That doesn't change when I'm at the office. Unfortunately, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of new things and forget to look back. It's hard to be the best, though, if you don't remember to: "Create it. Measure it. Improve it."

If only we could tackle online creative like the Three Little Pigs. Yes, even this Harley-ridin' 40-something knows a nursery rhyme or two.

The first little pig had the right idea when he built that straw house: Construct a shelter that would keep him dry and provide him a little privacy.

The second pig took a different approach and tried to create a stable home made of sticks that looked edgy and different from anything the other pigs had ever seen.

And the third pig decided it would be worth it to spend a little extra cash to build a rock-solid, indestructible house of bricks.

Until the day that wolf came along, all of the pigs thought they had the perfect solution.

1.   Create it
It works the same for all of us. Client asks, we jump — sell a product, raise awareness, provide information, whatever. Like those fabled pigs, we've got options when it comes to how we do it:

• Just get it done. Keep it simple and be sure all your bases are covered. Make it easy for customers to see we want them to "just buy the damn thing."
• Apply a concept. Make the main idea your focus but take a little creative license to make it stand out in the sea of digital media.
• Blow 'em away. Take a chance on the big idea that gets customers to stop and take notice. It may take more time and money to bring it to life, but it'll pay off in the end.

2.   Measure it
Marketing is a profession, not an art show. Your work's got to be far more than just eye candy. It needs to be smart. It needs to be trackable. And you'd better know ahead of time what you're going to consider a win. In other words, how will success be measured: Opens? Clicks? Calls? Sales?

These numbers don't stifle your creativity, they strengthen it. And, as our pigs once again proved, there are tons of ways to meet your goals. Everyone should have an "in" with analytics. So I'd recommend the creative and analytics folks get to know each other. Maybe plan a BBQ. Nothing like some well-seasoned pork ribs to bring everyone together.

3.   Improve it
It's been measured and your numbers are in. But only a fool would leave it at that. You've got to learn from your results and, by all means, use them. Otherwise, you're back to spitting in the wind hoping it doesn't land on you.

Let's go back to those pigs.

As I recall, all three pigs built their houses at the same time. Their mindset? "Go with your gut!" If they had tested and used their results, here's what they may have learned:

• Straw won't cut it. It can't hold up to the competition.
• Sticks looked badass, but still can't stand the pressure.
• Bricks worked perfectly, but did the extra expense break the budget?

Who knows what they'd come up with next time around. Maybe infrared sensors or heavy artillery to keep that wolf from blowing hot air in the first place. Either way, you can be sure they'd do it up one better.

It doesn't matter what you call it — a mantra or New Year's resolution — "Create it. Measure it. Improve it." are words to live by. Make it part of your 2010 code. (Or I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down.)

To my surprise, there were 30 different presents, each wrapped in everything from plain brown paper to shiny, multi colored aluminum foil. So, which one to open first? What grabs my attention and what will I push to the bottom of the pile?

This is the same question consumers will ask about their overflowing email boxes every day of the holiday season. So here are a few rules to make your emails rise to the top during any season:

Make it snappy.
The subject line may seem like an afterthought to many, but I consider it the gateway to the message. The ones that stand out give me an idea of what the email contains or create an air of mystery to draw me in.  And above all, they're short and to the point (45 characters or less is a good rule of thumb). 

And to keep from kicking myself later, I run all emails through a spam filter. If my message never gets to their inbox, I can be sure it's not getting opened.

One at a time, please.
So the consumer has already taken the leap by opening the email. I now have one major goal in mind: Don't scare them off. Some writers find it best to minimize the message points and the number of offers. Too much copy will turn off all but the most diehard consumers and a hodgepodge of imagery confuses and leads to deletion.

The trick is to make it easy to understand — if no one in my office can figure out the message or offer, consider how consumers will feel when they try to decipher it. Experts agree that the general rule is to write to an eighth-grade reading level, and I tend to drop it a notch or two below that.

Make it work.
There's nothing more frustrating to me than building something extremely complicated, like a shelving unit from IKEA, and finding out that I'm missing that single, ridiculously important widget that holds it all together. In the case of email, that's the CTA or Call To Action, and it can make or break the entire piece.

From my experience, I agree that buttons like "Order Now" or "Click Here" will sometimes garner the clicks, but we can be more creative than that. I strive to tie in the CTA with my email in a way that wraps up the message begun in the headline. It gives both a sense of completion and a drive for the consumer to take action.

