with guest blogger Gabrielle Battistel from Trailermade Production
I work in video production and created the video trailer and teasers for Marilyn’s book, The Farmer's Perfect Match, through my production company Trailermade Production. I’ve worked in production and marketing for quite some time now, making trailers and animates for authors in varying genres all around the world.
Friends, I’ve soaked up the importance of how video marketing is needed and utilised, and I’d like to share a bit of knowledge with you…
Online video is now the 'go to' medium for promotion. Users/viewers gravitate in droves to the play button, especially in social media. A quick search on web video statistics will give you mind-blowing insights, like Facebook “having 8 billion average daily video views from 500 million users.” (Whoah!)*
Here’s a little something from my own writer’s blog, GabbaWrites, about VLOGGING (video blogging) and on-camera VIDEO APPEARANCES…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiHEfIXxM9g
Sight and sound and people in action are what viewers are drawn to like bees to pollen. For Authors, it’s a great time to leap into DIY vid marketing and the opportunity that comes with the way viewers gulp up online video. Vlogging is enticing and super engaging – just like the buzz you get after meeting an author at their signing event.So, with that, let me ask some discussion questions:
What can you share with your viewers/readers that utilises that one-on-one ‘intimacy’? (How about what your writer’s space looks like - people love that!)
Did you cry through writing a particular scene … or an ending? Tell us about that. (People love behind-the-scenes stuff like that too.)
Can you share how your research has taken you into some weird places on the web?
How about sharing the ways your pet tries to get your attention (like mine did in my vlog post)?
Viewers eat every bit of that sort of stuff up like cookie monster on a binge! (Right down to the last crumb.)
Give vlogging a go … you might be pleasantly surprised! If you get an opportunity to have a free on-camera video appearance PLEASE don’t be afraid … be inspired! There’s more tips from me on that, so PLEASE ASK!
You’re welcome to ask questions in the comments below. I’ll be answering them here and in my next vlog posts. Meantime, here’s Marilyn’s Trailer…
I love to love... the optimism of empowerment. Give them a fish and they eat tonight. Teach them to fish and they’ll nourish themselves. (Hence give DIY vid marketing a go!)
I love to laugh... at the level of the good, healthy, tears running down your face type of stuff.
I love to learn... about people’s observances … e.g. when’s the first appearance of the kitty in my vlog post? You can answer that in the comments!
* http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/04/facebook-video-views/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GabbaWrites
Twitter: www.twitter.com/gabbawrites
@gabbawrites
Trailermade Production website: www.trailermadeproduction.com
This was brilliant! Thanks so, so much, Gabrielle. I've been wanting to vlog for ages and have had a couple of goes with Christmas vids and wotnot but nothing regular. I think mainly because I'm never sure what to talk about and whether readers would find it dull. Kristen Higgins has loaded some hilarious vids to Facebook but I don't think I could ever be as funny and clever as her. Maybe, as you say, it's just practice.
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to your upcoming videos and posts. Fab stuff.
Hi Cathryn, thanks for stopping by the blog. Have seen a few of Kristen's vloggies (and your Chrissi messages too)... Maybe a good vloggy subject could be the moment your inflatable horses ...er ... didn't ... er inflate!!! Fans love the behind the scenes and the insider deets (aka between the lines kind of stories) Looking forward to posting up the next couple of How-To Vloggy posts. Cheers, Gabrielle !
DeleteHi Gab! Thanks so much for agreeing to be our guest blogger this week! I'm intrigued by the concept of vlogging and you have actually made it sound doable (even though the thought of watching myself on screen is slightly terrifying :D).
ReplyDeleteOn another tack, I LOVE the trailer, teaser and gifs that you (under your Trailermade hat) put together for my book. I've had fantastic feedback about them. HUGE thanks.
Hi Marilyn!! Thanks again for having me! Yep… Vlogging can be intriguing. It can also be a little daunting … but only in the beginning … eventually it can be rather empowering and inspiring. When readers/fans and even those new to your following make that ‘connection’ they can actually come away a little bit buzzed and keen to find where you are online (Social media and website) and that’s when it’s really handy to have your buy links very near by your vlog post. You can also upload a vlog post straight into Facebook … just in case your viewer/reader/fan hang out in there the most !!! Glad the trailers and promos are serving THE FARMER'S PERFECT MATCH well. CHEERS!! Gab xo
DeleteA wonderful blog. Thank you Gabrielle and Breathless in the Bush. Vlogs, what a scary concept. Me on video..haaa! The first thing I did was pick up my phone and do a dummy run. It was fun, what a laugh, no one will see it mind you, I was in my PJs and my hair a wild mess, but I recon I could give it a go. I also look forward to your future videos and posts.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, I loved the trailer, yep, it tempted my taste buds to pick it up and read. :-) Excellent work.
Off to try some more practice Vlogs :-)
Brenda May
Hi Brenda! So glad you loved the trailer! Good luck with your practice vlogs. :D
DeleteHi Brenda, thanks for coming over today and commenting!!! Yeah, Vlogs can be a little scary to begin with BUT as I say, not too far down the track, the journey gets a lot easier…. and YES it is a lot of fun …. especially if you’re collaborating with another author. Take as many dummy runs as you like (fans love what’s called the Christmas Reel (or Gag reels). And fans love the PJ wardrobe choice… they really do … especially if you’ve been so busy writing a scene that you forgot about getting dressed that day!!!! (true) Please give it a go and don’t be afraid to ask any questions if you need to. As I say, social media is leaning SOOOOO heavily toward video …Looking forward to your next vloggy post. BIG CHEERIES!!! Gab (p.s. glad you liked Marilyn’s Trailer too
ReplyDeleteLove the trailer you did for Marilyn's book Gabrielle. I have seen a few author vlogs and enjoyed them but never thought I could do one of my own. I feel like I might um and arr through the whole thing. Do you recommend a script first or just wing it?
