Tuesday Tutorial – Get Exposure with YouTube

Movie Clapper BoardNo, not THAT kind of exposure. Everyone knows if you’re an author with a published book, you’re supposed to have a video trailer. It’s become virtually mandatory. But many Indie Authors can’t afford to pay to have one done, nor do some of us have the knack for doing that kind of thing ourselves. But all is not lost.

If you have a YouTube channel, and if you have videos on that channel, there is still something you can do to help steer people towards your book(s).  It’s extremely simple but most of us don’t do it. (Yes, you can even do it on your book’s video trailer if you’re fortunate enough to have one.)

Indies Unlimited Video Part I
Indies Unlimited Video with Live Link

Believe it or not, it’s as simple as adding a clickable link to the description of your video. You can do that as you’re uploading your video or you can go back later using the edit option and add it in. The point is, if someone has a convenient way to get to your web site – or the buy link to your book on Amazon.com – they’re more likely to use it. Try to keep your descriptions short so your link shows on the video page without the viewer having to click on “more.” Check out the example to the right. Make sure you include the http:// before your link otherwise it will not be clickable. That is the number one mistake made by most people.

Simple, right? Yet I see trailers EVERY day which don’t take advantage of this. If by some chance your video goes viral – your website will get massive exposure. Not a bad deal for free.

Author: K.S. Brooks

K.S. Brooks is an award-winning novelist, photographer, and photo-journalist, author of over 30 titles, and executive director and administrator of Indies Unlimited. Brooks is currently a photo-journalist and chief copy editor for two NE Washington newspapers.  She teaches self-publishing and writing topics for the Community Colleges of Spokane, and served on the Indie Author Day advisory board. For more about K.S. Brooks, visit her website and her Amazon author page.

14 thoughts on “Tuesday Tutorial – Get Exposure with YouTube”

    1. Yvonne, most video trailers are just slide shows. Those are pretty easy to make. You could always put up a video of you reading an excerpt or something as well. It doesn't have to be a lot of work, and it's one more angle for promotion. 🙂

  2. Thanks for this. I am having my video trailer done now and will take advantage of this. So excited to get my first novel published – but soooo much work! Posts like this have been extremely helpful to me – keep it up!

  3. My grandson is working on my book trailer as we speak, but thank you for this article as I see some other angles I may be able to use. I like the simplicity of the slide show presentation and maybe the development of a PowerPoint could be utilized for my book promotion. Your article has prompted me to check out these angles for promotions, thanks!

  4. I have an ebook on making video trailers for books that sells pretty well. If anybody here wants a free copy, just write to me at my website so I'll have an address to send it to.

    It's a pdf document, designed for reading on your screen, allowing toggling to video programs and linking to the resources.

    Doing your own video is really a good idea if you can. And learning how to make them is useful and also fun.

    There's a way to convert Powerpoint to video, but I'm not sure what it is. I should find out, huh?

    2. That's great, Lin. You're such a good guy. I don't know how to convert ppt to video either. I use MSMM which I think has to be one of the flakiest programs on the planet. But it works, and it's free. 😀

  5. Great advice, as usual 🙂 I love making slideshows of my kids, but am not sure I'd be able to make an effective one for book promotion. But your post today is making me reconsider.

    1. Susan, people love kids, especially when they're being adorable or funny. That's the kind of thing that goes viral. I'd definitely go for it! And, if nothing else, if you have videos of your kids up, you could always post the URL to your web site in the description. Just make sure there's no way for people to figure out where you live. 🙂

  6. This is really excellent, K.S., thanks for this article. I think it's wonderful how everyone is really supportive of each other. I always try to pass on any hepful information I come across. Thank you also Lin and I will definitely be taking advantage of your offer.

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