If you’ve noticed your snail mailbox getting fuller, it’s not because you’ve become more popular, because odds are, you haven’t.

However, the volume of “Standard Mail,” or bulk mail, surpassed all other classes for the first time in American history in 2005.

Why your mail slot will only explode further, after the jump.

Direct mail gains increasing favor in the face of the so-called ‘splintering’ and ‘fracturing’ and ‘dismembering’ of traditional advertising channels, especially television. In contrast, direct mail is targetable, its results quantifiable and cost thousands of times less than a thirty-second tv spot.

The West Coast office of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has a blog with nifty charts breaking down all the numbers.

Todd Heyman, Creative Director at OgilvyOne Worldwide, the direct marketing division of advertising megalith Ogilvy, tells The Consumerist, “Frankly, I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of what direct mail can accomplish. Too much of the direct mail that’s sent out today follows a rather bland, tired formula. Our goal is to make the mail we produce impossible to ignore…”

Marketers wouldn’t send direct mail wouldn’t if it weren’t profitable. If you receive a mailer you consider unwanted, that’s the marketer’s fault for not targeting his list effectively enough. In an ideal world, there is no such thing as junk mail. Instead, every single piece of bulk mail caters to your interests, needs and desires.

And don’t forget, if you don’t like it, you can always opt-out!

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