Spotify Launches Audiobooks! | Going Solo

gm, world! ☀️

We’re living in the times when a 30-second Reel or Shorts can influence our purchases, travel and well, all the lifestyle choices. Do you ever what it must be like to lead a life without influencers and creators swaying your choices? Because we sure do!

And on that note, check out out our weekly round-up of happenings in the creator economy. ☕

In today’s Going Solo

• Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards on consistency

• Discover a new creator: Dan Koe

• Spotify launches audiobooks

• The obsession with greatness

Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards on Consistency

A lot is said about consistency, but the thing is, we can’t always be consistent. At least not in the same fashion. It’s a different battle or process each day, and the only way to remain consistent is by not looking at short-term developments. Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards, a writer and speaker who talks about motivation and creativity, has written a book called The Daffodil Principle, which covers what transpires when you take a small action each day towards your goals.

Lines from the book that stuck a chord with us! 👇🏼

Have You Heard of Dan Koe Yet?

Surely you have! ✨

Dan Koe is a brand and creator advisor who works with creators making 6-7 figures. In his words, Dan is the guy creators go to when they want to go from starving artists to highly-paid (and highly-praised) internet phenomenon. While he helps creators set up marketing, strategies, and goals for growth — he also offers plenty of free courses. Great to get a taste of them before you sign up for the real deal, eh?

Whether you follow his newsletter or social media pages, his content is lucid and serves a purpose: it pushes you to tap into your potential, create better, and write more often. The clarity of thought that his content offer is incredible, and if you’re looking to follow one creator who can motivate you every day, it’s got to be Dan.

Audiobooks — That’s Spotify’s New Category

Writers and subject matter experts, here’s something that’ll make your publishing journeys easier — Spotify Audiobooks.

With about 300,000 audiobooks in its kitty, Spotify announced officially that this feature is available in the US. In the same announcement, Spotify said, “While audiobooks represent just a 6%–7% share of the wider book market, the category is growing by 20% year over year.” 🥳

Those interested in podcasts can also find their favourite audiobooks and writers under the same roof. But for creators and writers, this may come as a fresh surprise, because this solves publishing at many levels — whether you’re a traditional creator or writer, it’s just more convenient to publish your books on a platform where you already have a community. Unlike Google or Apple books, which are apparently Spotify’s competitors in this space.

The Obsession with Greatness by Anthony Pompliano

If we’re being honest, we’re all obsessed with greatness..or even the idea of it. I’ve stumbled upon a short essay by Anthony Pompliano that discusses just this. In this essay, he says, “Greatness is acquired by those who practice their craft for years. You could write an entire book on what makes various individuals great, including how they obtain that level of proficiency and what lessons you can learn from it.” ⛰️

You’ve got to say this essay because it just talks to you and approaches the idea of greatness from various perspectives.

Plus, he also talks about his wife Polina Pompliano’s upcoming book, which also talks about great people and how they become great.

Check out the essay here.

🔥What Else is Brewing in the Creator Economy?

• ESPN is catering to a new generation of creators with its ESPN Creator Network program. With this, ESPN will offer creators an exclusive access to its properties. Know more about it here.

• Something awesome just happened — YouTube introduced a new ‘Creator Music’ platform to enable music licensing. Get all deets here.

• TikTok has launched multi-participant live streams to further expand its live-streaming feature. More details here.

That’s it for this week! I’ll be back with more stories next Friday. 👋🏼

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— Sunaina Patnaik