Book trailer design and production. Book cover design that really works to promote and sell your books. Learn how to design your book trailers to get more clicks. Ask about the $195 Special Promotion for a customized teaser. I specialize in Book Trailers, Book Covers, and Author Book Videos that help you sell more books. Starship Book Trailers is the Authority in Book Trailer Promotions. For more in-depth articles on marketing your books, visit: www.bookteaserspub.blogspot.com
You asked for it. Here's my review of the Filmora Video Editing Software by Wondershare.
First, take a look at this video I just put together with it and judge for yourself.
In a nutshell, I like it but this software is a little glitchy so far.
Overall I'm happy with the results but I did have to restart the program several times because of an error when it froze trying to upload some photos.
I really like a lot of the special effects and filters it offers, although I think they could improve on their panning and zooming effects.
I can only compare Filmora to Apple's iMovie or Window's Movie maker because those are the two video editing programs I was familiar with. What can I say, each of these editors has its own limitations depending what your expectations are.
At one point I had bought a number of filters and effects for WMM and I was happy with the results for a while. Back then my biggest complaint was Movie Maker's lack of Blur effects. WMM's panning and zooming effects were quite adequate in my opinion and the software was very wasy to learn and use.
Filmora has tons of cool effects and filters, overlays, you name it, this software includes plenty of great effects and if you're into text effects, they've got that covered too. Where Filmora falls a little short, for me, is with it all important panning and zooming effects.
Some of them are very good and useful, however, its most important and most useful basic zooms and pans are missing altogether. That's a shame because otherwise, I think Filmora is an excellent program despite its occasional glitches.
I sure had a great time working with it and taking advantage of all it has to offer. I only wish they had focused on essential zooming elements, such as zoom to right corner, pan from upper left, to lower right, etc.
The kinds of zooms best mimic camera movements and without them I find myself a bit stuck and unable to get the exact look and feel I'm after.
Timeline screenshot for the making of Millennium Trailer
In all fairness to Filmora, I suppose it depends what you expect from the software. I'm sure most users are thrilled with the effects it has to offer if you're just interested in making some cool home movies. But if you want a more professional feel to your videos, you might want to look at other high-end editing programs such as Vegas Movie Studio or even Apple's Final Cut software.
The bottom line is that for the price-point of $59, I think Filmora is a great deal and then some.
You can download a free trial version here and judge for yourself:
Okay, okay. I get it. This is a book trailer design site. More about book trailers later. (buzzer) Yeah, sort of because it's really all about marketing and promotions so anything goes.
Here's the thing. The focus here is book trailers, as long as that market holds up. Notice I haven't been here for a while and my last article was about a book, not a trailer.
Once demand winds down for reasons beyond my control, I latch on to something else. Whatever comes my way or hits my fancy.
Besides, it so happens that package design is my first passion and one of my favorite things to do. Well, it's more than package design because it's about game design right now. For me this is a challenge because I'm not really a board game geek but I do enjoy a good game once in a while and so in an effort to make board games that I'd really enjoy playing, I decided to design one myself.
The problem with most board games for me is that they're not very engaging. They seem technical and take a long time to learn to play. Some of these rule books are more like manuals. Confusing manuals at that.
"The problem with most board games
for me is that they're not very engaging."
My goal is to design a board game that's fun to play and easy to learn. And that's where Millennium comes in. But like book trailers, novels, movies, or anything else for that matter, it's all about the concept and themes. In this case, the Apocalypse, End of Days, a dark future, take your pick. The themes are timeless so I can't go wrong with that.
Beyond concept and themes, there is story of course and besides that you've got a bit of magic you must add to the equation among other things. Yes, just as they say about relationships, it's complicated. Always is and nothing worth pursuing is ever that easy.
I'm only about half way done with Millennium and it's been about six months so all together it's about a year invested when all is said and done. Not for the faint of heart and quitting is easy to contemplate but the show must go on if you want to reap the rewards down the line if you're lucky enough.
Millennium Game Board in Development
I don't work with a team. I am the team. A one-man band and that's the way I like it. You know what they say about too many cooks.
This is a challenge but so far I've started designing 5 games and almost finished with three of them, including this one. Finishing is sometimes the hardest and longest part because that's where all the changes and refinements come into play. So it can feel like you're stuck at times but you press on towards the finish line.
My master plan is to have Millennium on the market for this coming Christmas season. (laugh track here). I think it's more like 2018 but sometimes you have to set impossible goals to get momentum going.
If you'd like to learn more about Starship Games TM and FunSpot Games TM, two gaming brands I'm developing, see more here: Board Game News.
This is my latest book cover design for a dear friend who has stuck with me and has turned out to be one of my best clients and a repeat customer. I haven't read this book because I don't think it's out yet. But here's another book (below) from this author that I like (Cruel Harvest) and added to my collection of hardcover books.
Sometimes you come across a book and a trailer that seduces you. This happens to be one of those books and one of those trailers. Everything about this trailer, the book cover, its title, its color, is quite effective and eye-catching.
Turns out this is a debut novel and a good one at that. My main purpose for posting it here is to show how a simple video can help promote your book when done at this level. Whether it was intentional or not, I don't know, but all that white space helps this trailer stand out among the sea of dark trailers.
Outline Your Book Trailer with this Hollywood Trick:
Once upon a time, I was an aspiring screenwriter. (still am, but who cares) In fact, screenwriting was how I got started writing novels, so I've learned a trick or two from the pros on how to pitch your screenplay to Hollywood.
Novelists can use this same technique to fine-tune their book trailers.
Traditionally, screenwriters pitch a logline of their script, which is a brief sentence or two, or a short paragraph outline for the movie.
Titanic Logline:
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat, expecting to be married to a rich
claimant by her mother, falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard
the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
This logline is all about the love story and along with loglines, screenwriters also mock-up sample posters. The reasoning is, if you can't envision the poster, the movie won't work.
Think about this idea. A logline and a poster do one very important thing for your story: they help you define the core story question. In other words, Titanic is really about a love story between an aristocrat and a poor, starving artist. On a broader scale, it's also about social classes and its disparities when it comes to true love. But that only covers the genre: A love story.
