The Web-Savvy Writer

Just published a new article on my website:

As a published author, or soon-to-be-published author, you are one of the rare few who have actually made your dream a reality. But publishing your book is only the first step. Promoting your book is the next, and often larger, step. Reaching out to the Internet’s more than one billion users is one of the best ways to easily and inexpensively promote your book to your target audience. Creating a book video–also known as a book trailer, book teaser, or book presenter–to pique interest in your book is a great way to reach this audience.

Now that you have a video, you need to let the world know about it. Here are seven of my favorite ways to promote your video book trailer…and generate more sales:

1. Promote on Video Sharing Sites

YouTube is the obvious choice here, but don’t just stop there. Google Video, Yahoo! Video, and Veoh are other good options. Also check out Revver, which offers a way to generate revenue from ads inserted into your trailer. For even more ideas, view the list of video sharing sites on Wikipedia.

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Tags: online book promotion, book publicity, book publishing, self-publishing, book trailers, book videos

I’m happy to announce the release of the first in my new series of special reports: Video Book Buzz: Create a Book Video That Generates Publicity and Profits. Based on feedback from recent surveys and the email I receive from readers, book videos (aka book trailers or book teasers) are getting more and more popular.

Video Book Buzz is a 25-page downloadable PDF available for $9.95 that offers a step-by-step system for creating and publishing a book video that will generate publicity and profits for your book. Includes dozens of clickable links and a clickable table of contents.

With Video Book Buzz, you’ll discover:

• Why book videos (also known as book trailers and book teasers) are becoming so popular and why you need one, whether you write fiction or nonfiction
• How to create a quality book video with software you may already have on your computer
• Secrets to converting video viewers into book buyers
• Step-by-step instructions for creating your own book video with free software
• How to avoid the pitfalls of using copyrighted images and music
• Where to promote your video for maximum impact

Tags: video book buzz, book trailer, book video, book teaser

Industry analyst eMarketer has released some new statistics that indicate online video viewing will nearly double in the US by 2011. What’s the best way to capitalize on this trend? Use video to promote your book. In addition to creating a trailer-style video for your book, also consider other creative uses of video:

• Offer a video welcome to your website or blog
• Post videos of your author appearances or interviews
• Create short how-to videos related to the topic of your book

To learn more about book videos, see my special report Video Book Buzz: Create a Book Video That Generates Publicity and Profits.

Tags: online book promotion, book publicity, book publishing, self-publishing, book trailers, author video

Reader Mike Maranhas, author of Re’enev, recently wrote to alert me to another great promotional opportunity for fellow readers of The Web-Savvy Writer blog. AuthorViews is a company that creates free book videos for authors. You need to be at one of the book events around the country in which AuthorViews is participating, but there is no charge for your two-minute video. To learn more about the program and how to get your own video, visit the AuthorViews website.

Tags: AuthorViews, book trailer, book publicity, book promotion, book marketing, self-publishing