Creating book trailers is one of the most popular advertising methods being used today by authors and publishers alike to promote their books. They are essentially short videos that are composed of images, sound and video clips that show a general summary of what the book is about. Book trailers are similar to movie trailers except they are not advertising films but written works and are powerful marketing tools that could be used to generate interest and awareness in a book before it is published.

Book trailers are quite expensive though if you hire a professional. If you are a self-published author, you might not have the necessary funds to do so and even if you have a publishing company, your publisher might not cover the costs for you. So why not take the time to create one yourself? Making book trailers is not as hard as you might think; you just need to spend some time and effort to create one.

The first thing you need to do before you start making your own trailer is to watch different book trailers. While you are watching, examine each trailer and write your observations. Take note of the things that made each trailer good and come up with a way to make your book trailer even better. Remember the mistakes you noticed on the book trailers and ensure you do not repeat them.

Afterwards, create your storyboard or a basic framework of how your trailer will progress. You need to keep your trailer short; it should be within ninety to one hundred ten seconds in order to maintain the interest of your viewers. That is why you don’t have to include a full summary of what your book is all about in your trailer. Just incorporate a brief summary and add two or three key elements of your book.

Next, prepare the materials for creating your own book trailer. This includes the software or application you are going to use. Most authors use iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. You could easily download the images, video clips and sound from the internet. Just make sure you gain the express permission of the creator or owner before downloading and using them. You also have to make sure that the images, video clips and sound fit the theme of your book and that they are of good quality. Some authors shoot their own video clips, capture their own images and record their own music and sound effects when they are creating their book trailers.

Then use the software or application of your choice and combine the images, video clips and sound files that you have to create your book trailer and post it on social networking and video sharing sites. Do not forget to post your book trailer on your blog and author website as well.