Your Book Trailer's Opening Scene - Which Way To Go

OFFICIAL TITANIC POSTER

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.

QUENTIN TARANTINO'S HATEFUL EIGHT TRAILER - What We Can Learn

BLOGGER BEST VIEWED WITH FIREFOX BROWSER

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.

BOOK TANGO - Dreams of Happy Endings - Are You Ready To Take The Plunge?

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.

Fishing For Readers?

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.

BOOK TEASERS PUB VIDEO PROMO

Here's a new Teaser I recently put together (upper right). Notice how short it is (under 40 seconds) and how it does just what a book teaser should do. It's a curious, jarring spot that leaves you with more questions than answers. That's what you're looking for. You want to wake people up and motivate them to click on your teaser (with an active hyperlink, of course) to find out more.


That being said, you don't have to scream as I've done here (I needed that) but it helps. What you need is to capture your readers attention with curious images and sound, right away, then persuade them with a unique message. BTW, I didn't spend weeks coming up with this concept. All I started with was the screaming part, which captures people's frustration with dull, ineffective book teasers (at least mine).


From there, it took on a monstrous life of it's own. Besides, Frankenstein's the monster that best describes me. We sure look alike anyway.


If this floats your boat, check out the other Frankenstein Amazon spot, way at the bottom.

Book Teasers Are Not All The Same. 5 Tips That Make a Difference:

Have you taken a look at all the new Book Trailer Production Companies out there? Go ahead, search the internet and check out all the big production companies and their book trailer offerings. I can't believe what I'm seeing. These trailers are laughable, and worst of all, they don't work. They won't do a thing to help sell your books. What a gyp!


Listen up folks, before you spend a ton of money and waste your valuable time on something that doesn't work, here's what you need to know:


1) Book Trailers are not Mini Movies:
You can't design a book trailer that runs for 2 or 3 minutes or longer. People's attention span is very short, so ideally you want to keep your trailer or teaser to 30 seconds or maybe up to a minute or so, but nothing longer. Although, if you can manage to keep things interesting, sometimes a minute and a half is okay.


The point is, however, the shorter, the better. The reasoning behind that, aside from short attention spans, is that a short 30 second teaser leaves the reader wanting more. And that's key because if they want more, the next logical thing, as long as you've piqued their curiosity, is that they'll click on the book teaser link to find out more about the book. If you've told too much in your teaser, they have no reason to continue searching.


2) It's All About The Concept:
Book teasers are advertisements, not journalism. You must come up with a curious concept and design that concept around questions instead of answers. You must keep readers guessing--wanting more. Don't give away the whole story.


3) Expensive, Flashy Production is Useless to Readers:
Over-the-top production means nothing. Readers are hungry for a moving story, an emotion. Why would you feed them fancy effects that don't serve the storyline? Chroma keys and vibrating titles are not sales tools.


4) Your Images Must Serve and Sell The Story:
Use images that sell, not tell your story. You've got to be a tough editor and remove anything that doesn't apply to the storyline concept--your hook. Stick to your concept and keep it short.


5) Your Ending Must be Dramatic:
Sure, it's only a 30 second teaser, but those last few seconds must drive everything home because that's what readers will remember. Build it up and end with something meaningful.


I'll be posting more tips and going into great detail about many other things you need to know about designing a successful Book Teaser that gets the job done. And that means, getting readers to click (because your book teaser hooked them) and buy your book.


I've posted articles on my other Blogspot (BookFreak: The ProseFreak Files about impulse buying. When it comes down to it, that's what you want to create--a book teaser that encourages impulse buying. Why make it impulsive? Check out my take on Impulse Purchases here. You'll be glad you did.


My next Post: How To Build a Killer Book Teaser Concept. Don't miss it!

Do Book Teasers Really Help Sell Your Books?

The short answer is YES and NO. Sure they work, when done right, and no they don't work, when they're poorly done. So what's "done right" and what's "poorly done"? Glad you asked because I have plenty to say about it.

