Suzanne Rogerson Fantasy Author

Indie author of epic fantasy, romance and heart-warming short stories

Are book trailers worth it? Join in the poll #WWWblogs #indieauthors #writers

Posted on October 10, 2016 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

I have been making my way through my list of marketing ideas, which includes giveaways, blog tours and a book trailer.

I worked out a pitch, found a trailer format I liked on fiver, but then I chickened out. I started to question if it’s worth the £50+ price tag. Will I reach more readers? Is the £50 better spent elsewhere?

Before I take the plunge, I thought I’d open the question up to you guys. Please join in the poll.

I’ll post more about my thoughts on book trailers in a few days, along with the results of the poll.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts and advice on the matter, please get in touch.

16 thoughts on “Are book trailers worth it? Join in the poll #WWWblogs #indieauthors #writers”

Lilyn G. (Sci-Fi & Scary) on October 10, 2016 at 1:07 pm said:

While I’ve watched a few book trailers out of sheer curiosity, I’ve never *wanted* to see one. They don’t tell me anything the blurb doesn’t tell me, and I have other things I’d rather watch.

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- suzannerogersonfantasyauthor on October 11, 2016 at 9:49 am said:
  
  That’s a very good point. It’s just a visual blurb – at least that’s what I’d planned to do.
  
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Rebecca on October 10, 2016 at 3:37 pm said:

I’d say it’s worth looking into because if you get a good trailer, it will get people interested, but at the same time, I think more people find new books through social media.

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- suzannerogersonfantasyauthor on October 10, 2016 at 5:23 pm said:
  
  I was thinking it’s good to be on as many social media platforms as possible, but would the people who see the trailer be interested in books? I’m looking forward to the results of the poll.
  Thanks for commenting.
  
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Liz on October 11, 2016 at 4:05 am said:

I use the Animoto app (which is also online) for my trailers and I love it. I think it’s $29 for the year and I can make as many as I want. I also use it to make mini-movies of my kid’s events so it’s not exactly an expense that solely for business. I have the trailer for my upcoming release on my website, lizdurano.com and so far, it’s prompted a few preorders so I know it works. Definitely something to look into instead of Fiverr. Because I know how to edit film, I haven’t hired anyone to do what I can do on my own. I also do teasers using the Ripl app and it’s perfect for those 30 second Twitter or Instagram sneak peeks or teasers.

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- suzannerogersonfantasyauthor on October 11, 2016 at 6:56 am said:
  
  Thanks, that sounds great. I’ll check into those options, although not sure I could do it all myself. I’ll also check out your trailers. Good luck with the new book.
  
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  - Liz on October 11, 2016 at 5:10 pm said:
    
    Animoto has ready made themes you can use and if you use the online version, you have access to some (not a whole lot) stock photos and videos that you can use for your trailer. I usually just throw them in and preview and then tweak them some more. I used to do it all on my mac using Camtasia but it was just too taxing for my old Macbook, so I turned to the ready made apps like Animoto and Ripl. It definitely helps with truncating your story into an elevator speech of sorts when you add the text in between the images 🙂 Good luck on your book trailers!
    
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  - suzannerogersonfantasyauthor on October 11, 2016 at 5:22 pm said:
    
    Thank you.
    
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Helen Jones on October 11, 2016 at 8:44 am said:

I’ve heard different things about book trailers – I think because not so many people are doing them at the moment, you might still get some impact. But I know what it’s like – £50 could go a long way towards advertising as well. I’ll be interested to see what the poll says, too. (and I’m going to check out Animoto)

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- suzannerogersonfantasyauthor on October 11, 2016 at 9:53 am said:
  
  So far the poll seems quite equal in favour of trailers and against them. I hope to get some more responses over the next few days to see if that changes.
  
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  - Helen Jones on October 11, 2016 at 10:10 am said:
    
    It’ll be interesting to see the end result.
    
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evie gaughan on October 16, 2016 at 9:09 am said:

I made my own trailer on Moviemaker, a simple q&a with my niece which had very little to do with the book! I don’t think I’d bother again, it was more for myself really & I don’t think it helped to sell any books.

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- suzannerogersonfantasyauthor on October 16, 2016 at 4:01 pm said:
  
  I remember watching your trailer. It did look like you had fun doing it.
  
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Pingback: Results of the poll ‘Are book trailers worth it?’ #indieauthors #writers | suzanne rogerson fantasy author
meghanharman on February 2, 2017 at 5:58 am said:

Absolutely! You’ll be reaching an audience that is more visually acclimated towards purchasing.

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- suzannerogersonfantasyauthor on February 2, 2017 at 8:45 am said:
  
  Thank you for commenting. I am still considering a book trailer, but it’s an idea that’s had to be put on hold while I get my next book ready to publish. Maybe it’s an option for the new book’s marketing campaign.
  
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