Rideshare driving can be monotonous and, if most of your passengers don’t want to chat, a little boring. You can make rideshare driving more interesting by listening to audiobooks on the road. Here, senior RSG contributor Jay Cradeur shows us how to get started with Audible and how you can get your first audiobook for free.
I love to learn and to be entertained. I can accomplish both of these goals when I listen to a book on tape. While podcasts are good, a book on tape can be great. Why? When someone takes a year or two to create a book, a great deal of thought and preparation and editing goes into the process.
A book is not just a couple of people talking. A great book can present to you a whole new world. Books can educate you on virtually any topic you might have a desire to learn. Right now I can think of many books that have made a powerful impact on me, and many of them I have kept throughout the years.
Get started with Audible using our referral link here – you’ll get your first book and a 30 day trial for FREE.
Just a few of the books on my shelf
What Is Audible?
Since we, the rideshare drivers of the world, spend so much time in our cars, it makes sense that rather than read a book (which would most likely cause an accident), we can have someone else read it to us. This concept is referred to as “books on tape” and it is called that because, in the good old days, we would listen to the books that were recorded on cassette audiotapes. Our cars were equipped with cassette tape players and we could listen to self-help tapes (Brian Tracy was a favorite of mine) and books on tape.
Audible has taken this to the next level by giving us all access to thousands of books that we can listen to on our phones (or computers) through the Audible app. When I was traveling through Vietnam last year, I was filling my free time with a wonderful course on meditation which I purchased and downloaded through Audible.
How to Get Started with Audible
Getting started with Audible is simple. First, click on our Audible referral link here, which will get you a free audiobook and your first month of Audible free.
When you click on the link, you will be taken to this page:
When you get here, click on the orange box that says “Click to Try Audible Free.” Audible, in order to get you to try out the service, offers the first month and first book for free. After that first book, you can continue on with the service and select one new book each month for $14.95. You may realize like I did, that $14.95 is a small price to pay for top quality content. Or you may not.
Either way, I recommend you get your free book and try it out. Get some real-world experience and then you can better determine how you want to move forward.
Once you click, you have the opportunity to join through your Amazon account. Audible is an Amazon company, so this makes the entire sign up process a breeze if you have an Amazon account.
Next, you will verify your form of payment. Again, you won’t be charged anything until the beginning of your second month.
Once you have completed this part of the process, you will be taken to a welcome screen. You can see some books on this screen, or you can scroll down and see more.
The book that I wanted to read is called Can’t Hurt Me. It is written by David Goggins, who I first heard on Joe Rogan’s podcast. After listening to him on the podcast, I got on his Instagram feed and there he presents one-minute videos. Usually, David is running and talking about what it takes to break through your barriers. The videos are very inspiring. Now I want the book!
I used Audible’s search feature and found the book rather quickly. Once you see the book you want, you can hover over it and get more information. Then you click on the book and you can order it.
All you need to do is click on the orange box and you will be given access to your book.
As you can see, getting started with Audible is easy. Just make sure you sign up using a referral link so you can get your first audiobook for free! You can use our Audible referral link here.
How To Listen To Your Book Through Audible
You can listen to your book on your computer or on your phone. Since most of us will be using our phones to listen to our books, I will show you how to do it here. If you do want to listen on your computer, simply Google the term “Audible Computer Download” and you will be directed to a download page.
For those of us who will be using our phones, you will want to go to your App Store (or Google Play for Android). Once in your App Store, you can do a search for Audible.
Then you will download the app, and in most cases, your new purchase will already be loaded.
There is my book all ready for download. Once downloaded, I can listen to it at any time, online or offline.
On this screen from the Audible app, you will see you can go backward and forward in 30-second increments. You will also notice you can adjust the talking speed. I find that I can understand quite well at 1.5X, and if you can too, that will save you huge amounts of time.
If I were listening to a book such as Hemingway’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, I would never speed it up. Instead, I would want to linger on each word. It really depends on you and what you are listening to at the time.
You can also set a sleep timer. If you are going to bed, and it normally takes you 15 minutes to fall asleep, you can set the timer for 20 minutes and then you will be able to listen until you fall asleep. You can then adjust back to the point at which you fell asleep the next time you listen. It is a very functional app.
How to Get Started with Audible: Takeaways
Try it out. I think Audible is a fantastic service, especially for rideshare drivers who spend an inordinate amount of time behind the wheel. Again, use our link to get started and you will get the first month for free!
When I first evaluated the Audible program, I thought “Why should I spend $14.95 when I can listen to podcasts for free?” That is a legitimate concern. I found the quality of the content was simply too good and extremely valuable to my life.
In the end, I feel $14.95 is a bargain. Try it out. Audible is entirely free for your first month (and first book) and you can listen to any book you want. Have fun with it. Learn some great new stuff while you are driving around. It’s awesome. I can’t wait to jump into my new book. Drive safe out there.
Get started with Audible using our referral link here – you’ll get your first book and a 30 day trial for FREE.
Drivers, do you listen to audiobooks or podcasts while driving? Which books or podcasts have been your favorites?
-Jay @ RSG