How Does It Feel?

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the recording by Bob Dylan of his masterwork, "Like a Rolling Stone."

A semicentennial anniversary should make you feel old. 

But most of us live outside time.

I remember a TV comedy skit from the 1970s by British comedian Benny Hill. 

Called "Woodstick," it depicted the feeble antics of a half million cane-toting geezers banned together for the imagined 50th-year reunion at Woodstock.

Feeling as frolicsome and randy as teens, the alumni were too doddering to act on their urges; when they tried, they fell down. And therein lay the gag.

Today a lot of us could star in that skit.

“There is a certain part of all of us that lives outside of time," writes novelist Milan Kundera. "Perhaps we become aware of our age only at exceptional moments and most of the time we are ageless.”

A Thing of Beauty

What's more important In marketing emails, copy or design?

In a new report on email marketing from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, digital strategist Jason Falls answers the question—categorically.

It's copy.

"Nothing makes an email more powerful than expertly written copy," Falls writes.

"Catching the recipient’s attention, taking them on a quick journey, and making them believe that more than anything they have to take the action you want them to take and take it right now, is a thing of beauty."

Falls quotes Derek Halpern, a fellow digital guru who "swears by text-only emails."

“I’ve experimented with both simple text and fancy HTML," Halpern says, "and in all my experience, simple text generates the best results."

Should You Use "Free" in Your Subject Lines?

Although the adjective can stampede customers, most experts urge you never use "free" in the subject line of marketing emails.

That's because "free" is a so-called "trigger word" which, thanks to spam filters, might well earn you a goose egg in the delivery column.

Similar trigger words include "urgent," "guaranteed," amazing" and "unlimited."

But there's good news for marketers.

As spam filters get smarter, they're learning to distinguish emails sent by bona fide marketers from those blasted by flimflammers.

Smarter spam filtration means marketers can take "free" off the list of trigger words.

I asked digital guru Jason Falls, who recommends rule-breaking to email marketers, whether you should worry about using "free" in subject lines.

"There are actually two reasons it's only a minimal concern," Jason said. 

"First, only spam filters set to a very high level of filtration would weed it out. I'd guess you've seen some 'free' headlines in your inbox in the last few months.

"Also, once you have someone subscribing to your email list, most email systems and filtration methods learn to trust emails that you see, but don't mark as spam. It's sort of a machine-learning way of white listing email addresses. 

"So using a headline like that with a segmented list of people you have sent to before, have opened before, or are long-time list members means the email is more likely to get through than not."

Big Brother is Watching You. But Not for Long.

Marketers' abuse of mobile data, long before it triggers government regulation, will destroy consumers' trust in many major brands, according to Thomas Husson, an analyst with Forrester.

"Mobility will change the nature of the data marketers can use and act upon," Husson writes. 

"Via sensors on wearables or smartphones, marketers will access data on our bodies and our whereabouts in real-time."

The almighty nature of mobile data, Husson believes, will tempt marketers to break consumers' anonymities—and their trust as well.

Marketers who think of privacy as just some "legal and compliance issue" are riding for a fall.

"Consumers are increasingly aware of the value of their data and expect brands to deliver clear benefits in exchange of the personal data they share," Husson says. 

"Moving forward, we believe consumers will increasingly take control of the brand relationship via mobile trusted agents. Brand trust will be built on mobile experiences. In fact, brands’ survival will depend on their ability to build trust."

Three's the Charm

Overzealous marketers devote countless hours to fashioning piles of product claims, when three would do just fine.

According to a study by behavioral scientists Suzanne Shu and Kurt Carlson, audiences react positively when exposed to one, two or three product claims, but turn suddenly skeptical when that number climbs to four.

While okay with three or fewer product claims, when exposed to more than three, audiences decide they're being manipulated—and begin to doubt the message and the messenger.

So the next time you're tempted to add yet another advantage to the pile, remember: Three's the charm.