The end is only the beginning.
And you thought I was done once they click a link. Getting consumers to follow the CTA is only part of my job. Thinking through where they end up is equally important. You can read more in-depth about this in one of my other posts: Closing the Click.

The short version is that I want to make sure they land somewhere that helps gain their confidence and encourage their trust in the product. Do you want your customers ending up on a gorgeously rendered, user-friendly landing page or a flashing-icon, text-heavy, incredibly confusing, flaming turd of a website circa 1995?

The results are in.
So the email is out and the sales have been made. How do I make the next email more successful? I do the research. I look back at the subject lines, messaging and links that worked best. If something didn't work, we find out why and learn from it. With a lot of research and a little luck, you can push your emails to the top of the pile every time.

So there you have it, how to build a successful email from subject line straight through to the CTA, and hopefully the landing page. In a time when consumers are pretty much picking at random what to open in their email, there's quite a bit you can do to make your present the most eye-catching of the bunch. So get out there and make it happen, the holiday is almost here.

Despite my complete lack of confidence that Twitter had anything valuable to offer, all those believers eventually wore me down. I decided to make a fashionably late entrance onto the Twitter scene. After a couple of months tweeting (rarely) and observing (often), I've come away with a few thoughts about why a creative like me should bother with Twitter. Here goes:

Observation #1: Twitter is actually useful

For one, you can search in real time. You don't get more finger-on-the-pulse than that. It's a great way to hear the buzz about my agency, our clients, Kanye, you name it. (And I'd just like to say thank you, Twitter, for making sure I knew it when Guinness turned 250. Nothing like toasting a couple of centuries with a cold one.)

Observation #2: Twitter makes the news more interesting

Not only do I get my news in nice, bite-sized chunks, I also have the added excitement of never knowing if it's actually true. And it's great for my ADHD.

Observation #3: Twitter is cheaper than airfare and a hotel room

I-T-E, man. Times are tight and companies aren't as willing to fork over the cash to fund a trip across the country for an 8-hour conference. But with hashtags, I can attend virtually. And half the time (more really) I'm spared the B.S. — people tweet the good stuff and leave the rest.

Observation #4: Twitter is a fickle…er…bird

You. Are. Heard. When it's good, you get your message out there and that is a beautiful thing. When it's bad, you get your message out there and that is an ugly, ugly thing. It's up to you to make sure the bad stays offline. People are listening and you never know when a tweet can land you in the hot seat — or out on the street.

Observation #5: Twitter can make you look like an idiot

Think before you tweet. As my granny used to say, "If you don't have anything good to say, shut it." (I'm editing here. Granny wasn't always SFW.) The point is, try to have something to say that's relevant, useful, insightful or at the very least, funny.

Observation #6: Twitter likes it when you watch

Going along with #5, don't feel like you have to use Twitter to talk all the time. Sometimes it's good to just sit back, listen and take it all in. There are millions of interesting, brilliant, crazy, funny, pissed off, visionary, messed up, beautiful, opinionated people out there. Creativity feeds on everything, and there they all are, ready to feed your creativity with stuff. Here are a few that never disappoint:

@mashable

@smashingmag

@zeldman

@mayhemstudios

@copyblogger

@DesignerDepot

@bogusky

@Malecopywriter

@TweetJavelin (shameless plug)

Observation #7: Twitter will take you, whatever you are

You don't have to pretend to be a genius. Sometimes, it's enough to just be one funny bastard.

And that, my friends, is what won me over. So I'll see you out there in the Twittersphere. Unless you're on the local news. In which case, stop tweeting and just get back to the broadcast already.

@robburrito

Think I left something out? Add it in the comments.

I love the prospect of exploring my way to, say, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. But what if instead, I were to suddenly drop by parachute into North Korea? Dude, I don't know anything about North Korea. I'd rather melt under the Texas sun.

What does North Korea have to do with landing pages, you ask? The way I see it, when a customer clicks on an email and ends up on a poorly planned landing page — or worse, gets dumped on the home page — it's a lot like dropping them into North Korea without so much as a map.

Okay, maybe that's a little extreme, but it isn't pretty. Without a landing page that's designed to close the sale, customers will bail. And fast. So the big question is, how do you turn a landing page into a closing page? Well, here are eight things to start with:

1.    Continue the story. Think of the landing page as your chance to pick up where you left off. We've found that short, focused messages perform best in email. But you need to follow through on the landing page with more information that will lead customers to a purchase.

