Audible Free Trial: Download a High-Quality Audio Book for Free

Want to turn ‘dead time’ (time spent commuting, exercising, doing chores, etc.) into ‘learning time’?

Audio books can be loaded onto your portable device (eg iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Kindle etc.) and then listened to anywhere, anytime. Say goodbye to endless commutes, treadmill tedium and tiresome chores.

Where is the best place to download audio books?

In my opinion there is one site that is head and shoulders above the rest: Audible. With over 100,000 titles to choose from, Audible offers the widest selection of digital audio books for download. But before I tell you more about Audible, I want you to know that I only recommend products and services that I personally use. As you can see in the below screenshot, I have been a member of Audible since March 14, 2008.

The benefits of becoming an Audible member include:

Savings of up to 75% off of CD audio book retail prices
Access to member only sales and promotions
FREE daily audio subscription to The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal
And much, much more….

Audible offers two different membership plans. These are:

1. Gold Membership Plan

Gold members receive 1 credit per month (1 credit = 1 audio book). Audible currently has two special introductory offers for the Audible Gold Plan: 1) new members can download an audio book for $7.49 per month for the first 3 months, and $14.95 per month thereafter; or 2) new members can download a free audio book with a 14 day trial.

Audible Discount Offer: Download an Audio Book for only $7.49 and Save 50% for 3 months.

Audible Free Trial: Try Audible Now and Get A Free Audio Book Download with a 14 Day Trial.

The Audible Free Trial is a no obligation trial. If you are not 100% satisfied with Audible, you can cancel your account before the end of the trial, pay nothing and keep your free audio book. And yes, you can cancel online (ie you don’t need to spend time on the phone).

2. Platinum Membership

Platinum members receive 2 credits per month and are charged $22.95 per month ($11.47 per credit). Audible does not currently have a special introductory offer for the Platinum Membership. My advice is to initially sign up with the Gold Membership and later upgrade to the Platinum Membership if you find that 1 audio book per month is not enough.

Audible Book Tips

If you’re liking the sound of Audible books here are a few more tips:

Pay attention to the narrator, as a good narrator will add to your experience of the audio book (and a bad narrator can ruin it!). You can do this by listening to a sample of the audio book before purchasing it and/ or reading the reviews from other members.
I use the Griggin iTrip Auto FM Transmitter and Auto Charger to listen to audio books in the car. Also, many of the new car stereos come equipped with an auxiliary input so that you can connect your iPod (or similar MP3 player) directly to your stereo. It’s also possible to burn audio books to CD.
The Audible software is available for Windows and Mac. If you use iTunes like I do your audio books will automatically show, as you can see in the below screenshot:
If you’re unsure about signing up as a member, or are dissatisfied with Audible once you become a member, you can cancel your membership at anytime.