THE POWER OF VIDEO TO SELL YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES by Michael Hyatt
YouTube Killed the TV Star: Why Online Video Marketing is Essential for Marketers in 2012
Before you read this post, it might be prudent to make sure you have read the previous installment, Why a Book Video? Part I.
As mentioned in the previous post, 2005 seems to be the turning point for the use of video to market, not just books, but products all kinds. What changed?
Prior to 2005, there were two barriers to creating a video for marketing use. The first was production cost, and the second was distribution.
Around the turn of the millennium, advents in technology began a revolution that would chip away at production costs. Before this change, cost to produce a professional video for marketing purposes would most likely be in the $10k to $15k range (and that was on the low end). Cameras and camera operators, lighting rigs and lighting technicians, renting time in a video editing suite with a video editor along with the pre-production cost of concepting and scripting… not to mention the cost of a producer…meant a healthy budget would be required.
And once the video was produced, there would be the question of how to distribute it? In other words, how would people see the video? Remember, we are talking about pre-2005, video on the internet was not very common. There were no standards for online video, and most attempts were not very good experiences. Consumer computers did not have the processor speed and internet connections were not yet fast enough. Users were left watching choppy, low-res videos that were usually out of synch with the audio.
If you wanted someone to see the video, it meant you would have to duplicate DVDs (and VHS tapes prior to that). Duplication cost for DVDs could add another $2k to $5k of costs to the project, not to mention possible postage costs of mailing DVDs. And really, what strategy would you employ to decide who to send these DVDs?
So what cracked the video for marketing code?
On the production side, technology created a guerilla video production revolution. Digital video cameras, firewire ports, and slick, easy to use video software removed the financial barriers to entry for would be filmmakers. Now, a couple of thousand dollars could buy you a professional looking produced video, or better yet, you could use that $2k to invest in your own camera and software and shoot videos yourself.
On the distribution side, a new kid on the block came along called YouTube and changed everything. Now, everyone had a broadcast option. No longer were you faced with hefty distribution costs. Now you could load your video up on YouTube and broadcast to anyone in the world (with a computer). And things would only get better with mobile technology.
So, how does this answer the question, “why a book video?” We will put it all together in the next post.
Book Box Daily » Blog Archive » Top Book Trailers from 2011! -
Scholastic Book Club’s Pick for Top Book Trailers of 2011
I began working in publishing in the Summer of 1999 as a copywriter in the trade division of a publishing house. We were around 4th or 5th in market share for our category. Marketing budgets were small for most titles, modest for a few, and significant for only one or two titles a year. Before 2005, I can only recall three books where money was spent to produce a video to aide in the marketing of a book. Two of these titles were the biggest titles published during my tenure at this company.
Today, probably 3/4’s of titles published from this same company enjoy the benefit of a video for marketing and promotional purposes. For some publishing companies, every title has a video associated with it.
Before 2005, sales conferences at publishing houses usually consisted of the acquisition editors standing at a podium and presenting each of their upcoming new releases to the teams that would be charged with selling these titles into book stores across the nation. In the case of the company for which I worked, that meant three editors presented as many as 40 new books over the course of a day or two. What that meant for the sales guys, they had to listen to the same voices present each title, often with little as 5 minutes allotted for some. What that meant for these books and the authors of these books, there was very little opportunity for a title or author to be distinguished. If you were not already well known, a proven entity, you had little chance of making any kind of distinct impression.
For a select few authors, the publishing company may actually pay the expenses to bring the author to the sales conference. In a typical sales conference with 40 titles, maybe 3 authors would get the opportunity to represent their book themselves. Prior to 2005, I can think of only one time the publishing company went to the expense of having the author make a video to be used in their absence at sales conference, and with little foresight, this video was made directly to the sales people, meaning it had little to no usefulness after it was shown in sales conference.
That began to change after 2005. These days, I actually know of one publishing company that creates a video for every book being presented during sales conference.
What has changed? What is significant about 2005? We will answer those questions in the next post.
My name is David Woodard, and Literary Video is my new blog.
I am an award-winning video director and editor having had the good fortune of being successfully employed as an independent video producer since the Fall of 2007. My understanding of story and how to tell a it in a compelling way has given my clients a leading edge in investing in video content that communicates and sells their message. I have had the disctint privilege to partner with such fine publishers as Thomas Nelson Publishers, Waterbrook Multnomah, Revell, Abingdon Press, Brazos Press, and B&H Publishing Group as well as such publishing luminaries as Max Lucado, Donald Miller, Beth Moore, Henry Blackaby, Michael Hyatt, and many others.
A marketing veteran, prior to being self-employed, I was part of the trade book marketing team at B&H Publishing Group of LifeWay Christian Resources. I participated in the marketing effort for five New York Times bestsellers and countless CBA best-sellers. At B&H, I produced countless promotional videos seen online, in sales presentations, promotional DVDs, podcasts, author websites, and trade show booth displays around the globe.
I look forward to using this blog to share with book marketers, sellers, and authors the wisdom and perspective gained from my unique experiences in the publishing world.
Literary Video helps authors, agents, and publishers understand the potential of using video in marketing and selling books.
Before a book is sold off a bookstore shelf, it has been sold many times before.
Traditionally, the author must “sell” the book to an agent, who in turn “sells” the book to an acquisitions editor at a publishing house. The acquisitions editor must “sell” the book to the pub board at his publishing house, which often includes not only the publisher, but also his editorial peers, the marketing and publicity staff, and of course, the sales staff. That sales staff will then represent the hard work of all the people before them as they “sell” the book to book-buyers in bookstores across the world. The final step is the coveted consumer purchase at the cash register.
Book videos can help make every “sell” successful each step of the way.
My experience as a veteran publishing industry professional has shown me that intimate experience with an author and book “sells” the book like nothing else can. A two dimensional book proposal has to work hard to sell a book to an agent, an acquisitions editor, a pub board, or a bookstore book buyer. A book cover and jacket has to pop off the shelf to catch the eye of a general book consumer. The most effective sales pitch is often the opportunity to “experience” the author’s passion and charisma. This “experience” can spark a flame of enthusiasm that produces a chemistry between the author and an agent, or an author and a publisher in a way words on a paper can never do.
This use to mean author media appearances and book signings. These endeavors were often very expense and sometimes risky in terms of payoff, but book videos has changed this.
Book videos can facilitate these intimate experiences by producing multimedia tools that can reveal the heart of an author and the soul of a book. Whether it is a pitch piece to a publishing house, an educational/training video for a bookstore book buyer, or a book trailer aimed at end consumer, video can ensure the essence, personality, and uniqueness of the author and book will produce the best opportunity for the coveted “sell through” experience.