Books have always been so popular and close to people’s hearts, like movies! Movie trailers have been a proven strategy for promotion since their introduction, and to this day, they are an excellent way to draw an audience and create buzz.
Like other sectors, the book industry has been thriving worldwide thanks to marketing and advertising.
Book trailers are one such method to endorse an upcoming book to the audience and gain momentum in the market before its arrival.
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What is a book trailer?
As the name suggests, a book trailer is a short video that promotes an upcoming movie to the audience. It offers readers a glimpse and information about a book, its genre, theme, story, and so on. If done right, book trailers are great promotional tools.
Book trailers spur more emphasis on animation, graphics, and voiceover in the trailers. The book can quickly reach its target audience beyond the geographical boundaries.
Do you really need a book trailer?
Yes, you could benefit from book trailers to a great extent.
Book trailers lead to audience growth!
Since it is an innovative approach to book marketing, book trailers have led to better sales worldwide. The Internet provides a huge platform to reach a wider audience through online videos. Statistics reflect that people are 64% more willing to buy a book after watching book trailers. Social media and the internet have contributed much to this growth; it’s shareable, quick, and easy to grasp.
If correctly done, a single click can reach a large audience pool and form new communities along the way.
Long-lasting experience!
When it comes to book trailers, things work slightly differently than movie trailers. Since book trailers offer insight into the book’s content on screen they have a tendency to leave a lasting impression on viewers.
A scenario created using animation, colours, and live fractions to bring out the gist of the story. The viewers are left to crave for more, waiting to read the whole story.
Act as an effective marketing tool!
With the right marketing strategy, any quality content can thrive. Book trailers add more value to the existing marketing and promotional campaign, promising higher return values. Creating brand awareness and author branding contributes to the process. High-quality book trailers often catch the buzz from the market. Promotional videos provide a sales boost and improve the visibility of the content in the industry.
What makes an effective book trailer?
Now creating a video is easy, probably easier when we live in the generation of high-tech software. However, poorly executed, unprofessional, or bad-quality, book trailers cannot generate the rapport you are expecting. So, what makes a good book trailer?
Finding the niche!
Now this is the first first-hand checklist of BFC publications on finding the importance of author branding and the audience niche. You can’t promote something without knowing about the target audience! So finding your niche is a crucial step before investing in book trailers. Design content that reflects your reader’s needs, tastes, and preferences like what aspect of the story captivates them the most? or What can they expect from your story?
Go easy on the length!
Nobody likes it when a movie experience is spoiled with a 3-minute video trailer! Too long! Too boring too soon to be revealed, trailer spoils the fun.
Remember not to go the extra mile when it comes to the length of the video. Viewers don’t want to see a 5-minute epilogue of a book, especially in the era of the internet where attention spans are already short.
The main story should be kept hidden for reading. A 30-to 90-second video should be sufficient as a book trailer. Keep it simple, catchy, and long trailers for websites.
Sell the story, not the product!
As an author, you put your heart and soul into writing your book. But, often it’s not the book that sells itself; it’s the idea behind the book that makes it unique. Otherwise, it’s just another book released every day amongst other books.
That being said, book trailers do not sell books but present the story to the viewers. So, don’t treat book trailers as commercials but mini-documentaries about the characters of your story.
Quality
Do not treat book trailers as just another ordinary video. Thanks to innovative software and applications, creating a video is relatively easy. Audio also plays a significant role in catching attention. The right music can bind the reader and brilliant storytelling keeps them hooked till the end.
Use professional help for better execution and high-quality book trailers.
Imagery in book trailers
Keep in mind the imagery and tone you want to reflect through the trailers. Pay attention to characters, theme, and genre, and you want to bring life to the video.
Call to Action button.
Now, the idea behind book trailers is marketing and promotion. Like any other promotional video, a Call To Action directs the audience to purchase the product. Sp, including a call to action in book trailers, directs them towards the next step. Simply add a message to the end of the video such as: “Available now for purchase at the BFC store” and “Get your copy today”.
Don’t put too much information to process for the viewers.
Leverage positive feedback
If you received a positive review from early screening or fellow experts, it could be beneficial to highlight it in the trailers. Positive feedback, especially from professionals builds trust and authenticity in a reader’s mind, prompting them to view the book with curiosity.
Things to consider!
Is it compulsory to make a book trailer?
Making book trailers requires the investment and collaboration of professionals. Now it depends entirely on the author whether they want to do it or not; however, book trailers make a huge difference in book sales.
Especially if you are a self-published author, you don’t need to go extravagant to make a book trailer. A basic, decently made book trailer would do the job.
Don’t rely solely on book trailers.
While book trailers drive the sales, you can’t solely rely on them for the success of your book. Several factors determine the sales, such as launch timing, marketing strategy, etc., that can impact book sales.
Utilise sharing platforms
Don’t forget about the power of social media platforms while promoting your book. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook offer. Just remember to utilise the right optimisation, like relevant keywords, to improve your visibility.
Final take!
Long story short, it all boils down to utilising marketing and presenting a compelling story to reach your audience.
Please let us know your thoughts on this post by leaving a reply in the comments section. Also, check out our recent post on “What is the ISBN of a book? How to get an ISBN? Learn everything about ISBN!”
