Book Trailers Can Be a Fun and Effective Part of Your Book Marketing Strategy
Book trailers have been around for a awhile now. But they’re still uncommon enough that they really stand out from other book marketing strategies. Although professional quality promos, excellent book covers, and attention grabbing back cover copy do a lot for your book, all elements of your book marketing strategy should be just as well thought out. Because book trailers are such a creative marketing tool and can be made on a variety of budgets, I highly recommend using them for your book marketing strategy too! I’ll tell you a little about book trailers, show some great examples, and explain why they’re so effective.
What is a Book Trailer?
Well, like movie trailers, a book trailer is a short visual preview of your book. They’re meant to show a sneak peek into what your readers can expect. They convey the tone and theme and send the message to your audience that your book is something they’d like to read. They’re usually pretty short and succinct, just as movie trailers are, and hopefully just as attention grabbing.
Why is a Book Trailer a Good Marketing Tool?
Because book trailers are a video medium, they grab the attention of your audience more than a graphic ad, or written summary would. They’re more immersive than print or graphic ads because more of the viewer’s senses are involved. There’s sight and sound and movement, which draws the viewer in. Book trailers tell a story about your story, and make it much more tangible to your audience. Book trailers can make your book stand out and grab the attention of your audience on social media platforms and they’re easily sharable. And video content increases conversions and engagement, especially when featured on your website’s landing page. A book trailer creates an easy to digest summary of your book, its themes, and your message and brand all in one creative package.
Some Other Things About Book Trailers
All that said, book trailers do need to be good quality. And if you’re creative and have a solid sense of what style best reflects your book genre or topic, there are ways to work within your budget to produce an effective book trailer. It can be as simple as a voice over with photos and as elaborate as a fully acted scene, or anything in between, as you’ll see below.
All worthwhile book trailers will have good video quality, eye-catching images, and a theme relevant to their genre or topic. A fitting score or soundtrack is also necessary. A book trailer should capture your viewer’s attention right away. And yes, they require a process from storyboard to script to really get them right. It’s possible to do them yourself, but remember, a bad book trailer is worse than no book trailer. So you really have to do your research, consider your abilities honestly, and find the right help when and where you need it.
There are Several Options When it Comes to Making a Book Trailer
You don’t have to be Francis Ford Coppola to make a good book trailer. As I mentioned above, they can be simple and still be effective. It just depends on it being relevant to your book topic or genre, and the quality of the video.
Even a huge hit like Wild by Cheryl Strayed has a simple trailer using voice over and old photographs. But it draws you in because it’s so intimate and it reflects what her memoir holds very well. You can watch it HERE.
Then their are the more elaborate trailers that tell a story with actors and a glimpse at the intriguing plot. Like THIS ONE for The Good Girl by Mary Kubica.
Even Indie Authors and Small Titles Can Use Book Trailers in Their Book Marketing Strategy
You don’t have to be a big name author, or even have that as your goal to use a book trailer in your book marketing strategy. At my company, MonkeyCMedia, we do book trailers for many of our clients. Below are two examples you can check out.
- Red Sun by Alane Adams is part of a YA fantasy novel series. We used animation and a intense music to build tension and reflect the tone of the book. You don’t need to go big budget movie level crazy to make people want to buy your book. You can check out the Red Sun trailer HERE
- The trailer for The Recipe Girl Cookbook by food blogger Lori Lange is more of a straight forward introduction to the author and what she does. It gives you a sense of her brand and her cooking style. So, book trailers aren’t just for fiction books either. You can see the book trailer for The Recipe Girl Cookbook HERE.
So, as you can see, there are a wide variety of ways to make an effective book trailer on a variety of budgets. You just have to have a good idea, a solid plan, and of course the ability to make it happen. There are plenty of resources out there offering tutorials and tools, and if you’re still in doubt, you can always seek help where you need it. Now that you’re hopefully inspired, why not sit down and sketch out some ideas for your dream book trailer?
