I've decided to make a video trailer for my most popular ebook, Salvatore, to hopefully gain a
few more readers. It's an interesting idea that I've never properly considered
before. I posted it to my ebook's Smashwords page (<- click there if you'd like to see it) last night, and I’ll let you know how
successful it is as a marketing tool.
If you want to make your own video, here are some tips you should
consider while planning to make it as professional and effective as possible, and my own example to help you along...
Target Audience
Who is your book aimed at? Which
age/gender/location/career etc.?
When you know who you are writing for, you can create a video that will
capture their attention. If you write horror books for adults, make sure your
ebook trailer is full of suspense music, dark pictures and creepy text. If it's
a romance, fill it with heart-warming text, tinkling piano music, maybe a few
(copyright free) pictures of couples in love.
To Begin Your Video
The main things needed in a successful video will be:
1. Background music.
Obviously the background music can't be anything
copyrighted. That means probably disregarding any music you have in
your iTunes playlist, unless you happen to be very creative and compose your own music.
2. Text.
For your video, text is (in my opinion) the most important
tool. In your video you can use it for:
- A summary of the plot
- Share reviews of the ebook
- Links/places to download/buy your book
- Ratings/number of downloads/units sold/figures/charts
- Persuasive language
Remember to include all the important information about your ebook
either in the video or in the description box, like your pen name (real or not)
your ebook's title (of course) and where it's available for download.
3. Images
The photos (again) have to be loyalty free. The best place
I find photographs and pictures is Flickr.com, and using the advanced search
you can make sure the only photos you search for are available for creative use
and mainstream distribution. Double check with individual photos and their
copyright rules though, just in case.
Finally...
Edit as much as you can. Try to take out anything unneccessary.
Try to get a second opinion for your video to make sure there's no
timing or spelling errors you haven't noticed.
Make it memorable, and as 'you' as possible. I wouldn't suggest going on
Youtube and copying frame-for-frame someone else's trailer!
Have fun!
Remember, whatever kind of ebook you have written, make your video
trailer an appropriate length (usually around 30 seconds to a minute),
professional, persuasive and informative. No pressure then...
Good luck and happy editing!
If you have any problems or anything you would like to ask about video
trailers for ebooks, comment below or drop me an email at
j.s.cambrook@live.co.uk
As an example, here's the trailer I made for my free ebook Salvatore in just less than an hour:
Let me know what you think!
Jess
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