NAKED WORDS 2.0: The Effective 157-Word Email

In a world where 100-billion emails are being sent every day you need to read NAKED WORDS: The Effective 157-Word Email by Gisela Hausmann.Ms. Hausmann loaded this book with lots of amazing tips to make your emails stand out, get opened and read. If you want your message to get delivered use some of these tips. Spark interest in what you have to say beginning with the sender’s name (yours) and the subject line. The length, 157-words, is a guide, a suggestion that will help your email get read in entirety; make your email too long and the reader will probably get bored before you even present your message, too short and it looks like you don’t care so why should the reader?Gisela Hausmann helps us to make our emails stand apart from the rest from greetings to salutation. Keep the email friendly but not too familiar, spell the recipient’s name correctly, use numbers in the subject line, get to the point early, and, very important, read the email aloud before you hit send to make sure it flows smoothly.While this book may be targeted at emails, the author provides a lot of great advice that every writer can use in cover letters, face-to-face meetings and most writing projects. I highly recommend it.

This author has absolutely become my go-to author for simple and effective methods of communicating in various business and private situations.In simple words, with plausible examples and demonstrations, G. Hausmann explains what you may have heard long and boring lectures about, buther advice and suggestions actually make sense and are applicable. I have as yet to try them all in my correspondence strategies, but the ones I have tried, have always had positive results. I love how she explained the human desire for drama using the example of an old letter in the beginnings of world postal service - clearly demonstrates her point.Nowadays, people, myself included, always have an issue with judging the right quantity to prove quality. Everything in life concerns the right measure, and this book might just give you the proper nudge and motivation to find the right measure in your correspondence and actually achieve concrete results. There are some parts in the book which are repetitive, but I found that very useful - in these busy times, it actually helped to have the most important stuff reiterated to focus on.Here is a quote from the book which grabbed my attention: "One could make a case that we receive more ‘stuff’ than ever, but the way it is delivered is less exciting than ever;". So true, isn't it?So count your words, but make your words count.

Because I seldom use e-mail in business, being retired, I almost decided not to purchase the Kindle version of this book by Gisela Hausmann because I assumed it didn't apply to me. Much of it doesn't, but it certainly applies to the majority of people in the modern working environment and I read it from that perspective. Given that, however, I also saw many references I might have seen 20 or 30 years ago related to writing business letters and how to present one's self so that you are noticed among all the others who are also sending letters and, these days, e-mails. In this respect, this is an essential book for those who need to send and receive e-mails related to their positions or when applying for positions.She describes the importance of being unique while also being friendly, personal and clear. She emphasizes the necessity of keeping the e-mails relatively short, so a recipient is not discouraged from reading it in the first place. She advises reading e-mails aloud before clicking on "send," since this is an effective tool for recognizing if it works or doesn't work and helps fortify the fact that this replaces a face-to-face meeting, with the writer wanting the same effect that would produce.I especially enjoyed her samples of good and bad e-mails. Some are so ludicrous that you wonder how these people are making it in the real world (maybe they aren't) but her samples clearly illustrate through humor that bad e-mails in particular will get the writers nowhere except into the recipient's trash, without being read. Some of them clearly are the result of the writer's attempt at humor that falls flat and if they were face-to-face with the recipient, they'd probably never even attempt that - or would be given a quick handshake and goodbye.One piece of advice by Gisela that particularly stood out for me is that the writer absolutely must spell the recipient's name correctly. As someone who has constantly had to spell her last name and who has had to inform telemarketers and others how to pronounce her last name, and that her first name begins with a C, not a K, I am very sensitive to this issue. If someone misspells or mispronounces my name, particularly after I have corrected them, I completely lose interest in them, and Gisela points out that this is true in the e-mail world, as well. If you can't be bothered to spell the name correctly, be assured you won't have your e-mail read. She does mention in one instance that a writer almost immediately, upon realizing his misspelling, e-mailed her again, acknowledging his mistake and apologizing for it; this made up for his error and put him into a more positive light.Included in this topic are misspellings in general and typos within the body of e-mails, and it may be the only place where I disagree with Gisela. I am afraid I am somewhat of a grammar and spelling snob and if I see one or the other, I assume someone hasn't taken the time to utilize spell check or grammar check and I therefore decide they aren't worth reading (in my case, it involves sales pitches through e-mail or even postings on social media). She, however, does not feel as strongly as I and says the message is more important than the misspellings and typos; in this day and age, maybe that's true for most people.Other than that, this is an extremely helpful book for those who may need the inspiration, support and guidance of someone who clearly understands the effects of the written word, as well as the importance of putting one's self "out there." She writes well, uses great samples, and is remarkably assertive and encouraging in her writing. I highly recommend this book.

This was recommended to our global department by a staff member and having read through all pages, what you appreciate is the plain-speaking style of Gisela, and the many examples illustrating her points. There is much to be said for improving on emails which have an impact unlike other media both in professional and personal life. It has inspired me to read more of her series of plain-speaking books.

An Informative and easy read.

Gisela Hausmann has great advice for the postmodern crowd, be they seniors like myself or teens. Email? You need this book! Practical and succinct advice for business and personal life.

Well written and full of good advice for people in marketing