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Book Trailers. Do they actually help?
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As with everything, it depends what you do with it. As part of your overall promotion they might help but on their own they probably don't do much.I've made two trailers, mainly because I thought it would be fun... and it kind of was.
Videos has a certain ability to have virality which other promotion tools simply can't. That being said book trailers can even be a risky affair. If its good or really good, it can definitely work for ya. But if it is bad, it will go on to affect you rather adversely and like you said, normal book trailers really don't make much difference, just one other thing to help promote.
I agree with Jaideep on all points. Because I run a marketing dept professionally, I know that we do a lot of things without seeing a direct return on the investment. Sometimes its just "better to be safe than sorry" I did a book trailer - here - http://youtu.be/aGwU_jMHluY - mostly because it was fun and a creative endeavor.
I believe the general public is still largely unaware of them. And most of them are not done well enough to garner any attention. The ones that look like a powerpoint presentation just won't capture anyone's interest. I would treat it as much like a real movie trailer as possible, and then at the end, when your book is displayed, people are surprised and may look into it. The whole point of the trailer is to whet interest, so it's important they do not look amateur, boring, are not slow, or long.
Personally I believe a trailer should have an absolute minimal amount of text shown on screen. Again, avoiding the "powerpoint" look.
Suzanna wrote: "I've been thinking about doing a trailer. I don't know how to make something like a movie trailer. Would me talking briefly about the book do well?"I think it needs to be an overview but also a "tease" like any movie trailer. It's hard for authors because we like to say things in oh 90 or 100 thousand words.
For mine I purchased royalty free music and video segments...but in the end it was over 3 minutes long which is 1.5 minutes too much.
If you do it yourself and enjoy it at the same time. It may or may not cost as much but at least you get something out of it: You have fun doing it. Raymond's have actual videos in it, and was kind of fun to watch. The ones I usually see are just pictures coming closer or brighter with text often doing the same thing.
On a website I saw that kind of trailer offered for 380$ for a minute and a half. For 150$, you make people suffer less, only 30 sec of the same crap.
The website offers nice book covers at a reasonable price, which leads me to think that her prices are in the right range for trailers. (are they?)
So I guess in the end, it all depends on how it's done.
(Many messages since I started typing this).
I do agree with Deanna that a book trailer done in the same way as a movie would make a good advertisement.
G.G. wrote: "The website offers nice book covers at a reasonable price, which leads me to think that her prices are in the right range for trailers. (are they?)"That is very cheap. But you also get what you pay for. You seem to have described a glorified slideshow, which I just don't believe is engaging.
Personally I charge $500 for a book trailer. I regularly work with video as a professional so what I provide is more along the lines of what a real motion graphics artist can provide you with-- something that will in no way appear DIY.
Deanna highlights an important point of costs for the Indie author. Getting into the market can be fairly low cost (if not free) but to really compete on a professional level, the book needs to be an investment. I have no doubt that Deanna's services are worth every dollar of the 500 - it's more a question of 'how much do Indie authors have to invest in their dream?' Hmmm I think I'll write a blog post on the topic
I have four trailers out, two each for my two books so far in my Peers of Beinan series.All four feature songs I wrote for the books; three are actually songs IN the books, allowing viewers to hear what is on the page.
So far, six months out, I barely have traffic to them. However, since they are both trailers and book excerpts, I consider them essential. Have they garnered any sales so far? Probably not. But they are one more resource for readers.
I am very proud of this one http://youtu.be/6U6Am_8VXJg
I think I did very well with music, lyrics, and presentation. One gentle from the SCA Middle Kingdom even asked if I minded her singing that song for bardic circle at an event. I take it from her request, as a sister bard in the society, that I achieved my objection in writing a song true to medieval Celtic and Germanic musical traditions. :)
Your feedback on the trailer (here and on youtube) is of course, most welcome. :)
I can't imagine buying a book based on a book trailer. If I want that kind of presentation, I'll watch a movie. They don't scratch the itches that make me pick up a book.
I'm hoping so as I have just finished adding audio to mine. I think it's an innovative way to promote compared to others and if done well could prove to be worth the time.
I have used video very successfully with other online promotions that I do, but my book trailer has not really done very much. I suspect that part of the problem is that people who are looking to read something probably aren't searching videos. Rather than trailers, I think any video I do to promote my books from now on will probably be more video-blog in nature, or possibly me reading excerpts from my books.
Nicolas has the right of it:"they don't scratch the itches that make me pick up a book." And I spent a decade as a professional photographer so I like visuals. Unless it was outstanding and clever..I don't think it would make me buy a book...reading the blurb...and sometimes the cover are what suck me in.
Consider what music videos have done for albums and for musicians. They don't exist solely to promote an album. They're another way for people to find out about bands. Often, they're stand-alone works of art. Now, imagine only a handful of bands had the wherewithal to produce a good music video. That's pretty much where we're at right now with book trailers. When they're made well, the benefits are enormous. Plus they can help writers get their books turned into movies.
Following Adam's remarks about music videos, maybe authors should expand on the present crop of book trailers with their succession of still images to moving-image "book videos" or "video blurbs". These could be narrated by their authors or professional voice talent and use the kind of CG images employed by video game trailers. They could also be embedded in the next generation of e-books, forex to advertise subsequent books in a series.
Do trailers actually help?
It's just that, personally, I have yet to buy a book based on a trailer I've seen. Most of the time what they show are texts and some are shown so fast that it makes it hard to read. So, I'd be interested in hearing from people who actually bought books from a trailer they saw.