A card for Shavano Park, and the businesses in it.

Shavano Park Spotlight is a planned 9×12 card for 5,000 homes across Shavano Park and the 78248 area — the USPS carrier routes we buy in 78248 — with local businesses on it, one per category.A planned 5,000-home mailing on selected routes in the Shavano Park / 78248 area. City and ZIP boundaries are not interchangeable; final coverage will follow confirmed routes.

The reason it's shared rather than a single-business mailer is money. A postcard from one company costs that company the whole drop. Local businesses sharing the same card each pay a fraction, which is how a card gets to five thousand houses for under a dime a door. The reason there's only one of each is that nobody wants to buy a slot next to their closest competitor.

The website exists because a card has a lifespan. It sits on a fridge for a few weeks and then it's gone. A listing doesn't — so every business we list, whether they pay for the card or not, gets a page here that stays up.

Where it goes next

This edition focuses on Shavano Park and the 78248 area. Each Spotlight edition has its own local businesses, category availability and mailing routes. Coverage for this edition is planned around 78248; final carrier routes are confirmed before printing.

Who's behind it

It's a small local operation, not a franchise of a national mailer company. You get the person who designs your ad on the phone, and the number on the card is answered by the same person.