Book Videos
Book videos seem to be the latest, greatest way to market books. All over my various author loops I see messages from writers who've just put one together for their latest baby. Some have music, others don't.
But do they really work? There are several companies now who put these together. The first one to look at this medium was Circle of Seven Productions. When they began, no one else was doing this and so they were able to trademark the term Book Trailer. Other companies have since trademarked "NovelTease", "Expanded Books" and "VidLit".
It comes down to this: Does the impact of imagery carry more impact than words?
According to my latest Romance Writers Report, it very well may.
One of my favorite authors, Christine Feehan, has had a 700% increase in web traffic since she started showing book videos on her site. Yikes!
I'm nowhere near ready to spend the money to make one of these, and I don't have the technical expertise, software or, indeed, the patience to learn to do it on my own. So, for the time being, I'm just gonna sit back and appreciate the book videos my fellow authors are running.
In case you're interested, here are some of the companies that offer book videos:
Circle of Seven Productions
Pizzazzy Productions
VidLit
So, any thoughts to my question? Do videos sell books? If you saw a well-made video by an author unknown to you, would it entice you to buy his/her book?
"Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work -- and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't." ~Lucille Ball
4 comments:
The videos don't sell books to me. I have dial up that connects at 28,800(slow), so the video starts and stops and cuts out. Senseless to try and watch them.
Oy, Estella. Yeah, at that slow connection, I wouldn't be watching videos on my computer, either. :)
Love your site Sherrill, and your book covers...wow!
Statistically speaking, yes, book videos sell books. And, according to a major bookseller who contacted me last week, they have gotten very popular with readers, who then go and buy the book.
I think we're looking at two very different consumers here.
1. Readers.
Most of your regular readers tend to think book video is cool, annoying or strange. lol They don't understand why anyone would need to be enticed into reading.
And, to be honest, I'm a natural born reader. There have been very few videos that made me buy a book that I wouldn't have bought had I saw it at the bookstore.
It's the second group that make the book videos important-
2. Disillusioned-readers. I don't call them non-readers, because most everyone reader to some extent.
These are your people who have just got out of school. School. Where you are FORCED to read. Where reading is a chore...an assignment.
Or, they are people who have been seduced away from books by music videos, video games or movies.
These are the people who are seeing a book video and saying, "Wow. What was that?...What? A B-O-O-K?!"
Book videos are either an announcement for a book release, a visual synopsis, or they're a reminder that books are entertainment just like games and movies.
If book video bring in new readers, won't we all benefit from that? I think that, whether you like them personally or not, it's hard to ignore their significance and potential to the future of the book industry.
Thanks, Sherrill, for letting me ramble on your blog.
Sheila Clover English
Sheila, thanks for weighing in on this--you're so right about it. I'm in camp #1, plus as a rather impatient sort, I don't want to sit around watching a video on something I'd very possibly buy anyway. Although book dollars are finite and I have to pick and choose. Would a book video make me lean in another direction? I don't know.
Thanks for your kind words about my site. :)
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