You can write hundreds of love stories, but what sets them apart? It's always, boy meets girl, girl hates boy, and in the end, they fall in love and live happily ever after. Right, but what makes these stories unique? That's where your story question, the driving force behind your story, comes into play. In Titanic, the main conflict is all about The Heart of the Ocean jewel, a rare, blue diamond, and its whereabouts. Who owns it? Was it stolen, or is it lost on the bottom of the ocean floor?
But, the plot thickens, and that leads to a love affair, a feud for the lost diamond, and then a sinking ship, among several other subplots thrown in for good measure. Wow, what a powder keg this story sits on! So how do you sort it all out and what opening do you choose for your trailer?
Let's see, James Cameron chose to frame this story within the context of this core story question. What happened to the Heart of the Ocean diamond? It's a fictitious tale, book-ended to frame the true history of the Titanic's demise. Why? Because without this "literary" device, the real story of Titanic is nothing more than a documentary. And that's not as exciting as a 3 hour movie with a complex structure and a myriad of intriguing subplots.
The poster, however, mentions nothing about the diamond. The poster focuses entirely on their love affair. Notice the imagery. A young couple in love, and a ship seemingly splitting them apart. Then the tag line: Nothing on earth could come between them. Really? Not quite, because that's exactly what happens. That tagline does a tremendous job launching the main theme of the story: True love conquers all. That's really what this Titanic movie is all about. Everything else is context, subtext, and icing on the proverbial cake. And what a multi-layered cake it is.
So how does all this relate to your book trailer? Simple, you need a hook to launch your book trailer, a logline, of sorts, that says: here's the essence of this book. This is what this book is really all about. And you need to show it with vibrant images, sound, and voiceovers if necessary. You need to pose a story question that sets the tone for the book and the trailer, from frame one. Think theme and think genre.
The official Titanic movie trailer runs long at 4:09 minutes. That's about twice the length of most trailers, however, this is a long movie with a rather complex plotline, but those digital shots of the Titanic are breathtaking and interesting to watch, so it all holds up.
Look at this way, the marketing folks chose to saturate their marketing with different points of view. Very smart because, why would you want to repeat the same message in the poster and in the movie trailer? That's redundant and a waste of marketing dollars. Instead, they chose to angle the poster as a love story, (after all, you must keep its message simple) and showcase the trailer with a historical POV, focusing on the rare diamond, the feud over its disappearance, and the race against time to save themselves aboard a sinking ship. Hence, a four minute trailer.
Whew! This is exhausting just writing about it. It's no wonder the budget for Titanic was about 200 million. Ridiculous, but most likely, necessary.
The bottom line here is that when you outline your book trailer, think about the story theme and the story genre. Because that's where most of the images and music comes from. Musical scores are all about genre. Images are also about genre, but they can be specific to scenes too, so you have to decide early which way to go. What's your focus? Is it theme, or is it a specific scene in the book? A scene that covers the main theme, or the opening scene, or hook. Your choice.
Once you pinpoint your short synopsis (logline) and envision a (movie) book poster for your book, you're on your way to finding the best way (which scene or images to use) to open your book trailer. Starting a trailer is a lot like staring at a blank canvas, or an empty screen with a blinking cursor. Where do you begin? What launches the story? What are the circumstances that set it off?
What will engage the viewer and hold their interest for the next 90 seconds or several minutes? And how will those images, those questions, inspire viewers to keep searching for more answers?
Realize this:
Your book trailer is an open-ended question, a curiosity that leads viewers on a quest for final answers, and consequently, closure.
Without this mindset, all your efforts, all your hard work will lead to nothing more than a slideshow of something that vaguely resembles your story. Apply these principles and techniques to your writing, to all your marketing, and to your book trailers, and see the amazing difference it can make in how readers perceive your book, its story, and ultimately, your book sales.
Book marketing is author marketing for the most part. Just the mention of some authors, Harper Lee, of To Kill a Mockingbird fame, in this case, and you instantly relate to her one and only novel, or so we thought, since her "new" novel, Go Set a Watchman is scheduled to be released this July, we'll soon have two books we can attribute to her.
Watchman, as you may already know, was the original Mockingbird, which her editor at the time, Tay Hohoff, suggested Lee skew in another direction, thus, TKM was born. This is interesting because the new book, was actually written before Mockingbird, and will now stand as a sequel to it.
Praise for clever editors, I suppose, although the big question remains; how much, if any part of this new book has Harper Lee re-written under the advice of her new editor(s) at HarperCollins? Some of it, or perhaps, none of it is safe to say based on Lee's mental health and rumors circulating in Monroeville. To a great extent that is irrelevant at this point.
Based on Lee's comments regarding her publishing another book, we can assume she had little to do with polishing this version of her original Mockingbird manuscript. Lee has said that she didn't want any attention or publicity about a new book at this point in her life. Who's to say what's what? Except for Harper Lee, who thought the original manuscript was forever lost and has suddenly surfaced.
The real curiosity here is not only all the buzz surrounding Lee's reclusive life throughout the years, but we're all eager to know what her original intent for Mockingbird was, aside from what we already know. Lee says that her original story was about an older woman, named Scout who visited her hometown family and wanted to find out about her father's views about the world. Many of the same characters populate both novels in the fictional Alabama town of Maycomb.
HarperCollins will print 2 million copies of the new book and advance orders on Amazon.com have already pushed Watchman to number one bestseller status. Publicity is everything. Although, I'll admit that Lee's original story sounds interesting enough on its own. As its publisher, the president of HarperCollins, Mr. Morrison asserts, "I've read the book twice, and it's fantastic," he said.
Hopefully, millions of readers will agree.
However, book marketing doesn't always lead with the author as in Lee's example. If a story is of topical interest or controversial, it certainly has legs of its own to run on. Take JFK's assassination for instance. Enough said. How about a fictional tale such as, The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins was virtually unknown at the time of this book's publication, but the controversial story helped push it to bestseller status almost instantly, and then of course the movie did wonders for it thereafter.