2.    Repeat the CTA that got them there. It seems simple but a lot of retailers fail to repeat the message that got customers to click in the first place. By repeating the message, you're letting them know they landed in the right place (i.e. not in North Korea). And speaking of your CTA, remember to repeat it at the bottom of the page, particularly if customers have to scroll.

3.    Carry through the same or similar imagery. Again, you want customers to know they've ended up in the right place. The imagery needs to feel like an extension of what they saw in your email, direct mail, print ad, etc.

4.    Don't make them hunt. Whether you're giving them information or selling a product, you need to make sure whatever you're offering is easy to find. Eye-tracking studies show that people read in a rough F-pattern so, when you build your landing page, design it with the F in mind.

5.    Break up your content. One long block of copy won't get read, certainly not easily. Break up your copy with subheads, bullets, color backgrounds, and the like. Do whatever you can to draw your customers' eyes through the information you want them to read.

6.    Stay focused. You don't want to distract customers with irrelevant information. Write your copy to support your primary goal — everything should be driven by the action you want customers to take.

7.    Keep your message relevant. If you can, create dynamic content that changes based on what you know about your customers. New customers may need to be introduced to your brand whereas repeat customers might need you to explain the benefits of upgrading to a higher-tier product. The specifics will vary based on your particular business goals. The thing to remember is to tailor your content for each customer's needs.

8.    Don't settle for a flat experience. On a landing page, you have the freedom to create a richer, more interactive experience. Use animation to create visual interest. Better yet, use it with purpose. If you can convey a benefit through your animation, that's even better.

There you have it. Eight ways to make sure that when your customers set out on their journey you don't parachute them into North Korea. Instead, give them a landing page that guides them to their destination — the sale.

What tricks do you use to create landing pages that turn clicks into conversions? Let me know in the Comments section.

And, as with any relationship, you have to keep them coming back for more. So how exactly can you keep your customers from hitting unsubscribe?

Here's where dating comes in: You've got to listen. You've got to take what you learn and apply it. And you can't be a needy significant other that calls every five minutes either. Trust me, a quick survey around the office tells me I'm not alone in this thinking.

Listen.
My favorite emails are the ones that show me they know who I am. Not just throwing in my name somewhere. I mean the ones that know what products I already own and try to help me get the most out of them. Harley Davidson has really mastered this, and I open every single email they send. Why? Because every email is addressed to me, and the content is tailored to my bike and my interests. They know who I am and give me what I want. And in return I give them the best kind of love: I click. A lot.

So, what if you're reaching out to potential customers? The ones who haven't bought any of your products yet? Well, it's the first date. Get to know them. Ask them about themselves. And listen. We all love to talk about ourselves. Let them tell you about what kind of information they want.

No. REALLY listen.
It's not enough to know what your customers have bought or are interested in; you have to use that information. Nothing turns me off more than getting an email for something I already have or something that couldn't possibly apply to me. Case in point: My name is Rob. I ordered Car and Driver magazine. So why, in a follow-up email, did the magazine company recommend Women's Health? Not that I don't like healthy women, but I think that's a different kind of magazine.

Even just paying a little bit of attention is enough to start making educated decisions as to what kind of content to send your customers. So start doing it.

Don't be needy.
Chances are, if you're emailing your customers every day (or close to it), you're going to get a lot of deleted emails or unsubscribes. You become that ex who's just a little bit creepy in that "stalkerish" sort of way.  Remember, in email (and in dating), absence makes the heart grow fonder — and your message stronger and more relevant.

Don't get me wrong. There are those select few who don't mind getting daily emails. But I'm going to go back to square one on this and tell you to listen. When you're asking your customers what they want to get from you, make sure you ask them how often they want to hear from you. The happier they are, the more clicks you're going to get. And that can make all the difference between a long-term relationship and a one-night stand.

Hey, it COULD have happened that way.

Here’s an even more amazing story: we’re still talking about the fold today, and the Web can’t even be folded! We say that everything has to be on that first screen. It does, doesn’t it?

Wrong. I’m here to announce that the fold is officially dead.

THE FOLD IS DEAD
I have two reasons to believe this.

First, the Web has evolved. And people have evolved with it. Originally, the Internet was designed for geeks like you and me. Today, everyone’s grandmas are online, and guess what? They get it. 

