Book trailer?

The only trailers I remember are the ones that bring something extra to the table: the BLACKBIRDS trailer which includes an excellent short story that tells you exactly who and what the books are about, the DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND TRAILER which includes character sketches and awesome music, and the RAVEN BOYS trailer which is fully hand-drawn by the author and shows her interpretation of all the characters (don't recommend that route for most authors, though, it's crazy time-consuming).

I've heard anecdotal evidence that they don't do much for sales. Haven't seen solid proof either way, though.

Have you ever bought a book because you saw a trailer for it?

Book trailers don't prompt me to buy a book, but I do like looking at them. I can't see spending that much on one when there are so many more effective ways to use that kind of money. Just my thoughts, though, your mileage may vary.

This is a pretty neat one by a buddy of mine that made me consider the same question you're asking. This is for The Guns of Napoleon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmtZuhuYE8A

Old Hack said:

Have you ever bought a book because you saw a trailer for it?

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Good question! I asked around and the general consensus was, "Not really - it made me want to wait for the movie."

...ouch...

There are a couple book trailers that caught my attention and prompted me to want to read the book more than I had before (and I did consequently pick up the books): Minder by Kate Kaynak ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lv6eC3E-9k ) and Friday Society ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs5rXZrglf4 ).

I've done four and uploaded to about a dozen video posting sites. Total reads were in the thousands with ratings between 4 and 5. I saw only minor hits to my site related to the trailer postings. The main benefit was in those that visited my site from anywhere and viewed the trailer. Those hits doubled visits to my buy page.

I don't usually find book trailers very effective. Most of them are too samey and overly melodramatic, even compared to the actual blurbs on the back of the book. So many end up looking cheap, even those done professionally or for really hyped books.

That Daughter of Smoke and bone one was very pretty though.

Perhaps because I'm such a visual person, I love book trailers...at least the good ones. It's true, there are a lot of lousy trailers out there.

However, making a good trailer doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. Animoto offers free video creating services, with a $35 annual fee, if you want to upgrade to a better plan.

There are also plenty of stock image and music sites which have reasonably priced material.

The key is to keep it short and focused. Make sure the text is easy to read, and the music fits the story. Think of it as a multi-media hook, to grab the readers' attention.

I've definitely bought books after viewing an intriguing trailer...and besides, they're fun to make. I think of them as a present to my book fans, as much as a marketing tool.

Hope that helps.
Diana Green

I'm going to piggyback off this thread, if I may, since it's fairly recent regarding book trailers... are you allowed to make one, only if you're self pubbing and have full reign of your book? Can you not start vaguely planning your future book trailer... even before you've gotten the agent, the publisher, the book? (I know, I know, putting the cart before the horse on that one).

"Allowed"?

Sure, you can do whatever you want, in whatever order you want. But I think most would advise you to write the book first, then revise, then write another book, then another. If your goal is trade publication, a trailer isn't going to help you get a deal.

And remember that if you do get a deal with a trade publisher, various things about your book might well change, including the title. So a trailer you make before that point could well end up being wasted.

I think I've seen maybe two-three book trailers, only by following links posted here at AW.

Not sure where anyone would go to look for one … ? Goodreads, maybe? Do they have a separate book trailers promo area?

I used to shoot and edit video for a living - it was fun, but it is time consuming, if you use real people and locations.

DennisB said:

I just got on the blog of an author who said he spent $12,000 on his trailer. He stated that it's well-worth it.

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I googled for that info and only found a blog by Tim Ferris, who wrote "The Four Hour Work Week." He did a trailer for his new book "The Four Hour Body" that cost about $12,000.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2011/03/24/behind-the-scenes-of-the-4-hour-body-trailer/

Is that the one you're thinking of? That guy has a dedicated following already, as well as a best-selling book. His spending $$$ on a trailer is really different from the average person doing that.

He got national tv exposure for it - based on his previous success. So yeah, for him, the $$$ was worth it.

Or - were you referring to someone else?

When the chatter about book trailers got started a few years ago I toyed with the idea of going back into video to produce trailers - but I really couldn't see a future with it.

It might be fun, but nothing more. Trailers could only be effective marketing if they reached an audience - where's the audience?

(If I'm wrong, I'd like to produce some. It would be fun.)