Here's a fact of life: Selling is easy! You read that right. Selling is easy because people's desires and needs are built in. People will always want things; things they like, things they need, they even buy things they never use. We're all alike when it comes to wanting things. Most of us want a beautiful house or a fast car, a big screen TV, nice clothes, great furniture, like a Lazyboy recliner where you can read a good book. So what makes selling your book so difficult? How about the wrong approach, the wrong words, the wrong sound, a vague platform, the wrong venue. You want to make selling your book easy? Then make buying your book easy. Everything must be in place--all green lights.

Human beings need instant gratification, all the time. We're always searching for something that will make us happy and make us feel good or feel better about ourselves, even if it's just for a brief moment in time. Don't derail that blessing with horrible advertising.

Desires are a natural human condition, an addiction we can't live without. In this digital age, do you wonder why so many people still read books? The competition for your attention (your dollars) is ferocious. With hundreds of channels on TV, cell phones that can do just about anything you can imagine, movie theaters, and tons of electronic gadgets, it's a miracle we find time for our wanting spouses and children.

Last time I checked, my family had been missing for 3 days before the annoying chime of my doorbell woke me from my electronic stupor. It was my wife and 3 kids, and I didn't let them in. Heck, after months of trying, I was just about to finish Norman Mailer's "Oswald's Tale."

* * *

 "You want to make selling your book easy? Then make buying your book easy."

* * *

Okay, you get my drift. Some of us love books. We love the control we have over books. We pick them up, read a little, get sleepy, toss them aside, sometimes we fling them across the room or tear them from limb to limb when we come across something we don't like. But for the most part, we love stories and we like to indulge in all the pleasures reading offers.

Point is, sometimes, people must have something, whatever that might be is personal, but hopefully, it's your book. Your book? Why would anyone want to read your book? Who the heck are you that anyone would take interest in what you have to say? Got you, didn't I? There you have it. A big part of selling your book is selling yourself, as a person, as an author, as a writer. And of course, that's where, among many different advertising and promotional efforts, book teasers come in. Holy crap, Lindsay Lohan just did what? You’ll have to excuse me, Showbiz Tonight is on and I digress. See what I mean?

Okay, let’s get to it. You’re an author, probably self-published, which is a good way to publish books these days. But let’s face it, nothing beats being backed by a major publishing house, when they champion your book to stardom, that is. Let’s not forget the thousands of Random House titles that go unnoticed because their authors don’t have enough clout, or literary cache, if you will. I recently came across a good book that frankly, I was surprised to see in a bargain bin for a buck. But there it was, a mid-list offering drowning in a sea of misfit bargain books. Well, I rescued it and I love that book. God only knows my own novel will wind up right next to it some day. (someone hug me)

Isn’t it refreshing when we put things into perspective? Are big house publishers a better deal than self-publishing? Not if you’re the author of the next “The Shack.” I’m sure William P. Young doesn’t miss the paltry advances and penny royalties the big publishers offer these days. He’s one of the many self-published, self-made millionaires and loving the huge profits that go with it. Why not you? What’s the big fu*#!&@! secret?

Here’s what you really need to know:

First and foremost, you must write a killer book. Nobody will buy a book that apparently, its author put little effort into. Here’s the short of it. If you’ve written a non-fiction book, you’re selling solutions. If you’ve written a fiction book, you’re selling a story. Stories offer many things people crave: an escape, a journey, learning about other cultures, a reflection of their own life, a hero to root for and commiserate with, a different way to look at things, anything that will make them forget about their next mortgage payment. Come on, it’s entertainment first, facts second.

* * * 


What a shame, but that’s life in the big city, folks. Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug."


* * *

Next, you need to show and tell people who you are and what you stand for in this world. What’s your thing? What moves you? What drives you to write about dogs, cats, houses, relationships, your lovely mother-in-law? Whatever. You have something unique to tell the world in a way that only you can tell it. People want to know the story behind the story too. This is where press releases, publicity, and media kits come in. Don’t have any of that? It’s all easy to get. If you look hard enough, you can find most of it for free on the internet. Might not be the best, but it’s a start and it’s better than nothing.