ReplyDeleteHi Cassandra, thanks for commenting… Marilyn’s trailer has a light and fresh feel to it… important since so does the book!!! Glad you like it.
DeleteYou most certainly can do a vloggy post for yourself!!! Let me please encourage you to give it a go. The viewers just love them. And as I mention, if you find yourself in an on camera interview, that'll be more comfortable a situation after you’ve done a bit of practice with your own vlog shoot. As I say in the video, you can go through a few times in the privacy of your own space, your own camera and get used to what it is you’re going to say … that’s when the “ers, ums” and such like iron themselves out.
A few dot points jotted down and situated just out of shot is a very useful thing indeed… especially if you’re making an announcement and have to get details correct (like website addresses, comp entry details and such like…
If you can keep your eyes out for my how-to do a vlog post … which will include how to not have too many errs, ums and mind blanks (some are OK, but not too many) it might be helpful for you (BTW mind blanks happen to the best of any presenter, no matter what stage of their careers) CHEERS! Gab
Thanks for the fantastic post, Gabrielle, giving us an inside view of how vlogging can be an effective tool for authors. The few I've seen sure grab your attention. I'm tempted to try (when I've joined the ranks of 'published') but I'd have to work on my terror at the idea first. :)
ReplyDeleteHello Hello Enisa! Thanks so much for commenting... am so glad I've been able to shed some light on the matter for you. I hope I’ve tempted you all the way to giving a vloggy post a go… (just to let you know, I’m not published either - however I’ve made it into RWAus' Little Gems…. but I’m vlogging/conventional blogging to build my platform - can’t hurt!) If you’ve got an activated following, that might serve you well in the future - especially if you’re sitting in front of a publisher (or writing a query letter) and you can say: “I’ve already built 500 Facebook chatty followers, just as many talkative twitter fans and 150 people actively subscribed and interacting with me on YouTube…” a publisher might like the sound of that!!!! Yep, that sort of thing takes time … but as with writing, if there isn’t something happening, there won’t be something to have happened come the time to submit. Please let me reassure you the “terror” of giving it a go - or seeing yourself on screen - is quite normal. It is in fact a good sign … a REALLY positive sign, it means you care about your reader/viewer and that you have something to say that’s worthwhile hearing… why? Because, to me, it shows you already have the ability to be a great author… and fans LOVE that!!!! GO FOR IT!!! Look forward to your first vloggy post. Cheeries and Best, Gab xo
DeleteWow! Thanks for the positive energy boost. I will definitely look into vlogging now.
DeleteLove this post Gabrielle! You make the idea of vlogging and trailers so much less intimidating!
ReplyDeleteHiya Dee, thanks SO MUCH for coming over and commenting… I’m so very glad to hear that my post has made the whole trailer/vlogging/video marketing thing less intimidating. It can feel a little daunting with all the social media, marketing, planning, executing etc. … and that's all OK ... and very normal... The wonderful pay off of all that is the vlogging can really help take care of the necessity of promo whilst still having fun! (not to mention great "rehearsal" if you find yourself in front of someone else's camera in interview). Again, as I mentioned, when the viewer/reader/fan take in the vlog post, they get a bit of a buzz that comes from the “closeness” of it - just like a signing visit. It’s a lovely, warm, fuzzy feeling the viewer is left with… and you have the opportunity to treat your viewers with respect within the realms of what your “brand” or “author aesthetic” is … and that counts for so much. The wonderful thing Authors have going for themselves with a vlog is that Author’s are WONDERFULLY CREATIVE people and can come up with fab ideas for post subject matter … it all revolves around the book ... and when the reader/viewers move onto purchasing the book they get a more “value-added” experience …. 'tis great stuff. Oh! and just a thought… how about writing your latest hero a love letter from your heroine…and read it out for a vlog post as a kind of “special bonus feature” to your novel!!!! (what wonders an author’s mind could come up with within the world of their books, characters and settings… such fun!!! Looking forward to seeing your blog post. Cheeries and Best, Gab xo
DeleteI love the trailer you did for Marilyn's book. Do you start with something like a back cover blurb then story board your scenes? I'm fascinated by the process and the end product is just amazing.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon, glad to hear you love the Marilyn’s Trailer … the book (of course) is what it’s all about … I do have a process of production and work very closely with the authors throughout… and the blurb is of course quite useful … but there’s Trailermade Magic involved. Since every book is very individual (even within a genre and even into sub-genre) the trailer has to meet the expectation set by the book. There has to be an individualism about each trailer I make (amongst different authors and for the same author over many books … and even amongst a series of a trilogy or more) because each book is different. With Marilyn’s hero being a pearl farmer - how could the sunset over the sea not make an appearance!!!! From where I sit, every decision during production is carefully made during production and I use my experience, know how and skill to make the trailer something that stands out, so that the author brand and of course the overall “ambience” of the book’s read experience leaps out… Hope that gives you a bit more insight into the way things come about! Cheers and best, Gab xo
DeleteLove it. :)
ReplyDelete