Book Trailers: Should You Do One?

Are book trailers the best marketing tool for authors?  Or are they a complete waste of time and money?  The truth lies somewhere in between.

First, let me caution, a book trailer video is only useful if it’s well done and most are not.

Second, you can’t just create one and then think it’ll take care of itself.  You’ll need to push it and post it all over the place.

Third, don’t spend much money on this, if any at all.

There are good, reputable companies that create these trailers and if you feel technologically baffled or simply want a pro to film and edit the piece, use them.  But video trailers are just a small piece of the marketing puzzle.

A movie lives and dies on its trailer – a book does not.  The trailer can get people excited or curious about a book and it can give off a feeling or vibe that helps influence people to want to learn more.  But how many people do you know bought a book based on a trailer?

The key is not the making of the trailer, but its distribution.  The trailer needs to go viral for people to view it and share it with others.  So ask yourself, what will allow that to happen?

Do the following:

·         Review other trailers, especially those that have gotten many downloads.

·         Think about what images or visuals you can use for your video.

·         Consider adding music to it.

·         What will you say in the trailer that will invite curiosity, touch a nerve, make them laugh, cause them to think, or provoke an emotional response?

You cannot simply talk for two minutes and drone on about your book.  People need to be pushed and swayed – you need to get them happy, or angry – and nothing in between.  You’re not selling “maybe.”  You need to take a chance and use the video to really wake up.  It’s not an easy feat.  Even a great book may not always have a great trailer.  Your job is to make the trailer better than the book.

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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.