Back in the 60's, Harper Lee's somewhat autobiographical story was not only topical, born right out of the Civil Rights Movement, but controversial as well, plus the movie, starring Gregory peck, was also a huge push. Never mind legs, this book had centipede legs right out of the gate.
Unknown authors take heart. There is hope if your amazing story has legs. Note the adjective. Yes folks, ordinary stories need not apply. Ordinary stories are the amputees of the literary world. They have no legs to run on. No fuel for the fire. No spark to ignite a fire for that matter.
Stories need a catalyst. They need a strong hook and it helps if they are current and controversial all at once. All these factors create buzz, which leads to movie deals and consequently, more book sales. And let's not forget that if your story happens to be of social importance at the time of its publication, well, then you get to be featured in public schools and your story can live, and sell, forever.
Not a bad deal if you can write one. It is possible to conjure up such a story if you consider all these factors and if all the stars and moons align for you at the most opportune moment in time.
What about a book trailer you ask? Oh, right. That's what this article was all about to begin with. Yeah, you'll need one of those as part of your marketing mix these days. Book trailers are like a badge of honor. They give readers a glimpse, a taste of what your amazing story is about in 90 seconds or less.
And when done right, book trailers arouse curiosity, help build author branding, and motivate readers to look into your story for answers to the profound questions raised in your book trailer.
Profound or profoundly amusing because nothing else will do. Literature is not for the faint of heart or faint of spirit for that matter.
Popular stories hinge on relevant concepts that ask profound questions, which in turn, demand provocative answers. We are curious creatures by nature and nothing arouses our curiosity more than images that awaken our deepest desires.
That being said, all stories are subject to individual interpretation on the page as well as on screen. And that's the beauty of literature and art alike, it is always in the eyes of the beholder.
You've no doubt heard of Tarantino's next project, The Hateful Eight. There's been a lot of talk about the leaking of the script last year and Tarantino's tirade over that. Not sure whom among the actors leaked the script, but it's rumored to be either ... Read all about it here: http://screenrant.com/quentin-tarantino-shelves-hateful-eight-after-script-leak/
As a huge Tarantino fan, I'd love to see this movie but as it stands, right now, he might just publish the screenplay and not make the movie as planned this coming winter. At any rate, my focus here is the trailer itself. Another leak, QT is most likely pissed about, but hey, it's out. If anything, I think all the publicity is a good thing for buzzing this film, but let's get into deconstructing this trailer.
Quentin Tarantino - He's pissed!
It is said that Tarantino films are the most studied movies in film schools and universities, and for good reason. Tarantino breaks many rules and gets away with it in high style. If nothing else, Tarantino films are a great study in film making, and his movie trailers are certainly a great study in making book teasers.
As I've said before, there's not much difference between a movie trailer and a book trailer. They both aim to get viewers or readers interested and engaged in the movie or book, sometimes both. It's just that simple. The mechanics are the same, the marketing is virtually the same, and the main difference is that most book trailers use photo stills to tell the story, the sales pitch, that is, unless you go for one of those expensive cinematic book trailers, that look and sound like movie trailers. Not bad, but they also make you want to see the movie of the book, (if there is one) and not read the book itself. Not exactly the desired effect.
Let's never forget, it's a sales pitch, nonetheless. How we finesse that pitch, how we present it, is the secret to any successful trailer. And what you leave out of it, as you'll see in this Hateful Eight Trailer, is more important than what you put in.
Check out this pirated trailer to see if you can figure out what the story is about. This appears to be an early version of the teaser for the film. Notice how this trailer is all about the genre and offers little details about the story. A great teaser!
Another Movie Trailer for The H8ful Eight
This teaser includes the actors and gives a deeper look into the story, but again, it mostly relies on genre, Westerns, in this case, to impart a feeling, or set the tone. So, if you're a western fan, you're all-in either way. No details necessary. You watch because of the genre and the story is incidental. In this case, you also watch because of the writer/director. It's Quentin Tarantino, enough said. You know you're in for a wild ride.
Okay, but your book is not the next QT offering. Boo-hoo, cry me a river, I know the feeling. You're not alone. Forget about it, put away your hankie, pull up your big-boy pants (or big girl panties) and get over it already. The good news is, you don't have to be Tarantino for readers to enjoy your next book. Right. That's what they all say.
But that doesn't mean your book trailers can't be Tarantinoesque. Mind you, you don't really want to go for the full cinematic look for reasons already mentioned. You can do a nice job with some footage and animated stills and still convey a great feeling for the story, leaving readers with a craving for your book, and not a movie that probably doesn't, or will ever exist.
Below is a good example of what I mean by using a combination of footage and animated stills. And when I say animated stills, it means still photos that you can add motion to, as in panning, easing in or out, blurring or focusing, and so on. These are standard effects you can apply with WMM, Vegas Movie Studio, iMovie, or the video production editor of your choice.
This is my most recent book trailer for the Shadows in the Fog book by Greg Messel. He writes Detective Noir crime novels. One of the techniques I use in this trailer is to open with short footage. Slowly revealing the story world. Focusing on the genre. That's important because you don't want to rush into a story no one has ever heard of. You want to take your time an acclimate the viewer to their new surroundings, if you will. Set the stage (establish the genre) and let it all sink in slowly and work your way into the story. This also builds tension as you ratchet up the pace and quicken the shots as you go along.
Now, you must realize that you have about 90 seconds to work with. So you can only take so much time to introduce the story world. About 5 seconds is enough time to anchor the viewers and acclimate them to this new world. Think of it this way, it's more about pace than length. Ease into it and reveal the story problem, the all-important conflict that opens the story, slowly, without lingering. If there's anything worse than rushing through an introduction, it's holding a shot for too long.
At any rate, that's where your hook comes in. How are you going to engage your audience? What device are you going to use? Remember, that whatever you say or do, it must be intrinsic to the storyline. Your opening hook must be an integral part of your plot, a small part that you reveal upfront, but not entirely. This is where a sense of mystery takes hold and doesn't let go.
