Today, most people use cloud computing. And why’s that? Because it is convenient, scalable, and cost-effective. However, when there’s a good side of something, there’s a bad one too. That’s the same for cloud computing. It raises important questions like how protected is the data from hackers? What security measures are in place? And so on.

These are not just technical questions. These are actual problems that people face everyday. While the cloud has tons of benefits, it also brings specific security challenges. These challenges include data breaches, compliance issues, and more.

In 2023 a research was conducted which showed that over 8.2 Billion data records were leaked because of data breaches. So, now you know why cloud security is absolutely necessary in 2024.

Here, we’ll help you clear up your concept about cloud security and address any concerns that you have about it. This article also includes practical tips on how to keep your data safe. So, let’s dive in.

What is Cloud Security?

Cloud security is all about protecting the data, applications, and services anyone stores in the cloud. As more businesses and individuals use cloud computing, keeping this information safe becomes even more important. But what exactly does cloud security involve?

Think of cloud security as a set of practices and technologies designed to defend your cloud-based resources from various threats. These threats can include hackers trying to steal your data, viruses that can corrupt your files, and even accidental leaks of sensitive information.

One key part of cloud security is making sure only authorized people can access your data. This is done through strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and permissions settings that control who can see and do what with your information.

Also Read: What is an Insider Threat? Definition, Types, and Prevention

What Cloud Security Covers?

Here’s a list of things that come under cloud security:

Physical Networks: This includes routers, electrical power, cabling, and climate controls. It is important to keep these components secure as they are the foundation of cloud security.

Data Storage: Cloud security makes sure that your data is protected by every means possible. Keeping the data safe is crucial to prevent unauthorized access and data loss.

Data Servers: These are the core network computing hardware and software. If your cloud servers are secure, you’ll have a smooth and safe operation of your cloud services.

Computer Virtualization Frameworks: This involves the software that creates virtual machines, as well as the host and guest machines. The security measures are crucial here to prevent breaches in virtual environments.

Operating Systems (OS): These are the software that runs on your machines, hosting all other software and applications. If you want to prevent malware, this is where you focus more for additional security. 

Runtime Environments: This involves the execution and maintenance of running programs. You need to ensure these environments are secure to help prevent disruptions and attacks during program execution.

Applications: These include traditional software services such as email, tax software, and productivity suites. All of these must be kept secure to prevent data breaches and ensure safe usage.

End-User Hardware: Lastly, the hardware used by individuals such as computers, mobile devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices also have cloud storage. This means it is essential to protect these devices as well to cover up any potential entry points for cyber threats.

Common Cloud Security Challenges

While cloud security can simplify security management and enhance visibility, it also brings about several challenges. These include:

Identity and Access Control

Cloud providers are constantly expanding their services, resulting in an average of over 5,000 distinct entitlements per service. Managing this volume with traditional identity and access management (IAM) approaches can be overwhelming and complex.

Logging, Monitoring, and Incident Response

Effective incident response relies on comprehensive and accurate logs. Many organizations struggle to handle the large volume of data generated by cloud computing. Due to this companies usually feel their existing solutions are inadequate for collecting reliable logs, which is actually true.

Storage and Encryption

Queueing and notification services often temporarily store sensitive information before security measures can be applied. This step is frequently overlooked, and many services lack essential server-side encryption, which means the data being transferred is left vulnerable.

Cloud Ransomware

Cloud environments are most susceptible to cyberattacks because they are hosted online. Attackers typically exploit misconfigurations or weak security practices, such as excessive permissions or weak passwords to infiltrate these environments.

Supply Chain Attacks in the Cloud

Sharing data and access with third parties, like suppliers and contractors, increases the risk of supply chain attacks. This makes it crucial for security teams to prioritize the monitoring and management of third-party access to protect cloud environments effectively.

9 Cloud Security Best Practices in 2024

Here are the 9 best practices for cloud security which you might have been waiting for to read.

#1. Understand Your Shared Responsibility Model

Firstly, it is important to clearly define which security tasks are managed by your cloud provider and which tasks are to be handled by you. This understanding will help you implement effective security measures for your data, applications, and configurations. 

Having well-defined roles ensures that all aspects of cloud security are covered. It also reduces the risk of security breaches due to overlooked responsibilities.

#2. Ask Detailed Security Questions

You need to ask all the right questions. Make sure to regularly check in with your cloud provider and update yourself about their security protocols, disaster recovery plans, and compliance measures. This ensures their security processes align with your organization’s requirements and helps identify any potential weaknesses in their system. 

Asking these questions provides clarity on the provider’s capabilities and readiness to handle security incidents, enabling you to make informed decisions about your cloud security strategy.

#3. Train Your Staff

Employees are the backbone for any company that wants to do well in the market. So, it is important to provide comprehensive cybersecurity training to all employees. Educate them on identifying threats, using strong passwords, recognizing phishing attacks, and understanding the importance of following security policies. 

Well-trained staff are essential for maintaining a secure cloud environment, as human error is a common cause of security breaches. Continuous training keeps employees updated on the latest threats and best practices.

#4. Establish and Enforce Cloud Security Policies

Now, you need to have clear cloud security policies outlining who can use cloud services, how they should be used, and what data can be stored. Also, ensure all employees adhere to these guidelines to maintain consistent security practices across the organization. 

Effective policies reduce the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access by providing clear instructions and standards for handling cloud resources securely.

#5. Integrate Additional Cloud Security Tools

You can’t manually strengthen your cloud security. For that you need to use additional tools like Identity and Access Management (IAM), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS), and Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB). These tools will help enhance your security posture and defend against various threats. 

These tools provide additional layers of protection by managing access, detecting malicious activities, and enforcing security policies. Which means they are more than capable of strengthening your cloud environment’s overall security framework.

#6. Conduct Penetration Testing and Audits

Now, if you want to check how strong your defenses are you’ll need to perform penetration testing and security audits on a regular basis. This proactive approach helps strengthen your defenses and ensures your security measures are effective. 

Penetration testing simulates cyberattacks to find weaknesses, while audits evaluate your overall security posture. Both of these provide insights and action plans to mitigate risks and enhance protection.

#7. Enable and Monitor Security Logs

It is critical to have a detailed log of all the activities happening on the cloud environment. By doing so, you can quickly detect any security issues and respond to them before anything bad happens. 

Effective logging and monitoring provides visibility into your cloud operations. It also enables you to identify anomalies, track user actions, and ensure compliance with security policies.

#8. Understand and Mitigate Misconfigurations

One of the most necessary practices to improve cloud security is to regularly review and correct configuration settings in your cloud environment. Misconfigurations can create vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit, so make sure your system configurations are on-point. 

Automated tools can help detect and fix misconfigurations. They assist in reducing the risk of human error and enhancing the security of your cloud infrastructure by maintaining optimal configuration standards.

#9. Manage Unnecessary and Unauthorized Access

Last but not the least, implement strict access controls and regularly review user permissions. When you limit the access to only those who need it, it reduces the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data. 

Access management includes using role-based access control (RBAC) and the principle of least privilege. This ensures that users have the minimum necessary permissions to perform their tasks, thereby minimizing security risks.

