When I Googled “how to change an oven lightbulb,” the first search result was a YouTube video.

And that’s exactly what I wanted. I didn’t want to read about how to do it. I wanted someone to show me how to do it.

I’m not alone. With 2.6 billion users worldwide, YouTube is the second most popular social media platform (Facebook is first). Whether you need instruction, entertainment, or news, you’ll find what you need in a video.

In fact, Tubics reports it’s the most popular search engine for teenagers. (If you write for young adults, now’s the time to perk up.)

This means that YouTube is a powerful marketing tool that can be used to sell books. It also means that you want to use YouTube for book marketing.

Why YouTube is a powerful marketing tool for books

If you’re an author looking to get your work out there, YouTube should be your go-to platform. Here are five reasons why:

1. There’s a huge book community on YouTube.

There are tons of booktubers and bookish channels on YouTube, which means there’s already a built-in audience for your book’s content. If you produce quality videos, you will attract and acquire passionate book fans.

2. You can reach a global audience.

YouTube is available in more than 80 countries and reaches billions of people around the world. This gives you the opportunity to connect with book lovers from all over, no matter where they are.

3. You can connect with other authors.

YouTube is a great place to connect with other authors and build relationships. Collaborate on videos, cross-promote each other’s work, support each other’s careers.

4. It’s a brand-builder.

Use video to share your personality and connect with your audience on a personal level. This can help you attract more readers and followers.

5. It’s a moneymaker.

If you build a large enough following, you can make money from YouTube through sponsorships, affiliate links, and advertisements. This can help offset self-publishing and marketing costs.

How to create a YouTube channel for your book

The process for creating your own YouTube channel is similar to what you’ve done already with your social media profiles. Here are the steps to follow so you use YouTube for book marketing effectively:

Choose a catchy name. Select something that will make people want to subscribe so they’re notified when you add videos.

I use my YouTube channel as a brand extension, so my channel name is Build Book Buzz.

Create a visually appealing channel banner. Make sure it’s consistent with your book’s branding.

Upload a professional headshot as your profile picture. Use the same image that you use on other social networks.

Write your channel description. This is where you’ll tell viewers what they can expect to find on your channel.

Here’s mine: Tips, tactics and tools for generating awareness and buzz about your books. Subscribe to our free book marketing newsletter at http://buildbookbuzz.com/gift.

Start creating and uploading videos. There are so many possibilities! Share book trailers, how-tos, readings, Q&As, behind-the-scenes looks, interviews with others, and anything else you can think of.

A few video basics

You want your videos to be as effective as possible, right? For that reason, make sure they’re high quality and engaging. No one wants to watch a low-quality, boring video, so focus on creating something that’s interesting and will hold viewers’ attention.

“Quality,” by the way, applies to audio as well as video. You’ll lose viewers if your audio isn’t strong and clear.

via GIPHY

Get creative with how you promote your book with video, too. Instead of just doing a standard reading or Q&A, do a book-themed challenge or an interactive video where viewers can help you choose what happens next in the story.

Have fun with it – the more fun you’re having, the more likely viewers are to stick around and watch.

Finally, don’t forget to include a call to action at the end of each video. Let viewers know where they can buy your book or sign up for your newsletter to stay up-to-date on your latest releases.

Getting views and subscribers

If you’re hoping to build a following on YouTube, you’ll need to put in some work. Growing a channel takes time, but if you’re consistent and create quality content, you will eventually see results. Here are a few tips to help you get more views and subscribers:

Optimize your channel

Make sure your channel is set up for success by completing the About section and adding keywords that describe your content. This will make it easier for people to find your channel when they’re searching for topics they’re interested in that you’re addressing.

Create engaging videos

Your videos should be interesting and engaging, offering viewers something they can’t find elsewhere. If your content is enjoyable, people will be more likely to watch it and subscribe to your channel.

Promote your videos

Get the word out about your videos by promoting them on social media and other platforms. You can also run ads on YouTube to reach a wider audience.

Use keywords in your video title and description

When people search for books on YouTube, they typically use keywords such as “book review” or “book recommendations.” When appropriate, use these keywords in your video title and description so that your video will show up in these searches.

People search on YouTube for topic information, too, so be sure to add the right keywords for the topics you’re featuring.

Collaborate with other creators

Teaming up with other YouTube creators can help expose a new audience to your book. Partner on videos, cross-promote each other’s content, and guest star on each other’s channels.

Be patient

As with other social networks, it takes time to build a following on YouTube, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results overnight. Keep creating quality content and promoting your channel, and eventually you’ll start to see your subscriber count rise.

