Using a Book Teaser to Create Anticipation

Nothing creates anticipation for a movie more than its trailer. Some trailers, also referred to as teasers, give us goose bumps, while others may make us laugh! But one thing all successful trailers have in common is they intrigue viewers enough to go out and see the movie. Even if they don’t want to pay to see it in theaters, chances are they will wait to rent it. If a teaser can generate that much excitement for a movie, then why not for a book? Fortunately for authors, creating a book teaser is a real possibility!

Today, book trailers have become a new, fun way to market books and show potential readers what they can expect. Just like for a movie, a book teaser needs to do as its name implies and “tease” the audience. It should give the viewer just enough of a peek to have them saving the date for the book release. With a mix of images, music, video, and voiceover, you can create an excellent 1-2 minute teaser that will create buzz for your book before it is released.

Book teasers can be used to promote business books, health books, fiction books and virtually anything else. As the author, no one has a better vision of the characters, settings, or details of your book than you. Make sure to pick out the key details that help translate this vision so your audience has an understanding of what they can expect when they purchase your book. For example, if you wrote a horror novel you are likely to use chilling music and dark images and/or video elements. If you are creating a book teaser for a memoir, you may want to incorporate personal photographs, old home footage, etc.

Once your book teaser is complete and ready to show, there are a number of places you can share it to receive optimum viewing. First, we recommend uploading it to YouTube. If you do not have a YouTube channel, we recommend you create one so you can share your trailer with the public. If you are active on social media, we highly recommend sharing your book teaser on those sites as well. A good majority of people who participate in social media sites, such as Facebook, are there for entertainment or to find things that interest them. They like interacting with people and companies, and what better way to interact than giving them a video to watch! If you have an author website (which we highly suggest you do) you should add it there as well. Not only will this enhance your website, but visitors can read about your book, watch the book teaser, and then head right over to your “Buy the Book” page to purchase it!