July 4th Message

Hey everyone,

Hope you’re having a great 4th of July! There is no show this Sunday…

Quick story for you. We used to do the Meet in the Middle Cigar Show on YouTube, and we built it up to 10,000+ subscribers before getting banned for talking about cigars while selling cigars. I saw that coming from a mile away, and honestly, no regrets. But it meant starting over on Substack.

Here’s the truth: we’re at about half the viewership we had before. I’m not upset about it, and this isn’t a guilt trip. Building something new takes time, and I’m in this for the long haul regardless of the numbers. The show isn’t going anywhere.

But here’s what I know from years of doing this every week: the show gets better with more people in it. More voices in the comments, more energy, more of that Meet in the Middle feeling. So I want to ask you for something.

Help me grow this back up.

Here’s how:

1. Send one episode to one person. Not everyone you know, just one person who’d genuinely enjoy it.

2. Comment, like, restack. The little stuff actually moves the needle on Substack.

3. Tell me your ideas. What would get you to bring a friend to the show? What’s missing? What would make this a no-brainer to share? Hit reply, I read everything.

As a thank you, I’m putting together some ideas for folks who help spread the word. More on that soon.

This community got us to around 10,000 once. I’d love to build that again with you, on our terms this time.

Appreciate you being here,

Mark