Next, you must introduce your book to prospects. As you read this, people are searching for books online (get back here). They’re looking for all kinds of books, maybe a book like yours. Is your book, your author website searchable in Google, Bing and Yahoo? If not, get it there. It only takes a few minutes to list. Your book is the star, even if you’re John Grisham. 

Stories are why people buy books, and not because a famous author wrote it. Remember, even famous authors often write lousy books that nobody buys. Your book (its story) is front and center at all times. Your book is the main product. People want the product and everything that product has to offer that can make them smile or laugh or reflect. If your book can offer a life-changing experience, then you’re way ahead of the game.

To successfully advertise and promote your book, you must spend some money, but some marketing can be had for a song. Last time I checked, YouTube wasn’t charging to display your book teaser. You can pay for positioning if you want, of course, but start by uploading it for free in their massive database and test the waters. There are dozens of other sites where you can upload your book videos. Google it!

Don’t have a book teaser? Uh, what are you waiting for? You need one. Don’t have enough to make a really good one? Make one yourself with Windows Movie Maker. With a little practice (about 3 weeks) you’ll come up with something horrible, hard to watch. 

Newsflash: It’s not about the snazzy photos, it’s about how to sell a product. Don’t know enough about sales and marketing? That’s no excuse. Got a few thousand bucks handy and a few months with nothing to do? Take a marketing course. You know, I don’t intend for this to come off sarcastically, but it’s turning out that way. It’s the hard truth. There’s so much more to making great book videos than you think.

* * * 


"People are not like dogs that you can train with Pavlovian tricks."


* * * 

Take a look at all the big production companies that make book trailers and see if you like any of them. Honestly, they’re laughable and embarrassing. Sad part is, authors are paying thousands of dollars for these atrocities and thinking they’re getting the best.  What a shame, but that’s life in the big city, folks. Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.

Well, if you don’t like being splattered across the highway of life by big production companies, listen up. The purpose of a good book teaser is two-fold. The main goal of a book teaser is to inspire you, and then to motivate you to buy the book. Inspiration is artistic, emotional. Motivation is psychological. Both are triggered by strong writing concepts. Notice the key words here. Emotional triggers. People are not like dogs that you can train with Pavlovian tricks. Human beings feed off and respond to emotional events. It’s what makes us human above all other animals in our known universe.

Aside from intuition, we have a cosmic understanding that keeps us in tune with all the things we like. Things that make sense to us. Must be why I cringe whenever I see the so-called book trailers these big production companies have to offer. I call them anti sales tools. They’re big on flashy production and very short on creativity and value. When was the last time you heard anyone praise a movie for its production values? There it is.

Good marketing concepts, with the right images and the proper soundtrack, make for great book teasers. Anything less is a waste of your time and money. If I were to charge separately for writing, designing, and producing your book teaser, it would cost you thousands, yet it would still be worth it. Take a look at some of my teasers and see for yourself.

The good news is you won’t pay thousands of dollars for your book teaser at Book Teasers Pub! In fact, you can get a 30 second book teaser for as little as $399 complete. That includes the marketing concept, all the images enhanced on Photoshop, special effects filters and the best soundtrack for your particular teaser, all for one low price. Film footage and voice-overs are available for additional fees since these can drive up the cost considerably.

I encourage you to shop around. Check out all the other production companies out there that claim to be the best. I have yet to come across one that can match what I can offer.  You simply get much more for one low price with Book Teasers Pub, and the best part is that you’ll have more than a great looking and awesome sounding book teaser. You’ll have a marketing concept that works for you as an author--a marketing tool that helps you sell more books.

Let’s discuss promotional ideas for your book and ask me how I can help you put together an amazing book teaser that represents you and your books in the best possible light. I promise to make it great and make it functional or your money back.

Get an instant Discount!

Ask me a question here or email me and if we do business, I’ll discount $50 off your Book Teaser. Email me right now before this offer fizzles into obscurity.

arios316@gmail.com

Don’t miss this discount. It won’t last forever!


