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Are Book Trailers Useless?

ccrogers3d

Scribe
I've made a few videos for my writing, because video editing is one of my hobbies and it was fun.

However, I don't know of any way to get people to view these videos unless they're already on my website. Also, I don't think I've ever made a purchase decision on a book based on its trailer.

Has anyone found value in book trailers, or are they basically useless?
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
It's all in how you use it. Stop looking for an online audience. The only number that matters is sales, not how many people view your site or trailer or anything else. You have a book trailer. Great! Put it on your site, and put a link to it when you ask people to review your book. Your goal here is buzz, you don't need every single thing to go viral. If one person sees your trailer, thinks "This is a book I'd like to review," and posts a review that's seen by a thousand people, you've done your job. It's all about identifying and communicating with enough of those people.

That is, effective social networking really is all about networking.
 

Aosto

Sage
Don't forget youtube. Post the video up on youtube to get some additional hits, include a link in the video back to your site, or to the sales page for your book. The end goal is to get people to the sales page, sadly you can't force them to buy it.
 

ccrogers3d

Scribe
Humorously enough, my videos aren't even trying to drive sales - I give my stories away for free online at this point.

Aosto, they are on YouTube, but I'm skeptical that people surf book trailers.

Devor, there is always the chance that they might catch a reviewer's interest, but that almost feels like trying to win the lottery. :( Has anyone ever had a reviewer mention that they liked their book trailer?
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Aosto, they are on YouTube, but I'm skeptical that people surf book trailers.

Don't post it on your own channel. See if you can submit it to a channel that regularly posts book reviews.


Devor, there is always the chance that they might catch a reviewer's interest, but that almost feels like trying to win the lottery. :( Has anyone ever had a reviewer mention that they liked their book trailer?

You really need to go after some kind of book reviewers, or other "connectors," if you want to promote your book. You need to branch well beyond the reach of any audience you can build on your own. You could get a thousand followers on twitter or youtube or facebook, and it might still amount to just fifty sales. Most of the people who would read your book will not want to follow you online. The audiences do not overlap by as much as we would like.
 
I can't say I have bought a book based on a trailer for it, but then book trailers aren't as popular this side of the pond. They're only really starting to hit over here and I can honestly say I've seen two on tv, both for mystery novels so wouldn't interest me anyway. I have seen one trailer for a US/Canada book that actually put me off buying the book, when it was from an author I already liked and would have bought it otherwise.

The video trailers have the same issues as movies and books - they tell the story someone else sees. In this case this is the story as you see it, which lets the readers see a little into your mind as you came up with it. I saw True Blood, before reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels and to be honest when I read the books I saw Anna Paquin when the author described Sookie and all the characters were the same in my mind as their inequivalent in the series.

The most effective advertising I've come across is poster and banner ads. I've sat at train stations and bus stops looking at posters of books coming out with the blurbs and promotions there in front of me and I've thought I wonder if its good, maybe I'll try it. Even when it's not my preferred genre.
 
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