Hey Authors,
Have you done any book marketing with videos?
Do you want to increase your online visibility?
I’ve put together an exercise that will help you generate ideas and learn some basics of video marketing.
Before you start, make sure you know the basics of video marketing. So I’ve put together 5 keys to video marketing success…
- Presentation matters – make sure it looks and sounds good. Use your branding whenever possible.
- Inform Your Audience – Let them know who you are (or who the author is) and what you’re promoting (book title, website, etc.)
- Don’t Be Dull – Don’t bore your audience. Be interesting. Be engaging. Make it worth watching.
- Don’t Leave Them Hanging – Tell them what you want them to do and give them a link to find more information or even just to connect with you.
- Remember AIDA – All marketing should follow the AIDA principle – attract attention, generate interest, cultivate desire, and ultimately lead to an action.
While going through this exercise, and when creating your own videos, keep those things in mind.
Are you ready?
Let’s go!
1. Watch some of the videos below and then leave a comment with the following information:
- Which one was your favorite – and why?
- Pick one video and critique it. Include suggestions for how the author could improve it (think constructive criticism, not author bashing – we’re all real people), but also list at least one thing the author did well or that you liked about the video.
*Note: We gathered the links to these videos on YouTube. The authors did not submit them. Only post your critiques in the comments here – NOT on YouTube.
2. Create a video of your own and share a link to it in the comments.
Make sure to tell us what you are promoting with the video (website, book, event, etc.) and if you were inspired by any videos and if so, which one.
Here are the videos…
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
*Note: These videos were created by a mix of traditionally published and self-published authors. Some were filmed on the author’s cell phone, others were outsourced to marketing firms or other outsourcers. Some were created by friends, family or the author themselves, others were made with online apps like PowToon. It’s just an all around look at marketing with videos for any author. To give you a feel for what you like, don’t like, etc.
Book Trailers:
Forgiveness Formula by CJ and Shelley Hitz
http://youtu.be/FQUVgKPKlLk (Seen Above)
http://youtu.be/PJEtQaTEpd4
http://youtu.be/1FgNdrM7JjM
The Book Of Life by Heather Rae Hutzel
http://youtu.be/cnVZeZMLqVA
Preparing For The Barre by Julie Zoril and Meg Morrow
http://youtu.be/Hg2R2TthhiY
Hola Happiness by Janet Perez Eckles
http://youtu.be/HsDIGsJ5cLs
Happiness as a Second Language by Valerie Alexander
http://youtu.be/f6gPCzvugmA
Hawke’s Indians Trailer by Peggy Bechko
http://youtu.be/RGVicFKdd5U
The Doctor’s Lady by Jody Hedlund
http://youtu.be/3n-UrDeevrE
The Thorn by Beverly Lewis
http://youtu.be/8Ay98FMlLnw
Book Marketing Made Easy by D’vorah Lansky
http://youtu.be/m0GpQP3Ur4U
The King’s Son by JF Castillo
http://youtu.be/cPpVtN1c60A
Advertising A Website or Blog:
Short-Short Stories
http://youtu.be/F1WOQMHNVQY(Seen Above)
Training Authors
http://youtu.be/ZOSPKljBMUU
Self-Publishing-Coach.com
http://youtu.be/2lpJMB4pcSo
FindYourTrueBeauty.com
http://youtu.be/HflRW4QXFy4
CrossReads
http://youtu.be/bWVrCyoA8Cw
Author Interviews:
Steven King
http://youtu.be/ic7JnF4vStA(Seen Above)
http://youtu.be/1qshFVvbYuw
Shelley Hitz
http://youtu.be/GHCFqZf7I2s
http://youtu.be/MhZX0stSAgs
Jody Hedlund
http://youtu.be/QoZ6Co0zfHw
http://youtu.be/PsHtMoUHzSY
Janet Perez Eckles
http://youtu.be/ZlyMmqTeuDA
http://youtu.be/BDFn5lGfryY
Jane Friedman
http://youtu.be/0dmUz2EPV44
http://youtu.be/m6eEhc6NTEw
Videos about an event: (pre or post event)
Book Tour – 24 hours with Laura Conrad
http://youtu.be/bO4THUKeDC4 (Seen Above)
Unshackled And Free – Free Online Conference
http://youtu.be/NTjpQnT08Yw
Book Event – Embassy of Serbia
http://youtu.be/qYb7h7T13_I
eBook Publishing Boot Camp
http://youtu.be/7BWK7flNvT4
Now, it’s your turn!
Here’s to your success!
My personal favorite book trailer is the one for “Preparing For The Barre” by Julie Zoril and Meg Morrow.
I just love the way it was put together and the music that they chose. It’s very professional, yet I found on Fiverr that they had it made of them for – $5 Can anyone say #awesome!?
For my critique, I chose Jody Hedlund’s video for her book, “The Doctor’s Lady” – Anyone who knows me knows that I love both Jody’s books and her amazing marketing ideas. But this video was created before the book came out and doesn’t have any links – it’s always a great idea to make sure every video has a link – and you can update them if its a pre-release video to add a buy link in later. For this book (if I didn’t already own it) I’d have to either go to Amazon and search for it or google it to see what comes up.
I also felt that the first part of the video dragged just a bit, while towards the end I was speed reading and not getting everything read before it fell off the screen. It’s still an awesome trailer and even better book, but those are the things I would want the publishing company to know (as Jody is traditionally published and had no control over this video as far as I know).
Just saw this! So glad you liked our book trailer!
Thanks for stopping by, Julie! Awesome job on your trailer!!