Does anyone have experience of how much good they do? I'm thinking of making one for my forthcoming novel but don't know if it's really worth the trouble.
How effective are YouTube promo videos?
- Thread starter Justin Swanton
- Start date
Cli-Fi
John J. Falco
I don't think they do much good. I myself have never seen one for a novel. I don't go around looking for that sort of thing though. However, even the ones on TV for the big names like Steven King, Joel Rosenberg, and James Patterson seem really cheesy to me. Better to plug your book on NPR or another talk show depending on your market.
Speaking as a reader, I don't bother looking at them even for books I'm potentially interested in. I also think it would be difficult to reach an audience that isn't just made up of people you've already reached in other ways.
AnyaKimlin
Confuddled
They don't seem to be all that effective for marketing. They're something that look good on a website or on a Twitter feed.
Cathbad
Level 30 Geek Master
I enjoy them! I've seen some well done ones recently, and it seems this is getting bigger!
Steve S
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2006
- Messages
- 262
They are not something I tend to check out although they seem to be increasingly common and popular. I can see potential in the idea, but I'd think you'd need to invest a fair bit of money and time to make them look professional and stand out from the crowd.
Cathbad
Level 30 Geek Master
Agreed. There are some great ones out there. The ones that confuse me are the ones that do no more than show the book cover. ?? Seems like a waste of time.
But I think we're starting to see more high quality ones.
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Whilst, as a reader, it's not something I'm interested in, it may well still be worthwhile.
People find books in different ways and consider different things when working out whether to buy them or not. For some it's cover/title, for others a nice blurb. I tend to check the best and worst reviews, then read a sample.
I wouldn't spend vast amounts of time/money on such a promo, but it's probably a worthwhile endeavour.
People find books in different ways and consider different things when working out whether to buy them or not. For some it's cover/title, for others a nice blurb. I tend to check the best and worst reviews, then read a sample.
I wouldn't spend vast amounts of time/money on such a promo, but it's probably a worthwhile endeavour.
What do you guys think of mine, then? All comments gratefully received.
Cathbad
Level 30 Geek Master
They're well done! And interesting to listen to how you come up with ideas.
AnyaKimlin
Confuddled
Do you have a link?
I've been playing with an animoto video but can't decide whether or not it's worth paying for.
This is one it did as a promo for the Society of Ancients of which I am a member. I used Flash. My plan is to do an animation of a ship travelling through space and approaching Mars, with ambient music and voiceover:
She: We can't stop Ganymed. The asteroid is too big. It's going to hit the Earth.
He: What do we do?
She: You have to ask them for help.
He: And if they refuse?
She: Then we all die.
And then cut to a pic of the novel with a link to Amazon and/or website.
She: We can't stop Ganymed. The asteroid is too big. It's going to hit the Earth.
He: What do we do?
She: You have to ask them for help.
He: And if they refuse?
She: Then we all die.
And then cut to a pic of the novel with a link to Amazon and/or website.
Click the "think of mine" link!
AnyaKimlin
Confuddled
duh didn't see the link lol
AnyaKimlin
Confuddled
They're much more interesting than a lot of the ones I've been watching for ideas, but I do suspect they're still for people who have already read the book.
I do think my Mayhem could use one for Twitter and Facebook advertising -- I think it might encourage more people to click on the links. But it's not the standard novel format.
After trawling through trailers on YouTube I really like this style (I know it's a book summary and not a trailer)
And I love this shadow puppet idea (my daughter's been to workshops and is currently playing with it)
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Nice cutting back and forth between aspects of the novel cover and your talking about it. A few ideas:
1. Make your promo videos much shorter, 2 min max (I presume these are promo videos and not mini documentaries).
2. Make sure you place a decent-quality mike near your mouth. Your voice is too far away from the mike in the videos I watched and in consequence is hissy and indistinct. Don't hesitate to wear a headset with mike if necessary. It looks cool and with it.
3. Drop the artistic blurring of the cutin scenes. Just go for clear shots. If you want to add atmosphere, apply a colour filter when you edit.
4. If you intend the videos to be mini documentaries, combine them all into a single 15 minute video that looks at all your books.
5. Become an expert user of Blender and learn to make cool 3D animations for the cutins (no - just kidding on this one
).
Here's my own promo video I did for my historical novel. I had a budget of $0.00 had more or less mastered WMM. I trawled the web, pinched clips from any relevant documentaries I could find, stitched them together and then added music and overlaid text. The opening scene of the sack of Rome is way too long.
AnyaKimlin
Confuddled
Cathbad
Level 30 Geek Master
looks good to me!
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