Does Audible Membership Work?

Have you noticed when searching on Amazon for a book, often the first thing that comes up in the search is Audible and wondered – does Audible Membership Work? In this post I will explain what it is, how it works and most importantly, what you get for your money.
(Just so you know, as well as being an Audible fan myself, I have also signed up for their affiliate programme so if you become a subscriber I will get paid a small commission – there is no extra cost to you.)

What is Audible?

In case, like me, you have ignored this phenomenon for the last few years, Audible is a monthly subscription audio book service from Amazon. They have the most extensive choice of books (as you can imagine) and the content is really brought to life by the narrator. You can play it directly from a laptop or desktop, with Kindle Fire, or through the Audible App on a tablet or mobile phone so you can take it anywhere.

What sort of books are available?

Really any sort of book you can think of including novels, biographies, personal development books and genres to interior design and woodworking! Most books you might normally buy you will find here.

What are the benefits of listening on Audible?

The benefits will vary depending on who you are. I used to think that audio books were for the elderly or sight impaired, and only tried it myself when I was invited to join in a competition by UK-based Network Marketing superstar, Craig White. Craig’s challenge was to download Audible to get his audio book, Elastic Attitude, free, he would also send a copy of the book in print which you had to read and comment about on his Facebook page.

It was absolutely my intention to cancel my membership after the first month but I found it so useful, I hung onto it. I loved listening to Elastic Attitude in my car, especially as Craig is extremely passionate and was so excited about sharing his message.

I have been a big fan of listening to Personal Development CDs in my car over the years (especially Jim Rohn, Darren Hardy, Zig Zigglar and others) – it had not occurred to me at all that Audible could replace all of that, and at a lower cost of the CD sets I used to buy.

Are you someone who typically has very little time to sit down and read? Then Audible will be great for you. You can listen while you are doing jobs around the house, doing the food shopping or cooking dinner. Whether you want to be educated or just enjoy a good novel and totally escape, you can access the highest quality content on the move.

How does it work?

To get started, you simply sign up for a free 30-day trial, at which point you get a free audio book. At the end of the free trial you can either cancel or keep going and be charged the monthly fee – for the Gold subscription you get 1 free book for the monthly fee of $14.95 and for the Platinum subscription you get 2 books for $22.95. (It is worth noting somewhere in your diary to remember to make the decision before the end of the trial as you may not receive a notification that you have come to the end.) Alternatively, there are savings to be made by opting for paying the fee annually which is currently $149.50 for Gold and $229.50 for Platinum.

You get at least one ‘credit’ every month (as per your membership type). Depending on the book you purchase. Depending on the cost of the physical book, you may end up paying more or less. For example, I recently got the Audible version of The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin. It is a monster of a book, retailing at $18.95 for the new paperback so I made a saving, as well as avoiding a crick in my neck from holding such a heavyweight!

What if I need more books?

Audible offer an option to purchase credits when your credit balance is at 1 or zero. The cost is variable but look out for special offers that are available from time to time (I recently saw 3 for the price of one).

What other benefits are there?

There is also an interesting option of Whispersync, where you can go from listening to your book to reading it on Kindle – and it picks up at exactly the right place! So you start off with buying the book on Kindle but I found the challenge was finding the book I wanted in this format. It’s best to keep an open mind and see what they have available in this format – I found that it was mostly novels. You have to pay extra for the audible element so depending what other books are on your wish list, you might be better just using your credit (or not!).

The best benefit I have found (over most other audio book providers) is that once you have downloaded the book it is yours to keep so if you are going to be on a budget for a while, you can cancel your membership at any time and retain everything you have saved in your library.

Also, there are often offers (e.g. 50% off selected titles) and some free books targeted at the sort of thing you are interested in. (E.g. my most recent freebie is a book called ‘The moment that changed everything’, by a number of different authors which is right up my street.)

Do you get more if you are an Amazon Prime Member or use Alexa?

I’m glad you asked! As an Amazon Prime member you get free access to 50+ books so if you are easy going about what you are reading, this is a great inclusive option. If not, best to go for one of the paid membership options.
(If you are not yet an Amazon Prime member, it’s definitely worth checking out.)

If you have ‘Alexa’ enabled device, you can both buy books using your credits. At the time of writing you have to first ask Alexa to read a sample of your chosen sample before making your purchase, then when your purchase is complete, she will continue reading your book. Naturally, you can then go on to listen on any other device.

Conclusion

If you love to read an actual book, then the chances are you might prefer to stick with physical books or Kindle. However, if you are always on the move, prefer to shut your eyes and picture the scene or spend a lot of time in the car, Audible is an invaluable tool to either catch up on your reading or turn your vehicle into a mobile university!