Okay, I’ll admit the headline is a bit pretentious, but it works. It piques your curiosity, or at least it should. The same goes for book trailers. Many authors think that book trailers all by themselves will sell books, and although that might hold true in some cases (with well-known, established authors that you’ll buy anything from) most of the time a book trailer will serve as part of the marketing mix in your advertising campaign.
Everything that encompasses advertising, to include: websites, marketing, publicity, public relations, posters, brochures, and so on, is only a fraction of the entire sales picture. Selling your product, your non-fiction book in this case, needs specific marketing goals tailored to your book and its audience. The role that book trailers play in this mix is important because imagery and music help sell products like nothing else can, save for a personal visit from a persuasive salesperson.
As I’ve mentioned before (Article: What Makes this Book Trailer So Effective?), the real purpose of any book trailer is to make you curious enough to seek more information about the product. But, it must also reach prospects in an emotional way. It’s what good advertising has always been about, evoking emotional responses, pushing all the right buttons at the right time. Everything has to be just right, nothing out of place, and when that’s accomplished, magic happens.
Here’s a book trailer I put together for Dorothy Thompson, CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book! (gotta love that name). It's designed for Kay Marshall Strom, who is an established speaker/writer specializing in inspirational and motivational speaking and keynote presentations for many different events throughout the country. Her new book: The Second-Half Adventure: Don't Retire-Use Your Time, Skills & Resources to Change the World.
The goal here is to introduce Kay as an experienced, dynamic speaker/writer that you can trust and believe in to help turn your dreams into reality. A tall order indeed, but you must sell the author first, her book, second. And with the right imagery and a powerful soundtrack to match, you can put together an effective trailer that will inspire viewers and potential customers to take action.
Once prospects click on a book trailer link, or any button that will lead to a landing page, the book trailer’s job is essentially over. It’s time to push more hot buttons. The kind of hot buttons that will lead to a sale, and that, is the subject of another post.
Enjoy the trailer and if you’re in the market for good books like these, or the least bit curious, take a look at Kay Strom’s website for much more about her, her speaking engagements, and all her books. Meet Kay here: http://www.kaystrom.com/
Kay Strom Book Trailer
