YouTube- A Powerful Arrow in an Author’s Book Marketing Quiver

By Scott Lorenz

In the history of marketing the hottest marketing spots are the locations where the most people can be found, whether it’s the town square, bazaar, train station, airport, MySpace, YouTube or Twitter.

There are more than 75 million videos on YouTube, for instance, and when these videos go viral they register millions of views per video. And while many authors know how to use YouTube to share videos with family and friends, very few understand how to harness the power of YouTube to earn money, market themselves, connect with customers, grow their business and sell more books.

I am using YouTube in every way possible for all my clients. I truly see opportunities for every type of client I represent including, authors, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and even charities.

In fact, I used YouTube to help Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue make it to the “Top 10” in a $1 Million shelter makeover contest sponsored by Zootoo.com, a web site for animal and pet lovers. As part of their effort, I asked Mike Ball who, along with being an award-winning columnist, is an accomplished musician, if he would be willing to write and record a song that could be used in an online video and for public service announcements. That emotional song with the photos of horses helped Angel Acres in their online voting campaign. View it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzt4ral3Qso

Another client, Mr. Duey, a school teacher who uses music to teach kids math, science and history, is also having great success with his video. Called “Mr. Duey Fractions” it’s featured on Teacher Tube which is like YouTube but it’s for teachers, parents and students. The “Fractions” video we promoted is now one of the top ten all time most viewed videos on TeacherTube with 567,000 views. You know you are hot stuff when the kids in your school ask a teacher for an autograph! The exposure has led to CD sales, media coverage and other exciting opportunities Mr. Duey and the label Kaas Records. As I am writing this Mr. Duey is finishing filming a new series of videos which tie in his musical talent with a new “book type” product… cant’ tell you what it is but it came about as direct result of the that video! Check it out at: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=24266 or visit: http://www.mrduey.com/

Another very successful application for YouTube videos is through video book trailers as part of a book marketing campaign. In an effort to obtain book publicity for my author clients we’ll create a book trailer about the book. A book trailer is like a movie trailer in that it allows someone to preview a book both visually and via audio. A video book trailer brings the book to life and gives the potential reader a sneak peak at the contents. We’ll then post that book trailer on YouTube and... here’s the best part… we add it to more than 41 additional video sites online for even greater exposure.

One of the big benefits of a book trailer is how is improves search engine ranking for an author’s main web site, providing you carefully select traffic driving key words and titles. An example of book trailers we’ve created can be viewed at Westwind Communications YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/thebookpublicist

How can a book trailer help? A couple months ago we landed a terrific article for one of my authors in The Patriot Ledger outside of Boston. First, they ran a photo of the author holding his book. They mentioned the upcoming book signings I asked him to arrange after we had this story confirmed so he could capitalize on the PR.

The Ledger also included a link and screen shot of the book trailer video we produced for YouTube. The best part? ABC-TV CH-7 of Boston then saw the article and book trailer, realized it was a good visual story and came out to the author’s house and shot their own story! http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO104915

It really proves my point that “PR Begets PR, the More You Get, the More You Get!”

There are a lot of ins and outs when it comes to YouTube. If you are serious about using it then I suggest you buy a new book How to Make Money With YouTube, by Brad and Debra Schepp. In this insightful guide the authors unveil specific steps to harness YouTube’s power to turn a profit. The Schepps offer in-depth, easy to understand instructions on everything from shooting and uploading videos to fundraising and marketing, to building buzz, and how to get your videos noticed.

They also draw on one infamous company’s humorous “Will it Blend?” video that brought thousands of new customers to its website. You’ve probably seen it. A guy in a lab coat blends everything from food to iphones in their blender demonstrating how powerful the blender really is. The book is filled with valuable advice and practical tips to allow readers to maximize their earning potential on YouTube. Check it out at: http://www.bradanddeb.com/

One of the most valuable features of How To Make Money With YouTube are real-life success stories from video marketers who used the site to launch successful consulting businesses. A featured success story is from my own firm about Mr. Duey mentioned above. (http://www.westwindcos.com/).

The bottom line: Get a book video trailer created and get it on YouTube right away and use it to promote your book online. You can’t go wrong.

About Scott Lorenz

Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm. Lorenz works with doctors, lawyers, inventors, authors, start-ups and entrepreneurs. As a book marketing expert Lorenz is consulted by top execs and bestselling authors to promote their books. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC Nightly News, ESPN, The New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, NPR, USA Today, Woman's World, & Howard Stern to name a few. To discuss how Westwind Communications helps its clients get all the publicity they deserve and more visit: www.westwindcos.com/book , call 734-667-2090 or email mailto:scottlorenz@westwindcos.com.