I Tried Audible for 30-Days. Here’s What Happened.

A few months ago, a friend introduced me to a subscription service he swore by:

Audible. 

“You’ve got to try it,” my friend told me excitedly over the phone. “You of all people will love it.” 

A voracious reader with little time to read, I liked the idea of listening to books on the go. But for one or another reason, I couldn’t see myself listening to a book over reading one. To quote another friend, it felt like “cheating.”

But I was wrong. 

After my friend’s introduction, I swallowed my pride and tried Audible. And after familiarizing myself with it, I have to say—it’s one of the best investments I’ve made in myself. 

In this Audible review, I’ll explain everything you need to know about the popular audiobook app, including:

• How I’m using Audible to learn more in less time;
• My favorite cost-savings tips and tricks; and 
• Why you should consider joining if you don’t have time to read.

Audible Review: What You Need to Know

• What is Audible?
• How Does Audible Work?
• 5 Reasons I Love Audible (And You Will, Too)
  • 1. Revisit Old Favorites
  • 2. Preview Books You’re Curious About
  • 3. Listen to Books You Don’t Have Time to Read
  • 4. Swap Audiobooks (for Any Reason)
  • 5. Take Advantage of Daily Deals

What is Audible?

With more than 300,000 titles to its name, Audible is the world’s largest seller and producer of audiobooks. 

With an impressive array of celebrity narrators and a wide range of features, Audible is a cut above other audiobook services like iTunes and Google Play.

How Does Audible Work?

Trying Audible gives you a free credit which you can redeem for any title regardless of price. If you decide to join at the end of your 30-day trial, you’ll receive one credit per month. plus membership benefits including:

• Access to exclusive sales and daily deals;
• Up to 80% off selected audiobooks; and
• Unlimited listening to documentaries, comedies, and more. (Also known as Audible Originals.)

Depending on your budget and listening preferences, there are four membership plans to choose from:

1. Gold Monthly;
2. Platinum Monthly;
3. Gold Annual; and
4. Platinum Annual

Note: If, after 30-days, you decided Audible is not for you, you need to cancel your membership; otherwise, Amazon will continue charging you.   

If you run out of credits before your renewal, you can change your membership plan to one that includes more credits. Or, if you prefer, buy additional credits to save on expensive books like bestsellers and new releases. 

Say you want to buy the following:

• The Infinite Game: How Great Businesses Achieve Long-lasting Success by Simon Sinek
• Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
• Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal

All are currently on Amazon’s bestsellers list and have been for some time. If you were to buy all three, you would pay $80.11 (based on the time of writing). 

If you were on the Gold Monthly membership, however, and bought three additional credits at $14.95 per credit, you would pay $44.95, saving you $35.16.

To paraphrase Amazon, saving money doesn’t mean you need to cut out the things you love. 

What About Audible’s April 2022 Update?

On April 1st, 2022, Audible switched to Google Play Billing thereby removing the option to buy titles with a debit or credit card in the app. Sunsetting in-app purchasing has disgruntled many users, with many boycotting the app altogether. 

You can still buy and use Audible credits to redeem your favorite titles, but the added step of having to go to Amazon directly to buy a singular title is an inconvenience, especially if, like me, you don’t have your login saved on your mobile.

5 Reasons I Love Audible (And You Will, Too)

When it came to listening to audiobooks, I believed, foolishly, that you read books, or listen to the audio version—but never both. 

My friend challenged me to defy that belief, and in doing so, I realized I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

Here are five reasons I’ve fallen in love with Audible and how I’m using it today.

1. Revisit Old Favorites

If you read my newsletter, you know that the Drip Marketing team and I have a monthly book club. 

Once a month, a team member chooses a book for us to read individually before meeting to discuss the key takeaways we can apply to our marketing. 

If, though, a book is one I’ve read recently, I buy the audiobook and listen to it in addition to my usual monthly reading.

I got Unhooked, a previous book club selection, at a discounted rate due to owning a copy of the Kindle version.

Listening to the audiobook not only reminds me of the book’s key takeaways but also helps me engage with the book on a deeper level, especially when the author reads their work.

2. Preview Books You’re Curious About

Have you ever come across a book and thought to yourself, “I’d like to read that book, but I don’t know if it will be worth my time”?

I know I have.

One of the reasons I was dismissive of listening to audiobooks in the first place was because I love writing book summaries for my Commonplace Book. 

When reading on a Kindle, it’s easy to add a note or highlight and export it later to review. But with audiobooks, it’s notably harder, unless, of course, you pause the book every time you hear something noteworthy. 

One approach I’m trying that’s working well at the moment is listening to books that you might read in the future.

Let me give you an example.

Amazon recently recommended to me Yes: 60 Secrets from The Science of Persuasion! by Robert Cialdini. I was curious, but having read Influence, Cialdini’s earlier book, I wasn’t sure I would learn anything new. So, I vetted it by buying the audiobook first. 

To my surprise, it had many takeaways—far too many to write down. So, after finishing the audiobook, I immediately bought the Kindle version and “reread” it.

One of the many highlights I made while “rereading” Yes! a second time.

It was like watching a movie and then reading the book that inspired it. (Incidentally, the Kindle version I read was recently updated, so, I got even more out of it.)

Listening to the audiobook introduced me to a book I might have otherwise overlooked, ignored, or misjudged unfairly. 

3. Listen to Books You Don’t Have Time to Read

I don’t know about you, but I have dozens of books on my reading list. 

These are just some of the many books on my Amazon wish list.

Many, I doubt, I will never get around to reading. Not because I don’t want to, of course, but because there are always several titles that have a higher priority. 

I read two to three books a month, on average. One of which is our Marketing book club selection. The others, for the most part, I chose based on a good recommendation, a problem I’m trying to solve, or general curiosity.

One book that I wouldn’t usually read was The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero. I had it on my radar for months. But with other books, often, more business-focused books vying for my attention, it fell by the wayside. 

After joining Audible, however, I finally get around to listening to it and ended up getting more out of it than I ever could have imagined (the book is now one of my all-time favorite books). 

4. Swap Audiobooks (for Any Reason)

We’ve all read books we instantly disliked for different reasons—unoriginal, derivative, carelessly-written, to name a few. But with audiobooks, it’s possible to disfavor a title due to the narrator.

While rare, a book’s narrator—or rather, their accent—isn’t always a good fit for the book they’re reading. And as such, listening attentively can be a trying experience.

I experienced that with one audiobook I bought recently. The narrator was unenthused, and for that reason, my interest waned after only a few chapters. 

Fortunately, thanks to Amazon’s book swapping policy, I was able to exchange that book for another title with a more engaging author.

5. Take Advantage of Daily Deals

The Daily Deal is a membership benefit that allows you to buy a new and different audiobook every day at a reduced price. 

I recently got George S. Clason’s The Richest Man in Babylon for a fraction of the price through The Daily Deal.

You can either check the daily deal in the app or, if you prefer, get a daily email from Amazon. 

Not all books will be relevant to your interests, of course. But those that are, offer an affordable supplement to your monthly credits.

Is Audible Worth It?

If you’re still on the fence after reading this Audible review, my advice is to try Audible free for 30-days, pick a book you wouldn’t usually listen to, and then decide if it’s for you.

The best part is once you buy a book, it remains in your library and can be downloaded at any time, even if you cancel your membership. You have nothing to lose and a free book to gain.

Now I want to hear from you:

Are you an Audible member? If so, what do you think? Leave a comment below.