How to promote your video

As with blog posts and other online content, you have to help people find your videos. Don’t rely on getting found in search results alone – send people to your videos with these tactics:

• Every time you upload a new video, share it on social media, email it to your list, and embed it on your website – especially if it’s a book trailer.
• Help your video stand out and get more views by creating a catchy title and thumbnail.
• Get discovered by including keywords in your title and description.

Using YouTube for book marketing takes effort

There are many advantages to using YouTube for book marketing, including the simple fact that creating and uploading videos is free. You don’t have to spend a cent to reach your target audience there.

You can also target a specific audience by using keywords and tags that they’ll search for to find videos like yours.

And, if your video is well-done, it has the potential to go viral, which could result in a lot of free publicity for your book.

Even so, YouTube marketing requires a bit more effort than some other options.

You need to create a quality video that will grab people’s attention and make them want to learn more about your book. You also need to proactively promote your video.

If you don’t put in the work, your video is likely to get lost in the shuffle.

What’s the verdict?

Is YouTube for book marketing worth it?

Ultimately, that’s for you to decide.

If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, it can be a great way to reach a wide audience. This is especially true if you’re willing to include yourself in the video (either on- or off-camera), as it will help readers connect with you.

If you aren’t already creating videos, there’s a learning curve. If you’re like me, though, mastering a new skill is not only fun, it’s personally rewarding.

Give it a try! You have nothing to lose.

Are you creating YouTube videos to promote your book? Please provide a link to your channel in the comments.

Editor’s note: I used QuickWrite, the new artificial intelligence (AI) writing software created specifically for authors, to write this blog post. I added new content at the beginning and did a little editing to eliminate some of the “rote” approach to writing, but all of that was far easier than starting from scratch.

QuickWrite’s creator assured me that I don’t need to worry about duplicate content or plagiarism, too. 

AI software won’t replace me, but in some situations, it could make my job a little easier. It did this time.

Last month, Amy Rogers Nazarov instructed us on how to engage followers on social media in her inspiring article, “Let’s get engaged: How to use social media effectively.” That was such a hit that I invited her back! This time, Amy’s addressing an issue some of you might have in common with me: How to get comfortable being on camera in social media videos. 

Amy is a former journalist who teaches people how to use social media more effectively, with less scrolling and more serendipity. Before she launched Spark: Social Media Strategy in 2014, she was both a freelance and  staff writer. Amy’s byline has appeared in Cooking Light, Slate, The Washington Post, and American Songwriter among many others. Be sure to check out her affordable course, Seven Easy Social Media Hacks for Entrepreneurs & Creatives, especially if you find her articles here helpful.

Video camera shy? Try these expert tips from a top social media pro

By Amy Rogers Nazarov

One day last week I coached three clients on posing and speaking for my smartphone camera so I could build up a little bank of content to draw upon for various social media purposes.

Two are in the home renovation world, the other in performing arts. Each is a confident, accomplished, expressive person thriving in their respective industry.

Yet when I told them we’d be generating video for their social media feeds, dismay flashed across their faces. (The good news is that as I coached them, they all relaxed into the process. We had some fun with it, and I got what I needed. Here’s one of the results.)

Feeling vulnerable?

I tell you this to remind you that if you feel vulnerable trying to make a TikTok video about your release date, or to participate in an Instagram Live with your agent, you have lots of company!

Number one, most people feel anxious at first when showing their voices and faces on social media.

Number two, with practice, you won’t always feel that way.

And number three, nothing is better for building your credibility and trustworthiness with your followers than letting them see and hear you.

3 steps to camera confidence

Ready to feel less video camera shy? Feeling confident on camera will actually make the time you spend on social more fulfilling.

Here’s a step-by-step plan to help you grow your confidence and get comfortable showing up on social media.

1. Start small.

Think of a topic you know inside and out: why you decided to self-publish, the benefits of publishing on demand, why you love to write at your kitchen table, the best YA book you ever read.

2. Rehearse.

Jot down a few lines about this topic, no more than three to start. Read them aloud in a conversational tone, as many times as necessary to sound fluid and conversational. Try speaking into the mirror or to a friend.

3. Speak on camera.

Use your phone’s reverse feature to train the lens on yourself and capture a video of you speaking the lines. Play it back, checking for good eye contact with the camera and that there are no visual distractions in the background. Re-record as needed.

Pro tip: Make eye contact with the camera lens, not with your own reflection. That way it will appear that you are speaking directly to your listener.