Also Read: How to Implement AI-Powered Fraud Detection in Financial Services

Conclusion

It is important to secure your cloud environment to keep your data safe and maintain trust. When you understand your responsibilities, ask all the right questions, train your staff, and use effective security tools, you can reduce any potential risks and keep your information safe. If you don’t know how to keep your cloud security top-notch, just read the best practices again and you’ll know what to do.

Are you tired of writing text from images into Word files using a keyboard? What a difficult and tricky task it is! Do you ever wonder if there is an AI tool that can make this task easier for you? Yes, there are many image to word converters that can do this tricky task in no time.

The image to word converters utilize OCR technology to perform their specific task. These tools integrate AI with their basic technology to further enhance their efficiency and accuracy. AI is now advancing day by day. The machine learning and natural language processing algorithms of AI have greatly enhanced the efficiency of these image to word converters. Let’s have a deep look into it.

Also Read: How to Train an AI Model with Simple Learning Algorithms

What is an AI image to Word Converters?

AI image to word converters are advanced OCR tools. These tools use artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze and read text data from images. Then they convert it into machine readable text and give output in the form of a Word document. These tools are more advanced than simple OCR tools. 

AI image to word converters use deep learning to process large amounts of data quickly and efficiently. Also, the AI enhances the accuracy of OCR tools to a great extent. This helps them convert images with low resolution or difficult writing into Word documents.

These tools can also efficiently convert handwritten notes and documents into Word documents with greater accuracy. This makes them useful for tasks like adding captions to images, making websites accessible for people who are blind or have low vision, and extracting text from scanned documents.

Difficulties in Converting an Image to a Word Document

Converting an image to a Word document using OCR software can be difficult due to a variety of factors. Some common issues are:

The conversion process can be difficult due to issues such as low-resolution images, handwritten text, complex layouts, and language barriers.

Visual obstacles and handwritten or cursive text can make the OCR process harder.

Recognizing and transcribing multilingual text images can be hard for OCR tools. 

OCR software may not be able to correctly recognize text if the images are not organized or are too complicated, or if there is noise or clutter in the background. For the best conversion, the area must be clear, well-lit, and free of any marks.

Some Best AI Tools to Convert Images into Editable Word Documents

There are plenty of online image to word converters but only a few of them have integrated AI with them. Here, I will tell you about some of the best AI image to word converters. 

1. JPG To Word By HiPDF

HiPDF is the best free AI tool to convert jpg to Word files. It produces high-quality results and is easy to use. It can be used on every browser, including mobile and iPhone. The tool converts JPG files to Word files using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. 

The files you upload to HiPDF are safe because they are deleted from the database after 60 minutes. This means that no one else can get to them without your permission. The user-friendly layout makes it easy for everyone to convert their files, even those who aren’t very good with technology.

Pros:

Access can be gained through various means.

Very good user experience

Comments and annotations are kept.

Cons:

Only paid subscribers can use the HiPDF JPG to Word translator.

Prices:

2. Image to Word Converter By jpgtotext

This tool is an efficient image to word converter. It uses advanced AI algorithms, including machine learning and natural language processing. This allows it to accurately convert JPG images into editable Word documents. Users only need to upload their JPG files, and the converter will quickly look at the text and images to make a Word file that can be edited by anyone. This tool makes it very easy and quick to turn scanned documents or pictures into text that can be changed and edited in Microsoft Word.

Pros:

It works on many devices, like desktops, phones, and tablets.

 It can get text out of images, even ones with low resolution.

It is useful, especially  for students and businesses 

COns:

Their website does not clearly mention their privacy and security practices.

Prices:

3. Microsoft OneNote

OneNote is a good option to consider if you are already using Microsoft and are looking for a free alternative. The text contained within images can be recognized by this note-taking app, which can be accessed with a Microsoft account, and it can convert the text directly within the app itself. After the text has been converted, it can be easily exported to a Word document, at which point it can undergo additional editing and formatting. 

Pros

Completely free with a Microsoft account.

User-friendly interface for capturing images and extracting text.

It works well with other Microsoft Office programs.

Cons

It is possible that OCR will not be as accurate as full-on OCR tools.

Editing options are limited compared to a full-fledged word processor.

Prices

If you have a Microsoft account, it is completely free to use.

Benefits of AI Powered Image to Text Converters

Image to word AI converters have many advantages. These tools can greatly enhance the speed and usability of work in many fields. Here are some key advantages:

Increased Efficiency

The AI image to text converters make it easier to extract data from pictures, which saves time and effort. They can also speed up the scanning of paper documents like business cards, receipts, and writing notes. It makes it easier to handle and organise documents. A lot of tools also allow batch processing, so you can convert multiple files into.

Improved Accuracy

AI powered OCR tools can correctly extract text. It makes it less likely to do mistakes as compared to writing by hand, especially for important documents. It can also read different kinds of text, tables, and complicated patterns better than simple OCR tools.

Enhanced Accessibility

The text can be turned into speech or Braille for people who are blind or have low vision. There are many tools that can translate the extracted text into different languages. This helps people from different countries share information and talk to each other.

Also Read: Can We Learn Generative AI Without Knowing Machine Learning and Deep Learning?

Conclusion

When compared to conventional OCR tools, image-to-word converters that are powered by artificial intelligence offer a significant improvement. These artificial intelligence tools are able to achieve greater accuracy and efficiency in the process of converting images into editable Word documents since they make use of machine learning and natural language processing. This technology provides a wide range of advantages, some of which include increased productivity, improved accuracy, and enhanced accessibility. AI is always getting better, which means that image to word conversion will soon be even more useful for many tasks.

The Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) is a secure file transfer protocol used to transfer files between Linux machines. SCP uses SSH (Secure Shell) protocol to securely transfer files and authenticate users. In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to use the SCP command on Linux.

Also Read: How to Copy Files from Pods to Local Machine using kubectl cp?

What is SCP?

SCP is a secure file transfer protocol that allows users to transfer files between Linux machines securely. SCP uses SSH protocol to authenticate users and transfer files, making it a secure alternative to FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

Syntax of SCP Command

The basic syntax of the SCP command is:

scp [options] source_file user@remote_host:destination_file

Copying Files from Local to Remote

To copy a file from a local machine to a remote server using SCP, follow these steps:

Open a terminal on your local machine.

Use the SCP command to copy the file:

scp file.txt user@remote_host:/remote/path/

Copying Files from Remote to Local

To copy a file from a remote server to a local machine using SCP, follow these steps:

Open a terminal on your local machine.

Use the SCP command to copy the file:

scp user@remote_host:/remote/path/file.txt /local/path/

Copying Directories

To copy an entire directory from a local machine to a remote server using SCP, follow these steps:

Open a terminal on your local machine.

Use the SCP command to copy the directory:

scp -r local_directory user@remote_host:/remote/path/

Using SCP with SSH Keys

To use SCP with SSH keys for authentication, follow these steps:

Generate SSH keys on your local machine.

Copy the public key to the remote server.

