Obnoxiously long drumroll, please
Meet the first instalment in the Tide Email Marketing Series:
Learn how to write strategic, story-driven newsletters with serious main character energy — the kind people can’t wait to open.
How often do you hear that little voice inside your head, bullying reminding you about the task you’ve been actively avoiding?
“Is today the day you FINALLY write your newsletter? Your last one was 3 months ago. Not weeks, MONTHS 🙄”
As a small business owner with a million literal & metaphorical tabs open, it’s no wonder the thought of emailing your list sparks an existential crisis.
What do I even write about? My life is boring!
How do I squeeze email marketing into my already jam-packed day?
How can I make my newsletter valuable & unique?
How can I sound FUN while still being professional?
And how can I do all that without coming across as annoying, salesly or a low-key narcissist?
Despite a mild case of newsletter paralysis, you’re switched on enough to know the potential of email marketing for your business.
Social media might be shiny. But email?
Email marketing typically returns $36 for every $1 spent. That’s a 3600% ROI!
Not too shabby for something you can do anywhere, anytime, in your coffee-stained pyjamas.
I stand by it —
Email is one of the most effective channels to cultivate relationships and sell your offers.
(No perfectly curated office, face full of makeup, or camera-ready confidence required!)
Your subscribers want to hear from you — they willingly signed up to your email list, remember? — and now they’re hanging out in their inboxes all day long, waiting patiently for a glimpse of a rare & endangered species:
A marketing email that doesn’t bore them half to death.
The antidote to boring?
Storytelling
Storytelling isn’t a cute lil buzzword.
It can be the difference between an email that gets skimmed & deleted… and one that makes a busy, distracted human actually stop, read and feel something.
‘Coz guess what?
Our brains are psychologically wired to respond to stories.
In fact, stories are 22x more memorable than facts alone!
When you use the power of storytelling in your marketing emails, you can connect with people on a deeply human level — which inspires more trust, loyalty & clicks…
Not to mention replies like this every time you hit ‘send’
Tinder wishes it had this kind of open rate ;)
Oh heyyyyy, I’m Laura
And I’m about to make writing your newsletter feel so much easier.
As a copywriter on a mission to rid the world of boring websites & emails (one ‘kind regards’ at a time), I’ve been sending my weekly-ish newsletter consistently for the past 6 years.
And it kind of has a fan club.
Not because of the marketing tips (I mean, those are pretty fire too) — but because of my stories.
I’ve seen firsthand the power of storytelling to entertain *and* sell, and now I’m giving you my entire newsletter storytelling strategy so you can build stronger connections with your subscribers.
Connection is a prerequisite to selling.
So yes, newsletters deserve your attention.
And guess what?
This is the year you become an inbox icon 😏
Meet
A self-paced course to help online business owners
master the art of storytelling through email.
Through a mix of pre-recorded lessons & bonus resources, you’ll learn how to write consistent, strategic newsletters with serious main character energy — the kind people can’t wait to open.
*main character energy loading*
*main character energy loading*
Plot twist: email just became fun
“I was feeling uninspired having to think of content to send each week, but now I have a breadth of stuff to draw on (normal, boring life!). I also love that the content can be applied to other forms of writing like Substack and Instagram. The art of storytelling is a super transferrable skill. Literally even if you wanna make people laugh at the pub — storytelling is key!”
Kirsty, Somatic Coach
“MCN has been the cherry on top of my writing journey so far. The videos are binge-worthy! So easy to digest. Like incidental learning. I loved the structure, pace and knowing what to expect, from go. Plus it was funny, giggles for days.”
Lynley, Brand Specialist + Strategic Designer
“I really loved how personable the course felt. The little laughs, jokes, and side notes helped break down the barrier between learner & presenter. It also reinforced that Laura clearly knows what she’s talking about — the fact she wasn’t just reading from notes and could comfortably go off script showed a real depth of knowledge.”
KIRSTYN, AGENCY CONTENT LEAD
I hope this email finds you well turns your subscribers into super fans
Main Character Newsletters is designed to be a fun, practical, easy-to-implement experience — so you can stop thinking about your newsletter & start hitting send.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
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#1: But first, a quick rebrand
Ditch the “monthly team update” energy —it’s time to learn why newsletters are the most underused sales tool you’ve got, and make the mindset shift you need to start strong.
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#2: Newsletter strategy
The meat & potatoes of email marketing! Learn the basics of getting set up, content planning + how to stay consistent (AKA not ghosting your list for 3 months at a time.)
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#3: Finding killer stories for your emails
Learn how to turn mundane ‘life’ moments into entertaining stories — so you never have to say “I don’t know what to write about” ever again.
