AtlasBooks Distribution Blog

By Lee Drugan

The idea of the book trailer is often overshadowed by the question “Is it worth it?” In 2011 the answer was mostly ‘no’ but in 2012 the answer will change if the book trailer is used effectively.

The use of a book trailer was lost in drab technology.  Readers would gain interest in a book they browsed to on YouTube but were never directed to a place where they could purchase the book.  Hosting a book trailer on YouTube was a way to send it to the masses but the effort rarely promoted a sale. YouTube launched a new platform recently that could hold great promise in promoting book sales.

The new YouTube platform makes it easy for the self-published author to upload their book trailer and self-market with personal overlays on the trailer.  (Check out Casey Zeman’s blog 5 Ways to Brand Your New YouTube Profile). They can hide all other ads from popping up on their book trailer to avoid unrelated product promotion and direct the interested consumer to a place of sale.

For an established, larger publisher, setting up a YouTube profile would be essential for branding efforts.  Having one YouTube channel where customers, booksellers, book reviewers, etc. can find all of their books with trailers can be one of the best ways to generate sales.  And just like for self-publishers, the larger publisher can link ads to their book trailers and direct the viewer to any of the online stores that carry their books.

At Bookmasters, we don’t just stop at the YouTube channel.  We have devised a way to launch your book trailer as the ultimate selling tool using our new, enhanced widget.  Take all of the amazing attributes that Youtube established and pair it with our widget which contains a portion of the actual book, images, social media links, buy button, etc. and you have one powerful, online selling tool.

2012 is the year to revamp your online presence and create a ‘web’ that leads back to the main purpose of promoting a book, the sale. Just because you have the social media sites, a web page, and a listing with online bookstore, doesn’t mean you have a solid presence.  The content is the make-it or break-it point and having a high-quality book trailer, paired with improved modern technology, is good content.