Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Book Trailers

It's kind of funny.  When I dreamed about being a published author so many years ago, my only thought was that I had to tell a great story.  It was only after I got published that I learned there was a whole lot more to this author business.  Telling a great story remains the most important bit, but there's a side to this business that focuses on promotion.  It's one of my least favorite parts because I'm still learning things and the returns on the investment of time and money aren't always clear.  I understand the importance.  I have to spread the word to all near and far about the release of a book.  I have to tempt people to pick it up when they've never heard of me.  It's not very easy.

Despite our mutual love of books, we are a very visual people.  You can tell by the amazing amount of money we devote to movies and theater.  We like to see things sometimes, drawing us in a little closer.  As a result, authors have gotten drawn into the business of book trailers.  I've seen some astounding trailers and I've seen a lot of bad ones.  But I don't know how much they are actually drawing in readers?

So, to help me decide whether to look into having a book trailer made for my new book, I need some help from my lovely readers.  In the comments section of this blog, please leave your thoughts on book trailers. 

Have you discovered books through the trailers?
Have you decided to buy a book because of a trailer?
Do you like book trailers?
Do you ignore trailers?
Also, are there any trailers you really like? Please leave a link or the name of the book so I can track it down.

If you would rather send me a private email on this topic, I can be reached on JocelynnDOTdrakeATgmailDOTcom .

Now, since you have agreed to help with this, I will pass these videos along.  These are a few book trailers that I personally love.  I have not read the books yet. 








Thanks for all your help!

6 comments:

Harry Connolly said...

Here via the SFWA retweeter.

I made a book trailer and put it up in the usual places including my own website. Near as I can tell, it hasn't done a thing to sell books.

But then, I did it because I thought it would be cool, not for the marketing.

I say, do it if you love the idea, but don't expect it to be useful promotion.

My $.02

CTannStarr said...

Those were both very cool. I think you should do your book trailers because people love visuals and having video on your website improves your search engine optimization rankings. People also talk about what they've seen so if you do them you may inspire readers to remember your site. I've discovered people have downloaded my YouTubes as a file and uploaded to their sites which was great for their rankings but sucked for mine because I don't get the channel stat counts. The good point: they were generating thousands of hits which resulted in people discovering my blogs and music. Do the book trailers, watermark your info on them and let your fans take it viral. I was shocked to discover they were marketing way better than I was so I let them run amok (LOL). My attempt at trying to learn how to do book trailers (Kim Harrison and Lynn Rush YouTubes on my NYCC post) http://actvra.in/jwd

mullen said...

As an avid reader, I will admit that I have yet to watch a book trailer for an upcoming book that I want to read. Trailers don't add anything for me.Usually if it's a series,I go out of my way to avoid trailers.The reasoning for me is that I already have in mind what the characters look like and what I'm hoping for the next book. A trailer usually gives you visuals of what the characters are and what's too be expected.The visuals that grab me are the covers of books and descriptions.Sorry, trailers aren't my thing.It just reminds me of a movie preview.Good luck!

Dawn said...

I have not really paid any attention to book trailers. I still rely blurbs and word of mouth and online reader reviews for buying. I will admit that there are times where good cover art can get me to buy a book, and where bad cover art can put me off buying. And I will buy anything that has a Michael Whelan cover because I have never been disappointed by a book he did art for. I will qualify all this with saying that I am an older over-40 generation. These visual clips are probably a lot more effective with the younger crowds. Especially considering they are so used to digital media and images and video of everything. This could be highly effective advertising for them.

CTannStarr said...

Dawn makes a great point. I spend an inordinate amount of time writing in Starbucks and smart phones are everywhere. They are paying for their food by scanning their phones. Makes me feel old at 46 because I keep paying with cash (LOL). They have music, Netflix and YouTube running when they are not highlighting books and typing on miniature laptops and tablets. Think designing for the digital generation because they text more than call and constantly share links. I've been here for hours and I am surrounded by visual oriented people. :-)

Unknown said...

I never pay attention to book trailers. I have watched the beginning of a few, but don't really care for them, and did not finish the ones I began watching. However, I am seeing more and more of them, so I may be in the minority. Usually when I come across a book trailer there is a synopsis as well, or a review, and I prefer to just read those.

Despite my disinterest, I am sure that they are very effective promotional tools, and may attract readers when they are well done.