Email, as part of an overall marketing strategy, is most likely not going anywhere anytime soon.

In fact, three out of four companies will spend more time on email production this year than last, according to the 2016 Email Marketing Insights Study.

As it is now, about 70 percent of organizations report spending anywhere between one and five hours to develop an email campaign, but in 2016 about a third of organizations plan to increase the time spent on email marketing by about 20 hours a month.

The survey of more than 3,500 U.S. adults conducted by email testing platform Email on Acid also found that four out of five organizations will increase their email marketing budgets this year. Most of that money will go toward technology and tools, followed by list growth, development, and design, respectively.

Organizations are also planning to increase the number of emails they send. About a quarter reported they plan to send an average of more than one email a day in 2016.

On the other hand, the common concern among organizations that sending too many emails may do more harm than good is backed up by research: According to a recent study from retail marketing firm First Insight, if audiences feel as though your emails are popping up in their inboxes too often, they are likely to go unopened.

For example, two-thirds of people who receive more than five emails per week from the same source reported that number as too high. A better strategy, the report noted, is to personalize emails.

“What consumers really want is for retailers to take the time to know them and make recommendations about clothing or products that are in line with their personal taste,” First Insight Chief Commercial Officer Jim Shea noted in a news release.

Customization is key for creating viral marketing emails—those that get forwarded to others frequently—according to a Litmus report published last year. This finding was especially true for emails sent to large audiences. Viral emails were also more likely to feature calls to action encouraging readers to share or forward, and they were more likely to feature content about events or news, as opposed to purely promotional content.

Personalizing email content is also an important tactic given recently reported drops in click-through rates. Data from global marketing company Epsilon found a 1 percent drop in click-through rates between 2014 and 2015. Considering that decline, and despite the relative strength of email marketing, Epsilon suggested marketers rethink subject lines and segment email lists to ensure better personalization. It also recommended removing unresponsive subscribers.

Does your association plan to increase the amount of time and resources it spends on email marketing this year? Please share in the comments.

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