Video is in. Few of us had heard of TikTok in 2016, and today over it gathers over 1 billion views per day. In this visual age, authors can take advantage of this trend by using book trailers as one more marketing tool to engage potential readers.

If you want to create your own book trailer but don’t know where to start, I’ve pulled together a collection of resources to help. I’ve learned a lot by research and creating trailers for my books, and I’ll share those lessons learned with you.

Personal Experience

To make it easy (ha!), I used different software applications to make each trailer. It wasn’t entirely my fault, as I created my first trailer so long ago that Microsoft no longer supported the same software (MovieMaker) when I went to make my second trailer. So, after watching Kevin Stratvert’s 5 BEST FREE Video Editors tutorial, I experimented with several programs and ended up using OpenShot to create my second trailer. If you want to know more about that, please see my previous blog post—Book Trailers – Yes, or No?

For my most recent trailer, I researched current video editing programs again, played with a few, and ended up using Microsoft’s Clipchamp. I consulted my go-to YouTuber Kevin Stratvert (again) whose Clipchamp Video Editing Tutorial: FREE Windows 11 Video Editor provided me the guidance I needed to create a short clip that worked for me.

My top lessons learned during these three efforts?
• Shorter is better
• Music selection is important
• If one type of technology is not working for you, try another
• Don’t be afraid to experiment
• At some point, call it done

Outsourcing

I’ve had colleagues who have hired professionals to make trailers for them, and if that works for you, by all means do it. If you don’t know someone who creates videos, sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer have people who provide these services.

I haven’t personally used any of these sites because I like to do things the hard way, evidenced by the three different video editing programs mentioned above. So I decided to try one of the sites I mentioned before I passed the information along. In less than a minute on Freelancer, I answered three questions, and here is what Freelancer generated for me:

Project name
Historical Fiction Book Inspirational Trailer

Project description
I’m seeking a professional to create a compelling 30-second book trailer for my historical fiction novel. The trailer should convey an inspirational mood and include the following key elements:

• Voice Narration: The narration will play a significant role in delivering the trailer’s message and should be performed by a female voice.
• Inspirational Tone: The overall feeling of the trailer is to be suspenseful yet uplifting, instilling a sense of hope and inspiration in the viewer.

Ideal candidates for this project should have prior experience in creating book trailers or similar video content, with a strong portfolio demonstrating their ability to convey emotion through visuals and audio. They should also have access to high-quality audio equipment and editing software to ensure the final product is professional and polished.

At least that part seemed easy.

Additional Resources

• A good place to start is Jason Hamilton’s step-by-step post on the Kindlepreneur website, which has a ton of helpful book marketing and sales advice: Book Trailers: How to Make Them in 6 Easy Steps.
• Rocket Expansion, an author marketing business that offers a variety of services, shares good tips , a variety of trailers, and an explanation of why they like them here: 22 Epic Book Trailers (Inspiring Videos and Why They Work).

Believing In Horses Book Series Trailers

All of my book trailers are on my Believing In Horses website’s landing page, my YouTube channel, and in blog posts. I’ve shared them on social media and use them for live events, when it makes sense. Here is my third trailer, for Believing In Horses, Too, created earlier this year. I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts and tips on book trailers!