Welcome to Talking Shrimp. Here are some answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions.
TALKING SHRIMP TOP TEN FAQs
1. Are these “FAQs” really frequently asked?
Yes. At least, that one is.
2. What is Talking Shrimp?
Talking Shrimp is your source for bang-up, killer, attention-grabbing, results-getting copy.
3. What kind of writing does Talking Shrimp do?
Network promotion. Corporate branding. Website copy. Anything that makes people say “I want to watch/ buy/ make friends with/ join/ eat that.” We’re talking promos, taglines, upfronts, online content, print campaigns, those little ads you always see in the margins of Facebook and Google. (Not the acai berry one. You can blame someone else for that.)
Networks, agencies and production companies — click here to get in touch.
4. I’m an entrepreneur/ small-business owner. Can you help with my website copy? My sales page? My blog post?
The doctor is in! I don’t write that stuff from scratch. But even if all you have is something rough, we’ll work together to shape it into a thing of beauty. And, more importantly, a thing of profit. Can’t get Word One down on the page? Don’t panic. I’ll help you figure out how to say what you want to say. Here are a couple of ways we can work together.
Phone consulting. (My favorite, and damn effective.) I offer:
- Brainstorming to find the gold that’s already there. It’s hiding in your brilliant little head, you just need some help verbalizing it and getting it on the page.
- Honest, insightful feedback on what you’ve got, and the guidance you need to fix, clean, or snazz it up yourself. It’s like conducting surgery by phone, but way less dangerous.
- Follow-up ass-kicking. Yeah. I’m watching you.
Editing, rewriting, word jamming.
- I work independently to make your copy way, way, WAY, way better, even if it was already decent.
- Stuck for names, taglines, or anything short and snappy? I’ll crank out some genius options for you to choose from from or use as inspiration.
If these services sound right for you, TAKE ACTION! Yes, you. Click here to send me a message, and I’ll get back to you within 1 business day.
5. I’m a good writer, but my copy sucks. Why, and can you please make it stop sucking?
The most common answer is that you, fun and swingin’ as you are, stiffen up and put on your “businessperson” pants when you write. So your copy comes out all formal, dry, and unreadable. Zzzzzzzzzz. Don’t worry, I’ll make the sucking stop. Getting your writing to loosen up is my specialty. Phone coaching, rewriting, or some combo: we’ll decide what works best for you.
6. Why “Talking Shrimp?”
Pick a reason:
• First pet was a chatty crustacean.
• Hoping for a cross-promotion deal with Red Lobster. Or Beefsteak Charlie’s. (Shrimp shrimp shrimp shrimp shrimp!)
• In Greek mythology, the god of writing and creativity is Gambus, who has a shrimp body and human head. He feasts on nectar, ambrosia and plankton, and never shuts his pie hole.
• Bottom feeders say the darndest things!
7. No, really. What’s with the name?
OK, OK. I formed this company together with my husband, Steven Eckler. He is the managing partner of two fantastic restaurants in NYC and provides outside restaurant consulting. We wanted a name that could apply to copywriting or food, but didn’t mean anything at all.
Later, though, I realized that “Talking Shrimp” is perfect for what I offer: copy that stands out. What stands out more than a shrimp that can talk?
8. Who is Talking Shrimp?
Talking Shrimp is me, Laura Belgray.
9. And you are….?
Here’s my bio, written in 3rd person – because that way, it doesn’t sound all conceited.
Laura Belgray, owner and creative director of Talking Shrimp, has been a professional writer for nearly two decades and won big, fat awards for her work.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Wesleyan University, she assisted Lisa Birnbach (of Preppy Handbook fame) with research and fact-checking for her book Lisa Birnbach’s Guide to Colleges.
She went on to write advertising copy for the legendary SPY Magazine and then New York Magazine until, one day, her friend Adam told her about his new job writing promos for VH1. Laura asked, “what are promos?” and Adam explained that he got to watch a bunch of tv and write those fun little spots that advertise the shows.
First Laura said, “that’s a job?” Then, she went and got that job.
Since then she’s written promos, launch campaigns, upfronts, online content, book chapters, full show episodes and more for:
VH1, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, TV Land, The N, Bravo, Sundance Channel, Ion, WE, Lifetime, Oxygen, HBO, TBS, the CW and USA.
Celebrities who have brought Laura’s scripts to life include Joan Rivers, Ted Danson, Vanessa Williams, Roseanne Barr, Kelly Ripa, Adam West, Michael McKean, David Landers, Moon Unit Zappa, Isabel Sanford and Sherman Hemsley. She taught Mr. Hemsley, AKA George Jefferson, to moonwalk.
Laura’s writing has earned numerous honors, including the big daddy of promo awards, Promax Best of Show. This was for her favorite project ever, “Tony ‘n’ T: TV Land In Demand,” a rap video starring Tony Randall and Mr. T.
When not writing for TV, Laura likes watching TV. And when not watching TV, she enjoys traveling, eating in great restaurants, and talking about TV. She speaks decent Spanish, halting Italian, and a few obscene phrases in Ancient Greek.
Laura lives in New York City, where she grew up – back when it was dirty and everyone got mugged. She kind of misses that.
10. OK, we’re impressed. And we need copy. We need it bad.
So how do we hire you, Miss Talking Shrimp Writer Goddess Person?
GET IN TOUCH! Click here to contact me.
