What Makes for a Good Book Trailer

Yesterday, while I was watching book trailers (short videos to advertise books) on YouTube, I began to compile a list of what makes for an interesting book trailer and what doesn’t. (For you marketing types out there, here’s a hint, take someone with a flu-addled brain and see how long they can stay interested or focused on your trailer.)

Honestly, some of the book trailers were awful. They were boring, didn’t show/tell what the book was about, were too long, were dry, and essentially would not sell the book. Here are a few important things to consider (from a viewer) if you are considering making a book trailer for your book:

1) A book trailer should give us an idea of the plot, who the characters are, what they want, and what stands in their way.

2) We should be able to figure out whether we are the intended audience.

3) Viewers should be able to figure out the book’s genre.

3) The book trailer should appeal to the intended audience. Men tend to like moving images. Women tend to like something that makes them ‘feel.’

4) Don’t use a lame, soft, lulling, flat voice for your voice over. Hire a professional.

5) They should not look cheap (like they are made with PowerPoint and pixely images), even if they are.

6) Move it along! Don’t make each slide of text stay on screen forever.

7) The right music can make your whole trailer.

Don’t go over much more than a minute, particularly if you are creating a ‘slide show’ trailer.

9) Tell us the title, author, publisher, and where we can get the book.

Movie trailers are commercials. Think of them as such. It should be at home on TV, not just YouTube or emailing to friends.