Tips for Self Promotion, Sales, and Advertising discussion

When I watch book trailers, I usually see some voice-over repeating words on the screen with dialogue from the book, mashed together with Ken Burns stills and/or generic video. It's the first thing we authors think of doing, because we've already used our creativity to write the book.

But the trouble is, movies are a different media. And those book trailers are b-o-r-i-n-g.

I just published a book for a friend (Rodney Lacroix), and when he asked me if we should do a book trailer, I said, "Sure."

I didn't have any original ideas, because I had gotten used to seeing boring book trailers. I've done quite a few voice-overs for book trailers and *most* of them have been badly written.

So, actually, I wasn't too keen on doing a book trailer that would make the funniest book I've ever read look bad.

But Rodney scripted the thing, shot it, and edited it in about an hour. And I must say, I'm impressed. Instead of reading from the book, he acted out a scene from one of his stories. The only change I made was adding a voice-over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NGvPtxx9gs

My question is, can some people post some unique book trailers here for me to see? They can be book trailers you were involved in somehow, or some that impressed you so much you still remember them.

I love seeing other peoples' creativity, because they usually inspire me to raise my bar. And I guess, now that we're working on his 2nd book, I'm looking for a little inspiration.

Thanks,
Ross

David J Guyton's Blood and Bronze trailer is the stand out trailer for me. I won't argue that there are other trailers out there with a higher production value. I'm more impressed that a one-man operation is responsible for the B&B trailer and not some high-budget video production company. The determination to pull off this video on a zero-budget is not only impressive, it's downright mind-blowing.

Blood and Bronze Book Trailer

Btw, the author has a Behind the Scenes video that shows how he whipped this one up. It's a great example of what a really determined person can do.

Behind the Scenes Video

I'm not sure how effective book trailers are, but I have seen some very good ones.

Here is perhaps my favorite:
http://www.rorycantwell.com/play-trai...

Kevis wrote: "David J Guyton's Blood and Bronze trailer is the stand out trailer for me. I won't argue that there are other trailers out there with a higher production value. I'm more impressed that a one-man op..."

Not bad. Great for a $0 budget. The VO sounds forced and I can't read the words at the bottom, but then again, I'm a perfectionist.

I, too, and more impressed with a zero-dollar budget trailer. Thanks!

Miles wrote: "I'm not sure how effective book trailers are, but I have seen some very good ones.

Here is perhaps my favorite:
http://www.rorycantwell.com/play-trai..."

I love this one. Unique is right. Again, I feel the VO is forced and detracts away from the trailer. But I really like this one. Very creative.

I'm quite fond of the book trailers for Obsidian Snowflake. Haven't read the book, but each time I see one of the trailers it peaks my interest again. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUGDqO...

Reena wrote: "I'm quite fond of the book trailers for Obsidian Snowflake. Haven't read the book, but each time I see one of the trailers it peaks my interest again. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUGDqO..."

Wow. Okay ... that's a book? That's the first trailer I've seen (I don't watch a lot) that looked like it was a movie trailer. That's sweet. Thanks.

Jason wrote: "Ross wrote: "When I watch book trailers, I usually see some voice-over repeating words on the screen with dialogue from the book, mashed together with Ken Burns stills and/or generic video. It's th..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFykU...

Nice. Great trailer. Simple and to the point. I really like this one. I wish it told a little more about the plot, what the problem was and what the possible resolutions were ... but the trailer production was awesome.

I just made this book trailer... since I'm a graphic designer, I used limited animation. I haven't seen any like it yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0txvR8...

it's simplified, but due to the nature of a short story book, it seemed appropriate

Author Angelo M. Swinson Best Selling Book No More Dysfunctional Love Foreword Prophet Luther Mckinstry III

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6kOuR...

I have new videos for my four part contemporary romance series.

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Finding Pride: http://youtu.be/oZvbrz_z_T8
Discovering Pride: http://youtu.be/dFODpsuVQ_Y
Returning Pride: http://youtu.be/CDrObcAEQKw
Lasting Pride: http://youtu.be/oABUCg1OqI8


I would LOVE to get some thoughts on these. I've created them myself.... Let me know what you think.

I have just had a new trailer completed for my book

Achieve Anything In Just One Year: Be Inspired Daily To Live Your Dreams And Accomplish Your Goals

http://youtu.be/pUY8uvWY9TM

Love to hear what everyone thinks.

I've received a fair few compliments for a teaser trailer I did for one of my books. A G-rated botanical documentary, shot in front of a school...advertising a steamy contemporary romance...

http://youtu.be/ZLJxZ3HfruI

Dear Ones,

I wish I could say something inspiring, something funny, something that will touch your heart.

But my character, Dora in When Dreams are Calling is doing all this for me.
So, let's follow Dora, the happiness hunter, the dream chaser, this witty young lady whose only constant is change.

Here are the two book trailers for the book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdAau...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc0ej...


And here is me taking you for a tour in rhymes of my city, Melbourne: the best city in the world? For me, definitely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5og47...

Enjoy!

I think many trailers employ stills and narratives instead of movie clips simply for an economical reason. Film footage is expensive. I plan to film my own videos soon, but for now I have made book trailers for my books using the Animoto web tool. Have a look at the results http://m.youtube.com/user/grishamcarrow

I commissioned acoustic versions of the title songs for my last two novels, and shot/edited all the footage (some images borrowed, with permissions):

Every Time I Think of You music by Eric Himan.

and Message of Love, music by Dudley Saunders.

I also shot the original wrestling footage for the audiobook trailer of my first novel PINS, years before I'd even finished the novel. If you look carefully, you'll see that the video footage became the book cover (see below).

While I know these are each a bit too long, having these unique song interpretations and my own footage inspired me to indulge with length, more like a music video than a short trailer.

Hello, everyone.
This is the cinematic book trailer for my upcoming novel:
'The vagrant with the golden watch'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4wUL...

I would appreciate if you could give me some feedback - I'd like to know if you like it, if you can get a feeling for the story, if you love the mood and tone etc. Also I'd love to know if you think this kind of visual promotion works, and if it attracts readers (and not just viewers).

Have a wonderful day,
Verche

I always say book trailers are one of the most underrated marketing tools there is. People either don't think to make one or don't think to try and build an audience or creating potential customers for themselves by using them.

Off-screen translation or voice-over (from English voice-over) is a type of dubbing, in which the track recorded by the announcer with the translation is mixed with the original video in such a way that both the translation soundtrack (louder) and the original audio sequence (muted) are heard. At the output - a video assembled and ready to be shown. Localization can also be done with subtitles. Here everyone chooses the most suitable option for themselves. Video acting can be done not only with the help of special speakers, but also with machine translation https://vidby.com/. This option is perfect for presentation or promotional videos.

Hi everyone, Here's a link to my book trailer. This is my autobio to age 47. It is a really good book and I know the majority of those that read it will absolutely love it. Thanks for your support and interest. Be Blessed.

Video book trailer for Betrayed By God by Kimberly Rouse
https://youtu.be/iMAtyHBQAis