Getting on camera, without getting on camera

To get my clients comfortable with this, I suggest they try a couple of approaches that help them slowly move into that full-on, talking head visual that so many are so good at, but others find intimidating. Here’s what I recommend to them and you.

Start with stills.

Just as you walk before you run, try sharing a selfie before a video clip of you speaking.

Partially obscure your face.

It might feel less intimidating to peek out from behind a prop – an N95 mask, a hat, a plant, a laptop lid – in your first selfie or first video.

Blur it.

Tilt Shift, Portrait mode and other settings allow us to make part of our image blurry, while rendering another part more crisply.

Voiceover.

Many social media platforms have a voiceover feature that let you narrate a process – reviewing galleys, say, or writing an outline for an article, making your morning coffee, taking your afternoon stroll to clear out writers’ block.

Props for props!

Speaking of props, they tick a lot of boxes. Just a few:

They add instant flavor and personality to your social media content. How about:

• A hat or other article of clothing
• A mascot, like a pet or a goldfish
• Something that reflects your brand colors
• The cover of your last book

They can convey a message without your having to say it aloud. How about:

• A political poster, current or vintage, that hints at or makes obvious your affiliation
• A religious symbol
• A view out your window to the city or rural setting where you live or work

They can be used as a signature piece in all your content for continuity. Consider:

• A slogan
• A sign
• A memento
• A location
• A piece of wall art

Breathe!

Whatever method you use as you begin to show your face little by little on your feeds, a key thing to remember is one of the simplest, and that is this: Take a deep breath. You’ve got this – or, perhaps more accurately, you will get this.

Giving your followers a window into who you are and what makes you tick as a writer can be one of the most fun parts of social media.

Remember: your followers are already interested in you and what you have to say. As you let them see and hear you, the quality of your interactions with them will only grow richer.

Are you using video in your book marketing? Tell us about it in a comment! And if you aren’t, what’s holding you back? Maybe we can help.

We might finally have a video app that can do that in Facebook Live. In fact, authors and Facebook Live could be quite compatible.

You’re not familiar with Facebook Live? You are if you saw this May 2016 video of Candace Payne trying on her Chewbacca mask. This epic video by the woman who has become known as “Chewbacca mom” has been viewed 185 million times and shared by more than 3.3 million people. (I dare you not to laugh along with you as you watch.)

I’m not going to explain how to use Facebook Live here — you can find lots of helpful information about that online, including this article on the Social Media Examiner site.

My goal with this article is to help you think about how you might use Facebook Live for book promotion and marketing. This piece of it is just important as the technology. You don’t need to spend any time learning about the app until you better understand what you want to accomplish with this marketing tool — and how you’ll do that.

11 ideas for authors and Facebook Live

Here are some ideas to get you thinking. Would a few of them work for your goals, personality, and book? You don’t need to limit yourself to one!

1. Do a cover reveal: You’ve finally selected your cover? Share it with your followers! Or, show them three options and ask them to pick their favorite and tell you why.

2. Solicit reader input: Noodling around ideas for a new character or plot twist? Tell fans and ask them for their feedback.

3. Show a bookstore or other event appearance: If you’re talking about your book before a signing at a store or other venue, recruit a friend to broadcast your event from your phone.

4. Offer advice: Give your followers helpful information that will help them do something better, smarter, or faster. That’s when Tenita Johnson does. The author of Grammatically Incorrect: When Commas Save Your Sentences & Your Reputation nudges people to write their books and offers editing advice. 

5. Ask a friend to interview you: Oh, sure, you could talk about your book forever, right? But a Q&A format with a friend who is off camera, or starts in front of the camera then flips it to show you, is so much more interesting visually then you sharing the same information yourself, talking to the camera all by your lonesome.

6. Demonstrate something: This works especially well for cookbooks and how-to nonfiction. Food historian Amy Riolo, author of  The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: Harness the Power of the World’s Healthiest Diet to Live Better, Longer, uses it to give people a glimpse into her cooking classes.

7. Broadcast from your book’s setting: Written a novel set in a real place? Take your readers there!

8. Flip through a family photo album: Written a memoir? Flip through the pages of an old family photo album so fans can put faces to the names.

9. Show your work space: Readers are often curious about where writers work. Whether it’s your kitchen table or a neighborhood coffee shop, show where you produced the book they love so much.

10. Change people’s minds: After Linda Cohen, author of 1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire, and Change Your Life, noticed people complaining about the inconveniences caused by a crippling snowfall in Portland, Ore., she hopped on Facebook Live to help adjust attitudes by asking followers about the acts of kindness they were seeing. 

11. Host interviews with thought leaders: Arrange to do a series of short interviews with people who influence your audience while you’re at a conference.

