In an ever-evolving business landscape, where competition is fierce and marketing strategies change rapidly, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often struggle to find effective ways to grow. Joy Gendusa, a visionary entrepreneur took a bold approach to solving this challenge. As the founder and CEO of PostcardMania, she has built a multi-million-dollar enterprise that empowers small businesses with innovative, data-driven marketing solutions.
Founded in 1998, PostcardMania began as a direct mail marketing company, but under Joy’s leadership, it has transformed into a powerhouse offering integrated, multi-channel marketing solutions. The company now generates over $100 million in annual revenue and has helped more than 100,000 businesses achieve growth through expertly crafted marketing campaigns.
Joy’s journey is one of resilience, calculated risks, and an unwavering belief in the power of strategic marketing. With no outside funding, she scaled PostcardMania from a small startup into an industry leader, proving that with the right mindset and dedication, businesses of any size can thrive. In this exclusive interview, Joy shares the story behind PostcardMania, the unique strategies that have fueled its success, and her vision for the future of small business marketing.
What was your inspiration behind PostcardMania? What was your mission at the outset?
From day one with PostcardMania, it’s always been our mission to help small and medium sized business owners thrive and grow with effective marketing.
I truly believe SMBs are the backbone and lifeblood of the American economy. When small businesses do well, that means more jobs, more money, more opportunity and more investment right in our own communities — we all win.
So, at PostcardMania, our focus is on bringing road-tested, proven marketing tactics to business owners across the country so they don’t have to waste their hard-earned money on marketing experimentation. Instead, they can jump straight to success: more leads, more revenue, and sustainable growth.
What does PostcardMania do uniquely to help small business owners achieve marketing success?
One of our most distinctive features is our dedicated department that analyzes and shares successful marketing campaign strategies. We have over 1,444 case studies available for free on our website, showcasing real results from businesses that have used our methods. Beyond that, we’ve created our own proprietary formula for marketing success, which guides every recommendation we make—from audience targeting to discount strategies. Our clients don’t just get marketing services; they get a proven blueprint for success.
How has PostcardMania managed to grow over the years from nothing to over $100 million in annual revenue?
The short story is that I was dedicated to marketing my business more than other people thought was sane or rational. Literally, people would hear what I spend to market my business every week and they would think, “That’s crazy.” They still do!
I started by mailing 1,000 postcards per week to local businesses to promote my services. It worked so well that I kept increasing the number—first 2,500, then 5,000, and beyond. Each time we scaled up our mailings, our revenue grew in parallel.
Our first year, we generated $750,000 in revenue. By our second year, we had doubled that to $1.5 million. I was willing to reinvest almost every dollar I made into marketing, and that commitment paid off. We continue to follow this aggressive marketing strategy today, and it still fuels our success.
What products and services does PostcardMania offer?
While we started as a direct mail company in 1998, we have since evolved to meet the changing needs of modern marketing. It’s my goal that PostcardMania offer everything a small business needs to succeed at marketing under one roof, at a price that’s truly affordable.
Today, that requires more than just direct mail, although that is still the bedrock of our successful formula. Our campaigns are now technology-led to offer full multichannel integration (for seamless campaigns online and offline), robust campaign performance tracking, and trigger-based automations — all with that foundation of truly prioritizing small business growth and success through our results-based formula. That’s something I think is very special about us and that you won’t find anywhere else.
What upcoming innovations or developments at PostcardMania excite you the most?
Hands down, our most exciting developments revolve around using direct mail as a scalable, fully responsive, individual, and automatic follow-up tool.
As a business owner, we spend A LOT of money emailing and calling prospects as our main forms of follow-up. But traditional follow-up methods—emails, calls, and texts—often get lost in the noise.
There is a solution to cut through all of that noise. And it’s so exciting for the solopreneur too! Instead of just sending an email, businesses can trigger personalized postcards or letters based on customer interactions. This provides a tangible, high-ROI alternative.
For example, postcards can be sent automatically to:
- Website visitors who spend over 30 seconds but don’t convert.
- Shoppers who abandon their carts before purchasing.
- New leads or dormant customers who haven’t engaged in a while.
- Clients celebrating birthdays or anniversaries.
Another advantage of automated mailings is that you’re mailing much smaller quantities because the targeting is so hyper-focused. You can set up your budget weekly or monthly as well, and if you don’t mail your pre-set quota, the credits roll over.
It’s a great way to try direct mail for yourself to see if it’s right for your business before committing to a traditional lead generation campaign.
Joy Gendusa
CEO
I encourage any business owner interested in direct mail marketing to schedule a free consultation with our experts. We tailor our recommendations to each business’s needs, competition, and budget, ensuring a strategy that delivers results. Call 855-549-1313 to get started or visit postcardmania.com/ceoviews to claim free postcard samples.
