards also go in the traveler's own Gogobot Passport, which is handy for keeping track of where they've been or where the photos were taken.

How do you send postcards in 2015?

Jessica Festa is the founder on the solo and offbeat travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and the online responsible tourism and culture magazine, Epicure & Culture. She's constantly searching for local experiences beyond the guidebook. You can follow her travels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.