Which idea will work for you?

Whether you’re a novelist or a nonfiction author, I’ll bet there’s an approach on this list that will work for you. You can also let it inspire you to think about other approaches you might try. I’ve seen authors host weekly “office hours” where followers can ask questions while others are more spontaneous, pulling out the camera to share an inspirational thought.

Still need more inspiration? Watch the videos on the Harper Collins Book Studio 16 Facebook page.

Just make sure you’re comfortable with the approach you decide to use. For example, you’ll never catch me trying to inspire or motivate you — it’s just not how I roll. I’m more likely to take you into a cool indie bookstore or interview an author or expert at a conference. Be true to yourself.

Once you know what you want to share on Facebook Live, explore how it works. The more you know about best practices and what’s working for other authors, the more confident you’ll feel when you try it yourself.

If you know an author who’s trying to figure out what to share on Facebook Live, be sure to share this post with them.

How are you using Facebook Live for book promotion? Tell us in a comment.

I’ve created a short video that shows how to link your image quotes to any book sales page. Watch the one-minute video here to see how quickly you can be selling more books on Pinterest:

Prefer to read how to do it?

Here’s a loose transcript for those who prefer to read, not watch:

If you have an image quote on a Pinterest board that isn’t linked to your Amazon sales page, you could be missing out on sales. So, you want to make sure those image quotes are linked to your Amazon sales page. I’ll show you how using an example from my Pinterest account.

It’s three steps:

1. Start with “edit” at the top of your pin.
2. Go down to the website blank and paste in the URL for your book’s sales page on Amazon or any other online retail site.
3. Select save.

Click on my pin and you’ll see that it goes right to my Amazon sales page. It’s as easy as edit, paste, and save.

Do you think your Pinterest activity is helping you sell books? Why or why not? 

It’s not something I look forward to, and that’s not just because good hair days don’t come around very often.

It’s because:

• I don’t like appearing on camera (see reference to good hair days above)
• I’m not as familiar as I’d like to be with the technology involved

But I know that because YouTube is the second most popular search engine, I need to load more videos into the Build Book Buzz YouTube channel. This will help more authors discover the free book marketing tips and advice I offer on this site and in the free Build Book Buzz newsletter.

Fortunately, you and I can create videos without appearing on camera — just create a  video with PowerPoint instead, using your slides as the basis of your video.

To help anyone who is just as new at this as I am, I’m sharing the steps I took to create this PowerPoint-based video that I just uploaded. I hope it saves you time, since you’re spared all of the Googling I did to figure out how to do something that’s new to me.

Here’s the video; scroll down for the how-to:

Start with a PowerPoint presentation

With the help of Google, I discovered that if you’ve got PowerPoint 2010, you can save your presentation file in a video format and work with that. I don’t, so I needed Plan B.

I knew that Windows Live Movie Maker, the free software I use that was pre-installed on my computer, lets me create a video from pictures/images, so I looked in the “save as” options in my PowerPoint file to see if I could save it in JPEG (image) format.

Yes!

That arrow is pointing to a drop-down menu that lets you save the file in many different formats. I selected “JPEG File Interchange Format.” When I selected “save,” a new window popped up, asking me, “Do you want to export every slide in the presentation or only the current slide?” I selected “Every slide” from the three options.

That step created a new folder with each slide as a JPEG image. I added them into my new video file in Movie Maker by selecting “add videos and photos” from the “home” tab.

With the images in place, I played around with the software’s auto movie themes to see which one I liked the most. The option I selected added a “slide” at the beginning (the “Build Book Buzz” text that moves across my first PPT slide as the video starts) and three slides at the end for production credits. I could have deleted those extra slides at the end, but I left them in because just between us, adding silly stuff for the end credits is my favorite part of video-making.

How to add narration

With the video portion done pretty quickly, I was ready to add narration. I knew I had to create and add an audio file, but didn’t know how, so I turned to Google again. I found a super helpful video that showed me how to find the computer’s recorder software and then how it use it. (Tip: It’s as easy as pressing the “start” button.)

The instructions told me to type “sound recorder” into the search box. Bam! There it was! Clicking on the search results brought up the recorder software.

To make sure my audio is good, I always use an external microphone, an Audio-Technica ATR-3350 Lavalier Omnidirectional Condenser Microphone. I plugged it in to the side, turned it on, and practiced my narration by speaking while the video ran through in “view/preview full screen” mode.

The video moved too quickly, so I had to adjust the settings so that each image stayed on the screen longer. The default was 7 seconds; I bumped each one up to 12.5 and that seemed to be good enough.

