Hi all!
This week I'm going to talk about book trailers. A book trailer is kind of like a film trailer, except it showcases a book or a series of books. I don't have a book trailer myself, but I have looked into getting one. However, then I heard about how other authors got on with book trailers.
Pros.
Not many authors have them.
There aren't many trailers around for books, so having one done could make you stand out. It can also drive more traffic to your YouTube channel if you post it there.
It can get more clicks.
Facebook especially favours video ads over picture ones. A video is more likely to catch someone's attention. Your video ad will get shown to potential readers more than picture ads.
You can get more post reactions.
Whether it be likes and shares on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, you can get more attention with a book trailer. If other people like or share it, it broadens your reach to new customers that might not have known your work before.
It can drum up excitement.
Posting a book trailer for a new release can get readers excited. They may also share the trailer with their friends and family.
Cons.
They don't convert.
Although you might get more attention from a video ad, the likelihood of someone buying your book is a lot lower. A video catches people's attention, but it doesn't turn them into readers.
It's costly.
Unless you're good with making trailers already you will have to hire someone to do it for you. This can be an unnecessary extra cost, especially if you want the entire thing to be an animated scene or extract from the book. It may be better spent elsewhere.
There's not a lot you can do with it.
Apart from using it on YouTube, social media and Facebook ads, there's not really much else you can do with it. You can't easily show it at book events or signings, it would just be for advertising.
It's better to just get your cover animated.
An animated cover can be used for more than ads, you can post it all over your social media with links to your book or quotes. This is more likely to get sales than a trailer.
That's it for this week, see you next week!