Here's where you get to ask the million dollar question and leave it hanging, unanswered until the end of the story. (How cruel can you be?) Without this device, you may as well pack it in. If you don't build curiosity from page one, your story is doomed to fail. It's just that simple.
And I'm referring to debut authors in particular. Authors who can sell books on the strength of their name alone can open their story however they want. New authors don't have that luxury. They have to engage their readers right away and hold their interest until the very end. The writing standards are quite different.
That being said, I don't believe in weak openings, regardless of an author's clout in the industry. Or weak ending for that matter. (See my rant about Stephen King's, Joyland.) Like most readers, I want a good hook that keeps me in suspense, right from the start and holds my interest right to the bitter end. Have you ever picked up a book and started reading and been distracted for whatever reason, and then you've been compelled to pick up the book again and continue searching for something in the story?
Maybe you've tried to quit a movie but were compelled to come back time and again to revisit the story for unknown reasons. That's a good hook at work. It's the story question posed at the beginning of the opening scene or chapter. Now you need closure, and the only way to get it, is to finish seeing the movie or finish reading the book.
Story hooks in movies and in book trailers work the same way. Once you engage your audience, it's difficult for them to let go. They feel compelled to finish watching or reading. And that's what you want, isn't it? Of course you do. That's what we all want as writers. We want to pique our audience's curiosity. We want to tease them and leave them in suspense. That's the name of the game.
That's how we get readers to click for more answers and ultimately have no choice except to buy your book. These techniques are not new, but they are essential if you want to succeed as a writer. That's why I always say, that if your opening is weak, your marketing will be dubious at best.
And speaking of that, in my next Post, I'll show you a trick many screenwriters use to pitch their scripts to Hollywood. What does that have to do with book trailers? Everything! Hey, it's all marketing. It all ties together in many different ways, but the goal is always the same.
How do we sell the story?
Don't miss this eye-opening post. Subscribe to this Blog so you don't miss all the juicy details. You just can't get this kind of insight anywhere else.
Over the summer, I'd been working on a 5 book series titled, Layers of Veronica for Emilia Rutigliano and came up with this video for her 4th book, GAJAH.
I love the music she chose, and looking back, I would have liked to show more Tango scenes with flashier image cuts, but either way, I think we pulled off an interesting video that showcases elements of her story in a memorable way that appeals to readers. And once you get readers hooked on a video, you're much closer to a sale.
The trick is to hint, but not to give away the most important parts of your story. That's where the tease comes in and where the sale really begins. And sales is what it's all about for the most part. Because aside from telling part of a story, good book videos also enhance an author's platform, can lead to more exposure, and boost credibility. All that in about 90 seconds.
Book videos, when done right, offer plenty of advantages to authors, but the video's main goal of course, is to sell your book, although, that's something that no one has complete control over. Many obstacles inhibit sales and so the objective of the video is to flick on as many green lights as possible and eliminate all the red lights along the way.
Dreams are inspiring, but you have to take action too!
I like this analogy because a sale that comes full-circle begins with a series of green lights, starting with reader's initial contact with your book, right down to when they click the Buy Now button and become a bona-fide customer, no red lights that stop a sale dead in its tracks. Red lights include, poor cover design, price points that are too high or too low, too many bad reviews, vague opening chapter, boring lead character, etc.
All this, providing that quick shipping and customer satisfaction with the story is also in place. Now those are two factors that are certainly beyond your control, although some book reviews could make mention of them.
And you thought a sale was all good news, but not all sales have happy endings. Although, most sales are final and end happily, you must do everything within your power up front to make sure customers are happy with their purchase so they can purchase again, recommend your book, or even better, look forward to your next book.
So you see, the sales cycle is never-ending. It's like that commercial, "Put good in, get good out." Then again, the "good" you put in is subjective, so you never really know what to expect.
So, is there a silver lining to anything about writing and selling books?
Take The Plunge!
Yes and Maybe. Everything depends on everything else. It's a Tango, after all. A crap shoot. What can you expect? No one really knows. Isn't that what Hollywood executives say about making movies?
Which is why Hollywood relies on bestselling books for the most part. They don't take any chances on their 50 to 100 million dollar film investments and scout for bestselling books that gauge mass appeal and predict ticket sales.
That's great motivation for novelists. Write a bestselling book, and reap the rewards of hopefully optioning your story for a movie script, which actually gets made, which in turn will sell even more books.
Dream on, folks. Really, dream on, because it's happened to many authors, and it certainly can happen to you.
Okay, you've got a killer book (at least you think it's killer) a great hook, and a hot idea for a book teaser. So how do you get your book teaser from concept to production without all the hassle?
Let's face it, getting anything done right is a lot of work plus plenty of headaches and worries that go along with it. Not to mention all the expenses. As an author, you have more important things to worry about and managing the production of your book trailer shouldn't be one of them.
What Makes Your Book Tick?
With Starship Book Videos you can "drop off" your big, book teaser idea and see it live usually within 2 weeks. No worries, no hassles, no huge expense, and best of all, you won't need to micro-manage the project because we specialize in book teasers and we know what's good for you and your book.
In most cases we stick to your concept and simply enhance it to maximize its sales potential. That's what it's all about, after all. You didn't work this hard just to entertain people. Which begs the question: What really makes your book and your book trailer sell?
Strange question, I know, but why do readers buy your books? I could be giving away a trade secret, but not really because we all know this. The difference is I'm willing to write about it. I'm talking about the metaphor your story represents.
In short, you write stories because you have something important that you'd like to share with the rest of the world. You want to make a point and you want that point to resonate with readers.
Well, that's how we approach your book trailer. We focus on that one metaphor, or the juicy hook you opened your story with, and we showcase that. That's what sells your story. That's the point of the book and without that point in sharp focus, you have no position in the marketplace.
I'll just leave it at that because it's getting a little technical and that's all the boring stuff nobody wants to hear. Fact is, all that boring stuff no one ever talks about is what makes your trailer effective.
Let's just say, it's a lot like the secret ingredients a chef might use for a great recipe. Everyone knows a favorite dish is really good, but no one really knows why.
