27 Comments
Jul 2Liked by Tom Kuegler, Michael Simmons

Thanks Michael and Tom, this was useful! I just put the lessons from the recording into practice (partially) and I’m very curious to see how the note will perform.

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Lea let us know how it does in the next few days if you want. We would love to take any insights you have and learn from them. 😊

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Jul 2Liked by Tom Kuegler, Michael Simmons

Thank you Tom and thank you Michael for the effort you are putting into this. There's a lot to learn from each other and I do appreciate your efforts in helping other voices get heard and discovered here on Substack.

I watched the long recording. I found some valuable insights and more motivation to listen and understand better while getting my hands dirty as well.

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Robin we're happy to hear this! Cheers. Thanks for watching. :)

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Jul 3Liked by Tom Kuegler, Michael Simmons

This was an amazing event. I now see the strategy and direction I must take as a newbie Substacker. Thanks. to Michael and Tom.

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Thanks for watching Carolyn :)

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Love it Carolyn! Out of curiosity, what strategy and direction do you see emerging for yourself on Substack?

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Jul 4·edited Jul 4Liked by Michael Simmons

My goal [ with my fingers crossed ] is to post 4 notes and 1 post per week. Ideally if I could batch correct I would feel ahead of my game. I did create a challenge for myself in May to post something everyday- Sunday - Saturday.

My dog thought she could fly and was rushed to the orthopedic surgeon recently so that through me off a bit. I work best with self imposed challenges so this is my challenge- 4 notes+ 1 post.

I have also created a spreadsheet with links to people that I want to follow and build a community. The key to this strategy is to ensure I create/participate in the correct niche.

Wish me luck!

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Jul 2Liked by Michael Simmons, Tom Kuegler

Thanks for posting the replay!🙌🏾 Excited to write a note using this guidance.

How do we connect with others from Campfire to support their notes and get support for ours?

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Hi Dr. April - We'll be posting about the system to learn about and support each other's notes by Monday morning the first day of the daily writing challenge.

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Awesome, thanks!

1 more question:

When does a note become too long to be a note? I wrote mine with the template (so useful!) but it seems too long. Convert to an article instead? Does that defeat the whole purpose of the Note?

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Hey April! Yes, we got to be careful about keeping the Note to a certain length. I would say the longest a Note should typically be is about 100 words. In the future I want to test out writing longer Notes but for now sticking to the 100 word limit should serve well.

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Awesome, thanks Tom!

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Jul 2Liked by Tom Kuegler, Michael Simmons

Thanks for the recording! I was able to catch it a day later. Very useful information, & I'm grateful to be part of this gathering.

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Great to hear Tricia! What was most helpful about it out of curiosity? I ask because what it was, I want to make sure we keep doing more of it throughout the whole challenge.

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Jul 2Liked by Tom Kuegler, Michael Simmons

It was helpful to see the "E.T. and M&Ms" template as way of creating a trail through the post to hold interest. It was also helpful to hear others' questions and remember that everybody sucks in the beginning. I just found my Substack dashboard on my laptop yesterday, as I had only been using the app on my phone. What a difference! I have not even set up my profile completely, but this is helping me formulate a foundation and confidence to put my writing out there. I know I'm not alone. Thanks again!

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Hey Tricia! This is very helpful for me. I'll keep teaching the E.T. part of this! Thank you for letting us know what part was most helpful for you.

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Jul 2Liked by Michael Simmons, Tom Kuegler

"Be kind whenever possible.

It's akways possible."

- The Dalai Lama

I love this quote. Especially the part that “It’s always possible.” It’s tempting to think that kindness or empathy are just there for special moments or in certain circumstances.

The quote reminds me that kindness:


* Is always a good thing

* Is always possible

* Is always possible


I used to be a very shy person. I was scared of peoples negativity and judgement. What I discovered was that my silence was taken as my displeasure or judgement of them. To be kind meant I needed to find a way to express myself: to comment, to affirm, to smile.

How did I come to this? Through the kindness of others. When others were silent I would assume the worst. It is easy to read negativity into other’s silence. Crickets. Yech.

But when others met my shyness with kindness, when they made friendly space for me to come out a little, I discovered that they were different than I thought they were. No judging, no sideways eye-rolls, just curiosity.

And I discovered that could be more than I thought I was, that I could bring kindness into the world rather than be a passive receiver of it.

And that has made all the difference.

- Sky

PS - Thanks Tom and Michael for an inspiring workshop on writing notes!

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Love this Sky! Is this your Note? It's perfect!

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Tell perfectionism to screw off! LOL. I simply love this ice-breaker. You are truly incredible. This is coming from a teacher. Bless you guys.

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Jul 3Liked by Tom Kuegler

Just watched the replay and am so excited to dive into everyone's notes! Thanks Tom & Michael for generously sharing your wisdom, support, and enthusiasm with us. Can't wait til Monday!

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Can't wait either Gladys! Michael and I have been so busy marketing, but we're really dying to get started as well as this is where the true fun starts.😊

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Fantastic work, guys! I watched the recording, made some “notes” on how to format my Notes, and I’m all set to up my game.

It’s funny, I’ve had good success already with my random style, and I never really focussed my efforts. I’ve always liked commenting on others work, and I think that’s why I’ve done okay. With your pointers, I bet I will get supersized results in no time!

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Just watched the entire replay. This was great Tom and Michael! Thank you for sharing. I was skeptical when I started writing my note but I am so pleased with what has emerged from following your method. Here is the result! https://substack.com/profile/232528606-brad-didericksen/note/c-61592138

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Thank you guys for this brilliant treat. Unfortunately I couln't join live. I have two questions: 1. Can some of your Substack notes serve as teasers or precursors to your up-coming newsletters? 2. Can you repost your Substack notes on Linkedin and on X?

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Yes and yes

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Thank you Michael.

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