Fascinating article Abid! I started putting out audio voice-overs as a way to emotionally process what I had written. It had immense value for me but when I asked a few readers if they had ever listened to the audio they said no. So now if I do an audio I do it for myself, because like you said, 80% will likely never hear it. Side note: About 3 or 4 months ago Substack was placing a play button on the upper right corner of posts. When clicked an AI voice would read the article to you. I found this incredibly useful myself. It disappeared (on my substack app at least) so I use the app Reader to have an AI voice read articles to me when I'm on walks or in the car.
I'd heard of the AI reader but never found the button as I use the browser version most of the time. I'm going to keep recording audio as it help my audience connect with me through my voice. And as you've highlighted; I should do it for me too.
Love this reflection, Abid. Your audio recordings are just phenomenal and I think everyone should be listening to you. That said, perhaps it's really just an issue of medium/channel. Substack posts may still be primarily read, but perhaps a podcast is where your audio talents will shine so much more -- and trust me, you have a significant talent!
My two cents: You definitely aren't wasting your time, but perhaps your value is not being appreciated sufficiently in your current mode of delivery.
Thanks for your kind words Kathy. You know what? I like tinkering with ideas and ways of delivery and I like experimenting. I'm going to keep doing it.
Very useful Abid. I wonder about this also. I read faster than I write. The substack estimates know that. Also, I think the app probably allows you to speed up the audio
I was surprised to see that so many people preferred to read over listen but always nice to experiment. I'll have to come up with a more detailed survey in future so that I can understand the demography that are taking part which will help uncover more answers.
super interesting, Abid, thank you for sharing! Im on team listeners, and I'm surprised to see 80% of your respondents prefer to read! Is it perhaps that your sample is made of writers?
Fascinating article Abid! I started putting out audio voice-overs as a way to emotionally process what I had written. It had immense value for me but when I asked a few readers if they had ever listened to the audio they said no. So now if I do an audio I do it for myself, because like you said, 80% will likely never hear it. Side note: About 3 or 4 months ago Substack was placing a play button on the upper right corner of posts. When clicked an AI voice would read the article to you. I found this incredibly useful myself. It disappeared (on my substack app at least) so I use the app Reader to have an AI voice read articles to me when I'm on walks or in the car.
I'd heard of the AI reader but never found the button as I use the browser version most of the time. I'm going to keep recording audio as it help my audience connect with me through my voice. And as you've highlighted; I should do it for me too.
Love this reflection, Abid. Your audio recordings are just phenomenal and I think everyone should be listening to you. That said, perhaps it's really just an issue of medium/channel. Substack posts may still be primarily read, but perhaps a podcast is where your audio talents will shine so much more -- and trust me, you have a significant talent!
My two cents: You definitely aren't wasting your time, but perhaps your value is not being appreciated sufficiently in your current mode of delivery.
Thanks for your kind words Kathy. You know what? I like tinkering with ideas and ways of delivery and I like experimenting. I'm going to keep doing it.
Very useful Abid. I wonder about this also. I read faster than I write. The substack estimates know that. Also, I think the app probably allows you to speed up the audio
I was surprised to see that so many people preferred to read over listen but always nice to experiment. I'll have to come up with a more detailed survey in future so that I can understand the demography that are taking part which will help uncover more answers.
super interesting, Abid, thank you for sharing! Im on team listeners, and I'm surprised to see 80% of your respondents prefer to read! Is it perhaps that your sample is made of writers?
Interesting!
I was surprised by this too. I'm already thinking about how I'll shape future surveys to uncover more details about my audience.