I've posted several new Book Teasers on the right column. One (Dawn of Ages) is based on an interesting Sci-Fi story and the other (Then Like The Blind Man) tells about a young boy's turbulent times with his troubled stepfather. Two good books worth checking out.
The book about the boy is deftly narrated by its author, Freddie Owens, but if you're ever in the market for good Voiceover talent, check out VoiceJungle.com. Their site is easy to use and they offer fair prices.
I've got another trailer coming up, actually a series of 5 trailers I'm working on so I've been busy with those. I'll post some of those here later to give you a sense of more approaches for what your own trailers might include by way of special effects.
As you know, I use special effects sparingly and focus on your story and weave a snapshot of its metaphor in your trailer. That's the juicy part without giving away crucial events. It is a tease, after all. Check them out.
You might have noticed my new logo for Starship Grafix. This is still part of Book Teasers Pub(licity) or vice versa since it's an expansion of graphic design services and not just book trailers. Now all I need is more than 24 hours a day to make it all work. Actually 24 hours are plenty as long as I sleep only 4 and "work" the 20.
Hey, it beats giving someone else 8 to 12 hours of your day for measly benefits and long commutes.
Here's a great example of a trailer that meets all the criteria you need to check-off and implement for your own book trailers. (What's the difference between a movie trailer and a book trailer? None really. As long as you have dramatic tension to show and tell in your stories, the process is basically the same, although the approach can be different.)
Watch the Side Effects Trailer:
Notice something very interesting about the opening of this trailer. Soderbergh (the director), or whomever was in charge of marketing, chose a bit of misdirection here. The drug in question (Ablixa) has nothing to do with sexual performance in the movie, but the trailer gives the impression here that this drug is prescribed for enhancing sexual performance. That's an additional hook, albeit somewhat misleading (that's called artistic license folks) it doesn't hurt to include this bit of misinformation.
Those sexually enticing scenes are followed by more sinister scenes of bloody footprints, a murder and a 911 call, but not before the trailer opens in earnest with a bit of the couple's "happy life" (before everything went horribly wrong) scenes.
Those initial scenes are like a prologue, which add context and meaning to the story. From there, it all goes downhill. This is only one approach to opening a trailer. Some trailers open with blood and guts right out of the gate, but that's more suited for a horror films since you already know what to expect from that genre.
This film, this story, is more of a psychological thriller and therefore it's a bit more subtle in how it's presented, but the hook and the effect they're after is certainly effective.
I'll be breaking this one down, deconstructing it scene by scene so you can see how masterful it really is in hooking the viewer and drawing you in, one salient scene at a time.
This is how you want to approach your book trailers. Remember, a story is a story is a story, regardless of the media that delivers it. Movies, books, plays, etc.
A brilliant trailer. Check back soon (or subscribe to this Blog) to see how this story and this trailer dispense the perfect prescription for trailer success.
Last time we talked about "triggers". What triggers, or motivates people to buy? That's a question with complex answers, or multiple answers at least. Let's simplify it by flipping it around. What deters people from buying? That's easier to answer. High prices, inferior products, lack of time, lack of money, unappealing products, price too low, price too high, out of sight, out of mind. These are the most common reasons people might put off a purchase either temporarily or indefinitely.
Overcoming all these obstacles will help but it's not always enough. Once you find the right price point, jazz up your product appearance and presentation, its overall quality, and bombard prospects with your relentless message, you're still left with a multitude of possible objections or reasons consumers might be reluctant to buy.
Let's make a distinction. The difference between product X and your book, that is. Product X can be anything and all the scenarios explained here apply to selling any product. Books, however, are a very different kind of product because they are classified as entertainment and therefore must appeal to readers exclusively on an emotional level. That's the whole point. You must set up, present, and sell your book within the parameters of an emotion-packed sales pitch. You must mine your story for emotional connections, or ties with your readers.
First things first. You must create a desire for your book in the consumer's mind. Working off our 3 golden rules, emotion was the first thing on the list. The only way to sell your book is to attach an emotional connection, bridge an emotional gap between your book and a potential buyer. You must find a way to engage the consumer with their emotions leading the way. Problem is, we don't always know what particular emotion will trigger a response in a consumer. But not to worry, that's why there are only several emotions you need to work with.
"Love is the absolute emotion but in the world of sales,
desire is the emotion of choice."
More than anything else, people want to make a connection with your book. By that I mean they want to find what they have in common with your story. Are they familiar with places mentioned in your book? Do they live or have they traveled to locations mentioned in your book? Can they relate to other authors or books you mention? Have they experienced some of the things your character is going through or is about to encounter? These questions are limited only by your imagination, but the broadest of these questions and by far the most relevant is the first because making a personal connection with your book automatically includes many other questions that go along with it.
This kind of connection is not always known but it is essential to giving the buyer a reason to want, a reason to desire your book because without it, their questions and answers remain unfulfilled. It is this level of curiosity that you must tap into and play up. This is the main reason a potential buyer might become interested in your book and why they will want to buy it. It is this question, this curious detail, you must feature and open your book or your book trailer with.
This is where your all-important hook comes in. In Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, (the film version) the hook is a murdered man splayed on the floor of the Louvre with strange symbols scrawled over his body. A very curious detail which raises plenty of questions. Questions that demand answers. The book does not open with this scene as in the film, but it is not far off. The book trailer opens with the location and the second frame is a shot of the victim on the floor. Readers want to know. They want to find out what has happened, how did it happen, who did it, and why. It's an irresistible set of questions and to find the answers they must buy the book. Ingenious isn't it?
Okay, your book is not the next Da Vinci Code, neither is mine. Go figure. All hooks don't have to be this deep and multi-layered, and most of them are not. That''s OK. As long as you open with something that incites curiosity, you're on your way. Check out the Da Vinci Code Trailer:
Let me say that I think this teaser runs a bit long. It has too many drawn out text shots and overall its pace a bit slow for such a thriller. Nevertheless, it is effective and sticks to the hook and all its salient points. I'd quicken the pace, shorten the huge text shots, and ramp up the sound beats for a more exciting presentation.