I've made two for one book (I made the second when I found a song that I loved so much it inspired me to make the second trailer) and they don't really do much in the way of advertising or getting people to read the actual book. This is the first one and this is the second one.*

What I've found is that they're most useful on a website or Facebook, just to give readers something visual to tie into the reading. I really enjoyed making them! The first one because I shot the video years before I wrote the book (the place inspired the setting) and the second one because I got to be a bit inventive since I'm not an animator.

*Full Disclosure: I'm a partner on YouTube so you may see an ad before either of the two videos (unless you have AdBlock).

I enjoy book trailers also....but I agree they don't really prompt me to buy a book. Most of the ones I've seen, I actually watched after I read the book. They are fun though, if done well.

I've made a trailer and even though it got over a thousand views in two months I didn't get anywhere near the book sales. At least it didn't cost me anything and was a lot of fun to make...
http://youtu.be/QM68jMg0WJU

It all depends what you'd like to show with the trailer. As I'm also a graphic artist I've made a few trailers that with I'm trying to grab the attention, but without telling what the book is all about. Commercials and trailers doesn't have to tell everything, but they have to grab the attention. If it is capable to grab the attention, the trailer works.

Crystal Shade's Thousands of Stars trailer is my latest book / IndieGogo crowdfunding trailer presenting few of my characters and the atmosphere of the book.
http://vimeo.com/81341243

Crystal Shade's Even One Angel trailer is a simple, short spot teaser.
http://vimeo.com/79573963

Crystal Shade's StoreYA trailer is rather presenting the book's Facebook store itself.
http://vimeo.com/81083527

And sometimes I make concept trailers for the book, such as the Anshara concept trailer, where I present the unique flying machine of this universe with stills and a 3D concept animation.
http://vimeo.com/80180624

So basically it all depends how'd like to grab the audience. Each of these trailer works, yet none of them tells the whole book from the beginning to the end, but they're capable to grab the attention with something, i.e.: atmosphere, quality, etc, etc...

SapphireGuardian, you risk sounding a little spammy promoting your own trailers like that in your first post here. You might want to try engaging without the self promotion.

Old Hack said:

Have you ever bought a book because you saw a trailer for it?

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I have boughten a few books because of the trailers.

A book trailer I had done for $200

I found a video editor who did the trailer for my novel, The Arrow Catcher, for less than $200. Here a link for my trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5OG0JERp3M.

Mr Mather, you run the risk of sounding spammy by linking to your trailer without providing context or comment.

The OP's question was,

I know they can be done much less expensively, but do they drive sales?

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To provide context to your comment, can you tell us how many books you've sold as a result of people seeing that trailer?

Videos tend to rank well on Google (now that they own YouTube). So I think if you couple a book trailer with some SEO knowledge and use it to drive people to your website or author page on Amazon, it might actually work pretty well.

I can see it working better for nonfiction -- if people google how to clip a cat's nails, and you give them a video demonstrating one technique of how to clip a cat's nails, then tell them they can buy your book on cat care, that involves a chapter on clipping cat's nails, or your series of books on cats, then they might very well be inclined to buy it.

Also if you can create something with viral potential, that can only help. Got any cute little kids or pets that can help promote your book? Honestly some 3 year old telling me why I should buy her daddy's book is going to be more interesting to me than some people running around in the woods to mysterious music.

I think as with other marketing experiments, starting small (ie, low budget and short time investment) is the way to go. Test the waters.

a trailer can work hard for you. but like everything else, it has to be done well. just like an ugly cover or poorly designed website, a bad video can kill your book sales. a trailer is meant to intrigue potential readers, but if you do it wrong it will have the adverse effect.

as an ad man now in the novel world, the one thing i've found astonishing is the lack of marketing effort and understanding within the publishing world...especially when self publishing. on any writing forum, you can find countless advice that basically says no matter what you do, it has to intrigue the reader. that's top priority.

making a trailer is no different. do it well, make the viewer interested in the story, and tout your writing and storytelling ability within the trailer. you've put so much work into creating your book, put the same amount into selling it. if your trailer is shoddy, people will assume your book is as well.

this Glenn Kleier trailer made me buy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8hgmaPmaFo

and now i'm interested in Blackbirds just from reading this thread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcR1B-48lK4
Thank you for sharing that, EMaree.

know why i like these two so much? they showcase the top-notch writing of the author on top of stirring up the emotion that the book will most likely possess.

Those were magnificent trailers. What most impressed me was the sparse, precise writing. I've been researching some 'trailers' produced by some vanity pubs, and those are just verbose overlays of the jacket copy, with abstract backgrounds. Nowhere near the same category.