#umanoapp

Dear Umano Community,

As 2014 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment and thank you for making this an incredible year. Writers, narrators, and listeners alike -- whether you have been with us for over two years, or you're a newcomer to Umano, you help shape the culture and future of Umano.

Very exciting developments are in store for 2015 as we continue to work with amazing writers and content producers to bring their work into the listening space, and provide the most convenient platform for listeners to enjoy the content they love. This year, we will be announcing audio integration partnerships with some of the world's leading car manufacturers in our effort continue to bring amazing content wherever listeners are.

We love hearing from you. Since the beginning, you have been an incredible source of inspiration for our team. We are constantly learning how to make your Umano the best experience possible, so let's keep the dialogue open and have the best year yet.

Happy New Year,

What articles should you narrate for maximum exposure and revenue? What kind of content reaches the Popular page on Umano?

We analyzed data from more than 500,000 articles narrated on Umano and 100 million minutes of listening to decipher the top five principles of articles that get listened to and shared the most across Umano and connected social media platforms.

We have outlined the top five principles that make content on Umano perform best. Each principle is relatively independent, some are easier to apply to your stories than others, but you don’t need each principle to make its way into your story for yours to be successful.

Telling a narrative: 

People don’t just share information, they tell stories. Personal, first person accounts that listeners can identify with and extract lessons from perform in the top. 

Example:

Emotion-inducing:

When we care we share. Stories that evoke feeling and emotion are often the most shareable. Emphasize feeling over function. Memory-inducing stories trigger social sharing.

Positive and/or arousing: How positive is a story's message? Does it arouse emotions – like outrage, fear, happiness or excitement?

Example:

Pick-me-ups: Is the message of the story or article inspirational? Can you frame a story to deliver a message that is uplifting and attainable for listeners? 

Example:

Practical value:

Create stories that provide personal, practical info that listeners can use in their daily lives. Craft content that’s logical credible, and straightforward. Highlight the value of what your content has to offer.

Coaching pieces: Give a competitive advantage to the listener, or instruct them on how to improve their livelihood. 

Example:

Winning Team pieces: Articles that make listeners feel like they're on a 'winning team', or give them insight on how to get there.

Example:

Social currency:

People want to seem sharp and in the know. To get listeners to share your content, craft messages that can help them achieve desired impressions in their social circles.

Explains a hot topic: Provide succinct and compelling summaries of newsworthy topics that helps listeners understand and talk about easily.

Example:

Introduces new information: Introduces a new, remarkable thing to an audience.

Example:

FOMO-Inducing:

Topics that induce a ‘fear of missing out’ if a listener doesn’t seize the opportunity to catch the valuable information promised in the article or story.

Example:

Umano has been designed for listeners who love to consume the best content from the web, hands-free and on-the-go, when reading is inconvenient. But what about times when you’re on your desktop and you want to listen to the latest news without using your phone? Maybe you're at work right now, and you'd rather take a break so you can listen to today’s most popular articles?...We won't tell.

One of the most popular requests from all over the Umano community has been the ability to listen from your computer. Today, we are happy to announce that the Umano listening experience is coming to the web. 

  Here are new, exciting ways you can enrich your experience with Umano right now!

Get more out of Umano with:

Accessing your news feed and current playlist on the web

Edit your current playlist and search for new clips to listen to on our website with ease. All changes will be saved right to your Umano account in real time, so you can access your edited playlist from the app, or from the web right away.

Recommending, commenting on and sharing articles as you do from the app

Now you can stay social, communicate and build your own community on Umano from wherever is most convenient for you.

Following other listeners, favorite narrators and writers

First, try adding people you want to get recommendations from to your following list. Second, follow your favorite narrators and writers so you don't miss all the best stories when they go live. Finally, build your own following!

And, (don’t miss it!) unlimited listening on the web  

Get access to hundreds of articles narrated for you daily and enjoy unlimited listening, for a limited time only. If you don't yet have Umano Premium, take advantage of this opportunity to listen to as many articles as you want without paying.

Feel free to try it out right now. Just log into your account at https://umano.me/login and discover the web version of the audio platform you already love.

We want your feedback! Let us know your impressions of the web experience once you try it. Is there a feature you still want to use on the web you haven't seen yet? Please share your thoughts in the comments, or send feedback to [email protected].