Now think of the hook in your story. What's the most important shot you need to show that will instantly pique the viewers curiosity? Lead with that shot after you've established a location and/or point in time. When running text. Make sure you give readers enough time to read (consider people read at s different pace) but don't linger on these shots, especially if you're also using voice-overs.
Take your time to study this Da Vinci Book Trailer and see for yourself just how they set it up and followed through using all the techniques I've outlined here. These principles hold true regardless of the pace or genre of your book. The only thing that changes is slower music, longer frame shots and text shots, but a sense of urgency should always be present.
Here's the Official Teaser: A much slicker presentation that focuses on decoding the mystery. Nice effects!
The third golden rule is a special offer. Offers can be made any time during your presentation but at the end is probably best because it will be the last thing viewers remember. What's important is that you don't linger by showing sales deadlines or cut-off dates. This is something you must finesse and flash without making it too obvious. You want a seamless, cohesive, unobtrusive, and exciting presentation, not an overt sales pitch.
Never make it obvious you are trying to sell something. Your focus should be on creating excitement, motivation, and to persuade readers to buy your book because without it, they will be missing the answers to the curious questions your trailer has posed.
Your goal is to present your book in such a way that the trailer leaves important story questions unanswered. Telling too much, or giving away key parts of your story will only kill the suspense and curiosity you're trying to build.
That's why they call them "teasers."
Setting up "the tease" is easy. All you have to do is bring up a question and leave it unanswered, or make a suggestion with provocative images. What triggers a response? What makes readers click on your trailer for more information about your story? This is the X Factor in sales. Different things trigger different folks. You might never know for certain what has triggered an emotional response, but all the conditions that trigger emotions in readers must be presented in your trailer. You must cover all your bases and open with a powerful, engaging, and curious detail that will set-off a range of emotions and questions in the viewer's mind.
When you put all the pieces of the sales puzzle together with text, images, questions, and curiosities, your sales message can and must be irresistible to readers. Then, and only then, will they be inclined to click without thinking about how much they will spend. Money will be irrelevat to them and all they want to know is what happens next. Like an itch they must scratch, the impulse, the quest for answers is on!
Make sure your trailer shines by using all the techniques mentioned here. The bottom line? Engage readers emotionally right from the start and keep building up the suspense. You must tell a very short story without giving away key parts and by showing provocative images. Don't linger. Edit your trailer for short, quick cuts. The effect you're after is this: Once the trailer comes to an end (about 60-90 seconds), the viewer should hit the replay button.
They hit replay because you've left them wanting and unfulfilled. You've witheld just the right information and piqued their curiosity. They want answers. But guess what? They can hit the replay button all day long and they won't find answers in your book trailer. They haven't missed a thing. It's all in your book, and their only option is...to follow the link to your merchant page or your homepage where they can buy your book for all the answers.
Okay folks, we've discussed impulse buying and how to set up your trailer to motivate readers to click for more because sometimes it's now or never. Either you design and push for the sale right now, or risk losing a sale altogether for reasons unknown to you (list of consumer objections beyond your control here).
Now what? What happens next? Does your price stop them dead in their tracks? Is it too high, or too low? How can a price ever be too low? Next time we'll discuss different types of offers. Remember that people buy into your offer, not just the product itself. We'll discuss various offers plus the one offer that works 99% of the time. Like those odds? Stay tuned for my next Post and find out which offer sends consumers scrambling for the buy button.
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OK folks, as promised, here's some of my spiel about impulse buying. You've heard me say it before and it's worth repeating because it's important. Selling is easy. Whaaat? Okay, let me explain. Selling the right product to the right people at the right time is easy. Fair enough. You know what I mean. Let's get to it.
BTW, here's my disclaimer for those who feel impulse buying is trapping, conning or otherwise taking advantage of a customer. A consumer's weakness or lack of buying discipline is their own fault, not the advertiser's. Whenever I get caught up in the hype of an impulse purchase, I blame myself, then I enjoy the product. Hey look at this way, if you don't make the irresistible offer, someone else will. Case closed. No guilt, no shame. Here goes.
Since the beginning of time. Take your pick: (Adam and Eve or the dawn of cave people.) Human beings needed things and wanted things. And guess what? At no other time in history has this been a fact more than it is now. Heck, just take a look at all those storage warehouses popping up all over the place. People just can't find enough room to store all their worldly possessions. Come on folks, there are hundreds of different cereals out there and counting. The proliferation of products is massive, and so is the purchase of these millions of products every day. Including books!
America especially is a consumerist society without bounds or limits it seems. People buy all sorts of stuff, especially online. The internet grows every year with no signs of slowing down any time soon. A tough economy? Not for everyone. There are plenty of people with deep pockets and just as many with not so deep pockets with the same desires. Guess what wins every time? Yes, the desire to want something always outweighs the sensibility of owning it. Let's face it, affording something and buying it does not always align. Does the word foreclosure sound familiar? (Sorry if I hit a sore spot. You knew it was coming.) Enough said, you get the point.
"The desire to want something always
outweighs the sensibility of owning it."
Fact is, that most people want just about everything they see. There's no shortage of wanting and desiring. There's only a shortage of money, or in this case, the right offer. Here's something you don't hear every day.
People don't buy products or services, they buy offers.
WTF? Who the heck says that? What does it mean? Hey, it's simple. If money were no object, you'd probably own the Brooklyn Bridge, and so would I. Not to mention all the con men out to sell it to us. For example, if you could buy the Brooklyn Bridge for $50 a month, ($1.67 a day) you probably would, if for no other reason than to brag about it. Silly example, but you get the point. You'd buy because of the offer. Irresistible offers are what people buy into. How do you structure an offer in your book trailer?
Great question. Make them an offer they can't refuse. Remember that line from the Godfather? That's the basis of all impulse buying propositions. Don't give customers a way out. Make them an offer they can't refuse. Okay, we're not selling cars or bridges, we're selling books. Big difference. But are you really selling books? Well, yeah, they're not steaks. Right, if they were steaks, you'd sell the sizzle. But since they're books, you sell...the story. Specifically, the emotion of the story. Still with me?
