Virtual Book Tours: How You Can Use YouTube and Voice Overs To Sell Your Book

Even before your book hits the stores and is placed on the shelves, you can sell it.

Even if you are unable to travel and do the “book tour” thing, you and your book can still tour without leaving your front door!

How is this done?

By making a short video that promotes your book and uploading it to YouTube.com.

Here’s a quick guide on what you can do:

1. Write a brief, appealing script that educates the public about your book.  If you don’t have time to write a fresh promotional script, you may wish to simply use the copy that is reserved for your book’s back cover to get you through.  You may need to discuss this with your publisher to get their permission and or opinion and feedback.
2. Arrange a number of pictures and graphics to act as a slideshow for your book.  These images should reflect your script and make sense with the thoughts that are being delivered.  If you’d like to be on-camera, that’s great!  It’s not necessary that you as the author appear on-camera but if you’re comfortable with it, the more power to you.
3. Hire a voice over talent to professionally narrate your script.  Depending on the script and theme of your virtual book tour, you can go for a variety of styles including commercial, straight narration, or movie trailer type narration which is more promotional and suspenseful by nature.  You can find voice talent online at Voices.com quickly and easily to get this part of your virtual book tour kicking.
4. Have the voice talent send you their voice file and then sync it to your video.  Make sure that you include a text link at the end of your video that directs people to where they can order or purchase your book.  This should be on the screen for at least 3-5 seconds for people who are writing it down or opening a new tab to visit your site.
5. Once your video has been completed, you can upload it as a .mov file to YouTube.com and start promoting your book online, distributing it to the masses through  marketing using the Internet as the hub of your Virtual Book Tour.