We’re used to trailers for films and TV programmes. They tantalise and tease us to the delights the main feature will hold.
Nowadays multimedia trailers are being increasingly used to promote books and the technology to do them is accessible to all.
Seven elements that make a good trailer
1. Short – less than 5 minutes, ideally 1 minute
2. Sneak preview of book’s content – but adds something additional to the book
3. Link to buy book – but not a heavy sell but do include the book cover for recognition
4. Impactful – if the book has a point to make, this should be contained in the trailer
5. Fully informative yet enigmatic – it should be self contained in its message and encourage the viewer to want more
6. Potential to go viral – include humour or make a point that people want to share
7. Must work on mobile devices – if the trailer includes text, check that it works on mobile devices
Keen as ever to get my feet wet, I’ve had a go at a couple …
This We Know – short and enigmatic …
This We Are – somewhat longer and gives a snapshot of each chapter in the book …
– let me know how I did
Online Trailer Production Tools
Powtoon – used above
Animoto
GoAnimate
SwitchVideo
Slideshare
– let me know if I have missed any