A book is mere paper and ink. That's only part of what you're selling. People do buy and collect books because of their beautiful covers. (I'm guilty of this.) But what you're really selling is the contents of your book, or its emotional story. What if it's non-fiction? Same thing. Just because you're selling a bullet list of benefits, doesn't mean you can't attach emotion to it. Aha, now we're getting somewhere. Okay, somewhere deep inside you, you already knew this, but the difference is this time your focus on marketing will be fresh and laser-like.
Great, how do you sell the emotion in your story? Assuming you've written a killer story with plenty of twists and turns, intrigue, suspense, a surprise ending, there you have it. What's all that about? How about emotional connections? Ring a bell? Nothing new here folks. This never changes. Not now, not a million years from now. You're always selling an emotion. End of story. Readers thrive on emotional content. It's the only reason they read or watch movies or go to plays, etc. They want to experience an emotional high of some kind. It's like an addiction.
If merchants could only remember that little piece of information, their advertising and marketing would improve exponentially. But most of them don't have a clue and all they talk about is themselves and how important they are or how big their company is and so on. It's pathetic. Selling is never about the seller. It's all about the buyer. What's in it for them? Nothing else matters, except, how soon can they get your product, assuming you've presented it in such a way that readers must want it.
Okay, this is a mouthful, I'm sure. You've probably never heard any of this before, except right here because many advertisers and copywriters would like to keep this a big, fat secret. Who cares? I've told you everything and nothing at all because there's so much more it would take volumes and years to divulge. Yes, sales and marketing is a science and an art. You're not going to learn everything you need to know over night.
Let's break Impulse buying into bite-sized, digestible chunks. This may not sound appetizing yet, but it will when we're done. There's so much more to talk about, so much more to learn, and like advertising, it takes plenty of repetition before any of this sinks in.
Three Golden Rules:
1. You're Selling an Emotion
2. You Need a Special Offer
3. You Need To Create a Sense of Urgency
As I've said folks. Selling is a step-by-step process. Yet all those processes must happen simultaneously and decisively within a parameter of time in order to be effective. Stay with me and come back for more of this ongoing tutorial on Impulse Buying, The Ultimate Sales Tool.
Here's what we'll cover in my next Post: Impulse Triggers
Okay, it's all about emotion. Great, you've got that. But how do you market an emotion? How do you approach it from a sales POV? Easy, you set things up so the reader feels it. The emotional set-up, the question, or the statement that hooks readers at first sight and never lets them go.
That's our mission and what kicks off our marketing campaign in the right direction. The three Golden Rules. Without this, all is lost before we even begin. Here's where most marketing comes to a screeching halt, right out of the gate. We'll review how to come up with the best opening lines, triggers that set-off your marketing, your "sales pitch" in the most curious form that will not only hook readers, but send them scrambling for more about your story.
I'm on a roll and holding nothing back. Don't miss this!
The best way to answer a silly question is with another silly question.
Uh, Does marketing work?
WOW! I gotta have that!
Hmm...well, yes and no. It all depends on a multitude of reasons or obstacles. While many potential customers might receive your sales message, interested buyers could be prevented from placing an order for a number of reasons beyond your control. Anything from a lost internet connection, severe weather, lack of money, technical shopping cart problems, shipping price objections, nature calls, and so on. The list of obstacles can be endless.
The solution to that is simple. Repeat your message. Hence, all those damn Geico commercials every 5 minutes. Funny and annoying but in the world of advertising, essential to success. The good news is that Book Trailers are like perpetual marketing machines that never quit spreading your sales message. They're always on.
(Just like all those car insurance commercials. Personally, Flo is my favorite.)
Now for the not so good news. Bad marketing can work against you and have a negative effect on your sales. Obviously this is not what you want. So how do you know when your sales message, your advertising and marketing is missing its mark? Three reasons. Not enough repetition or market saturation, or if you know that not to be the case, then something's wrong with your sales approach or you're simply addressing the wrong audience, the wrong demographics.
In other words, Book Trailers, like any marketing piece, can and do work, but only if all the conditions are right. Aside from those conditions, what other factors influence a potential customer's buying decision? Glad you asked because that one question is the subject of this entire blog and what we've been distilling here for the past several months.
How do you write, design, and produce a book trailer that will inspire, encourage, and motivate readers to click for more and eventually buy your books? Or better yet, how about a killer trailer that propels interested buyers into placing an order right now, before they forget or change their minds for whatever reason (obstacle) known to humankind.
Impulse Purchases. You've heard of them, you've seen them advertised, and heck, you've certainly been a victim, uh excuse me, a customer on the "wrong end" of one of these late night infomercials. Want to be on the dealing end of an impulse purchase? Sure you do. Stay tuned for my next Post where I lay down all the golden rules to setting up and reaping the rewards of the ultimate buying scenario: Part I: The Amazing Impulse Purchase and how to Set it Off. Right here, next time.
Don't miss this jaw-dropping Post, coming soon, I promise.
Book Trailers are excellent bait. Here's one of the most important things your book trailer must accomplish and it must accomplish this within the first few seconds. Drum roll please...
"Your book trailer must instantly create a curious desire in the viewers mind."
And what that means is that your trailer should, within its opening seconds, make a curious statement, ask a provocative question, or show an intriguing image that will immediately hook the viewer.
Now that doesn't mean you have to be outlandish or eccentric. What it does mean is that you must be interesting at a minimum. Nothing else will do. So what exactly is a curious statement, or a provocative question, or an intriguing image? Simply put, it is anything that will interest the viewer just enough to stick around for the rest of your message. Most of the time, just stating where your story takes place or when, if it's a historical or set in a different era, is enough because opening with a place and time is always a safe bet. Like characters, settings speak volumes to your core audience.
Opening with your setting is an excellent hook that leads to more interesting happenings (fill in your events here) which will unfold as the seconds tick to hopefully a bigger, even more interesting question or an open-ended answer. Take your pick. Point is, you must hook and reel in the reader to a point when their curiosity has peaked. By the end of your presentation, your reader must be so intrigued, so curious, and so eager to find out not only more about your story, but its fantastic ending as well.