Use the SCP command with the SSH key:

scp -i ssh_key file.txt user@remote_host:/remote/path/

Verifying File Integrity

To verify the integrity of copied files using checksums, follow these steps:

Generate a checksum of the file on the local machine.

Copy the file using SCP.

Generate a checksum of the file on the remote server.

Compare the checksums to ensure file integrity.

SCP Transfer Speed Optimization

To optimize SCP transfer speed, follow these tips:

Use the -C option to enable compression.

Use the -l option to limit the transfer speed.

Use the -p option to preserve file permissions.

Common SCP Error Messages

Here are some common SCP error messages and how to troubleshoot them:

“Permission denied”: Check file permissions and SSH key authentication.

“Connection timed out”: Check network connectivity and transfer speed.

Also Read: Kairos: Empowering On-Premises Environments with Cloud-Native Meta-Linux Distribution

Conclusion

In this article, we have provided a comprehensive guide on how to use the SCP command on Linux. SCP is a secure file transfer protocol that allows users to transfer files between Linux machines securely. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can securely transfer files, and directories, and optimize transfer speed.

FAQs

1. What is SCP?

SCP is a secure file transfer protocol used to transfer files between Linux machines.

2. How do I use SCP?

Use the SCP command with the basic syntax: scp [options] source_file user@remote_host:destination_file

3. How do I copy directories using SCP?

Use the -r option to copy entire directories recursively.

4. How do I use SCP with SSH keys?

Generate SSH keys, copy the public key to the remote server, and use the -i option with the SCP command.

5. How do I verify file integrity using SCP?

Generate checksums of the file on the local and remote machines and compare them to ensure file integrity.

Building a quality pipeline right now is a challenge, and Google isn’t making it any easier.

Changes in how traffic and leads are coming to your site have probably shifted, yet lead generation is still a top priority.

It’s critical to start by understanding that the customer journey has never been more important. Also, be aware that the final stages are where the most failures happen, such as not having your CRM and sales team ready before a campaign launch.

In a recent webinar, Brent Csutoras and I talked about the shifts that need to happen at an organizational level, not just within your marketing department.

Keep reading for a takeaway of the nine insights we took from the webinar, and watch a full on-demand version here.

9 Tips For Successful Lead Generation
1. The Customer Journey Has Never Been More Important

Understanding customer journeys is crucial for successful lead generation.

Brent and I highlighted the shift in how users navigate online, emphasizing the need for content that addresses pain points throughout the funnel. Quality content that solves problems and adds value at every stage is the key to engaging and converting users effectively.

2. Generating Quality Leads Takes Quality Content, Which Takes Research, Testing, And Budget

Creating content that converts begins with thorough audience and market research.

Regular testing, optimization, and diverse formats like blogs, videos, and emails ensure you can reach potential customers via a media channel that appeals to them. It’s not going to be free, so make sure you allocate a content budget when talking to leadership.

3. The Channels Are Working Fine. It’s Your Content And Execution That Are Not Working

Tried-and-true channels still work. It’s just that too many marketers focus on only the bottom of the funnel because it’s easy to track and attribute.

While some leads will convert from a single content piece, you must prepare for those who require more nurturing before they convert. Considering most of the content you create should be top- and mid-funnel, spend time matching the channel with intent.

These are just a couple of examples of channels that work. Watch the on-demand for more ideas.

Email marketing remains a powerful tool for lead generation, especially when focusing on segmentation and personalization.
Leveraging internal experts and influencers can build trust and credibility with your audience.

Here’s a snapshot of the channels we used to drive leads for this webinar:

4. “Sweat The Assets!” Meaning Use One To Make Many

Maximizing the value of each piece of content is essential for scaling your efforts. Repurpose and tailor content for different platforms and audiences to ensure it serves multiple purposes.

It’s also important to budget for both content creation and promotion, recognizing that quality content requires investment.

5. You Should Expect To Pay Quality Money For Quality Leads

Investing in quality resources for lead generation may mean higher costs, but it can lead to higher quality leads and lower overall Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC). Consider all costs, including advertising and human resources. Optimization and continuous assessment are crucial for optimizing budget spend.

Plus, low-quality leads take your valuable sales resources who could have been working on legit leads. A good lead-scoring strategy can help reduce resource drain.

6. The Key Is An Always-On, Full-Funnel Strategy

A common mistake is relying on a single piece of bottom-funnel content for all stages of the buyer’s journey. Brands must engage their audience consistently from awareness to consideration, conversion, and retention to build loyalty and keep the cycle running.

7. Know What Efforts Are Working For Your Goals

Continuous evaluation is key to understanding the effectiveness of your lead generation strategies. However, with these shifts in customer demand and creating more top-of-the-funnel content, engagement is one of the most important metrics you can track to tell you if your content is resonating.

Catch the on-demand webinar to hear more about metrics we think are important to track.

8. Outside Vendors Impact Your Lead Gen Success

Leveraging external resources can enhance your lead generation efforts, especially if you’re a lean team. Treat vendors as team extensions, sharing goals and KPIs. Listen to their audience insights. Most importantly, ask if they offer real-time lead delivery to keep leads fresh and your brand top of mind.

9. The Most Important Piece: No Follow-Up = No Leads

Don’t overlook what happens when a lead enters your system. Ensure your customer relationship management (CRM)/customer data platform (CDP)/marketing tech is ready. Set up lead scoring, automation, and dashboards. Prepare your sales teams to smoothly handle new leads, reducing launch day stress for everyone.

It’s All About Building A Customer-Centric Experience

The bottom line is that the way customers want to interact with brands has changed. These strategies outlined above aren’t new. We learned about them in Marketing 101, but they’ve been pushed aside for product-focused marketing over the years.

Customers are really looking for brands who get them, and provide a solution to their pain. Then, they’ll repay you with loyalty.

So, ask yourself – “How is the quality of my leads?” Then, assess how much-focused effort you are putting into their journey.

Discover How You Can Supercharge Your Lead Generation Efforts

As a publisher, we serve as an agency to our advertisers (those looking to reach marketers and SEO professionals). That means we’re marketing to marketers – some of the smartest out there –and that’s you!

And what we’re doing to drive quality leads is working.

Whether you’re an expert or just getting started, Brent Csutoras and I put this webinar together for you. It’s full of functional takeaways that even the savviest marketers tend to forget, or worse, that leadership doesn’t see the value in.

This on-demand webinar has insights that we’ve been taking note of for years, and so should you. You can use this for strategy and to sway others in your organization to change the way you think about – and drive – leads.

Trust us, you don’t want to miss this!

Watch now.

Featured Image: Olivier Le Moal/Shutterstock

By Jesse Kennedy June 20, 2024

Rather listen or watch? You’ve got it! 

Email design is critical to an effective email marketing strategy. While the actual information you communicate is important, design elements are just as crucial.

After all, studies show that 90% of the information transmitted to our brains is visual.

So, by incorporating email design best practices, you can leave a lasting impression on subscribers, help them remember and trust your brand, and drive more conversions.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be a professional designer to create beautiful emails!

In fact, in this article, we’ll cover all the most important email marketing design best practices that anyone can apply, regardless of skill level. 

