“Do You Want a Note or Do You Want a Mess?” – Choosing MeisterNote over Notion

Stuck using Notion? Since the official launch of MeisterNote, we’ve heard from thousands of users who are seeing the benefits of a sleek, streamlined online documentation software that integrates into the Meister Suite. In this blog post, Meister Expert Partner Andres D’Andrea explains his new-found love for note taking with the tool.

Andres D’Andrea is a very different type of influencer. Having founded BSF.company, a subscription-based agency that helps small and medium-sized businesses achieve digital transformation across Central America, he recently left his operative role with the firm to dedicate himself full time to content creation. Andres’ areas of expertise – digitalization, e-commerce and productivity – were a perfect fit with Meister, which is why he joined the company’s Expert Partner program in May 2021.

It was during his introduction to MindMeister, facilitated by Partner Management Lead Raphaela Brandner, that Andres first heard about an exciting new addition to the Meister tools he already knew and used – MeisterNote. Little did he know that this online documentation software – still in the beta phase when he discovered it – was about to revolutionize his content creation workflow. From his office in Guadalajara, Mexico, Andres continues the story:

“I was already excited by the chance to promote MindMeister and MeisterTask, which were two tools I was so passionate about at the time. Then, I joined the private beta for MeisterNote and… it was like seeing the light. It is the absolute cherry on top of the Meister Suite: it has changed the way I create content. Combined with my new personal direction and my needs as a content creator, it felt like a gift from God.” 

MindMeister and MeisterNote: Power Couple

I feel comfortable when I’m using software from the Meister Suite, because it’s a free space for my ideas.

As Andres begins to explain the way he creates content for his growing legion of subscribers, the importance of the Meister Suite – and MeisterNote in particular – becomes clear. His content creation process is split into key stages, each requiring their own tool and smooth integrations between them. However, by combining MindMeister and MeisterNote together, followed by a short hop to WordPress, the gap between fresh content ideas and polished website copy is getting smaller and smaller. Andres condenses his workflow in five key steps:

Step 1: Take Some Notes

 

Andres uses a split-screen browser while watching YouTube tutorials or online courses to take notes on the go, creating a mind map in the process.

Step 2: Switch to Outline Mode

Outline mode is available in MindMeister Beta. Using this feature, Andres can copy the points from his notes and paste them into MeisterNote.

Step 3: Write Your Content

Andres uses MeisterNote’s text and header content blocks, alongside Markup formatting, to expand the outline into a complete content piece.

Step 4: From MeisterNote to WordPress

At the next stage, Andres copies the note in Markup form from MeisterNote and pastes directly into WordPress. Any formatted elements are transferred to the draft automatically.

Step 5: Present!

Andres uses the original brainstorm in MindMeister and the tool’s presentation mode to create attractive video content, which can be easily embedded into articles too.

Home Comforts

I’m not a natural extrovert, so I need a personal space to get my content ready for publishing on the internet.

Andres explains the personal importance of using tools he feels the most comfortable with: 

“MindMeister is a home. MeisterNote is a home. They’re a real power couple! I feel comfortable when I’m using software from the Meister Suite, because it’s a free space for my ideas. I’m not a natural extrovert, so I need this personal space to get my content ready for publishing on the internet. The tools are also great resources for learning about Markup. It’s amazing how many people don’t know about the language, but it works so well, especially if you’re transferring content to WordPress anyway.”

Noting Compares to Meister

Notion just wasn’t working. I had to ask myself: ‘Do you want a note or do you want a mess?’ That’s why I’m so happy to have found MeisterNote.

MeisterNote was not the first note-taking software that Andres tried, but it’s definitely the first one that he has truly loved. When reflecting on his experiences with other tools of a similar ilk to MeisterNote, it becomes clear how important the discovery of the tool has been to him. 

“I’m a personal user, so my perception of all these tools is based on my own experience creating content. I tried Evernote in the past, but I stopped paying my subscription long ago. I got lost with all the changes, the interface was too complicated. I didn’t find the tool to be 100% usable, even for personal use cases.”

The topic of simplicity comes up once again while evaluating another competitor tool, Notion. On this matter, Andres is even more passionate about the MeisterNote ethos of simplicity, user-friendliness and ultimate practicality.

“Obviously I tried Notion too. I do get the attraction, but the feature stacking is just way too much for me. If you don’t take care of every single detail, it turns to chaos. In the end, I was trying to create something that’s actually usable, and with Notion it just wasn’t working. I had to ask myself: ‘Do you want a note or do you want a mess?’ That’s why I’m so happy to have found MeisterNote.” 

Spreading the Word

People are with me on the simplicity issue. You don’t need 100 features to make a note.

In his role as a Meister Expert Partner, Andres is incredibly focused on communicating the benefits of the Meister Suite to his audiences. Although it’s early days in his new venture as a content creator – as well as for MeisterNote as a tool – he sees enormous potential in the software and his ability to convince other users of its benefits. 

“I’m going to be focusing on the amazing features of MeisterNote a lot more intensively in my upcoming content – it’s my new job, my passion, and I’m so excited about it! What’s important to me is that I can talk to users about a tool that I care about and that has the potential to improve the lives of the people who use it. I’ve spoken directly to clients in South and Central America, Europe, the USA… and the people I talk to absolutely love it. They’re with me on the simplicity issue. You don’t need 100 features to make a note. Anything we are missing, it’s covered with the embeds and integrations anyway.”