Almost no one thinks a Web page ends when he’s hit the bottom of the screen. Every computer user knows how to scroll down with a mouse.  That annoying moniker, “Web 2.0,” is actually a good sign. It subtly shows us that the Web has matured.

Speaking of maturity, the second reason the fold is dead is that Web design and layout have matured.  With maturity comes complexity and that means the old standards have gone out the window. There’s no standard screen size. It used to be 800x600. Now most people use 1024x768, but that’s still only about half of all users.

There’s also no default browser. First, it was Netscape, then MSIE, and now Firefox is coming on strong.  They all read Web pages a little differently.  Hell, even the same browser on a MAC and PC looks different.

You get the picture. Even if you still choose to believe in the absolute power of the fold, it will never be where you want it to be on every single screen, no matter how crazy mad your Web skillz are.

LONG LIVE THE FOLD
Now that we’re in agreement and I’ve convinced you to cross over to the dark side, let’s go deeper into the abyss.

I encourage you to design PAST the fold. That doesn’t mean you have to make up a bunch of lousy content so your page will be longer. It does mean that, if you know you’re likely to go longer than an average screen, provide some continuity. Make the user want to scroll down to see what’s next.  Whether it’s design, text or a navigation element, give the visitor a reason to look beyond the fold. 

Think of it as the “continued on pg2” you see at the bottom of a magazine article. Sure, you wish the page was longer, but don’t you always peek at that next page anyway? 
While many designers will tell you to pretend your visitor is stupid, I’m going out on a limb and telling you to give them a little credit. The reality is that there’s more than one school of thought on the Web. Don’t get sucked in by any of them. Including mine. 

I say do as the monks did. Use the fold as a guide to put your Psalm 23s up high. Then put your lesser psalms below it.  No one’s going to stop reading halfway through a psalm.  Keeping the bishop and your favorite serfs happy is a good way to make sure you survive the Dark Ages.

Rob Boman is an Interactive Creative Director for Javelin Direct.

If you’re a creative, you’ve been there and know the feeling. If you’re not but you work with creatives, then hey, think a few minutes about what your influence may be doing to us. It’ll make both of us better at what we do.

Between client services, user-experience architects, brand planners, media, and the boss (not to mention the client), everyone has an opinion about creative. And we designers love to complain about it. But despite what you might think, being under the influence of those opinions isn’t always a bad thing. Collaboration, handled correctly, really does make things better.

When I work with a good team like I do now, it’s magic. We’re in and out of each other’s cubes, constantly tweaking and polishing the work to make it better. We spark on each other’s ideas. And this constant contact keeps us accountable to each other. Of course, when opinions come in from every direction like a blizzard, it’s easy to hunker down and get stuck.

So, in the spirit of improving creative collaboration among all parties, here are a few things I recommend that creatives do to keep the insanity to a minimum:

1. Admit that you don’t know it all. Because you don’t. Really.
2. Listen. Someone else (even someone without creative creds) may help you see old problems with a fresh perspective.
3. Cool it. Don’t let criticism get under your skin. Yeah, it’s hard, even for old pros, but it only feels like torture if we let it.
4. Let the outside world in; allow your surroundings to be a positive influence. You wouldn’t be a truly creative person if you didn’t get inspiration from the “other” side, and you know it.
5. And finally, remember that at the end of the day, we need to convince people to buy what the client is selling. If we forget that, we’ve failed — no matter how beautiful our work is. And failure is far worse than a little feedback from the team that makes us squirm.

That’s all well and good for the creatives, but what do you do when you’re the one trying to do the influencing? How exactly does someone from media or planning or client services deal with creatives? It just so happens I’ve got a couple of pointers for you too:

1. Give creatives credit — just because we don’t wear suits doesn’t mean we can’t think about the big picture too.
2. Don’t dictate; collaborate. Explaining why you think something should change is much more effective than just telling a creative to change it.
3. Be an advocate for the user. If you think we’re sacrificing good user experience for flashy design, say so.
4. Keep your criticism constructive. A big part of that goes back to #2, explaining the why of your opinion.
5. And remember to leave space for creatives to be, well, creative. Sure, help us stay on track, but then give us the room to do what we do best.

When all is said and done, our best work comes when we broaden our perspective, keep our focus on the user and work as a collaborative team with the same end in mind.

In fact, I believe when we’re under outside influence, that’s when our creativity really thrives. So the next time you reach for the mouse, make sure you stick to the rules of the road and design responsibly.

Rob Boman is an Interactive Creative Director for Javelin Direct.