Send Snail Mail Via the Internet with ePostIt and SnailMailr

The world revolves around e-mail, right? It certainly seems that way -- right up to the moment you encounter a client who is firmly in the Stone Age and requires stuff to be sent via the good old US Postal Service. For times like that, it might be easier to send postal mail using the Internet than breaking out stamps and envelopes yourself.

Intrigued? Here are two ways to let the Internet send your old-school paper-and-pen mail for you:

ePostIt is a bare-bones service that lets you write a short message and mail it for free. That's right, it doesn't cost a penny. ePostIt can send your text-based message and up to four digital images to addresses in the US, Canada, England, China, India, France, and a half dozen other countries.

There are restrictions, though: You are limited to five postings per week. If you want more, you can step up to the fee system, where the rates vary depending upon size and volume, but look somewhat competitive with the USPS (especially when you factor in the cost of envelopes and the time associated with mailing stuff).

SnailMailr is a similar service. The site seems a little smarter and cleaner than ePostIt, but you pay a price for that upscale look -- $1/letter, to be precise. SnailMailr also supports international mailing, and you can send both text and photos.

Neither service supports uploading Word or Excel files, which would be quite handy, but you can copy and paste text into the page. If all you need to mail is a simple invoice or a letter that doesn't require a formal signature, either of these sites can get the job done.