5 Steps to Get into Audiobook Listening

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It’s no secret that I love audiobooks and I am positive you will love them too. Audiobook popularity has been on the rise over the past decade with the global market size estimated to be over US$13 Billion by 2029, according to the latest statistics.

I often get asked basic questions like how to get into audiobooks by book lovers who want to dip their toes into the world of audiobooks.

This tutorial will guide you on how to get started with audiobooks in 5 easy steps.

Step 1: Know the Pros and Cons of Audiobooks

If you are undecided whether audiobooks are for you, you need to know the advantages and disadvantages of audiobooks vs reading.

Here are some key benefits of audiobooks over traditional paper books.

Multitasking: Audiobooks provide a nice distraction while doing mentally taxing things. You can enjoy them during a walk or exercise sessions. You may listen to audiobooks during your commute, while doing gardening or playing video games.
Portability: Carrying many physical books for your road trip is not possible. With audiobooks, you have an unlimited supply of books on your smartphone during travel.
Availability/ Accessibility: No need of a trip to the library or bookstore to get a book. You can get a new release in minutes and they are never out of stock due to the digital format.
Storytelling at its Best: For Harry Potter fans, there is nothing like listening to Harry Potter by Stephen Fry.
No Eye Strain or Reading Slump: No dry eyes because of long sessions and focus for extended periods. Audiobooks require less of your focus and attention and you do not need to pick a book to read so it is an ideal format to avoid reading slumps.

There are many other benefits of audiobooks vs reading. You can finish more books in less time and it is an ideal format for people with reading difficulties (visually impaired and dyslexia patients).

Regarding the disadvantage of the audiobooks, they can be expensive as compared to physical books but there are many ways to get them for less.

In my opinion, advantages of the audiobook format outperform the disadvantages.

Step 2: Choose Your Audiobook Provider

There are plenty of audiobook retailers to choose from. I always recommend starting with Audible.

According to Words Rated, Audible is the world’s largest audiobook provider with 63.4% of the US audiobook market share.

Whether you are looking for a new release, a bestselling title, or a classic, Audible is your best bet to get your favorite book in audio format.

The key features of Audible include

Use without Membership: Audible’s Free Listens section offers hundreds of audiobooks to give you a taste of Audible’s quality. You can also purchase Audible books without membership.
Free 30 Days Trial: Audible is one of the audiobook platforms that offer a free trial. With 30-day free trial, you get 1 free audiobook and unlimited streaming access to the Plus Catalog with over 70,000 audiobooks across all genres.
Extensive Book Collection: Audible has over 750,000 audiobooks in 24 categories and 12 languages. The Plus Catalog (included in all membership plans) gives you unlimited access to over 70,000 titles with fresh content added to it on a weekly basis. Know more about Audible’s audiobook collection
Sales and Deals: Audible offers plenty of sales and deals including Daily Deals, Monthly Deals, 2-for-1 Deals, and more. You can get a huge discount on your audiobook purchases through Audible sales.

Audible membership offers many other benefits that are discussed in detailed Audible review.

I recommend getting the Audible app on your phone and trying some audiobooks from Audible’s Free Listen section to get a taste of what to expect.

Join Audile’s 30-day free trial to get a free title and unlimited access to the Plus Catalog for 30 days. You can cancel the trial anytime with no questions asked.

Here are 5 other recommended audiobook services you can check out

Chirp: Chirp is the best audiobook retailer to get cheap audiobooks without any subscription or commitment.
Create your free account and save up to 95% on limited-time deals delivered to your email. Know more about how Chirp works.
Libby: The Libby app lets you borrow audiobooks, eBooks, magazines, and other digital content from your local library for free. You only need your local library membership card to get audiobooks through Libby.
Know more about how to get started with Libby. Millions of users (from 78 countries) use Libby to access free digital content.
Everand (Formerly Scribd): Everand gives you access to audiobooks, eBooks, podcasts, magazines, newspapers, and more in a single membership plan ($9.99/month).
They offer you a free 30-day trial and you can cancel anytime you want. The audiobook collection is not as impressive as Audible.
Audiobooks.com: Audiobooks.com has an extensive collection of over 450,000 audiobooks. They offer a free 30-day trial and have a Perfect First Listens to get you started with audiobooks. Know more about Audiobooks.com.
LibriVox: If you are into classics, you can check out LibriVox. They offer free audiobooks in public domain. The narration quality is not great as books are recorded by volunteers so I do not recommend starting your audiobooks journey with LibriVox.

There are many other audiobooks services that you can check out including Libro.fm, Hoopla, Blinkist, Kobo and Spotify.

Related Article: 6 Methods to get paid audiobooks for free

You can also check out the 5 methods to get audiobooks for less article and cheaper alternatives to Audible for some ideas on how to save on audiobook purchases.

Step 3: Choose Your First Listen

Here are a few recommendations for choosing your first audiobook

Start with short audiobooks (2-3 hours long)
Pick a book that you have read before. You can compare audiobook and reading formats and know what to expect.
Pick a title from a genre you have an interest in and look for the work of your favorite authors
You can choose a title from best-selling books in your favorite genre. I also recommend starting with biographies/memoirs as stories narrated by authors are easy to follow and focus on.
Read reviews and listen to samples before starting. It gives you a pretty good idea on the quality of narration.

