Continuing on in our discussion of video after last week’s installment on the uses of YouTube), let’s talk a bit more about video book trailers. Do we want one? Why? And what makes a really killer book trailer, that short but potent video that will make readers eager to buy your book?
The Value of a Video Book Trailer
According to Evan Staley of Ink2Cinema, Where Writers Win’s go-to video book trailer producer, videos excel at:
- Attracting interest within a specific demographic: You can share your video at a number of social media sites, including your own website, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and more.
- Providing an easy way to expose your book to potential new readers. The audience can tune in for a minute – and they’re all yours for that 60 seconds.
- Pitching the book to potential bloggers/websites for marketing and sales purposes.
In fact, it’s estimated that people spend a full third of their online time watching video. Here’s more data to support the need for video book marketing:
- Videos convert to sales: Unbounce reports that including video on a landing page can increase conversion by 80%. And, according to ComScore, after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online.
- A picture is worth a thousand words: Forrester researcher Dr. James McQuivey estimates that one minute of video is equal to 1.8 million words.
- Videos are memorable: According to Online Publishers Association, 80% of users recall a video ad they viewed in the past 30 days.
- Videos get shared: 92% of mobile video consumers share videos with others, according to Invodo.
- Marketers know video works: 87% of online marketers use video content according to Outbrain.
Elements of an Attention-Getting Video Book Trailer
In order for a book trailer to be successful it must be unique but also universal. The trailer has to pertain directly to the story being told. A list of key elements are:
- A tailored score which emphasizes the style and theme of the novel in an entirely unique way.
- Text that will intrigue the viewer and highlight the book’s creativity and unique features.
- Carefully selected images. Each image is responsible for building the world of your book within the viewer’s imagination.
- Fluid transitions – a book trailer needs to successfully move from beat change to beat change. (Beat change is any change in tone of the story.)
- A book trailer is nothing without its rhythm. A book trailer has rhythm when a viewer is completely invested in it.
Your video book trailer has to connect with a very wide range of people. Even if the book is targeted at a select demographic, each person within that demographic is extraordinarily different. They are just tied together by a common interest – whatever your book has to offer. This is the universal part.
Original music composed directly for the story, a set of images that depict the conflict of the story, and the words and text used to describe the story are the three main ingredients. And each ingredient must pertain to the story being told, to capture the minds and hearts of the your viewing audience.
NINE Ways to Use and Share Your Video Book Trailer
Once you’ve invested in a trailer, you’ll want to get the most mileage out of it. That means finding new and creative ways to get that video seen by potential readers!
Here are seven (plus) ways you can and should be sharing your video book trailers:
1. YouTube.com – The most obvious of course (besides your own author website) is YouTube. Once you’ve uploaded your video there, it’s also easy to share it to a number of places, embed it on your website, etc.
2. Don’t forget to share your video on all your social media sites. Give yourself a reminder — perhaps one week on Facebook, another on Twitter, another on Google Plus, Linked In, etc. By scattering the video posts you’ll be casting a wide net of potential views.
And, while we don’t advocate spamming your readership, it doesn’t hurt to re-post once in a while. Existing readers will ignore it (like we do all those Coca Cola commercials) but new readers will have a chance to view.
3. Get right to those readers: Both your Amazon author page and your Goodreads author page (visit each link to learn more) allow you to embed your videos, too, so don’t overlook these important outlets!
4. Friends with websites are an overlooked option but a useful one. Get together with other authors, in your area or your genre, and share each other’s videos on your websites and social media outlets. While you’re at it, remind sites reviewing your book that you have a video and might they share it?
5. DailyMotion.com – One of the biggest video platforms in the world. According to the latest data provided by Comscore for April 2015, the number of users rose to 148 million unique viewers. Dailymotion is the most popular European site, too. It’s quick, easy and free to create an account (you can log in with Facebook) and upload a video.
6. BookReels.com – Here’s a book trailer dedicated site where your trailer can live, too! BookReels lets readers preview their next book purchase the same way movie lovers preview upcoming attractions – with trailers!
7. Vimeo.com – Vimeo is less well-known than YouTube, but offers paid options for business and a basic free account for personal use. It still boasts over 170 million viewers each month. Because of the smaller community and paid options, Vimeo tends to feature high quality content.
8. Instagram – Yes, you can record or load up to :60 videos on Instagram, too. Instructions are HERE.
9. PhotoBucket.com – Not just for photos – this highly social and mobile-friendly site allows for uploads of both photos and videos (so we’d better see your book cover and your latest signing there, too!)
“But wait, there’s more!”
Depending on your genre, there are sites that specialize in video trailers appealing to children, plenty of how-to video sites for non-fiction folks, videos for sports enthusiasts, humorous video sites, Christian video sites, etc.
When You’re Ready for a Video Book Trailer: We Can Help!
A valued member of the WWW collaborative team, Evan Staley offers an unbelievable video book trailer price to our tribe of just $275. AND, if you’re a member of the Winner Circle, just $225 – $50 off!
Evan Staley is the creator of Ink2Cinema, a production team that focuses on unique video book trailers that get results. For the past two years he has been producing book trailers for publishers and authors around the U.S., and he truly believes that the synthesis between writing and film/television can be a powerful and inspirational combination.
Learn more about Evan at his website, and if you’re a Winner Circle member and need a code from us for your discount, email [email protected]. (This discount alone practically pays for your membership!)
Below, a YouTube playlist of videos Evan has created for Winner Circle members, followed by some additional resources you may enjoy! Have a video book trailer to share with us? Include the URL in your comment below…
Additional Resources:
- Book Trailers And Using Video For Book Marketing
- 50 Must-Know Stats About Video Marketing 2016
- Seven Ways to Build Readership Using YouTube