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#4: The framework of a story-based email
Want the exact formula I use to write a bangin story-based email? The type that makes people wanna hit reply? It’s all yours 😎
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#5: Connecting the story to a point
The art of the segue! You’ll learn how to (seamlessly) connect your story to a lesson, CTA or offer — so you can showcase your expertise and increase conversions
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#6: Structure, tension & pacing
The 3x elements that make or break a story. Learn how to build momentum, create curiosity, and avoid writing emails that feel waffly.
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#7: Storytelling tips & techniques
From formatting tricks to perfectly-timed GIFs — learn the techniques that inject serious personality into your emails and make readers obsessed.
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#8: Editing
This is where the magic really happens. You’ll learn how to refine your draft, tighten your message, and optimise your email for humans (and clicks) — so you can hit send with confidence.
Plus, these Bonus Modules…
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💌 Subject Lines & Preview Text
The reason your email gets opened… or ignored. Learn how to write subject line + preview text combos that make people need to know what’s inside.
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💌 Newsletter Content Ideas
10 example industries, 10 example topics. Each topic is written two ways — as a long story and a micro story — so you can see how storytelling works in both big emails and small ones.
“Before the course, I was wandering around looking for content ideas like someone searching for their glasses while wearing them.
I've done plenty of tutorials that teach the mechanics of email marketing, but this one helped me find more of my voice. I make ceramics. I also work part-time at a desk job. I have teenagers. None of it felt like "content". Now I can't stop noticing things worth writing about.
Instead of trying to sound like everyone else online, I now feel much more confident sharing my own stories and observations. I've started using these skills in my Instagram storytelling too. One of my garlic grater posts took off, I've gained followers, and I've sold out three times since. Not because I discovered some secret marketing tactic, but because I'm getting better at seeing and sharing the stories that were already there.”
MEG, potter
Join Main Character Newsletters
Your shortcut to mastering the art of storytelling through email
*eeeeeee* (dolphin noises)
*eeeeeee* (dolphin noises)
Can I be real for a sec?
I have beef with the word newsletter.
It’s giving ‘monthly update from Roger’s Shoe Shop.’
That’s not what we’re doing here.
We’re bringing your newsletters — those strategic marketing emails you send your subscribers every week — into a new era.
One that uses the proven power of storytelling to help you stand out from all the duds in your prospect’s inbox and turn email into the connection & conversion machine it’s always had the potential to be.
Sayonara, sender’s block 👋
“There’s been a massive shift over the past few years in the way you build a brand. I knew storytelling was a skill I needed to master because it underpins everything. MCN has inspired me to just start. And as a result, I actually feel a whole lot less cringe writing about myself.”
Kylie, Digital Marketing Expert
“The whole section on structure was my biggest takeaway. It's kind of crazy to realise I didn’t really know or think about this before. Understanding structure has given me a clearer way to write so the reader stays engaged and finishes the piece thinking, “ah, I see the point of that.”
Kirstyn, Agency Content Lead
“I love that I can move through the modules at an easy pace without getting overwhelmed. The videos are short and sweet, around 15 minutes long, which feels SO much more do-able than having to dedicate hours of time to learning a new skill.”
SARAH, REAL RAD FOOD
Let’s chat bonus RESOURCES
Because there’s 6x FREE bonus resources when you join — and together they’re gonna make writing your newsletter easier than ever.
Main Character Moments Worksheet
Designed to pair with each module of the course, this interactive worksheet helps you build your very first story-based email as you go — because yes, you are finishing this course with at least one email ready to send!
Storytelling prompts
Struggle with content ideas & related biz topics? Not anymore — here’s a big ol’ list of story ideas and topics you can relate them to.
Newsletter Planning Template
You’ll get a copy of my own (simple yet effective) Newsletter Planning Template, so you can plan a bunch of future emails. And probably feel smug AF about it.
AI prompts
AI is a fab email assistant, and this resource includes a bunch of prompts you can copy + paste into ChatGPT/Claude/whatever platform you use to help you write stories, draw connections between stories & offers, craft engaging CTAs, and write enticing subject lines.
Behind-the-scenes editing session
Watch me edit a draft email in real time, so you can see how to apply different techniques and take a newsletter from ‘crappy first draft’ to ‘hey this is pretty good!’. It's like peeking over my shoulder, minus the awkward hovering.
“I originally took this course myself and then immediately bought it for our Content Lead
If you run a business with a team - your people are using Al. That’s just reality now. The difference is whether the output sounds like every other brand on the internet, or whether it still has personality, point of view and commercial punch.
