For all authors, effective marketing strategies for high book sales is on the list of priorities. Your strategy must impress your audience for the marketing to be effective. Video book trailers are more attention-grabbing and exciting than written ones. If done right, your trailer will create an emotional connection with the readers, which just might help them buy your book. In this blog, we will look for ways to make your book trailer appealing and explore some of the most-viewed book trailers of all time.
What is a Book Trailer?
A book trailer is a short video or teaser that compels the viewers to purchase the book. But be warned. Just as a trailer gives readers an idea of what to expect, it can just as easily repel them. If the trailer fails to grasp the reader’s attention or spark interest, there will be no sales. In worse cases, those disappointed viewers might also keep others from buying the book.
Why Must You Have A Book Trailer?
A book trailer, as a marketing tool, helps you reach out to your audience in more ways than one. This idea was adapted from movie teasers; and can help you increase your book distribution and sales by reaching a large audience using different platforms. A book trailer can increase your book audience dramatically. It excites your possible readers to explore and read your book. You can create curiosity among your potential readers by creating the story’s plot. To make a successful book trailer, you can take different movie trailers as your inspiration according to your niche.
How to Create a Compelling Book Trailer?
A compelling and convincing book trailer is essential to take your book’s marketing strategy next level. We have collected the main key points to get a proficient and compelling book trailer.
Know Your Target Audience
Every writer and book has its target audience. As a book is written by keeping its targeted audience in mind, a book trailer also should be. Every element of your book trailer should carefully address your audience. These elements may include sound design, pacing, VFX, and cinematic prowess – everything that helps your book trailer sell the book.
Hook Your People
Hooks refer to promoting your book by using attention-grabbing scenes. This should capture your audience’s attention and create excitement through the essence of your book’s storyline. Just convert this into a video, and you’re ready to go. You can use the story’s character to create excitement among your audience. You can show a glimpse of the story and your storyline but don’t forget to put some twists.
Create a Compelling Script
A script is one of the fundamental aspects of every video. For a good script, you need to write down your hook. Convert all your rough notes and points into a script, and you are ready. If your script sounds awkward, you should break your script into three parts, start, middle, and end. These stages will make your script appealing and targeted to your potential readers.
Create a Storyboard
Next comes storyboarding. After developing your script, you must have thought it is enough for your video shoot. You also need a storyboard. A storyboard is a composition and overview of your video shots. This will help you elevate your video’s elements and make it more effective.
Use the Right Video Format
Your video format slightly depends upon where you will share your book trailer. You can utilize square-size video formatting for social media posts, the landscape for YouTube plus your author’s website, and vertical for story posts.
Keep It Short and Catchy
Your video trailer should be clear, concise, and catchy. Remember, your book trailer should not be more than two minutes. So, making your video and covering all your points within two minutes is necessary.
Use the Right Visuals and Audio
Adding the right music that complements your book genre is essential. Your visuals, like images and videos, vary according to your book genre. They increase the credibility of your book trailer. However, your book trailer must be original and may fit your book’s genre. You can use Pixabay, Pexels, or Canva for free and copyright-free images – if you are using any. There are several sites for stock audio, and you can hire voiceover artists.
Have a Call-To-Action
CTA refers to how you make your user take your desired action. You must make a strong call to action to convert your audience to customers and buy your book. So, don’t forget to tell your people how and where to buy. Add all your social media handles, contact, and website details.
DIY or Outsource?
DIY:
DIY can be a good option if you know the ins and outs of video shots. However, if you have decided to forego professional help, invest in shooting equipment and experts. Low-quality book trailers can create a bad impression and can ruin your book’s reputation.
For book trailer DIY, you will be needing:
- A good camera for high-quality video shots
- A camera tripod (this will help to stabilize the camera while shooting)
- Lighting (flashers, ring lights, etc.)
- Professional video editing software
- Actors or voiceover artists (depending upon your video)
Results will depend upon your expertise and equipment. But this can be cheaper than outsourcing.
Outsource:
Outsourcing may sound more expensive than DIY, but this can save you time which is more valuable than money. Hiring a professional VBT expert will make you stress-free from all worries, from scripting to editing. All you need to do is brainstorm the idea for your book trailer and provide approval to work.
Top 10 Book Trailers for Inspiration
We understand that there is always confusion about things without examples. Therefore, we have listed the top 10 book trailers that will make it easier to understand.
In this book trailer, they make use of crowdsourcing. It is an excessive way to interact with your users. This directly expresses the message that you want to convey through your writing. It is effective if you have a tight budget. By this method, the author has made an impression that he has a big following which helps to create a trusted relationship.
Here, they choose to go with animation videos. They have used 2D and 3D animation to create tension and a story plot, increasing viewer engagement. Quality animation is expensive; you must stick to good-quality animators for effective results. You can also utilize animations if they suit your budget and needs.
They used storytelling for this book trailer. It is an efficient way to market any children’s book. As the narrator tells the story, you feel right there with them. You can regain your child-like imagination by having someone read the story to you as if it were a bedtime favorite or a campfire classic.
The marketers have utilized the tension trailer type in this book trailer to engage the people. They have shown a scene from the book to create a lasting impression; after watching the trailer, individuals want to know the story behind it.
While choosing this type, add a part of your book that could create curiosity for readers.
They have shared book reviews from random people to create a trusted way of relationships. You can also use this way for your book trailer. Ensure to add the reviews that can make your possible readers buy your book. This way also creates some social presence for your book, which increases your book’s popularity.
This book trailer conveys that it is science fiction but has left many unanswered questions, which convinces readers to buy the book to seek their answers.
In this, they have used only text and graphics. This is the simplest way to attract your viewers to purchase your book. There is no narration or music in the video; however, music or voiceovers are important. If you want to go with style, use only high-quality, attractive graphics and creative text. Otherwise, your audience can get bored, and the purpose of your book trailer will be killed.
This is a book trailer for a children’s book, and they have made animated characters from the book. This can be a good choice if you consider making a book trailer for children’s books. Since children like cartoons, animated book trailers are perfect for children’s books.
They have used catchy music to make it stand out in the market. The music tune, text, and fonts completely complement and keep the viewers hooked. If you want to utilize this for your book trailer, don’t forget to use music that complements your genre.
This book trailer is a one-of-a-kind example of itself. The videographers have used a humorous tone to attract the audience. If your book has comedy in it, this type may suit your need best. Try not to make it too funny and make your users curious.
Make Book Trailers That Do Your Book Justice
A book trailer can be key to increasing, maintaining, and engaging your audience. With a convincing CTA, you can push your audience to buy your book. Reviewing the trailers mentioned above can help you make an ideal book trailer. All you need to do is find the right type of trailer for your book. Or you can also partner with us as we have the needed skillset and experience to create compelling video book trailers!