How to Gift Audiobooks for the Holidays
How to Gift Audiobooks for the Holidays
You may have read the media coverage about book shortages this holiday season. Perhaps you already struggled to get your hands on a particular bestseller. But did you know that audiobooks make the best gifts?
If you’ve wondered how to give an audiobook or didn’t know that you can gift audiobooks and support your favorite bookstore, this article explains how.
Plus, if you’re feeling lucky, at the end there’s a special holiday giveaway where you can win audiobooks that have been featured on The Best of Women’s Fiction Podcast.
How to Know if Audiobooks are a Good Gift Idea?
Aren’t books always the perfect gift? :-). If you’re wondering whether a friend or family member would appreciate audiobooks, here are a couple of ways to tell.
a) Are they a podcast fan? If they also enjoy reading, it’s likely they’ll appreciate an audiobook as a gift.
b) Do they spend time on mundane housework, or frequent drives shuttling the kids? If so, they may appreciate a gripping audiobook to keep them entertained.
You can gift a particular book or a subscription that lets your friend choose their own perfect listen.
How to Support Local Bookstores
Libro.fm is an audiobook platform where your preferred bookstore receives a portion of every purchase. When you set up your account, you choose which local bookstore to support.
You can gift a few months of subscription (currently $14.99 a month) or buy individual books à la carte.
The site even shows recommended picks from your favorite local store. For example, I support Bookshop Santa Cruz, and they create great recommended audiobook lists (if you’re in Northern California, I also encourage you to visit them in person!)
The user experience with Libro.fm is similar to Audible by Amazon, where you listen using an easy app on your phone, or other device.
How to Gift an Audiobook Subscription
Both Audible and Libro.fm let you gift a monthly subscription, for up to 12 months.
Libro.fm offers 3, 6, and 12 month gift subscriptions, starting at $45 for 3 months. Each month, your recipient chooses their book. Amazon Audible offers 1, 3, 6 and 12 month gift subscriptions. The 1 month option starts at $15, and it’s $45 for 3 months.
You can either email the gift subscription or print out a certificate to place in a pretty gift card. This choice to print is a nice option if you don’t know your recipient’s email.
Gift a Book You’ve Loved (or you know they will!)
To gift specific audiobooks, you’ll find this option under the book’s listing on the audible.com or libro.fm websites. First, search for the book you want to gift.
On Libro.fm, the Gift Audiobook option is located under the book’s cover image. Or you can start from the bottom of the page for Libro.fm Gift Memberships. If you are logged into your account, your chosen local bookstore will get credit for your gift purchase.
For Audible, on a desktop computer, select more options on the right. Then in the pop-up window, choose Give as a gift. You can also start from the Audible Gift Center.
Use Existing Credits
If you have an active monthly subscription to either Audible or Libro.fm, the great news is you can use your existing credits to gift books to others.
This is a great choice if you have spare credits, because it costs you nothing extra. For the price you paid for a monthly credit (generally around $15 or less), you can gift an expensive audiobook. For example, you could choose Barack Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land, currently valued at $45 to $55.
Not sure which Audiobook to Gift? Some Extra Inspiration.
Why not check out the novels in the holiday audiobook giveaway below? Each of these authors was chosen for The Best of Women’s Fiction podcast because they are among the best in the genre.
Libro.fm has a fun quiz to find your ideal gift, plus a thoughtful gift bundle with a 1000-piece puzzle, a candle, and a credit for any audiobook (all proceeds go to the nonprofit organization, We Need Diverse Books).
You could also look at the frequently gifted audiobooks or why not pick your favorite author and check their book recommendations on Goodreads or BookBub?
Holiday Audiobook Giveaway!
Some of the authors featured on The Best of Women’s Fiction Podcast have partnered to gift you audiobooks this holiday season!
We are giving away five audiobooks each to three lucky winners. Details on the entry page.
I hope this article inspired you to consider audiobooks as a great gift this holiday season!
And don’t forget that if you enjoy an audiobook, online reviews are just as important to our authors as with paper or ebooks!
A few quick notes:
- I wrote this article from the perspective of a US-based purchaser. In other countries, your links may differ. Libro.fm allows gift purchases from outside the US, but the monthly subscription is only available to customers in the U.S. and Canada.
- For simplicity, I focused on two popular channels – Amazon Audible and Libro.fm. However, other options exist, such as Apple and Google Play audiobooks, Nook, Scribd, and audiobooks.com.
Lainey Cameron
Lainey Cameron is a digital nomad and author of women’s fiction, as well as founder and host of The Best of Women’s Fiction podcast. A recovering tech industry executive, her 12-time award-winning novel, The Exit Strategy, was inspired by a decade of being the only woman in the corporate boardroom.
Lainey created The Best of Women’s Fiction to highlight the best authors in the genre, as well as its diversity. So far, the podcast has featured over 70 authors, from debuts to international bestsellers. If you’d like to be considered for an upcoming season, you can submit here (through December 31, 2021 for first half of 2022).
A digital nomad—Lainey picks locations around the world to live (and write) for months at a time and loves to share her travel and writing insights on Instagram. You can catch up with her at www.laineycameron.com, follow her on BookBub or purchase her award-winning Amazon bestseller, The Exit Strategy.
Category: How To and Tips
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