I'm still on the fence about book trailers. Do they lead to more sales? Sometimes. Are they fun to make? Sometimes. Are they worth it? Maybe, maybe not.
Here are 3 examples and what I think:
1. The Ugly: Go check out the winners of the Awl's "Worst Book Trailer in History" contest: http://www.theawl.com/2011/06/the-worst-book-trailer-in-history Enough said.
2. The Bad: Here's a trailer for the new Dan Brown book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWTFTNywyxI
I'll be honest and say that it drives me nuts. I'm not a Dan Brown book fan, but that's not why. It treats the book the way movies are advertised. But! Dan Brown sells way more books than I do, so that's one of the tradeoffs :)
And it does ONE KEY THING RIGHT: This trailer does not try to summarize the whole plot of the book. It just tries to get you excited about the book. This is a huge mistake I see authors and marketing campaigns make. The goal with your video trailer is to get people to click through to your buy page, not to tell them the story inside the book. YOU WILL NOT GET PEOPLE EXCITED BY TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE WHOLE PLOT. Leading quotes, questions, and everything else you see in mainstream advertising gets people excited. On the other side of the same spectrum, honest authenticity gets people interested. Do one or the other (or both if you can) but don't fall flat in between. Don't try to be clever.
3. The Good: This trailer is called the best of all time, and it is pretty cool. But it feels like it's for a movie, no matter how slick. I like this one for Symptoms of My Insanity. Self-aware, playful, and clearly about a book, differentiated from movies. The author is in it, there are quotes about how great it is, and there is a sample or two from the book itself that people read in a normal voice.
What about you? What do you think about book trailers?
Image source: Bill Ward's Brickpile via flickr
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