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Next Post: Book Covers: The Doorstop Effect
Having trouble getting a good cover design in place? Don't miss this Post next Monday.


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This article was swiped from Alberto's upcoming book, "Don't Freak - Secrets of a Marketing Guru"

Projected Publication August 2012

Your moment of Zen: Not giving up is your best revenge.

Can Your Book Teaser Do This?

Book Teasers are now considered an integral part of book promotion, but like many things, they didn't start out that way. The beginnings of book trailers goes back to 2002 when COS Productions (Circle of Seven) started it all. It’s taken about ten years for everyone else to catch up, but slowly, others have seen the importance of book promotion through video and have added their own flavor to this relatively new marketing medium.

The success of book teasers should come as no surprise. It’s obvious that photos and video are far more effective than mere words on a page for conveying messages. People retain more information when they can see it and hear it, plus, it’s more entertaining than just reading. (Does the cliché, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” ring a bell?) In fact, advertisers know that images should always come before words in their ads, therefore they often place photos above headlines, knowing that prospects are first drawn to the imagery. This is not scientific, folks.

Everyone, except for the amazingly lucky Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook, who seems to have just discovered this.) knows that imagery is more powerful than printed words. But let’s give this entrepreneurial guy a break, he’s only 26 and still has much to learn. Let’s not forget, he has not built Facebook singlehandedly. My advice to Zuckerberg is to trust his (business) instincts a lot more. It’s hard to believe that he employs 500 software engineers. Does that even make sense? He needs to find a few good ones and send the remaining 498 to the unemployment line, which might raise the national unemployment average to 10%, but who really cares?

Excuse my digression, Zuckerberg’s Facebook is an entirely different topic, but it’s his young, unchecked zeal that grates. I really think that Facebook is practically useless to humanity and only serves Zuckerberg and his corporation for the most part. LinkedIn is so much more useful and purposeful, but what do I know, I guess the world needs Facebook. (teenagers at least) Oh, where is the love? Hey, the guy’s personally worth 7 billion dollars. Why should I have any mercy on him?

He’s not about to buy me out any time soon. (Damn those lucky Winklevoss twins who sued him for theft of Facebook and were awarded and paid 65 million dollars for nothing, and they’re still bitching about it. Something tells me I should believe Zuckerberg, and I do. But why pay out so much money unless there was proof of theft? Hard to say, but something smells rotten here and if that’s the case, the twins are effectively out of a 50 billion dollar corporation. I think they should tuck their tails between their twin legs, lick their wounds and shut the fuck up!

Okay, let me take a deep breath now. I’m in a happy place…the waves are crashing, gently taking my body afloat and drifting me away into the unknown…a place… uh, never mind. Where was I?

Oh, book teasers, of course. How could I possibly have gone into a rant about Facebook? Believe me, that’s easy for me these days, but back to the exciting world of book promotion. (timpani here) Hey, you do want to hear about my amazing book teasers don’t you, and what they can do for your books, right? Just nod in agreement and we’ll move on. You know how Vets get flashbacks about war, well I get flashbacks about things like Facebook. I’m harmless, don’t be frightened. Honestly, if you haven’t gone crazy by the time you’re 50, you haven’t lived through any hardships. It’s around that time when life is nothing but a re-run and this time you’re desperately trying to get it right for a change.

O…kay…

Hang in there, this about to get interesting. Listen, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s this: We’re all more alike than we think, even in our shades of white and brown. We’re all human and we all bleed red blood, (unless you’re a Vulcan, then your blood is green) and we all hurt the same way. Did you know that God created all men to be filthy, scheming, wretched animals and He created all women as fantasy-driven egotists who can turn asexual on the spot and can never get enough of men’s money? Well, no God created men and women in his image, but somewhere along the line, that all got FUBAR. (Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition)

Okay, let’s get started for the love of God. Let me ease you back into my wonderful world of book promotions via book teasers and what they can do for you and your books. Come on folks, this is not rocket science. Video…good, words…bad. You get the idea. Some people loved the movie more than the book, while others swear the book was far more detailed. No kidding, a screenplay is only 120 pages long compared to a novel which can go on for hundreds of pages more, which in that case it can be a mini series. Point is, video, moving photos and music sell, and let me say that I’ve always loved the movie more than the book. Besides you can get through it in a couple of hours. Then again, novels have their place and are far more detailed and include many things (often boring things) that movies don’t.

