Monday, September 15, 2014

In the Garden of Happiness by dodinsky Book Trailer

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Christine Feehan’s Before the Dark Web Series

 

Before the Dark, the 13-episode video web series enjoyed by tens of thousands of fans completed last week to much fanfare, including an event where fans guessed who killed one of the characters.
Producer/Writer/Director Sheila Clover English of COS Productions who has produced dozens of book trailers for Mrs. Feehan since 2001 and who worked on the Before the Dark series had many adventures during the making and editing of the show and here she does a candid interview talking about 10 things you didn’t know about the series.
“It’s always fun to know the behind-the-scenes antics and I thought the fans would appreciate the laugh.”  Says English.  ”I would love to know, of the 10 things I reveal, what is most surprising to the fans.”

Monday, February 03, 2014

New Year Message from COS Productions CEO Sheila Clover English

We've been creating book video since 2001 and trademarked the term "book trailer" soon after.  But, we've expanded according to the needs of our clients to include more marketing, greater distribution and a thoughtful approach to what is needed for a book, series, author or campaign.

We've spent years asking you what works for you, what you need and what you'd like to see offered and all these years we've listened, responded and created.  We've never been a business that just delivers what we want you to want, we look to be part of your team and deliver what you need.

I've seen similar companies, offering video, then morphing to offer distribution and marketing, come and go.  Companies think authors and publishers have these deep pockets and will part with money on the promise of some slick deal that rarely lives up to expectations.  They burn bright and get a lot of attention, but soon they are gone and no one remembers them.  But, COS has been an ongoing part of the publishing industry for over ten years working with everyone from National Geographic to Random House to individual authors and beyond. 

We create assets and part of that includes video.  Video is a powerful tool.  But, we also create book blogs, podcasts and other assets.  We distribute video using a sophisticated program created for and by COS Productions.  No one has this proprietary program but COS.  We also provide services, not just assets. We've expanded, continue to expand both in what we offer and where we offer it.

We are always looking to improve.  Technology changes, social media landscapes change, reader expectations change, opportunities change.  Some come and some go, but the one constant is change.  We keep a vigilant eye on what's going on with reader communities, technology and opportunities to merge those two.  We look toward honest conversations and creating relationships instead of a constant one-way beacon delivering a message.

This year we are looking to continue that growth and become a support system to others in this field.  We want to help publicists, agents, media agencies and author assistants make an impact, make a difference, deliver a message and create relationships all while marketing.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, need a long term solution or short term help, contact us. We're here for you.  
 

Three Nightmares You Cant Resist Tour

Monday, January 20, 2014

Is Video Still a Viable Marketing Solution for Books?

Video marketing continues to be a growth area in marketing for many industries and publishing is no exception. Video is often chosen as a vehicle to promote ebooks, but has the flexibility and advantage of easy penetration to a multitude of outreach avenues that can offer a precise audience or extend to a public forum of general interest.

Statistics – More Devices  



Pew Research Center reports that one-fifth of American adults (21%) report they have read an e-book in the past year. An estimated 43% of Americans age 16 and older say they read an e-book in the past year. The same Pew Research article states that there are four times more people reading now than the in the previous two years. This article was written in 2012 and those statistics speak to that time frame.

According to a recent article by USA Today last year's ebook growth was 43% which is down compared to previous years, but still claims 20% of all book sales. Publisher's Weekly released an article about how the slower growth is actually a “mixed blessing” with views from top industry professionals being shared, none of which includes an indication of surprise.

More and more tablets are being purchased and though dedicated e-readers continue to be popular with readers, more tablets are consumed which can divide the attention of the device owner with music, movies, games and apps. But, the potential of outreach using those devices, whether they are being primarily used for reading, is still an opportunity for outreach.

Outreach- Deep and Wide

 It can go “deep” and it can go “wide”.

Since more and more online sites encourage the use of video either to help with sales, initiating or holding customer interest or SEO, the outreach is in continuous flux, growing, changing and offering more opportunities. Even if you don't feel a particular book could benefit from video now, the changing landscape of video distribution and growth in reader communities or overall entertainment communities can change in a brief amount of time causing video marketing to be the ideal solution for future projects.

We go “deep” with video distribution by dialing down to a very specific type of audience or audiences. Where book video is concerned we look to reader communities including specific community websites such as GoodReads, Red Room, Library Thing, etc. and even going deeper to find specific genre groups or sites such as GodTube, International Thriller Writers Organization, so we dial into genres or specific themes/topics. We also look to reach specific audience that may not be directly linked to a reader community, but present a specific opportunity with certain books, for example Teacher Tube, Mom blogs, pet sites and so on. We reach out to librarians via OverDrive which sends book videos to thousands of libraries across the US and we have special outreach to book bloggers who sign up specifically for book video.

By reaching out to more specific audiences we are able to match interest with story.

We go “wide” by sending the book video to public areas such as social media (i.e. Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest), news aggregation outlets such as Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon. You play the numbers by casting out your hook, which is your video, to the largest audiences we can find. Since no one buys a book they don't know exists this gives the title an opportunity reach the attention of thousands, if not millions, of people, helping to create awareness for the book, series and/or author.

Reaching NEW Venues and Opportunities

Book Trailers have been around for over 10 years and as more and more online opportunities presented venues more book video was created and more readers started looking for them, even expecting them. Though book videos may seem like old news those in the US there's an ever-growing interest outside of the US and other countries still find them to be a novelty.

COS Productions created a book trailer for author Karen Rose and her UK publisher Headline in 2013 and trailer was honored in the top ten marketing campaigns of 2013 in the UK with a second place spot behind Dr. Dre but ahead of Duck Dynasty. A book video campaign gathered the interest of both the public and professionals which pit it up against movies, television and music and the book video was named #2 in the list.





Reaching out to foreign markets to help pitch the book, market the book or increase sales has proven to be a successful venue for many authors. More and more authors from other countries contact us asking to utilize a video that has already been created.


Sylvia Day's Bared to You video was a hit in multiple languages and so was the book video-

Korean version
American version

Other opportunities include invitations to book clubs, teachers, media/publicity and pay-for advertising both on and off line.

Conclusion 

As long as technology continues to evolve, making it easier for people to connect with what interests them most there will be a demand for video. People are visual by nature. They are mobile and they fill their time engaging with mobile devices. Video marketing has as much growth potential as technology. Content is still a hot commodity and book video as a way to reach out visually with a story synopsis is easy, fast and fun.