Your story does have an amazing ending doesn't it? Sure it does. And if it doesn't, you can now look to its opening where you'll find the answers to that amazing ending you've been after for so long. An ending you'll just hint to or suggest in your trailer, but remember not to give away key parts of your story.
Maintaining a sense of mystery and suspense are key elements to good storytelling and just as important to your marketing concepts. So the next time you're stuck on how to open your book trailer or what kind of device to use in a banner or promotion. Think of your reader's most salient desires within the context of your story narrative and...let it fly.
“What’s love got to do with it?”asked Tina Turner in the sixties.
Today, they’re still asking the same old question and I’m sure it’s a question we’ll be asking for generations to come. “What’s love, but a second hand emotion,” is the answer.
Ahh, emotion. What would the world be without it? How can you distill that emotion, bottle it up and cork it tightly? And when you’re ready to play, pop the cork, and unleash the genie inside. But what really are the bottle’s magical contents? What exactly evokes all those emotions? What inspires people to stop, watch and listen to your book trailer? More importantly, what motivates them to click and buy? Meaningful stories, filled with conflict.
Problems, problems, problems. In real life, we try to avoid problems at all costs, but in literature, problems, better known as conflicts, are front and center stage at all times. Without conflict, there are no meaningful stories to tell. But how much should you tell? How much of the story do you give away in your book trailer?
The case for making long book trailers revolves around this idea, “The more you tell, the more you sell" mentality. Based on a tried and true advertising model, particularly ideal in the seventies and eighties, but not as relevant or as effective today, at least not on the internet. Remember, the internet is quite unlike print publications. The internet is limitless and forever growing and expanding like some kind of universe―super fast and far-reaching. It demands speed even as it instills a speedy, almost anxious mindset on its users. Click, scan, click, from here to infinity.
This is not your Daddy's Internet:
The days of slow modems are long gone. Today, most people have high-speed fiber optic connections that are always on and lightning fast. Page loading times are virtually no longer an issue. When you click on a link, there it is, in a flash. For the most part, as long as your computer isn’t bogged down by registry errors, bloated browser caches or software-developer’s anti-virus, viruses, (hint, clue, wink) your pages load almost instantly.
Readers see the internet as a prime source of an immediate, speedy way of getting relevant information. Today’s readers and web surfers (largely, a younger generation) search for and consume huge amounts of digital information, seemingly as fast as it loads, and just as fast, they move on to something else.
This sense of immediacy and instant gratification has bred a whole new generation of web surfers that not only rely on high-speed internet access , but they thrive on its ability to deliver information faster than they can process it. In turn, that prompts them to stop only when something is meaningful enough to get their attention. And that means attention spans are cut drastically, to mere seconds per page sometimes.
With billions of pages at their fingertips, it’s no wonder users are so finicky about what they read. So the obvious question is: What stops readers dead in their tracks? What keeps them riveted and glued to a particular page?
What's the Answer?
The answer is simple: An emotional connection. A speed bump on the lightning fast information super highway. Period. End of story. There’s no other reason because emotion is the only reason. What kind of emotion? How about curiosity? What about fear, anger, or longing? Do you think the search for love can stop a person dead in their tracks? Love of what? Love of a particular thing, a certain subject matter, a kind of personality or a particular image that speaks volumes to them. Anything that tells a meaningful story, in a flash.
Ever since the beginning of time, human beings have been searching for happiness through love and relationships, through friendships, through an understanding of something else. Anything that promises or suggests meaning. People are forever curious and searching for happiness or anything that even looks like the semblance of a good time. Something that really matters to them.
"Good ole emotion, folks. Take it or leave it, it’s here to stay—forever and ever."
So what does emotion have to do with book teasers? Everything, of course. Problem is, most people don’t realize that emotion makes the world go round and round, and even more people don’t know how to define or present an emotional story on video. Wow. Houston, we definitely have a problem.
Luckily, I know a little about emotion. After all, I died once for 45 minutes, and then I died again when I got divorced after 13 years of an impossible marriage. (Yes, that’s precisely when I regretted not dying for an eternity the first time.) But that’s just the tip of the emotional iceberg, folks. Can you feel my pain? “Right, we’ve got it,” they said.
Forget you!
But what about book teasers? What’s up with that? Why is 30 seconds so much better than a long, 2 minute trailer? You’re right about one thing. Thirty seconds is not long enough. Whaat?
That’s the whole point, my friend. If a short 30 second book teaser doesn’t show enough, that means the viewer is left wanting more, and that’s exactly what you want. Long trailers tell way too much of the story and leave very little to the imagination, draining the story of its very essence―its mystery. If you seemingly tell everything, then there’s no reason for the viewer to search for more. You’ve given away too much, and possibly the best parts of your story.
That’s where the 30 second teaser works its magic. A very short story that engages the viewer in a meaningful way, but piques their curiosity to the point where they must click to find out more about the book and how your story ends.
Piece of cake, folks. All you have to do is find the emotional thread that drives your story. But that’s only half the job. You’ll then have to write the emotional words, find the right images and the heartfelt soundtrack, and then put that all together into an intense 30 second video presentation. Nothing to it.
The Hard Truth:
It’s a lot like watching someone play Mozart on piano. Looks like nothing more than someone hitting a bunch of keys, big deal. Seemingly, anyone can do it. You have two hands and two feet, what more do you need? Right.
Listen, if you want a powerful book teaser that represents you and your books in a meaningful way, I can play the piano. Heck, I can especially play some Tina Turner. So, if you have something in mind for your first or your next book trailer, run the concept by me and I’ll be happy to take a look at it and offer you suggestions on how to make it even better. No strings; just solid advice on how to make your book trailer more than just catchy music―but an effective marketing and sales tool instead.
Email me today with any questions and if you missed any part of my 3-part Book Trailer Tutorial, check it out here from the beginning. It’s filled with eye-opening stuff you can use to design your next book trailer that will save you time, money, and plenty of headaches.