After a few more practice narrations while the video moved through, I was ready to record it with the sound recorder. It wasn’t perfect, but I would have been working on it all day if perfection was the goal. Some days, good is good enough.

I added my recorded narration to the video by going to the “home” screen, selecting “add music” from the toolbar, and selecting the audio file. It was really that simple.

I played the file to make sure audio and video were in sync, saved the file, and uploaded it to my YouTube channel.

I hope this level of detail helps anyone who had the same questions I had. So now it’s my turn to ask a question:

What’s your best video production tip for newbies? What tip can you offer that might either save us time, or improve our video quality?

The Happiest Book Trailer Ever!

By Valerie Alexander

As a screenwriter, I know you can be sure that your script is good if someone who reads it wants to show it to someone else.

That same metric applies to your book trailer. It might be wonderfully filmed, seamlessly edited, and perfectly descriptive of your book, but it will not be fully effective as a sales tool unless someone who watches it wants to buy your book and then shares the trailer with someone else.

While I have no idea what will make a video “go viral” (I think that has something to do with kittens popping a balloon or a pop star twerking), I do know about making a solid, share-worthy book trailer. I’m sharing my tips here, but for them to make the most sense, please watch my trailer first:

1. Make people laugh or cry.

The most effective content is that which causes a reaction in the audience. Because my book is about happiness, I went for funny.

If you’re going for funny, make sure it’s really funny. Test the concept and the script out on friends. When I would talk about the segments I wanted for this video, my friends would be laughing by the second one. That’s when I knew it would work.

If you’re going for heartfelt, really tug those strings. Watch this video below and see how three minutes can completely undo an audience.

2. Don’t rush it.

Don’t rush to get your trailer out there. In truth, no one is waiting for it. Spend a lot of time and thought on the content.

In hindsight, I wish I’d put more thought and effort into my last segment (a re-shoot that I rushed to do), and every time I watch it, I cringe a little that the wording could have been more effective, funnier and sharper, and that I am not coming across as appealing as I’d like to be.

3. Get feedback and LISTEN TO IT.

First-time filmmakers often discover that the vision in their heads didn’t make it to the screen, or worse, what they think they’re saying is not at all what the audience is hearing.

The first cut of my trailer was hilarious, but it ended with me admitting defeat and being stuck with the cheesy Internet trailer, and no further mention of my book. I showed it to my book group and they all said it was hysterical, and that there was no way they would ever buy a book about happiness from the hapless woman in that video.

I had to admit that they were right, so I changed it. When one person tells you something isn’t working, hear them. If everyone tells you something isn’t working, fix it.

4. Production values only matter if they hurt the viewing experience.

My entire video was shot on my iPhone (not even using a special camera app), and with no external mike. I was the cameraperson, and when I wasn’t, it was a friend.

As long as it’s obvious in the picture what’s happening, and the sound is clear and not too distorted, your audience is along for the ride. Your trailer is not going to be screened in IMAX, so don’t sweat how it looks, as long as it’s mostly in focus.

5. Confession: My trailer was not 100% D-I-Y.

I have iMovie on my computer. I even know how to use it. But it mattered too much to me that this trailer be great, and I know a lot of amazing editors, so…I hired one. I paid him $100 and we cut the footage together, then he created the cheesy fake trailer according to my notes (I had shot the fake trailer girl already, but he came up with all of the onscreen graphics – which I love!).

Editing isn’t hard, and with a little practice and any number of free software programs, you can do it yourself. I could have done it, but it would have taken five times as long and not been as good, so I went the professional route.

There are amazing, skilled editors out there, and good places to find them are:

• Mandy.com
• Elance
• Fivver
• Task Monkey
• Your local college film program

6. Put it EVERYWHERE.

There are dozens of sites that showcase videos, and you want your trailer on ALL of them. Why not be where anyone can find you, even if it’s just one person? My book trailer can be found on:

• YouTube
• FunnyorDie
• Vimeo
• DailyMotion
• Veoh
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• My blog
• My Amazon author page (a must!)
• Places I can’t even remember now

This could be one of your most effective marketing tools, so make sure everyone can find it.

I know for a fact that my trailer has led to book sales. I don’t know how many, but the exact count doesn’t matter. Anything that gets people talking about you and your book is going to lead to increased sales eventually, and a trailer that someone sees and says, “I have to show this to my friends!” is going to make that happen more often and a lot faster. You can do it. After all, you wrote a whole book! How hard could a 1-3 minute trailer be?

What’s keeping you from creating the best book trailer ever? What’s holding you back?