At the end, we’ll show you a few email design tools to help you start sending gorgeous emails in no time.

Why is email marketing design important?

Email marketing design goes beyond the mere aesthetics of your messages. In fact, design plays a crucial role in how recipients perceive your brand identity.

By giving your email design the attention it deserves, you can help build trust with recipients, get them to engage more, and even drive more conversions.

So, let’s take a look at some of the key reasons you should incorporate email design best practices into your marketing strategy.

1. Create a good first impression

If you’ve put in the effort to get users to sign up for your email list, then it’s key to make a good first impression!

WIth good email design, you can capture recipient’s attention and set a positive tone for their interaction with your brand.

A professional-looking design establishes trust from the outset, ensuring recipients feel like they’re getting the value you promised when they signed up for your list.

2. Drive more conversions

By establishing trust with effective email design, recipients will also be more likely to convert into customers.

So, with the right email design, you can help guide your audience towards the action you want them to take, whether that be making a purchase or downloading a resource.

3. Improve readability and engagement

Incorporating email design best practices is also key for improving the readability of your messages. 

For example, the use of subheadings and bullet points, along with visual elements, like images, can help make your emails more engaging.

A report by Litmus found that people spent an average of just nine seconds looking at an email. So, it’s key that those who open your emails are able to understand the information quickly and easily.

Remember, the easier your emails are to read, the more recipients will be engaged. When recipients are more engaged, they’ll be more likely to convert. 

4. Build recognition with a consistent brand image

One more key reason email marketing design is important is that it can help you build a consistent brand identity.

This is crucial to developing both trust and recognition amongst your recipients.

According to an Edelman report, 59% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand they trust, regardless of the price. Likewise, 67% are more likely to advocate and stay loyal to a brand they trust.

So, to create loyal customers, it’s critical to build a recognizable and reliable brand image. By incorporating email design best practices into your marketing, you can achieve this.

11 Email marketing design best practices

Now that you have a better understanding of why design is so important, let’s look at some email marketing design best practices.

By incorporating these tips into your emails, you’ll be able to send emails that create a recognizable brand identity, build trust with recipients, and improve engagement.

1. Pick the right email design layout

The right email layout can make the difference between a subscriber who takes an action and one who unsubscribes. 

Attention spans are getting shorter, so understanding how people read your emails will help you craft more effective messages.

Knowing where their eyes are likely to go can make your email more readable. Better yet, it can help the reader navigate towards your call to action. 

So, let’s explore a few types of email design layouts to help you do that.

Z-Pattern

The Z-Pattern traces the path of your eyes when reading: left to right; top to bottom.

People will read the first line across, then down and to the left, and back across the right again. When reading in this pattern, it forms a Z-shape.

This email design layout works best when you have a lot of information to communicate. The structure will help your subscribers consume all the information in an easy and logical way.

You’ll often see this type of email follow a pattern where you start with a headline and text on the top left, with an image to the right. Then, the lower left corner will have another image, and across from that will be text. 

This works because:

1. Readers’ eyes are naturally drawn to images. By having the images diagonal from each other, you help subscribers follow an easy-to-read path.

2. It creates a cleaner layout by not having all your text on one side of the email.

Inverted Pyramid

The inverted pyramid is a format used for news stories, but it also works well for emails. This structure grabs attention and focuses on the most important parts of your message. 

It’s good for when you have one thing to tell your readers, and a specific call to action you want them to click on. 

You can use this layout for:

Driving subscribers to your website to read an article

Collecting sign-ups for an event

Encouraging subscribes to purchase a product or service

F-Pattern

Finally, the Nielsen Norman Group first identified the F-Pattern after studying how people’s eyes read a website.

Similar to the Z-Pattern, a reader consumes content from left to right, and then back to the left. However, instead of reading across the second line, they read less. This pattern continues as readers make their way down the email.

This means you should put your most important, attention-grabbing information at the top of your email. 

Then, assume your subscriber is going to skim the rest of your email. Use less text further down in the email, and balance the copy with images on the right.

This email design layout works well when you have a lot of information to communicate. 

You should structure your email with the most important information at the top, and then use bullet points and shorter content further down the email. 

Finally, close with a call to action.

2. Choose the right colors

Select colors that reflect your logo and brand. However, be sure there’s enough contrast for easy reading. Remember, clarity is key!

Text that doesn’t have enough contrast against its background is hard to read.

It’s also a best email marketing design practice to incorporate color psychology. To choose complementary colors, check out this chart about the emotional impacts of different colors.

Free color palette tools like Coolors can also help you create a professional-grade palette in minutes.

Ultimately, this will ensure your emails are better aligned with your brand identity.

3. Leave some breathing room

Densely packed emails may be hard to read. This is especially true on mobile devices, where 49.7 percent of all email opens occur.

Most people scan emails rather than reading them word by word. So, having ample white space between elements makes your emails easier to scan. Essentially, it keeps them from looking visually overwhelming. 

Leaving extra white space has an additional benefit as well: it challenges you to keep your message brief and to only include the relevant details. 

Remember, brevity and clarity are critical to effective email design.

Here’s a great example from TrueCar.

4. Use text as a design element 

Formatting your emails for skimmers and scanners also helps. The most common formatting elements are: 

Subheadings

Short paragraphs

Bullet points

Bolded phrases 

Using visual cues like these will make the most important points of your email easy to find.

Look at this example from Jon Persson of CultMethod. He bolds important elements within the body of his email, while breaking up the copy with bullet points and perfectly-placed headlines. 

Most importantly, each paragraph is short and easy to read.

5. Balance text with images

You should also consider breaking up large chunks of text with visual images. Readers prefer short blurbs of information. So, try incorporating images and lines when possible.

Images help tell the story of what you want to communicate to your subscribers

Just be sure not to overdo it! Instead, follow the 60/40 rule: images should take up no more than 40% of your email.

6. Plan for missing images

Nearly all email services give subscribers the option to hide images. In fact, some even disable images automatically, forcing the user to click a link or press a button to “turn on” images. 

For example, here is how an email with a large hero image appears in Outlook:

Since many popular email platforms block images, you should make sure your email is still readable—and your call-to-action is still clickable—when images are turned off.

Rather than using image-based buttons that hide your CTA when images are turned off, try using a “bulletproof button” instead. This technique combines a background color with a regular text link, providing the illusion of a button that users can see when images are on or off.

Most email marketing services, like AWeber, allow you to easily create bulletproof buttons within your email design layout. 

If the images you’re using are an important part of your emails, make sure you add alt text to the image. This is text that describes what the image is about. 

If you’ve ever laid out webpages or worked with WordPress, you may have added alt text to images before.

When you include alt text, subscribers can still understand what you intended to show them, even if they block images.

7. Pick the right typography

As we’ve mentioned already, making your email easy to read is critical, and your typography is a huge part of this.

So, be sure the font you use in your subheadings and body copy are comfortably readable. Common email fonts include Arial or Helvetica, but you’re not limited to these.