This course is brilliant for teaching the art of a great newsletter. Storytelling, structure, rhythm and voice. It’s sharpened our copywriting across the board. If you want your team producing writing that converts (instead of generic Al mush), this is a very, verrrry smart investment.”
Georgia, Creative Director
“It was love at first sight. MCN is GLORIOUSLY presented.”
“It was love at first sight. MCN is GLORIOUSLY presented.”
By the end of this
course you will….
Have written at least 1 newsletter in full, ready to send (OMG, FUN!)
Have a bunch of ideas planned to write next — all ready to go in your easy-to-use Newsletter Planning Template
Have your head (firmly!) around the structure of a great story-driven email
Know how to find compelling stories from your everyday life so you never need to say 'I don't know what to write about' again
Master the art of the story-to-offer segue, so you can start talking about your offers in a way that feels less salesy
Have a clear, strategic plan for your email marketing that supports your business year-round (and keeps you top of mind when you enter launch-mode!)
Walk away with storytelling techniques you can use everywhere. Not just emails, but blogs, social media, website copy, speeches… even your next passive-aggressive Facebook community group post.
As per my last email my previous Main Characters…
It’s time to romanticise your email marketing era
Email’s not going anywhere. And unless you’re outsourcing it every month, it’s a skill worth mastering.
(Yes, AI can help you write newsletters. And yes, I’ll give you strategic prompts to help you use AI in a way that doesn’t scream ‘‘CHATGPT WROTE THIS EMAIL’)
If you want to be one of the few brands people can’t wait to hear from, you need to write emails people genuinely love reading.
Are you ready for your
Main Character moment?
Let’s give your subscribers something to hit reply about!
Main Character Newsletters is for anyone with an email list (or plans to start one) — regardless of size, niche, or stage of business.
I’m lookin’ at you
Service based business
Ecom businesses
Content creators & personal brands
If you’re struggling with inconsistency, overwhelm, conversion, creativity or newsletter paralysis, I MADE THIS COURSE FOR YOU.
One more time for the people in the back — here’s what’s waiting for you inside Main Character Newsletters:
10x self-paced modules with video content & downloadable slides
Main Character Moments worksheet (which turns into a fully-written email!)
Storytelling Prompts resource
Newsletter Planning Template resource
AI Prompts resource
Behind The Scenes Editing Session resource
See you inside?
JOIN NOW
Frequently Asked Questions
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It’s self-paced. You’ll get instant access to all modules when you sign up, so you can binge-watch or dip in on your own time.
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It’s $297 NZD. Talk about a fun, fully tax-deductible business expense ;)
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There’s a little over 2 hours’ worth of video content, plus your bonus resources to explore. Some people finish it within a couple of days, others like to take their time over a few weeks/months. Do it at your own pace… but remember, the quicker you get it done, the quicker you can start making better connections (and $) from your email list!
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They’re between 10-30mins. Most are are around the 15min mark. I wanted these modules to be something you could zone in on at your desk OR listen to while you’re chopping veggies.
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That’s totally fine. This course will still give you the storytelling and strategy foundations you need — so when you do start your list, you’ll be away laughing. In the Newsletter Strategy module we’ll briefly touch on all the important considerations like lead magnets, choosing an email service provider, the importance of design & even small details like sender name — so you can make sure you’re setting your list up intentionally from the start.
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Absolutely. AI is brilliant for making your writing process easier, faster, and less stare-at-the-blank-page-y. You’ll learn how to collaborate with AI — not let it take over and churn out robot-sounding emails that give everyone the ick. There’s a dedicated bonus with plug-and-play prompts, plus tips sprinkled throughout the course on how to lean on AI effectively.
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Trust me. You do. You just need a fresh lens and the right prompts! But also — it’s less about what happened, and more about how you tell it. I gotchu ;)
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Absolutely — but not in the pushy, “BUY NOW OR ELSE” way. This course is all about writing emails that entertain & connect first, because genuine connection is what leads to conversion. (Case in point: an email I wrote last year about my dog pooping next to a nudist brought in a $9k project. Don’t underestimate the power of storytelling.)
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Yes, you can choose to split it into 2x payments — at no extra cost.
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You’ll pay half when you sign up, and the other half will automatically be charged to your card 1 month from when you sign up. Please note there are no refunds with this payment plan option — you are committed to the 2x payments.
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Forever-ever. You get lifetime access, including any updates or additions I make in future. Go you.
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This is the first instalment of a juicy little email education series I’m creating! Upcoming topics may include welcome sequences, sales emails and more. So if you’re after a deeper dive into those…hang tight.
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Let’s figure it out together. Flick me an email (laura@tidestudio.co.nz) and I’ll get back to you faster than you can passively-aggressively type ‘per my last email.’