Which brings me to my main point. Just because you’ve written a long novel, doesn’t mean you have to produce a lengthy trailer. Book teasers are a lot like writing a logline for a movie, as far as content goes. You can’t possibly fit everything your movie, novel or book is about into a 30 second or minute and a half teaser. That’s why they call them teasers. All they are supposed to do is tease you, intrigue you and excite you enough for you to want to buy the book. Nothing else. They are not miniature movies, they are marketing and promotional messages, and their function, their aim is threefold. Teasers must entertain you, they must excite you, and they must motivate you to take action. Anything else is unacceptable and useless as a sales tool.

The biggest mistake most trailers make is that they try to tell too much of the story and often give away the all-important intrigue and curiosity they’re trying to convey in the first place. Let’s face it, why would anyone want to see a movie or read a book they already know everything about? Remember this: if your book teaser does not have a sense of mystery about your story or does not convey curiosity, it will not work as a sales tool. In fact, trailers that tell too much, or go on too long will bore the viewer and turn them away.

This is where great copywriting comes in. Writing, you say? Uh, yeah, you still need a concept, a hook and amazing words to go with all those fabulous images you’re flashing around. Either spoken or in print form, or both, they must boost and tie-in your mages in a cohesive and interesting way in order to succeed. Again, most trailers don’t have this going for them. They are nothing more than a bunch of pretty pictures and lame music to go with it.

But it takes so much more than that. The right soundtrack and sound effects are crucial to the success of you teaser. If you want viewers, prospects, and reading enthusiasts to buy your book, you must give them a good reason to want to buy it. Established authors benefit from teasers because their built-in fan base already knows or expects these authors to entertain them with their story since they’ve already had a great reading experience with previous books. But where does that leave unknown authors? Glad you asked, because unknown, unproven writers have the advantage of offering something new and different. A totally new experience that readers are always on the lookout for. So in many ways, new authors have plenty to gain with the right book teaser promoting their books.

Everything is about story and curiosity. Your book teaser must reveal your story’s premise with a good amount of curiosity in an interesting way. If you want readers to follow-up on your story and buy your book to see how it all ends, you must intrigue them from the start and never let them down. (If you want repeat business, that is, and who doesn’t?)

If you’ve written a great novel or have a non-fiction book you’d like to promote using book teasers, drop me a line and ask away. You’ve got questions, I’m sure, and I have plenty of answers to help you sort it all out.

Dynamic Book Teasers like the ones you see here start at only $595. That includes, writing concept, imagery, and soundtrack all for one low price. Voice-overs and film footage is priced separately according to your particular needs. (About 2 week turnover.)

Get answers here: bookteaserspub@gmail.com

What Motivates People to Buy? (Part II)

Continued...

What are the variables? An interruption, a lost internet connection, a distraction, sleepiness, pain, nature calls, a black-out, your favorite show is on, you name it. There are numerous reasons why a perfectly good sale might be abandoned by an interested buyer. But these variables are not set in stone and account for only a small percentage of lost sales.

Because of the many potential variables that can deter sales, however, all the more reason to design your advertising for impulse buying. Impulse buying is when a prospective buyer turns into a paying customer without too much reasoning behind the purchase. Simply put: the purchase is based on desire over affordability or accommodation of the product. That’s just a fancy way of saying that someone will buy your product (book) without worrying about its consequences. (For example: Where will I fit this new exercise machine? (or) Do I still have enough shelf space for more books? I’m about to move out of this house, shouldn’t I wait to move into the new house and avoid moving more stuff?

The reasons (objections) can go on forever. The point is that your goal is to make the sale right now, not later, because later might be too late.  Okay, so how do you go about designing an impulse sale? Glad you asked, because we’ve already reviewed most of it.