Additionally, ensure you’re using a large enough font size. After all, you don’t want your recipients squinting to try to read your email. For example:

This font size is a 12px, and it can be difficult for people to read

This font size is 16px, which is large enough for most of your subscribers to read without zooming in.

8. Use clear links and buttons

You’ll likely include at least one or two links and buttons in your email marketing design. However, it’s important to make sure it’s clear where all of your links lead to.

For example, instead of writing phrases like “click here”, try using more specific labels.

Something like “buy now” or “get your demo” tell the reader exactly what will happen when they click on your link or button.

For example, in this email from Capital One, their button clearly communicates that when you click it, you’ll be able to view the details of their checking account offer.

9. Attract readers’ eyes

We already mentioned that you’ll want to include some visual elements, like images, in your email design. 

However, it can also be a good idea to add in some creative elements, like a GIF, to really grab your readers’ attention.

If you do opt to include a GIF, just be sure it enhances your message and doesn’t distract from what you want to communicate.

Ultimately, though, small creative touches like this can be a great way to grab attention and engage recipients.

10. Include a call to action

If you’re taking the time to build and send an email to your list, it’s key that you direct your subscribers to take some sort of action when they read it.

Calls to action can include anything from:

Encouraging subscribers to buy your product or service

Directing recipients to download a free resource

Getting recipients to sign up for an event or webinar

Ultimately, you want to engage your subscribers so they take the action you want them to take.

So, be sure to include a CTA that clearly communicates the value it can provide recipients, and make sure it stands out.

11. Send a test email

One more critical email marketing design best practice is to test your email before sending it out to your entire list. This will help you ensure there are no formatting errors in your design.

After all, you don’t want to put in all the effort to design your email only to realize it doesn’t look right in subscribers’ email inboxes.

So, be sure to send a test email to your own inbox first. 

Once you’re positive that it looks the way you want it to, then you can send it out to your entire list.

Email design tools to create beautiful emails

You don’t need to start from scratch to create beautiful emails. In fact, there are tons of email marketing tools that make design a breeze.

So, here are several email marketing design tools to help you get started.

1. Canva

Canva is a free graphic design tool that allows you to create and edit any kind of image. 

Better yet, AWeber has a fully-integrated Canva drag-and-drop button. This means you can create your images in Canva and drag them directly into your AWeber email.

2. Email templates

Sometimes simply getting started is the hardest part of sending an email. This is where an email template can come in handy. 

When you find the right template, most of the work is done for you. All you need to do is customize it to fit your brand by adding your logo and updating the colors. Then you’re ready to go!

AWeber has hundreds of email marketing and newsletter templates ready for you to customize for your messages. These can save you hours of time every week and let you skip most of the heavy lifting of designing your own emails. 

Here are just a few of the templates available. Each template also has at least three color palettes to choose from.

3. Try an email builder

Finally, online tools like Stripo, BeeFree, and Dyspatch also have templates and drag and drop email design editors. They’re similar to what you’ll find in your email marketing provider’s account, but some email designers prefer these tools. 

You can design an email in any of these tools and then import it into your email provider. 

Engage your subscribers with email marketing design best practices

If you’re not a pro designer, building a professional-looking email may seem a bit intimidating. 

However, by incorporating the email marketing design best practices above, you can start creating beautiful emails in no time.

Remember, good email design is critical to building trust, driving conversions, and establishing your brand identity. So, it’s key that you give your design the attention it needs to be effective.

Of course, if you want a custom-designed email or newsletter, we can help with that, too! AWeber offers both custom email templates and landing page designs. 

Full custom designs are $229, or a modification of an existing template is $29. Click here to learn more about our custom design services.

Before this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference, which Apple conducted earlier this week, AI meant artificial intelligence to most consumers. In classic Apple-esque fashion, we now know the Cupertino-based company wants to redefine AI as “Apple Intelligence.”

Apple has consistently demonstrated its prowess in effectively communicating complex technologies to laypeople. At WWDC, the company clearly articulated how it will incorporate these latest developments in artificial intelligence into its software on a platform-wide basis.

Some consumers have been skeptical about using artificial intelligence beyond the much-hyped tasks of creating a dinner party menu, for example. For those users, and it’s not a trivial audience from a size standpoint, those use cases are not innovations that will change the world.

Now, things get a lot more interesting when an Apple Intelligence-infused Siri can search across apps, emails, and text messages to retrieve information saved somewhere you can’t remember or to check the status of a flight. For instance, Siri will cross-reference flight details from an email with real-time updates from the web, highlighting a practical application of artificial intelligence.

More Steak, Less Sizzle

Competitors had already revealed a few new features; during its developer conference last month, Google debuted a photo search functionality strikingly similar to what Apple unveiled at its keynote. Nevertheless, the show served as a helpful reminder of the iPhone maker’s significant advantage over rival tech firms when showcasing cutting-edge technology on its own gear.

Viewed through this prism, Apple Intelligence suddenly materializes in a way it hasn’t until now. In stark contrast, Sundar Pichai’s recent Google I/O presentation came across as dramatically more technical than intended for the general audience.

The big question is how much of what Apple showed will result in increased consumer spending, and we won’t get an answer until the iPhone 16 expected announcement in September. Legacy iPhone users must upgrade to an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max to use its new AI-powered capabilities. However, AI will also be available on newer Macs and iPads that utilize Apple Silicon.

AI Boost to Soft iPhone Sales?

Given that iPhone sales decreased in the previous fiscal year and the first half of this one, any influence on those sales would be significant. However, there’s no guarantee that these enhancements will convince the typical consumer, who may not want to spend over $1,000 for the newest premium phone — either in full upfront or over three years, as most mobile plans currently permit — and may not pay attention to tech news.

More importantly, it’s still an open question whether these features function as well in real life as they did in the demos at WWDC. To Apple’s credit, the online demos given during the WWDC keynote were compelling and intuitive, an Apple trademark. Still, consumers are notoriously finicky, and this remains an open question.

Moreover, as I’ve suggested during my podcasts, Apple has all the resources necessary to swiftly replicate a Microsoft Copilot-like framework across all its device operating systems. Sequoia (the forthcoming upgrade to macOS), iOS 18, and iPadOS 18 will perfectly position Apple to amplify the benefits of its vaunted ecosystem.

It’s also notable that Apple’s ability to offer a large selection of developer tools that utilize Apple Intelligence capabilities will add a powerful AI dimension to the Apple App Store.

App Intents is an intriguing addition to Shortcuts, which enables AI agent capabilities so developers may provide their consumers with generative AI-based automation. Along with the Matter initiative, this capability will turbocharge smart home applications, which have been a morass of multiple applications and tedious setups.

Privacy, Privacy, More Privacy

As anticipated, Apple prioritized privacy as the bedrock of Apple Intelligence. The additional functions and features appear to operate on-device (iPhone 15 and Apple Silicon iPads and Macs).

On the other hand, the company unveiled “Private Cloud Compute,” which enables Apple Intelligence to be “scaled” to servers using Apple Silicon. Apple proudly talked about how Apple Intelligence gets smarter by understanding user habits and preferences, but it keeps this information private. Most of the intelligence happens right on your device.

