By S. Faxon
Book trailers have an interesting reputation. The quality of the majority of the trailers out there feel awkward or look like pretty PowerPoint presentations, so the demand for them, is not currently great. However, with 2.3 BILLION people using the video streaming service YouTube and with YouTube being the second most popular search engine in the world, having your book’s trailer up on YouTube is a relatively untapped marketing resource.
Full disclosure, I’m in the business of making book trailers for authors, but I’m also of the mind that the more of us producing high-quality content in our trailers, the more readers will turn to YouTube to find their next reading tease. So, here are my top tips and tricks for creating a high-quality trailer that’ll hook and captivate your readers.
Sourcing Content
If you’re sourcing content that you did not create, whether it’s music, images/art, text/fonts, videos, ensure that the license attached to that content allows you to redistribute, edit, repost. Every place you go to to collect content will have a different license and many times, it will not be posted on the main page of the websites you’re looking at, so scroll on down to the bottom of the page and see if “Legal” or “Usage” are listed. Read those agreements and ensure that you can use content from their site. Otherwise, copying, or saving an image/video is considered stealing someone else’s content. You’ll probably see “Creative Commons” license a lot, which is great because, generally, it means you may be able to use the content, BUT search for and read the fine print. Some Creative Commons licensed creators ask to be given credit for their goods, which is totally fine, you just have to remember to do it.
It’s taken me some time, some money, and a lot of exploration to discover the right sourcing platform for the trailers I make. I love the quality of the videos in Canva-Pro, but their license is not clear and very complicated. Adobe is phenomenal if you can afford it, which, I currently can’t, nor can I justify to my clients raising my prices to afford Adobe Stock when I can get the same quality content with the same licensing agreements elsewhere. I used JumpStory for a while; it was great for still images, pretty good for video, easy to use, easy to understand their license, and it was also extremely easy to leave, which, if you’re just looking to make one trailer, is a handy feature. If you’re looking to create content regularly, I’d recommend Story Blocks. Their license is easy to understand and they include video, music, sound effects, and a basic video editor. (We’ll talk more about video editing later). They do bill annually, so it’s $360 up front, so, again, if you’re looking to do just one trailer, I’d recommend JumpStory and looking into websites like FreeSounds.org, but again, just be sure to look at their licensing before you download.
Now, if you’re wondering, gee, this is complicated - can’t I just film my own? You betcha. We are creative story-tellers, after all! However, if you do, be sure that the equipment you use will produce high-definition sound and visuals. The standard for YouTube these days is 720 pixels, so while you don’t have to be able to shoot in 4k, make sure your camera can meet the 720p.
What To Say & Show
When producing trailers, I turn to the back of the books I’m featuring for inspiration. I think of the trailer as the visual representation of the back of the book’s matter. It needs to captivate, hook, and entertain the viewers enough to click the link to buy your book.
Think of them as a mini-movie, but PLEASE don’t summarize your entire book. Like in a movie, music plays a major role in driving the scnes forward and connecting with our viewers on a deeper level, so be sure to find music that goes with your genre and story. Don’t have a lazy banjo playing for a horror book, unless it’s pertinent to your story...hmm, I suddenly want to write a story where that would work…
Finding the hook - look at your description; what are the three most important pieces you want to tease your future readers with? Is your book steamy? Show a little heat. Is your book a slasher, splash a little red - but don’t get too carried away, remember, these trailers are teasers, not spoilers. Stop and think about what you want to see in a trailer that would make you want to pick up the book being advertised. Think about the best movie trailers in your genre. What happened in them that made you think, “Holy sh!t - I have to see that.” Was it the lighting? Was it the dialogue or the music? Was it the places it promised to take you?
Here are two of my favorite movie trailers to give you an idea:
To see high-quality book trailers, check out this YouTube playlist by EpicReads.
Featuring actors to do specific things or finding voice actors to narrate your trailer are options, but they can be pricey, so look to your network first to see if you know someone who has “the face” or “the voice” of your trailer-making dreams.
How to Edit Your Trailer
If you’re a Mac user, like me, then you’re in luck. You already have a phenomenal tool for beginners at your disposal; iMovie. Every trailer, cover reveal, and author interview that I’ve done so far, have been produced through iMovie, which allows us to splice all of our images and content into one beautiful, coherent whole. While I am starting to look into other video editing programs and Adobe After Effects to level-up the content I’m producing, you don’t need an expensive program to build a movie. iMovie comes with templates, music, sound effects, and it gives you the license to use their stock, which is pretty darn awesome.
If you’re not on Mac or you’re not into iMovie, I highly recommend checking out this article from Oberlo to see what software program may be best for you. Just remember to check the licenses.
When making your book trailers, try to take it to the standards of a movie trailer and don’t settle for a fancy PowerPoint. If you find that you don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to making a trailer, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, and let’s bring your book to life!
Sarah Faxon
author@sfaxon.com
PS - If you’d like to see one of the productions I’ve made, here’s the link to my trailer about making trailers.