• Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Tahlia Newland

Editor, Author & Artist

  • Editing Services
  • Me & My Creative Life
    • My Books
      • Metaphysical Fiction
    • My Poetry
    • My Masks
    • My Hats
    • Permaculture, Forest & Garden
    • Performing Arts
  • Blog
  • Contact

Do Book Trailers Sell Books?

March 20, 2018 by Tahlia Newland

Do book trailers sell books? It’s hard to say just what makes a book sell, especially when you’re doing a lot of different things to promote your book at the same time. An author’s platform these days includes Facebook and Twitter and whatever other social media platforms you feel comfortable using, and you need a steady stream of material, of which a book trailer is only one thing you might put out in a day or a week.

Videos do get more engagement on social media, however. Their reach on Facebook is much wider than even a photograph, so that makes it worth adding video to your social media content. You don’t need one, but it’s certainly good if you have one, and it will likely sell your books better than a photograph – so long as it’s a video that holds people’s attention.

Is the cost worth it?

If you pay a professional to do a book trailer for you, it’s going to cost you, but you’ll have a professional product that you can be proud off, one you know will be a good advocate for your book. Can you afford to put out anything that doesn’t look professional? It’s the same reason you employ a cover artist and an editor: without professional assistance, your book is simply not going to be up to basic publishing standards. A book trailer that looks shoddy will do your book more harm than good because it will give the impression that your book is shoddy too.

Shop around and find a book trailer service that will do a good job. Look at their examples and compare the results and the prices. And ask other authors what they paid, who they used and whether or not they were happy with the result.

That said, you can do trailers yourself if you have the right skills. I do have some video editing and graphic design skills. I’m not a professional in those areas,  but I figure the result of my efforts – see below – will help sell my book, and that’s the important thing.

There are lots of videos you can shoot yourself, of course, like you talking about your book or shooting the place where your book is set, but an actual trailer shouldn’t look amateurish.

Make the most of it.

Obviously once you get your book trailer, you’ll share it on social media and post it on your blog and website, but you can also:

  • Use it in a Facebook advertisement to get a greater reach;
  • Add it to your Amazon Author page profile. (See https://authorcentral.amazon.com)
  • Search out sites that feature trailers and submit them;
  • Re-use it on social media after a year or so;
  • See if any of your author friends will post it on their blog.

So here’s my Lethal Inheritance trailer. Do you like it? I would have liked more video footage and my filmaker daughter is not too impressed, but since she hasn’t got around to providing me with anything better, I’m going with this one. I don’t think it’s too shabby, and it does give the feeling of the book.

 

If you’re an author check out my editing services.
You’ll also find my book on writing, The Elements of Active Prose: WritingTips to Make Your Prose Shine, very helpful.

Writing a novel? Feeling overwhelmed? Get new insight and inspiration with my FREE Novel Revision Checklist.
DOWNLOAD IT NOW.
You’ll also get weekly articles on writing sent to your inbox.

If you like stories with action, romance and a contemplative element, you’ll enjoy my fiction, so take a look in my bookshop before you go.

You can also follow me on all sorts of social media by clicking the buttons at the top of my website.

CLICK HERE FOR A FREE DOWNLOAD OF MY AWARD-WINNING FANTASY LETHAL INHERITANCE

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Editing, Writing & publishing Tagged With: book trailer, metaphysical fiction, YA fantasy

« What Does ‘Write What you Know’ Mean?
How to Write a Novel: Write What You Care About »

Search

Recent Posts

  • Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin
  • Book Genres – What you Need to Know.
  • How to See Edits in Word Documents
  • Finding an Editor You Can Trust
  • Review of ‘The Guild Codex Spellbound Series’ by Annette Marie

View Posts by Category

Writing a novel? Feeling overwhelmed? Get new insight and inspiration with my FREE Novel Revision Checklist. 

DOWNLOAD  NOW

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Free Book Download  
Get Lethal Inheritance free when you sign up to my new release email list.  I won’t share your details and you can unsubscribe at any time.

My Latest Books

  • Fallout: Recovering from Abuse in Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Elements of Active Prose: Writing Tips to Make Your Prose Shine
  • The Locksmith's Secret
    Rated 5.00 out of 5

Alliance of Independent Authors

Alliance of Independent Authors

Click HERE to see all my books.

Books
Reviews, Writing, Cats & Contemplation
Editing

Click HERE to subscribe to my newsletter and get my fantasy novel Lethal Inheritance FREE. 

How to Meditate – the crucial points

See more

Hi I’m Tahlia Newland

I can help you express yourself and share your story with the world.

 

Do you want to write a really good story and have it professionally polished and published?

As an editor, I help you be the best writer you can possibly be. I strengthen your voice, support your vision and can assist you all the way to publication.

On my blog you’ll find book reviews, writer’s tips, contemplative articles on meditation and working with your mind, and occaisonally pictures of my Burmese cats.

If you’re interested mostly in my contemplative articles then  Sign up to the Living in Peace & Clarity Newsletter to get those articles delivered by email. And check out the resources on my Living in Peace and Clarity Page.

I do a lot of community work involving blogging and general support for Buddhist students processing revelations of abuse in their spiritual communities.  Please consider supporting me to continue this work.

Occiasonally, when inspired and not too busy with community work, I make masks.

All my books are

Visit my Mask & Steampunk Accessories Shop

2015-03-19 15.46.12
Blue Burmese
Like cats in stories? Check out my books. And click the photo to read the cat colomn.

Click Here for More Articles in This Series

Book reviews – sci fi, fantasy, literary fiction, Buddhist fiction and related non-fiction

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

The High Priestess: Persephone’s Return is the third book in Val Tobin’s Tales from the Unmasqued World Series, and in it she deepens and expands the stories from the previous two book. The book has two central story arcs based around characters we’ve met before. One arc follows Kelsey (a human) who is with Josh […]

More Posts from this Category

My gorgeous Burmese cats

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Yesterday I did a photoshoot for my renovated website. Take a look around, particulary at the home page (Click on my name at the top to go there). It’s designed for editing clients with my books secondary because I need to focus on the part of this publishing business that actually earns me more than […]

More Posts from this Category

Seven of my novels have an Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence

Four of my books earned BRAG Medallions

I abide by the ethical author code

I'm an Ethical Author
Alliance of Independent Authors

Copyright

All material on this website is under copyright to Tahlia Newland and cannot be shared without written permission.

  • Editing Services
  • About Me
  • My Books
  • My Masks
  • Blog
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 · Amoré Theme by Oh, Hello Designs on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

FREE Novel Revision Checklist

Written a book? Need some help reviewing and revising it? Download my Novel Revision Checklist for step by step guidance.  

DOWNLOAD NOW

no thanks

{"cookieName":"wBounce","isAggressive":false,"isSitewide":true,"hesitation":"120","openAnimation":false,"exitAnimation":false,"timer":"","sensitivity":"","cookieExpire":"7","cookieDomain":"","autoFire":"","isAnalyticsEnabled":false}

Please note: I am closed for holidays from Christmas day until Jan 30th 2023. Dismiss