Still, Apple will use a unique cloud system that protects your privacy even when using extra processing power for super complex tasks. That’s a big commitment, and Apple didn’t provide specific details.

Though some publications claim that OpenAI’s generative toolkit is the basis of Apple Intelligence, whether gen AI models or services underpin the system is still unclear. Since OpenAI is mentioned as a partner on the “world model” rather than as a primary “supplier” of Apple Intelligence (much to Elon Musk’s chagrin), it appears that these models may be Apple-only.

Demos indicate that ChatGPT will be available for free and most likely under the same conditions of use, with roomier integration in Apple operating systems and apps. Apple appears to be approaching this like a plug-in version, similar to GPT-4o’s introduction of a macOS application.

The company’s refreshing emphasis on privacy appears to confirm that the incremental cost of supporting these features of Apple Intelligence is more important than profitability. Apple did not mention whether Apple Intelligence fees were covered by iCloud membership income or transferred to individual devices. If this is true, it’s a new business model issue that will impact many third-party AI providers outside of Apple.

Final Thoughts

It is unclear how the Apple Intelligence architecture maintains privacy and security while enabling contextual continuity across devices. However, this goes directly to Apple’s bifurcated strategy for executing a personalized and external AI experience.

We need to know more about how Apple will manage all of this, but it’s unquestionably a strategy that will differentiate Apple from the likes of Microsoft and Google.

Apple’s substantial smartphone market share significantly bolsters its ability to execute its Apple Intelligence capability. With a vast and loyal user base, Apple can gather extensive data to refine and enhance its AI algorithms, ensuring more personalized and efficient user experiences.

The widespread adoption of iPhones provides a robust platform for seamlessly integrating AI features across devices, fostering a cohesive ecosystem. This market dominance also attracts top talent and encourages substantial investment in AI research and development, further propelling Apple’s advancements in artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence has promised magic; instead, it is frequently imperfect and primarily valuable for a small number of tasks. It’s hard to blame most consumers for being skeptical. A recent study indicates that less than 10% of Americans use ChatGPT daily.

OpenAI announced a chattier version of its chatbot earlier in the year, but it didn’t have most of the features the company discussed. In addition, Google scaled back its AI image generator and the AI-powered search results after high-profile flubs this year. Amazon showed an error-prone AI-upgraded Alexa last year that is yet to be released. Those miscues aren’t Apple’s fault, and the company is usually wary of releasing products before they’re polished.

However, Apple and other companies are under tremendous pressure to show their AI expertise to investors, employees, and business partners. Skeptics might question whether AI is really targeted at consumers or if it’s mostly a corporate self-interest play.

Putting all this aside, I tend to be an optimist, and I eagerly await how this pans out. I will be an early beta tester of everything announced at WWDC24 and will focus on assessing its usefulness, intuitiveness, and privacy protections. Stay tuned.

The future of SEO is trending toward a more human-first and user-centric approach, powered by AI intelligence and collaboration. Are you ready?

Watch this on-demand webinar as we explore which SEO trends to prioritize to achieve sustainable growth and deliver reliable results. We dove into best practices to adapt your strategy around industry-wide disruptions like SGE, how to navigate the top challenges SEO professionals are facing, and proven tactics for prioritizing quality and building trust.

You’ll hear:

The top SEO trends to prioritize in 2024 to achieve long-term success.
Predictions for SGE’s impact, and how to adapt.
What E-E-A-T really means, and how to implement it holistically (hint: it’s never been more important).

With Zack Kadish and Alex Carchietta, we showed off which SEO trends to ignore and which to focus on, along with the solution to overcoming rapid, significant and disruptive Google algorithm updates.

If you’re looking to cut through the noise of constant SEO and content trends to drive success, you won’t want to miss this webinar. Check it out on-demand right now.

View the slides below, or watch the full webinar for all the details.

By Pam Neely June 21, 2024

Have you noticed a significant number of your email list subscribers are no longer interacting with your content or following your calls to action? Then it may be time to start a re-engagement email campaign!

This can be a super effective email marketing strategy for winning back inactive subscribers. 

After all, one study indicates that the average email list decay rate, which is the percentage of subscribers who become inactive, is between 22% and 30% per year.

This means that, unless you’re cleaning your email list regularly, you’re likely sending a lot of messages into the void, never to be seen again.

However, with re-engagement emails, you can start winning back some of those inactive subscribers. To be successful, though, you’ll need to keep some best practices in mind.

So, in this article, we’ll explore how to write win-back emails. We’ll also provide examples of some effective re-engagement email campaign strategies, from one-off surveys and free resources to entire email sequences.

What is a re-engagement email?

A re-engagement email, also called a “win-back email”, is a message you send to subscribers who have become inactive. 

These emails aim to rekindle the interest of people who have not made a purchase or interacted with your brand for a while.

Re-engagement email campaigns are a great strategy for sparking the interest of inactive subscribers before removing them from your mailing list. After all, emailing unresponsive subscribers with messages isn’t helping them or your business.

Before saying goodbye, however, a win-back email offers one final opportunity to reconnect and rebuild your customer relationship.

Ultimately, your goal is to re-establish a connection with those who seem to have lost interest in your products, services, or content.

Here is an example re-engagement email from the newsletter pros at Marketing Brew. While the three-week inactivity timeline is pretty tight by most industry standards, they do a great job of ensuring their list is truly engaged with their content.

This way, they keep their email list clean, and ensure most of their messages aren’t getting lost in recipients’ spam folders.

How effective are re-engagement emails?

While re-engagement email campaigns are a great way to win back subscribers, you can’t expect every inactive subscriber to become active again.

Most email win-back campaigns have a success rate of 14% up to 29% in the best-case scenario. 

Several email marketing studies have found that sending a series of emails may be more effective than sending just a single email. A re-engagement sequence of three emails appears to be the sweet spot. 

One recent study found that several different tactics will work, but no one tactic significantly outperformed the others.

Later on, we’ll discuss how each of the methods below work, as well as provide a few additional examples. We’ll also tell you how to set up an effective re-engagement email sequence.

Remember though, the method that works best for your business depends on the needs and interests of your unique audience.

How create a re-engagement email

The goal of your re-engagement email campaign is to get people interested in your emails again. 

So, every element of your email – the subject line, the content, and the call-to-action – needs to support that goal.

Re-Engagement email subject lines

For re-engagement email subject lines, the best ones specifically reference your goal: to win back your subscribers!

Here is an example of an email from Tomasz Borys at Kissmetrics:

You can also take a more personal approach, like this email from Threadless:

Both subject lines work well. However, they each grab the reader’s attention in different ways.

A simple “We miss you!” lets the subscriber know that you appreciate their readership. It also feels more conversational. 

On the flip side, “Do you still want updates from us?” is direct and inquisitive. It tells the subscriber that you care about their time and want to make sure they get something out of the relationship.

For more inspiration, consider reviewing your past emails to see what’s working for your specific audience. Look for common themes like subject line length and tone to see what tends to work best for your target audience.

You can also try using personalization, like including your subscribers’ first names in the subject line. It’s no secret that personalization helps you connect with your subscribers and stand out a little more in the inbox. 

