Aimee Coveney of Author Design Studio
Author design consultant and ALLi Partner Member Aimee Coveney makes the case for including video media, vlogging and book trailers as part of any indie author's marketing campaign, and describes some compelling benefits.
One of the challenges to indie authors in marketing their self-published books is that people simply don't have the time to browse the web like they used to. It can feel as if there is a narrowing timeframe in which to generate interest in your work.
With thousands of authors and books competing for attention, it can seem impossible to stand out from the crowd. Information needs to be delivered in a much more exciting, interactive manner, and most importantly, fast.
Different techniques are necessary to deliver information online, due to the varying ways internet browsers view material online. An ever increasing amount of people browse via their mobile phones, which means your page of text can become too daunting to read.
Video conveys messages faster than text
This is why many individuals and companies have taken to ‘vlogging’, replacing long articles of text with videos of themselves speaking about what they would have once written, conveying information in a much more graphic medium. The written word will never be replaced, but video can be a creative way of delivering information and reaping the rewards.
Videos displayed on websites can not only increase traffic, but keep visitors engaged up to 88% longer.
With that being the case, video media and book trailers have become increasingly popular, but are still viewed with some skepticism. Authors by nature perform most of their work ‘behind the scenes’ and are more often than not simply not used to such intrusive promotion.
Which Video Option Would Work for You?
There are many options for videos apart from book trailers that authors can consider creating. Website introductions, readings, interviews or announcements can create an interactive feel and convert information into sales.
An author I recently worked with created a hilarious video of spoof reviews. Some types of video media also have the added bonus of ‘meeting’ the author. Being able to put a face to the name and making your brand memorable has huge advantages for future work and tempts visitors to return.
Marketing professionals worldwide are reporting that video converts better than any other medium, and this is mainly down to its ‘sharability’. In fact up to 92% of mobile video viewers share videos with others, meaning your audience just expanded more than you could ever reach in isolation.
Where to Share Your Videos
Once you have produced your videos, there are many platforms that you can develop to reach your audience. The most obvious are your website, blog, social media, Youtube and Vimeo, where uploading is simple. Others that many don’t consider is uploading to your Amazon, Goodreads or Huffington Post profiles, as well as perhaps your publisher’s website. If you are planning to produce regular videos, uploading to the same accounts each time and creating a channel for your media is a must, so that once you have caught their attention, readers can easily find others.
Using Metadata to Broaden Your Views
Naming your videos and adding useful tags when uploading to certain platforms is also key to allowing readers to find you. Much like a blog, using tags for your particular audience and genre, as well as your author name gives you a much greater chance of appearing in their search results.
This explosive growth in popularity is allowing authors to reach a huge audience via visual means, deepening that all-important connection between author and reader and keeping your name at the forefront of their consideration.
Practising What I Preach
What better way to illustrate my argument than with a video?
Click here to read the top 5 statistics on video for authors
OVER TO YOU How has using video impacted your book sales and visibility? What's your top tip for using video media in book marketing? Join the conversation via the comments box!
Why #authors should use video to market their #selfpub books by @authordesigner #bookpromotion Share on X
[…] written a couple of articles specifically on video media for authors, which you can view here and here, and there are many options to choose from. Showing your personality on camera can further that […]
[…] Youtube Video media has taken a huge boost in popularity among authors in the last couple of years. Youtube therefore offers authors a great way to display various videos online to a vast audience. It is hugely popular for ‘how-to’ videos, and therefore highly ideal for non-fiction authors as well as those looking to distribute book trailers, interviews and advice pieces. It’s less of a place to connect, but with video being such a useful tool in marketing, it’s well worth considering. To read more information on video media for authors click here. […]
[…] #20) Why You Should Use Video Media to Market your Self-published Books […]
[…] This post was originally published at ALLi’s How to For Authors – https://selfpublishingadvice.org/why-you-should-use-video-media-to-market-your-self-published-boo… […]
Well said, and so true! I had seen this as the next move in book promotion. Your words bring it all together! I’ll be creating a video for my new novel, “He Counts Their Tears”.
Your insight on the change in marketing is absolutely correct. Thank. You!
Thank you Mary! Let me know if you have any particular questions. All video media is very valuable to authors in today’s marketplace. My top tips for diy book trailers would be to keep them suspenseful (don’t give everything away!), short (around one minute) and professional (inkeeping with your work)!
I’m with you Aimee 🙂 I started vlogging a while ago and am now putting together more ‘formal’ interview-type presentations. I’m doing one ‘Romance on the Red Couch’ episode per week at the moment, but I may also supplement that with the occasional walking vlog as well.
I think I need to look at my key words and tags (who doesn’t…LOL) but it’s all a fascinating learning curve. The few people who are watching seem to enjoy my thoughts.
You can check me out here:
Thanks for the confirmation that I’m on the right track–even if it does feel like an uphill climb 😉
Darn… lost the link.
Here it is (hopefully): https://youtu.be/6-PBoFINdnw
🙂
Thank you for your comment, Toni. It’s great to see a few authors who have already used video and have benefitted. It’s amazing what attention video brings. It’s a much more flexible form to provide information. People can listen and watch whilst they are doing other things (I often do whilst I’m cooking dinner or something like that!).
Keywords are vital in reaching people, and don’t be afraid to tweet (or similar) about them more than once if suitable. A month or so down the line, you may have more followers who haven’t seen it before and could be interested.
That uphill climb will be worth it in the end 🙂
I totally agree with you, Aimee! About a year and a half ago I started doing a vlog instead of a blog. I only have a bout 40 YouTube subscribers, but I keep my vlog on my website as well and post my videos to social media. Overall, I’ve had almost 6600 views. I even had a French songwriter tell me my videos on Elements of Literature and theme (I am a teacher and an author) have helped him in his songwriting. I think the reach with videos is further, especially on an international level: a lot of people can hear and understand another language, but reading the written word is a whole other skill-set. This was a great post!
That’s fantastic to hear, Jennifer! And very interesting what you say regarding the language barrier. Video has been shown to reach a much wider audience than other mediums, and your vlog just goes to show this!