Promoting Books With Video

It may seem crazy to use video to promote books but that is exactly what this book marketer is doing. In an effort to expand the audience for his company's book video trailer productions Executive Producer Reno Lovison produces a thirty minute television program entitled "Authors Showcase" broadcast every Thursday at 8PM on Chicago Cable Channel 25 and delivered to over 350,000 households within the Chicago city limits who subscribe to Comcast or RCN.  The program can also be seen online at AuthorsBroadCast.comfor those who reside outside Chicago or who do not have cable.

Primarily AuthorsBroadCast produces book video trailers. Short videos, typically under one minute, very much like movie trailers seen in theaters. Book trailers get readers emotionally involved by using evocative pictures, video, and sound to convey the excitement of a novel or introduce the benefits of a non-fiction book. Authors and publishers display trailers on their own websites, facebook pages, and at book seller sites like Amazon, as well as YouTube and other video sharing sites.

"Some people's first reaction is, 'Why would a reader want to watch a video to learn about new books'?" says, Reno Lovison, Executive Producer at AuthorsBroadCast.com and owner of Reno Lovison Marketing. "Book readers are simply a subset of the larger population. Like everyone they are pressed for time and want information delivered in a quick, concise and entertaining manner. Video can provide information in a minute or two that might take pages to write and twice as long to read."  

"With a limited number of retail book sellers available it has become increasingly more difficult for authors and publishers to reach out to interested book buyers who have little opportunity to simply browse a local bookstore. Mainstream book publishers can parade their celebrity authors on all the popular talk shows like Letterman, Leno, Ellen DeGeneres, Good Morning America, Jon Stewart and Colbert Report; academic writers have CSPAN Book TV. But where can small independent book publishers and self-published authors be heard?" asks producer Lovison. "I don't delude myself into thinking that we are reaching an audience anywhere comparable to the national shows but it is an alternative. It may be a bit like shouting on a street corner but at least we have the possibility of some number of people being exposed to our message."

"I know I did not want to simply do another author interview show," Lovison says, "I have opted for a kind of magazine format that is essentially non-hosted. Authors speak for and about themselves and their books. Readers tell us what interests them. We have had some guest segment hosts and have covered a number of national book conventions. We pepper the half-hour with about six or seven short book trailers that are entertaining and informative. My goal is to expose readers to a number of titles and genres, giving  enough information to peak their interest. Hopefully a reader will see a book on our show, then investigate it further on the web or at their local bookstore."

Looking to expand your reading list? Visit the AuthorsBroadCast.com website or subscribe to the YouTube.com/authorsbroadcast channel to watch episodes online. Several episodes are also available for viewing here at Book Marketing Network.