As any author can tell you, promoting your book is a challenge. In addition to standard marketing techniques, you must find new and innovative ways to engage with your readers. One way to do that is to create an animated book trailer.
But not many people know how to make a book trailer. While itās difficult to create animation from scratch, it can actually be quite simple to create a simple book trailer by yourself. AndĀ there are a number of free and easy-to-use applications that will help you do just that.
To start, youāll want some photos for your trailer; typically, these would be of you, your book cover, and your interior art. You donāt need high-res photos; 72 dpi is fine (640 px wide by 480 px high).
If youāre a Windows user, you can download Photo Story or Movie Maker from Microsoft. Mac computers come pre-loaded with iMovie software. If you have PowerPoint, you can add soundtracks, slide animations and slide transitions to presentations, and then export to video. All of these options produce a video file that must be hosted somewhere (eg. your website or YouTube).
Several newer apps combine trailer creation and hosting, including Animoto, Prezi, and PhotoShow. Letās take a look at how they work.
Animoto
The Lite version of Animoto is free and enables you to create 30-second animated trailers. (Ed. note: Reader Susan let us know the free version of Animoto is no longer available, and pricing starts at $8 per month. However, Animoto does offer a free trial period.)
Ā Step 1. Select the animation style and soundtrack that best matches your book.
Ā Step 2. Outline the slides youāll use in your animation. Each slide can either have text or an image. However, if you know how to use PhotoShop or another image editor, you can get the best of both worlds by adding text to your image files. If youāre technically savvy, you can substitute your own soundtrack too.
Step 3. Animoto assigns a length of time to each slide. When your total runtime reaches 30 seconds, you wonāt be able to add any more slides. You can edit the slide contents and rearrange the slide order. Click the āPreview Videoā button to see your trailer!
Step 4. Once youāre happy with your video, click the āProduceā button. Voila!
If you want to add to your trailer, you can also pay for additional options like a longer video, more animation choices and more customization of your animation. Hereās the trailer I made with Animoto.
Prezi
The Public version of Prezi is free. It enables you to create trailer-like presentations with richly animated slide transitions that your audience must click through manually.
Step 1. Sign up on Prezi.com. It will encourage you to download the desktop application, but you can also create your trailer completely online.
Step 2. Click on āNew Preziā and choose a template. Prezi is similar to PowerPoint and offers some snazzy animated slide transitions.
Step 3. Build your trailer āslidesā one at a time by adding text and other content. Use the Insert button at the top center of the screen to add images, video and background music.
Step 4. To preview the trailer, click the blue āPresentā button in the upper left of the screen. Hit āEscapeā to leave presentation viewing. Click on the āEdit Pathā button in the upper left to reorder or delete individual slides.
Step 5. Once youāre happy with the trailer, click the āShareā button in the upper right corner and select āShare Preziā.
Prezi will reserve you a web address, and when you go to that address, click the āEmbedā button. Click the radio button labelled āConstrain to simple back and forward stepsā and you will see HTML. Copy and paste that HTML into your web page wherever you want to embed your trailer.
Here is my modest Twignibble trailer made with Prezi.
PhotoShow
The Free version of PhotoShow is easy to use and the features are pretty nice. Unfortunately, the trailers only persist for 30 days.
Step 1. Click āMake a PhotoShow.ā
Step 2. Click āAdd Photosā to import images to your trailer.
Step 3. Click āPersonalizeā to enter the trailer title and author. Then use the different tabs to select a style, insert captions, text bubbles and other features.
Step 4. The āMusic & Photosā tab lets you reorder or delete images and control the audio. Click Done when youāre ready to see your video.
Step 5. Click on āPost to your web page or blogā. Copy and paste the HTML into your website to embed your trailer.
Since I donāt have a PhotoShow subscription, my trailer for How the Rhino Got His Skin is no longer publicly visible. However, if you enjoy using PhotoShow, an annual subscription for additional features and ongoing public access to trailers is only $39.
Having a book trailer can be a fun way to share your work with your audience. However, remember that itās just one small part of your larger campaign to build an online platform for your book. Good luck!
Have you created an animated trailer for any of your work?
My GT students will be creating a book trailer. Thanks for all this recommendations.
I made a terrific trailer for my upcoming release, Secrets of the Heart and I love the results! Animoto is super easy to use. I have since made 3 other ones for fellow authors or family.
I think that I will be making a trailer for my book. I self-publish and need the promotions. Thanks a lot for the three free trailers.
Preferred the style and greater manipulation options with Prezi. Pity you have to download an app to see it on the iPad/iPhone. Very cool otherwise
Well guess what? Animoto doesn’t give you free anymore unless it has this big ole watermark across your trailer. You have to pay a minimum of $39 to have it removed, and that is for one month of access. Boo!
Thanks for the heads up, Deborrah! I still see this pricing plan on their website — but when you try to use your video, it comes with a watermark?
Thanks,
Heather
TWL Assistant Editor
That’s the price minimum $8 paid for a year in advance. It goes up from there. One month is $16 for the personal edition, but you need the Pro which is $42 for one month.
Absolutely new info, all three of them. Thank you for sharing.
good for you
Thank you! This is great information. I appreciate it.
Absolutely love the idea. I can’t wait to get started. I appreciate your efforts to keep writers informed and updated.
Yes, thanks for this. I’ll be doing my trailer before the end of April and will check out these programs. Thanks. š
Good luck with your trailer, Robyn!
Did your trailer work out well? š
i think it did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very educational and interesting article. Thanks
ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I realized I could make a you tube book trailer using power point, that is exactly what I did. I think it turned out rather nicely and I already knew power point.
Thanks for this! I had heard of Animoto, but not the other two apps.
Wonderful apps. Never herd of PhotoShow
The only one that looks familiar to me on here is Prezi. I think I’ll try the others out.
Apparently, Animoto is no longer offering a free version. Will try Prezi.
Hi Susan,
Thanks for letting us know about this change! I’ve updated the post to reflect the current pricing.
Thanks for reading!
Lisa Rowan
Editor
ya thank you i now can have a website to do my book thing