If you have joined the Audible trial, the Plus Catalog offers loads of audiobooks in all categories.

Here are some of the recommended first listens to get you started with audiobooks.

Step 4: Choose Your Audiobook Device

You can listen to audiobooks on your computer, smartphone, tablet/iPad, smart speaker (Alexa devices, Google Home, etc.), Kindle, and many other devices.

I recommend your smartphone as your primary audiobook device. Smartphone is the preferred audiobook device for 44% of audiobook lovers, according to the latest survey.

Here are some of the benefits of using smartphone as your primary audiobook device.

Smartphone enables listening on the go. Whether you are going out for a walk or gym session, or during a commute.
With a smartphone, you can listen to audiobooks offline and on airplane mode during the travel.
You do not need to carry an additional device just for audiobooks
The smartphone apps (from all major audiobook retailers) offer more features than listening on computers and other devices.
You can connect your phone to bluetooth speakers and devices or use the ‘car mod’ while driving

Overall, I recommend a smartphone as your primary device but you can listen to audiobooks on other devices.

I use an Android phone, iPhone, and sometimes computer to listen to audiobooks. The Audible app automatically syncs the listening position across devices.

Step 5: Get Started With Your First Listen

I will show you how to get started with audiobooks on Audible but all other major audiobook platforms have similar apps.

After deciding on your first listen, here are steps to listen to your first audiobook.

Start by downloading and installing the Audible app on your smartphone [Audible app for iOS | Android].

You need an Amazon account to use Audible (like any other Amazon product or service). I have a detailed article to help you create an Amazon account if you do not have one already.

When you open the Audible app for the first time, sign in using the Amazon account.

The app is divided into 4 sections, accessible from the bottom navigation bar.

Home: This section has recommendations for you and highlights new releases and best titles from different categories.
Library: This section has all of your audiobooks, podcasts, and other content. Any audiobook that you purchase (on Audible or Amazon) goes to the Library section.
Discover: This section helps you find your next listen. You can browse or search for content from different categories and access the Plus Catalog here.
Profile: This section has your account details, listening history, app settings, membership details, badge collection, and more.

Now, let us grab an audiobook from Audible’s Free Listen section.

I will tap on the Discover option from the bottom navigation bar and tap on the search icon on the top right of the screen to search for a title.

I will search for a free title Around the World in 80 days and tap on Add to Library.

Next, tap on the Library option from the bottom navigation bar. You will have the audiobook in your Library section. Download and listen to it with a single tap.

The audiobook will start playing in Audible Player. The Audible player has a simple user interface with the following controls.

In the Library section, you have additional features across the top navigation bar as shown below.

Audible is one of the best Audiobook apps combining simplicity and functionality to bring the best listening experience.

You can also listen to Audible books without the app and on other devices.

9 Tips to Get Started with Audiobooks

If you are looking for how to get into audiobooks, these 9 tips will help you get started with your audiobook journey.

Start Slow: You can start experimenting with audiobooks during your commute or gym session or have short interval listening sessions at the start. Listening to a book is a completely different experience than reading a book. You may need some time to focus better and get used to audiobooks.
Start with Free Audiobooks: You can get audiobooks for free from your local library (via the Libby app) or explore free listens from a major audiobook retailer like Audible. This will give you a taste of what to expect.
Join a Free Trial: Join a risk-free trial from Audible or Audiobooks.com. This will give you access to thousands of titles to stream and you will get free titles to keep forever. You can cancel anytime you want.
Join a Membership Plan: Membership plans from major audiobook retailers make more financial sense. If you join Audible Premium Plus, you can get unlimited access to the Plus Catalog with over 70,000 titles and get a monthly credit to purchase one title from the premium selection. The membership also gives you access to members’ exclusive sales and deals.
Get Most of Sales & Deals: Most audiobook services have sales and deals that you can take full advantage of. Frequently visit the sales sections of Audible, Chirp, audiobooks.com, and other retailers. You can also sign up for email notifications to get the latest sales in your email.
Read Reviews & Listen to Sample: Make sure to read reviews and listen to audio sample before purchasing a title. You can read audiobook reviews from Audible, Amazon, Goodreads, and other sites. Listen to the sample of the book narration to get an idea of what to expect.
Return a Title You Don’t Like: All major audiobook retailers offer a good return policy. You can return and exchange audiobooks that you do not like or purchased with mistakes.
Experiment with Narration Speed: If you find an audiobook narration is too slow, try listening at 1.25X or 1.50X narration speed. You will never go back once you get used to it. The next thing you know, you have finished more audiobooks in less time. You can also slow down the narration speed if it is too fast for your liking. Know how much time you will save at increased narration speed using our speed calculator.
Explore more of your Favorite Narrator’s work: If you like an author or narrator’s style, explore more of their work. I also recommend exploring the best-selling audiobooks in your favorite genre and categories. You will find some hidden gems.

When you are exploring how to get started with audiobooks, do not replace physical books with audio format at the beginning.

Audiobooks is an ideal format for outdoor activities and during travel but you can still enjoy paper books and eBooks.

Sohail Ahmed

I love Audiobooks and this blog features my first-hand experience with all major audiobook apps and services … Know More