Do trailers sell murder mystery novels? Some authors say yes. Some say no. I’ve decided to find the answer to that question myself. As you may know, a trailer is a very short video teaser about a novel. It is similar to a teaserused to advertise a movie. I have a trailer and I just posted it on my website, Facebook, YouTube and here on my blog. Right now my new novel is in the top 106,974 sellers on Amazon. Will the trailer help improve the position of my new book? Do trailers sell murder mystery novels? I will share with you the results of my little experiment. Murder Down Under Trailer
Nancy — I thought the link in your post would be to your trailer, but it’s to a cereal commercial. If your trailer was to follow, just letting you know it is not picking up. Look forward to the results of your “trailer trial.”
Elaine
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By: Elaine L. Orr on April 11, 2012
at 3:15 pm
Hi Elaine, Thanks for the quick alert. I checked it out and from my link there was no advertisement. Please try again at your convenience and let me know how it goes.
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By: nancycurteman on April 11, 2012
at 3:31 pm
This time it worked — it was a very different looking link. Excellent trailer.
e
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By: elaine orr on April 11, 2012
at 3:43 pm
Elaine, I’m glad and relieved that the link worked this time. Thanks for giving it another try.
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By: nancycurteman on April 11, 2012
at 6:19 pm
The blurb beneath the trailer would entice me into reading your book; the trailer wouldn’t. Trailers don’t do it for me. The music, the pictures, the movement all detract from the message.
And yet I check out trailers of films. I think they are a great way of getting the ‘feel’ of the film – but that for me is the equivalent of reading excerpts from a book.
I guess trailers work well for some and not for others – takes all sorts to make a world 🙂
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By: Prue on April 12, 2012
at 2:35 am
You make some valid points. Maybe trailers work better for films because they are visual whereas they don’t work so well for books because print is so different from an actual picture. You’re right, many readers want to form their own idea of how a character looks. They are often disappointed when the book comes out as a movie because the characters seem to be so different from what the reader perceived.
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By: nancycurteman on April 12, 2012
at 8:58 am
How interesting! I liked the music on the video…and the photo of the B and B….I suppose I visualize the characters a certain way and the photos of them may not be exactly how I see them in my mind’s eye….congratulations on your book and new marketing…so exciting!
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By: An Embarrassment of Freedom on April 12, 2012
at 6:15 am
You confirm my point. A reader forms a certain idea of how a character looks. The reader is often disappointed when a film of the novel portrays a character in a way that is different from his perception.
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By: nancycurteman on April 12, 2012
at 9:00 am
Hi, How exciting!! I liked the video, especially the music. I would most likely visualize the characters differently when reading the book as I have a vivid imagination…ha! I liked the photo of the detective peeking out the window and the photo of the Bed and Breakfast as it sets the scene. Congratulations on your book and the wonderful response!
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By: An Embarrassment of Freedom on April 12, 2012
at 6:20 am
Thanks for the additional comment. I think as writers we’re in the business of stimulating reader imagination. Sometimes a trailer destroys the reader’s imaginative perception of a character.
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By: nancycurteman on April 12, 2012
at 9:03 am
I loved the trailer, NC . . . well done!
Personally, I prefer to read book burbs for books and watch trailers for movies.
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By: nrhatch on April 12, 2012
at 9:28 am
I think a large segment of the reading population would agree with you. It would be interesting to study some of the variables like age, sex, type of books read etc.
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By: nancycurteman on April 12, 2012
at 3:19 pm