Creating Book Trailers - Part Two

This is a continuation from my previous article "Creating Book Trailers - Part One." In Part One we discussed the background and some of the tools needed to create book trailers. Here, we'll get into the steps and some additional resources for designing and posting the finished product.

Steps in Creating the Book Trailer ("trailer-simplified")

1. Research. Visit the sites that host videos and search for the genre of book you would like to produce a video for and get a feel for the various types that are currently available.

• Youtube
• Google
• Yahoo
• Crackle (formerly Grouper.com)
• Myspace
• As well as a variety of other places which now host video.

2. Software. Determine which software and/or website you will use to compile your video. Test drive and become familiar with how it works. If you are planning to purchase a program, hopefully you can download a demo first so you can try it out before investing in it. There are several video editing programs which you can download for free. Search for "video editing" and you should come up with some good selections. Here's a blog with some information on video editing which might be helpful: http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/01/free-video-editing-software-for.html.

Do beware of downloading any program to your computer. Check it out first to see what people might be commenting about its use and any issues associated with downloading a program from a site you are unfamiliar with. You might want to try using one of the websites for your first video in order to become comfortable with the process. HINT: If you see a particular video you like, you may wish to contact the author and ask what program he or she used to create it. On most of these sites there is contact information for the publisher of the video.

3. Plotting and Designing Your Video. Think about what you would like to convey through the use of your video, how you will use your video to market your book, how long you would like the trailer to be. Ideally it will be approximately two to three minutes.

1. Choose the images
2. Create the narrative
3. Choose the music

Play with your choices. Use power words to invoke emotion. Don't forget to tell them where they can find your book. A link to your website. And give credit where credit is due in the closing credits. Plan on spending at least a couple of days for the basic work on putting your video together. Once created, let it simmer. Then go back and look at it again. Just like you would with a draft of your story. It may take longer, depending on your allocation of time and in locating the images and music you plan to use, although everyone is a bit different on how they work. Some people may wish to storyboard the video first. It's kind of like are you an outliner or a pantser in writing, or do you come somewhere in between? Each person will be individual on how they put their video together and the message they wish to convey.

4. Create your video and now it's time to test it with a willing audience of a few people, not related to you. (Possible and most familiar formats for your video may include: .avi, .mpg, .mov, .wmv².) After the kinks are worked out, it's time to publish to the world. See links in the links section at the end of this document for possible places to publish.

Video Exposure/Advantages You Might Not Have Considered

Viral Marketing³

Viral marketing is sometimes misunderstood. This is not spam. It can be a powerful tool. In the simplified sense we use here, and I do stress simplified, it would be that someone sees your video, likes it and maybe puts it on their blog or adds the link for your video to a list of links on their site or sends the link out in an email to their friends. If their friends like it, it might then get passed on to their friends or someone visits their site and likes your video, so they add it to their website. And so on. This is viral marketing. Suddenly your video is all over the place reaching people you never even considered. That makes your video a very powerful marketing tool.

Search Engine Placement

When uploading your video, choose your key words carefully. When search engines spider for new content, your video will be picked up and included in searches for those key words. Which, again, offers you even more exposure for your video and your book and you.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that the average person must be exposed to a product somewhere around seven times before thy will make a purchase. Creating a video trailer offers you one more way to gain exposure and get your book out in front of potential readers.

Don't be afraid to try. Every creation starts with the first step, the first glimmer of an idea. Each trailer that is made will teach you something which will help to refine the next one. Art does not always equal perfect, although we strive for perfection of our vision. Some of the most emotional and beautiful pieces are flawed and that flaw makes it even more beautiful. So don't let the fact that you are not a professional producer of trailers stop you from dipping into this new marketing avenue.

And have fun. If it's not fun, if it doesn't help to fill that well of creativity and imagination allowing you to stretch your boundaries just a little, try approaching it from a different angle. But don't be afraid to try. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

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^{2Video formats: Quicktime (.mov), Windows Media Video (.wmv), Moving Picture Experts Group (mpeg [refers to the standard use for compression of images]). See: http://isp.webopedia.com/TERM/M/MPEG.html for more detailed information about the mpeg standard.}

^{3A definition for viral marketing can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing.}