For example, the email from Threadless could have gone one step further by saying, “We miss you, Sam!”

Since these details depend on what your audience responds to, try testing different variations and find that sweet spot.

Re-engagement email content

Most re-engagement emails’ content is short – generally just two or three paragraphs. All you need to do is to make the purpose of your email clear: “Do you still want to get emails from us?”

Then, you might consider explaining the value your emails provide. 

Remember, these are people who signed up to receive messages from you but at some point stopped reading. 

They wanted to hear from you before, so how can you get them re-interested in what you have to say? 

Ask yourself a few questions:

What did my subscribers sign up to receive originally?

Am I continuing to send them content based on their original expectations?

Did I change anything in my email strategy that might have caused them to stop engaging with my content?

What can I offer to pique their interest again?

Once you have those answers in mind, it’s time to start writing your email.

Here’s an example of a re-engagement email we sent to our inactive blog newsletter subscribers:

The format is simple, and it makes a good template for any re-engagement email:

You haven’t opened any emails from us in a while

We want to make sure you’re still interested

Click this button to stay on the list

Here’s what you can expect if you remain on the list

That’s all you have to say in a re-engagement email–just one sentence and a few bullet points. After all, the shorter your email is, the more likely people are to read it and click the button.

Getting inactive subscribers up to speed might also help get them re-interested in your content. So, consider adding a short bulleted list of your recent “greatest hits,” such as:

Products

Content

Promotions

Re-engagement email incentives

Speaking of promotions, offering an incentive, like a white paper or coupon code, might also help you re-engage subscribers. 

If you hooked them onto your list with a piece of content in the past, consider how you might be able to repeat that success during your re-engagement email campaign.

Check out this example from Paperworks, a stationary and premium paper provider:

Offering a special discount is a great way to get subscribers interested in your emails again. 

Not only are you giving your subscribers something in exchange for their time and attention, but you might even get another sale out of it as well.

Re-engagement email feedback

To help you learn more about why subscribers grew disinterested in your content, asking them for specific feedback could help fill in the gaps. For example:

Was there something you could have done better for these subscribers? 

What made them stop engaging in the first place?

Asking these questions directly can help you figure out exactly where you can improve your email marketing strategy.

Additionally, if you make a subscriber feel like their opinion is truly valued, they may want to stick around. Plus, this will give you valuable insight into their needs that you wouldn’t get anywhere else.

As you get feedback and notice common themes, you can implement their suggestions in the future.

Re-engagement email call to action

The whole point of your email is to prompt subscribers to take an action, so make sure your emails have a call to action that is bold and clear.

Generally, you’ll want to limit yourself to one call to action in order to increase your click-through rate. However, there are exceptions to this rule.

Ultimately, your CTA should make it easy for recipients to:

Stay on or opt out of your list

Learn more about a product or service

Download an incentive

For example, check out this email and CTA from Grammarly:

While having one call to action is the classic approach, some re-engagement emails examples also include an unsubscribe link. 

For instance, take a look at this email from a PEW, a non-profit organization:

Finally, some re-engagement emails even let subscribers choose to get emails less often, like the example below.

7 Re-engagement email examples

Now that you’ve got a good idea of what goes into an effective win-back email, let’s look at some re-engagement email examples.

The following ideas are great ways to get customers interested in your brand again.

1. Surveys

If your subscribers aren’t responding to what you’ve been sending, try asking them what they would like to get from you. After all, this can help you better understand your audience’s interests and preferences. 

For example, you might send a re-engagement email with the subject line “We miss you! Tell us how we can improve.” Then, for your call to action, include a link to a brief survey. Consider asking questions about:

Their favorite types of content

Products they’re interested in

How often they’d like to hear from you

Ultimately, this feedback can help guide your future email marketing campaigns, as well as show subscribers you value their opinions.

2. Coupons and discounts

If you’re in ecommerce, the classic way to win back inactive customers is to send them a juicy discount coupon. 

Consider making this a dollar off discount rather than a percent off discount. One study of win-back campaigns found that dollar off discounts activated more subscribers.

For instance, you could send an email with the subject line “We miss you! Here’s $10 off your next purchase.” 

Then, in the content of your email, be sure to include your discount code and a call to action directing subscribers to your store.

You might also think about highlighting new or popular products to entice them even more.

3. New products and services announcements

Announcements are ideal emails to send out if you haven’t mailed to your list in a few months. They’re a great opportunity to let recipients know about new products or services you’re offering.

For example, consider sending a re-engagement email with the subject line “Check out our new arrivals!” 

Then, in your email content, be sure to showcase your latest and greatest products with high-quality images, and include a CTA to your online store.

By showing off your most recent arrivals, you can recapture the interest of customers who’ve grown tired of your old line of products.

4. Free resources

Free resources are also excellent to send if you haven’t emailed your list in awhile. 

A high-value digital resource, like an ebook or a course, can be a great way to demonstrate that it’s worth their time to be on your list. 

For instance, consider using the re-engagement email subject line “Exclusive free ebook just for you!” and provide a link to the download.

You should also be sure to highlight the value recipients will gain from the resource, reinforcing the value they’ll get if they remain active subscribers.

5. Customer testimonials

You can use customer testimonials with other types of content mentioned above. For instance, share a few testimonials about a new service you have.

Think about using a subject line like “See what others are saying about our new service!” and include direct quotes from customers.

This strategy can be especially effective in combination with some of the others listed above. 

For example, including testimonials with a new service announcement or special discount can build trust and credibility while encouraging inactive subscribers to re-engage.

6. Limited time offers

Another great way to win back subscribers is by inducing a sense of urgency in your emails. 

For instance, you might offer a limited-time discount or promotion to encourage recipients to take action quickly.

Consider using a subject line like “Limited time offer! $10 off just for you,” and include a countdown timer or specific end-date.

By inducing a sense of urgency, you can get customers to take action quickly.

7. Resubscription Offers

 Re-subscription offers can be a great incentive to get subscribers interested in your product or service again.

For instance, you might use the re-engagement email subject line, “We want you back! Enjoy 30 days of free premium access.” 

Then, include a CTA to your sign-up page where customers can try out your platform again for a limited time for free.

If your product or service is delivering the value the customer desires, there’s a good chance they’ll stick around after the free trial is over.

Re-engagement email campaign sequences

All email lists are different, so what works best in one situation may not work so well in another. One message might do the trick, but you could be more effective by sending two or three emails to warm people up and get them re-activated.

Since these subscribers are already less engaged, aim to keep your campaign short. Send an email, wait a few days, and see who’s interacted with your content.

If they’ve clicked through to your content or stated they want to remain on your email list, then great! They can stay on your list and continue to get your awesome emails.

Here are two re-engagement email examples that were sent a few days apart.

This is the first one. Notice how short it is?

 And here’s the next one, sent two days later:

The sequence of emails above is concise, and also respectful. Ultimately, even if subscribers opt not to re-engage, it’s important to consider what they want.

This way, if they develop interest in your products or services at a later date, you haven’t burned any bridges.

