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Meet the creator
If you are not familiar with Michael Simmons, I should start by saying that his work is quite inspiring.
Michael has over 15 years of experience and more than 10,000+ hours dedicated to studying, practicing, and teaching thought leadership. His articles have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Time, and have reached millions on Medium.
Today, he helps creators produce blockbuster content that’s 10x better at a 10x faster rate with an AI-first approach to thought leadership.
Through his best-selling Substack newsletter, Blockbuster Blueprint with Michael Simmons, he now teaches over 124,000 subscribers how to craft high-impact content that stands out and lasts.
How it all began
Michael’s writing journey started quietly by journaling for an hour each day during college after devouring book after book.
That habit eventually turned into daily blog posts. He believed that if he kept showing up, people would eventually come to read his work.
But one quote from Seth Godin stopped him in his tracks:
"You can tell the quality of your writing by whether people miss you or not."
—Seth Godin
So Michael paused his writing. No one asked where he’d gone. Not even a friend checked in. Discouraged, he stepped away from writing for more than seven years.
During that time, he stayed busy. He finished school, ran a road tour company with his wife, and started speaking at conferences. But speaking wasn’t his thing; it drained him.
Getting back to writing
An unexpected invitation to write for Forbes brought Michael back to the page.
Around the same time, he read a book on blockbuster content, which shaped his future writing philosophy: content should be so valuable, people remember it for years, not just two days.
“Blockbuster content is just the highest quality that you can create.
If you spend 10 times as much more time, you actually may get 10 times as many views, but also you're going to form a much deeper interaction.”
—Michael Simmons
Launching his Substack newsletter
In 2023, Michael launched his newsletter as an extension of Thought Leader School, where he teaches timeless, research-backed skills to help creators build viral, trademark-worthy ideas.
Today, he teaches others how to do the same through his Thought Leader School and his rapidly growing Substack newsletter.
The secret to his success?
Not flashy marketing, but deeply valuable, research-backed writing that earns trust and gets shared.
His 3 main growth drivers for reaching 124K+ subscribers
No paid promotion, just focus on writing high-quality content people want to share.
Stay focused, spend less time on distractions, more time doing what you’re great at.
Learn deeply, study hard, and create work that stands out through real insight.
Why spending more time on a single article can help you win the game
Michael believes that time invested in quality pays off. Here’s why:
1. Value Depth Over Volume
Most people underestimate how much depth matters. Michael once spent 100 hours on a single article, which got over 17,000 claps on Medium. That same article helped him land an interview with a billionaire, who shared that article on his social media.
2. Create Content That Lasts
At the start of your writing journey, Michael recommends creating a few unique and evergreen pieces. These will:
Build trust and authority
Prove your competence to new readers
Set the bar for your future work
3 Questions to ask yourself to create a blockbuster content
Michael believes blockbuster content doesn’t happen by accident. To make your writing stand out and last, ask yourself these three questions:
Is it easy to digest and well-structured?
A clear structure and flow help readers stay engaged from start to finish.Does it present a unique idea or angle?
Share something fresh—something they haven’t seen a hundred times before.Does it solve a real problem for readers?
The most valuable content helps people take action, think differently, or improve their lives.
His 2 key actions that actually convert free readers into paying members
Michael believes in turning on paid from day one. But for him, it’s not about selling, it’s about understanding and helping your audience.
1. Talk to Readers 1-on-1
Michael makes time to personally talk to his readers to learn:
What they’re struggling with
What topics matter most to them
“My very first course I launched in 2018.
I wrote an article, and at the end of it, I said, you could sign up for this program.
Amazingly, I got $30,000 in revenue from just doing that from that one because that article spread virally.
As part of offering the course, which was $220, I gave a free half hour coaching session with me.
That was super, super helpful. I talked to like 60, 70 people before I stopped doing it.
And I just really trained my mind to see who are these people, what attracted them to the article, what are they hoping to get out of it?
I hadn't even created the curriculum yet. After understanding, that's when I created the curriculum from that.”
—Michael Simmons
💡 1-1 reach out is a powerful strategy that I'm also working on.
If you'd like to learn more about how you can apply it to your newsletter step by step, check out my article below.
2. Use a Smart Paywall Strategy
Michael often publishes full, shareable articles.
But at the end, he adds a valuable bonus like an AI prompt or action plan behind the paywall.
This way:
Free readers still get value
Paid readers get something extra and actionable
His biggest lesson from launching paid subscription
Michael’s biggest lesson?
Stop comparing yourself to others. Everyone’s path has ups and downs. You’ll fall behind your schedule at times, and that’s okay. What matters most is to keep going and motivate yourself along the way.
The 2 things Michael wishes he knew before starting his newsletter
“If you don't understand why people buy knowledge, it's really hard to sell knowledge.
You need to have a model in your head of what causes people to purchase.”
—Michael Simmons
1. Package Your Knowledge into Courses
Instead of relying solely on articles, Michael wished he had turned his content into short, structured courses (e.g., 5-lesson email series) from the beginning.
To add perceived value and build deeper engagement, frame them as learning journeys where you're just a few steps ahead of your audience.
2. Create Practical Tools Like AI Prompts
He’d have also developed high-quality AI prompts or templates that help readers apply the ideas from your content.
These actionable resources increase the utility of your work and are more likely to be seen as worth paying for.
In this interview, we also talked about:
How to write high-quality, long-lasting content
Why most viral content disappears, and how to make yours stick
What it really means to be a thought leader
How to turn content into real value through actionable takeaways
What people actually buy from you (hint: it’s more than just content)
Watch our full live interview above to dive deeper into how Michael Simmons built his newsletter 👆
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Thanks for reading, and feel free to reply if you’d like to connect!
See you next week.
Ciler
Find me on Substack Notes & LinkedIn