Buying on impulse (coming soon, article on impulse purchases) is like having all green traffic lights. It’s like hitting not just a home run, but a grand slam. Everything must be in place. The right product at the right price with the right offer at the right time in the right venue, just when the moon and all the stars are perfectly aligned: Boom! They hit the PAY NOW button and you get paid, out of the blue, on impulse.

This is the event you want repeated on an ongoing basis. Over and over, plus you want everyone who has bought your book to buy more of your books and to spread the word so others can buy it as well, and so on, and so on. Repeat business, which is to say that your book might sell to millions of people, maybe more than once. (As a hardcover, eBook, mass market paperback, a gift, etc.)

Although, in order for your book to make such an impression on buyers (potential readers) YOU MUST WRITE AN AMAZING BOOK TO BEGIN WITH. Yes, your book (product) must be a winner. What makes books great? If it’s a non-fiction title, it must offer many tangible benefits (solutions) to readers in an entertaining manner. It must have a commercial hook.

A book of fiction, a novel for instance must offer an amazing story that is familiar but notably different from everything else. It must promise to entertain you, dazzle you, and most importantly, it should surprise you somewhere along the line or at least by the end. Literature is very subjective and therefore everyone’s response to any particular story is different, personal and unique, although, there will be a majority of similar opinions and vice versa.

Once you have written your masterpiece, you must make it available to the general public, which means you must advertise in mass media outlets (the largest book related venues) for optimum exposure. But exposure is just the beginning, the sharp tip. Your marketing must go beyond the obvious. Beyond presentation. It must reach out and penetrate into the psyche of potential buyers. You must seek common ground with readers, common experiences through metaphor, quotes, graphics and music. These are the things that move, stir and motivate people to make impulsive buying decisions.

Book Teasers are a big part of that formula because they provide all the magic elements of setting off emotional triggers in reader’s minds.  Visuals are powerful and effective tools for inspiring and motivating people to take action. To stir their desires and reach for something they believe will enrich their lives in some way. You must make sure your book does all those things and position it in such a way that readers will feel that they must get your book because if they don’t, they will be missing out on something very useful and beneficial to their lives. Something that will bring them happiness.

When you really break it down, it all comes to one thing. The search for happiness is a constant need for every human being on earth. The search for happiness is global, which means your book can have a global audience in search of a story like yours.

Does your novel offer a story that promises to intrigue readers with the unexpected? Does your marketing play-up your story’s themes, its emotional aspects that connect with readers? If not, it’s never too late to tweak in all the elements that can take your story to another level. A level where emotion is at its epicenter, because without an emotional connection, your book has very little chance to make a difference and very little chance to make any money.

My next Post will continue with this discussion about building that all-important emotional content within your story and how to include it in your Book Teaser by way of strong imagery and powerful music. Two necessary components that motivate people to click, and buy.

This article was swiped from Alberto’s upcoming book, tentatively titled, “Don’t Freak Out” Fearless Marketing: Proven Techniques For Promoting Your Novel

What Motivates People to Buy? (Part I)

Believe it or not, getting people to buy something they like is relatively easy. For the most part, if the price is right, they will buy any given product, if the time is right that is, or they might even buy when the time is not so ideal for them. It all depends on how urgent their needs and wants are.

As you can see, there are many variables that lead to a sale. Many conditions that must be “just right” in order to make a sale. But let me cut to the chase. Here’s a scenario that practically guarantees a sale every time. Wow, I’ve got your attention now! That’s right. I’m going to reveal the one offer that almost guarantees sales in high volume, just about every time a prospective buyer comes across it.

Here’s the offer: Send no money now, pay later.

That’s it! That is the one offer that will almost always produce a sale with just about everyone that reads it. The reason being is that this sale requires no money transaction at the point of sale, which eliminates the number one obstacle of making a sale in the first place: price.

Here’s proof: If I offered you a book priced at $24.95, you would immediately start looking for ways to justify the price of that book. You would ask yourself, “How much do I get for $24.95?” You will make comparisons to other books and other offers. You will want to know that the quality of the writing, printing, binding, and all the rest is worthy of that price.

