Imagine sitting in a movie theater waiting for the feature presentation. As the previews play, one catches your attention and draws you in. You think, “I’ve got to see this movie,” only to discover that it’s not a preview for a movie, but a preview for a book. If you have not yet had this experience, expect it in the near future. Book previews in digital format are the latest innovative book marketing technique.

As technology advances, so must the marketing tools to attract consumers’ interest. Book previews utilize today’s technology to entice people into purchasing a book. These creative mini-films allow consumers to view a series of pictures with narration creating a glimpse into a book. They remind the viewer that books are movies of the mind.

Played in movie theaters prior to the feature presentation, as advertisements on cable television, and on websites over the Internet; book previews are catching on. Publishers are beginning to embrace this new book promotion technique. Even the large publishing houses are utilizing book previews. HarperCollins has produced close to a dozen of these trailers since early February of this year.

Circle of Seven Productions (www.cosproductions.com) is one of the pioneers in this new marketing technique. They created and trademarked the terms Book Trailer™ (for movie theaters) and Book Teaser™ (for television). While they are not the only production company producing book previews, they are the only ones using the terms Book Trailer or Book Teaser. Specializing in live-action previews for movie theaters and television, Circle of Seven (which has 28 production companies throughout the United States) reports that they are already booked solid this year for book preview productions.

Other producers have jumped on board with the book preview concept. Book Stream, Inc., (www.bookstreaminc.com) has developed Bookwraps, which are a combination of author interview with author video combined with text information about the book. Expanded Books™ (www.expandedbooks.com) produces videos where the author is interviewed and has dramatic scenes play as the author talks. Vidlit™ (www.vidlit.com) uses comic-book type graphics with author narration for their videos.

Dave Rose, author of Godiva and Oscar-winning Hollywood producer, is building kiosks to be placed in bookstores so that the stores can feature book previews for their customers as they shop. Some publishers reproduce their book previews on DVDs. These DVDs are given to bookstore buyers for promotional purposes. Bookstores can then play the DVDs in store to promote the books to their customers.

Producing a book preview video is not cheap but can be worth the benefit. The cost generally begins in the range of $3,000 to $4,000 for the video production. Costs increase from there depending on the type of book video and the distribution package that accompanies it. The least expensive book videos are those that have author narration and are made for distribution over the Internet. Internet distribution includes sites such as MSN Video, Yahoo!, Google™ Video, iTunes Music Stores, iFilm, and YouTube™. Publishers are also promoting their books with book preview videos by sending them to bloggers for posting on blog sites and distributing them to targeted consumer lists via email.

One small publisher has an author who was also a musician and a camcorder buff with access to a recording studio. This author put together his own book preview for the publisher to use in marketing. The author wrote and recorded the background music for the trailer and had his friends act in the dramatic scenes. These book previews are now being show in movie theaters prior to the feature movie presentation as part of this publisher’s promotional campaign. So, if you have the right connections, production of a book preview can be very affordable.

Overall, book previews can be a cost-effective way to reach a large number of consumers in your marketing efforts. If you have the money in your marketing budget or the right connections to produce a book preview video, consider this innovative book marketing technique. It appeals to the current multi-media population and it harnesses the Internet in an unprecedented way for book promotion.

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Sarah Bolme is the owner of CREST Publications (www.crestpub.com) and the director of Christian Small Publishers Association (www.christianpublishers.net). Sarah’s newest book, Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace, can be found at www.marketingchristianbooks.com. ©2006

Last 5 posts by Sarah Bolme

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• Market your Books to Reading Groups - June 13th, 2007
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• Press Releases Keep Your Books in the Public Eye - February 5th, 2007