Start winning back subscribers with a re-engagement email campaign

If you take the time to craft a re-engagement email campaign, there’s a good chance you can win back some subscribers.

However, if some recipients haven’t responded, it may be time to say goodbye. And that’s perfectly ok!

You’ve done what you can to win them back, but if they don’t want to receive your emails, it’s better to let them go. Not only will they appreciate a cleaner inbox, but it’ll also help boost your email deliverability. 

Ultimately, this will improve your email marketing in the long run.

Now, we know that sometimes it can be really hard to write your emails. That’s why we created our What to Write in Your Emails guide and course, complete with 45+ email templates. It will save you hours of work every month.

How do you plan on running a re-engagement campaign of your own? Leave a comment below to share your ideas. 

Or, if you already have an AWeber account, watch this video to see exactly how to create and send your own re-engagement emails!

Re-engagement email FAQs

When should you send a re-engagement email?

Many marketing experts recommend that you wait at least three to six months after a subscriber becomes inactive to send a re-engagement email.

However, the proper amount of time can depend on your specific audience.

For example, if your content is time-sensitive or encourages frequent interaction, one to two months may be a better timeline.

You may even consider starting a win-back email campaign during other times. 

For example, if you’re planning a major list cleanup, updating your product or service offerings, or notice declining engagement rates, you might want to consider sending re-engagement emails.

Ultimately, it’s key to think about the behavior and preferences of your unique subscribers, and align them with your business goals.

How many emails should you send in a re-engagement campaign?

As we mentioned earlier, there’s no perfect number of messages to send in a re-engagement email campaign. 

What works best for your business depends on the preferences of your specific audience.

While sending just one email may be best for some brands, other brands may want to design a sequence of two, three, or even four emails.

So, be sure to test out some different strategies with different segments of your audience. This will help you understand how you can best win back your subscribers.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Gary Illyes, Analyst at Google, highlights lesser-known aspects of the robots.txt file as it marks its 30th year.

The robots.txt file, a web crawling and indexing component, has been a mainstay of SEO practices since its inception.

Here’s one of the reasons why it remains useful.

Robust Error Handling

Illyes emphasized the file’s resilience to errors.

“robots.txt is virtually error free,” Illyes stated.

In his post, he explained that robots.txt parsers are designed to ignore most mistakes without compromising functionality.

This means the file will continue operating even if you accidentally include unrelated content or misspell directives.

He elaborated that parsers typically recognize and process key directives such as user-agent, allow, and disallow while overlooking unrecognized content.

Unexpected Feature: Line Commands

Illyes pointed out the presence of line comments in robots.txt files, a feature he found puzzling given the file’s error-tolerant nature.

He invited the SEO community to speculate on the reasons behind this inclusion.

Responses To Illyes’ Post

The SEO community’s response to Illyes’ post provides additional context on the practical implications of robots.txt’s error tolerance and the use of line comments.

Andrew C., Founder of Optimisey, highlighted the utility of line comments for internal communication, stating:

“When working on websites you can see a line comment as a note from the Dev about what they want that ‘disallow’ line in the file to do.”

Nima Jafari, an SEO Consultant, emphasized the value of comments in large-scale implementations.

He noted that for extensive robots.txt files, comments can “help developers and the SEO team by providing clues about other lines.”

Providing historical context, Lyndon NA, a digital marketer, compared robots.txt to HTML specifications and browsers.

He suggested that the file’s error tolerance was likely an intentional design choice, stating:

“Robots.txt parsers were made lax so that content might still be accessed (imagine if G had to ditch a site, because someone borked 1 bit of robots.txt?).”

Why SEJ Cares

Understanding the nuances of the robots.txt file can help you optimize sites better.

While the file’s error-tolerant nature is generally beneficial, it could potentially lead to overlooked issues if not managed carefully.

Read also: 8 Common Robots.txt Issues And How To Fix Them

What To Do With This Information

Review your robots.txt file: Ensure it contains only necessary directives and is free from potential errors or misconfigurations.
Be cautious with spelling: While parsers may ignore misspellings, this could result in unintended crawling behaviors.
Leverage line comments: Comments can be used to document your robots.txt file for future reference.

Featured Image: sutadism/Shutterstock

A new study by search industry expert Rand Fishkin has revealed that Google’s rollout of AI overviews in May led to a noticeable decrease in search volume, particularly on mobile devices.

The study, which analyzed millions of Google searches in the United States and European Union, sheds light on the unexpected consequences of AI integration.

AI Overviews Rollout & Reversal

In May 2024, Google rolled out AI overviews in the United States, which generate summaries for many search queries.

However, the feature was met with mixed reactions and was quickly dialed back by the end of the month.

In a blog post published on May 30, Google admitted to inaccurate or unhelpful AI overviews, particularly for unusual queries.

Google says it implemented over a dozen technical improvements to its systems in response.

A subsequent study by SE Ranking found the frequency of these summaries decreased, with only 8% of searches now triggering an AI Overview. However, when shown, these overviews are now longer and more detailed, averaging 25% more content.

SE Ranking also noted that after expansion, AI overviews typically link to fewer sources, usually around four.

Decline In Mobile Searches

Fishkin’s analysis reveals that the introduction of AI Overviews coincided with a marked decline in mobile searches in May.

While desktop searches saw a slight increase, the drop in mobile searches was significant, considering that mobile accounts for nearly two-thirds of all Google queries.

This finding suggests that users may have been less inclined to search on their mobile devices when confronted with AI-generated summaries.

Fishkin commented:

“The most visible changes in May were shared by both the EU and US, notably… Mobile searches fell a considerable amount (if anything spooked Google into rolling back this feature, I’d put my money on this being it).”

He adds:

“If I were running Google, that dip in mobile searches (remember, mobile accounts for almost 2/3rds of all Google queries) would scare the stock-price-worshiping-crap outta me.”

Impact On Overall Search Behavior

Despite the dip in mobile searches, the study found that search behavior remained relatively stable during the AI overviews rollout.

The number of clicks per search on mobile devices increased slightly, while desktop clicks per search remained flat.

This indicates that while some users may have been deterred from initiating searches, those who did engage with the AI Overviews still clicked on results at a similar or slightly higher rate than the previous months.

Implications For Google & the Search Industry

The study highlights the challenges Google faces in integrating AI-generated content into its search results.

Additionally, the research found other concerning trends in Google search behavior:

Low Click-through Rates: Only 360 out of every 1,000 Google searches in the US result in clicks to non-Google websites. The EU fares slightly better with 374 clicks per 1,000 searches.
Zero-click Searches Dominate: Nearly 60% of searches in both regions end without any clicks, classified as “zero-click searches.”
Google’s Self-referral Traffic: About 30% of clicks from US searches go to Google-owned properties, with a somewhat lower percentage in the EU.

Why SEJ Cares

This study underscores the need for adaptable SEO strategies.

As an industry, we may need to shift focus towards optimizing for zero-click searches and diversifying traffic sources beyond Google.

The findings also raise questions about the future of AI in search.

While major tech companies continue to invest in AI technologies, this study suggests that implementation may not always yield the expected results.

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