“It’s much more a question of not losing your $24.95 as opposed to gaining whatever information the book has to offer.”

Now what if I removed the price (obstacle) and offered that very same book for free? Just about every question you had will disappear because you have nothing to lose. Since you have nothing to lose, (money) and everything to gain (the book you want) you are suddenly much more willing to place the order and get the book. The only problem with this offer is that you think there is a catch. Why would I give away this book? Is there something wrong with it? (damaged, inferior writing) In what way am I committing myself to the seller? What does the seller want in exchange for this transaction, if not money?

So you see, a new set of questions and obstacles arise once again that might prevent someone from ordering the book. All this jostling for the right price-point is what marketing is all about. This is where the science of selling meets the art of offering. This is where the right offer (formula) will yield the highest volume of sales at any given time, every time.

But what is this magic formula? How do you know what the best price is for your book and how do you overcome the many obstacles in the long chain of events that lead to a sale? The answer is fairly simple. You must remove every obstacle in your way. Every red light in the path that leads to your book, must be turned to a green light, a go. In short, here are the green light conditions that lead to sales:

• Product Awareness: (via advertising or publicity) Prospects search for or stumble upon your online advertisement, are intrigued with it, become curious and want to know more about it, so they click.
• Buyer interest (needs and desires) Prospects are looking to break the boring routine in their lives. By nature, human beings constantly need interesting events that offer them happiness.
• No Concerns (fear, apprehension) Assure buyers you’re not ripping them off. That they are getting their money’s worth.
• Product Benefit (quality, worth, inspiration) What’s in it for them? How will this book enhance, or change their lives?
• Emotional Connection (buyer identifies with it) Buyer finds an emotional reason to bond with your book. (Via book cover, themes, premises, quote, etc.)
• Buyer Motivation (intrigue, excitement, action) Prospects reason they want your book and they must have it. This reasoning moves them from passive observer to interested buyer.
• Product Accessibility (easy, fast purchase options) Make buying the book as easy as possible for them to pay for it via credit or debit cards, Paypal, etc.
• Right price (not too high or too low) The perfect price point. Most of the time, you can guesstimate this price by comparing similar books sold in different venues, usually by trial and error. If your price is much higher than similar books, it will seem unfair or greedy. If it is far lower, it might be perceived as inferior quality.
• Fair or free shipping and handling (price) Ideally, shipping should be free (shipping costs included in the cost of the book if possible) or should be the same or even lower than most average shipping costs.
• Tax fee (depends on the state) If the book you want to buy is manufactured in the state where you live, you must pay the appropriate state sales tax. Otherwise, no sales tax is imposed.
• Speedy delivery (How soon will buyer receive the product?) Once the buyer orders your book, they want it as fast as possible, without major delays. Usually within a week or less.
• No strings attached (No commitment is expected of buyer) The buyer wants to be left alone to enjoy it without further exchanges or expectations of any kind. (Reviews, feedback, etc.)

These are the primary conditions (yes, there are variables) that need to be in place, every time. There are no exceptions to these sales conditions. Every link in the chain of sales events must be green for go, otherwise you risk losing the sale.

What are the variables? An interruption, a lost internet connection, a distraction, sleepiness, pain, nature calls, a black-out, your favorite show is on, you name it. There are numerous reasons why a perfectly good sale might be abandoned by an interested buyer. But these variables are not set in stone and account for only a small percentage of lost sales.


Check out Stephen King's "Under The Dome" Teaser: I'll be commenting on it after Part II.
Meanwhile, here's another Stephen King classic Book Teaser: "Duma Key" with my commentary and analysis.

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Stay tuned for Part II, next Monday. There's a lot more ground to cover and this is just a sampling of what's to come. Check back often or subscribe and stay informed with more eye-opening marketing exploits in the works and on the way.

This article (excerpt) was swiped from Alberto’s upcoming book, tentatively titled, “Don’t Freak Out” Fearless Marketing: Proven Techniques For Promoting Your Novel