Creating and Using Book Trailers

We're all used to movie trailers. Those enticing video teasers that give us a preview of "upcoming attractions". In the case of movies, the format makes sense. After all, a short piece of video is being used to promote a long piece of video. But why would a publisher or author want to use video to promote a book?

This is the question I tackled recently, and it's one of the many publishing related decisions you have to contemplate if you run your own publishing business or if you self-publish. Of course, most authors and books do not use trailers to promote the book or provide insight into the story, so why did I? There were several reasons I created the trailer below.

People react differently to different media. Just as some are left brain dominant and some are
right brain dominant, some people react better to video than print.​ If you describe for them what a story is about it may not trigger an emotional response or attraction to the story. Conversely, if they can visualize the story, the attraction may be triggered.
​It's an additional way to introduce the story to potential readers. Just as books use a synopsis, log line and back cover description to entice readers, a book trailer does the same thing but uses a different media and​ targets those who like "watching" stories. So show them what your story is about.
Virality. ​If a trailer is unique (and lucky), it could go viral. When was the last time you saw a book synopsis go viral? Doesn't happen. But with a video, it's possible.
Discovery. Guess what? People who watch movies like stories. A novel is a story. If they stumble across your trailer on YouTube, Vimeo, etc., then a trailer creates a new way for readers to discover an author.

There are other reasons as well, but I'll stop there in case anyone wants to comment.​

Regarding creation of the trailer, it took me a Saturday using footage that I had or could easily grab from free sites. I used iMovie on my Mac and tweaked it until the story matched the book. If you're not comfortable with technology or don't have the software, there are businesses that charge $1,000-$2,000 for a 30-60 second book trailer. Amazon does that, for example, as part of its CreateSpace service, but you can do a better job on your own, in my opinion, and save the cash for something else. Like ice cream.​