"Yours are the only emails I actually open and read" - a regular reply in my inbox since 2009...and I'll bet in yours, too, once you subscribe and learn by pure, lazy osmosis to become the most compelling writer around. That said, no promises on improving your moral character.
Amy Poehler story
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Guess what? One week from today, I’m teaching a live class to help you master the core business skill of writing emails that sell. It’s called… EMAILS THAT SELL (Yes, there’ll be a replay.) Hey Reader, Do you listen to Amy Poehler’s podcast, Good Hang? Highly recommend. She’s a gem of a person. Her laugh is medicine. When I’m out walking and start scrolling things that make me mad and depressed (most of my social feed), I switch to Amy P and shove my phone in my tote, under the jumble of gloves, receipts, water bottle, bag of candy corn, etc., so it’s hard to fish back out. And then my head gets right. A recent episode where she mentioned her improv group in the 90s, Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB for short), reminded me of something from back then. I was a massive UCB fan. I lined up hours in advance for their Sunday night show, ASSSSCAT, every single week — until I became friendly with a couple, Betsy and Ari, who ran the door. They started saving me a seat in the front row. Not all heroes wear capes! They both worked in admin at Viacom during the day — in fact, Betsy often signed my Nick at Nite paycheck — and took UCB improv classes at night. Amy was their teacher. One Sunday, they told me a story they knew I’d appreciate. In class, they were doing an office scene and had to come up with their character names on the spot. Ari entered the stage and said, “Hi, everyone, I’m Kirk Bumblin.” Kirk Bumblin was the (internally) well-known name of an exec at Viacom.* At the end of the scene, Amy clapped, laughing, and said, “Ari, that name was too good. Kirk Bumblin! Brilliant, I love it.” I don’t think they told her it was borrowed, not invented. Real details like that are always the best. The stuff you can’t make up. Or you can, but it’s a struggle. They’re a big part of what separates great, human writing from ChatGPT’s “just good enough” output that could’ve come from anyone and makes us feel empty inside. If you come to my NYC writing workshop March 22nd/23rd 2026, you’ll walk away knowing exactly how to come up with those magic details and work them into your copy or any other kind of writing to make it pop. Want in? Block out March 21-24, 2026 (so you have a rest/ travel buffer on each side) and click the link below so I can let you know the minute spots are available. Don’t want to wait till then to learn from me? I’ll talk all about storytelling, with tons of examples featuring original detail, in my live class one week from today. Join me for… EMAILS THAT SELL DATE: Wednesday, Oct 29th We’re going to have so much fun. Sign up here. Forget Ari and Betsy; I’ve saved you the best seat. See you then? xoLaura PS - *Kirk Bumblin isn’t the actual name, but it’s just a few letters off and has the same punch. I tried getting AI to help me come up with a substitute and its suggestions were so bad (Craig Spreadsheet, Todd Faxman, Mark Fenderson — huh?) I told it never to try improv. PPS - Unless you’ve been, you have no idea how popular and star-powered this show was. It was the SNL cast’s “bowling night,” so you’d see Tina Fey, Horatio Sanz, Adam McKay, Rachel Dratch — all those comedy legends — on the stage together any given week. Now I sound like my husband when he reminds me he saw The Police perform at The Bottom Line in NYC in 1979. Kids today just don’t know! Psst! Since you're signed up to get my emails on a weekly basis, here's what you missed this week!
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Laura Belgray (Talking Shrimp)
"Yours are the only emails I actually open and read" - a regular reply in my inbox since 2009...and I'll bet in yours, too, once you subscribe and learn by pure, lazy osmosis to become the most compelling writer around. That said, no promises on improving your moral character.
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