How to Create the Perfect Book Trailer for Free

• May 29, 2025
• 5 min read

• Tags: Book Marketing, Writers

As an author, your job is not limited to simply writing a book—in this highly competitive market where some books become bestsellers overnight and others struggle to gain a foothold in the market, it’s all about visibility. As the face of your book, you, as the author, also need to have a solid plan in place to promote it—some authors reach out to Instagram book bloggers while others hope to grab eyeballs on #Booktok.

Either way, given how much time people spend online, the visual medium is non-negotiable when it comes to promoting your book. Just like how movies and TV shows build their audience through trailers, a growing trend is for authors to invest in a book trailer to offer a sneak peek at their new work.

What is a book trailer?

As the name suggests, a book trailer is a short-format video (ideally not longer than 60 or 90 seconds). It builds the atmosphere of the book, introduces the main characters, hints at the conflict, and winds up with a question or cliffhanger that leaves the viewer wanting answers. The goal is to create excitement and curiosity, so that the viewer immediately picks up their phone or heads to their nearest bookstore to pick up a copy of your book!

This book trailer is usually shared on social media—Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok—wherever the target audience hangs out online and is likely to see it. If it’s a young adult book, Instagram and TikTok are ideal platforms, but if it is a business book that is more likely to interest working professionals, LinkedIn is the way to go.

How to make your book trailer appealing

The trick is in knowing your audience. For example, a romance novel would do well with soft colors that are pleasing to the eye, upbeat background music, and an overall cheerful tone. A cookbook, on the other hand, would do well in a more domestic setting—think rustic farmhouse or cottagecore, with plenty of gingham, graphics of delicious dishes, and a feel-good vibe. It’s important to remember not to give away too much about your book in the trailer—only share enough to leave the viewer wanting more!

How to create a book trailer for free

Now that we have the basics down, we get to the most important question: how do you go about creating a book trailer? The good news is that it is fairly easy—you do not need to hire a graphic designer or scroll through endless videos on YouTube or even invest in expensive software. Free apps like Canva are extremely useful—they offer a wide range of templates, music choices, and graphics to help even a tech novice construct a visually and aesthetically appealing book trailer! 

Here’s how to create the perfect book trailer:

1. First, have the points ready for each slide—start by introducing your book and characters using appealing graphics that correspond with the text.
2. Next, share just enough information about the story to leave the audience wanting more. End the trailer with a question or on a cliffhanger to build interest and suspense.
3. Finally, you can adjust the speed of the slides, layer effects, and add a background score that suits the tone and theme of the book. You can then download your video in the MP4 format, making it suitable for upload to all social media sites and messaging platforms. 

Great book trailer examples

Got your concept ready, but not sure whether it will make an impact or land right with the audience? No problem—YouTube offers a variety of book trailers that you can view for free. You can study their features, graphics, and the audience response based on likes, comments, and shares, and use this information to tailor your own book trailer to make waves on the right platforms! 

Here are some examples of great book trailers from various genres that will help you get an idea of what’s popular right now:

Suspense/Thriller

A book trailer that is currently making waves in the suspense and thriller segment is the one for Watching You by Lisa Jewell, published by Penguin Books South Africa. Its dark graphics, haunting soundtrack, and eerie theme create an aura of uneasiness that works perfectly with the book’s plot. Rave reviews by early readers and high ratings by bestselling authors round up the trailer perfectly, adding to the book’s credibility and giving viewers that extra push to pick it up.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell (Penguin Books South Africa): Book Trailer: Watching You

Romance

The short and snappy book trailer for Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer is a great example of how you don’t need a big budget or a fancy design app to create an impact. Bright, colorful graphics, an upbeat background score, and a hint of a will-they, won’t-they, enemies-to-lovers romance make an instant impression on the viewer.

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer (Fierce Reads YA): Book Trailer: Instant Karma

Horror

Ever seen a compelling book trailer for a horror novel aimed at digital-age preteens? The trailer for K.R. Alexander’s Dark Room gets it absolutely right with a mix of suspense, fear (but not too much!), and a voice-over that seems to be talking directly to you, encouraging you to download the Dark Room app and take part in its paranormal challenges… while simultaneously warning you of the consequences. 

Dark Room by K.R. Alexander (Scholastic Books): Book Trailer: Dark Room

Mythology

A book set in the world of mythology needs compelling graphics, a strong character introduction, and an arresting background score to capture the viewer’s interest. Indian author Amish’s trailer for his Shiva trilogy does all of this and more. A more high-end trailer, it creates the setting using intricate graphics and uses models or actors to portray its main characters. However, if this seems daunting or expensive, do not worry! A book’s trailer is all about grabbing the interest of potential readers, and this can be achieved using free design apps like Canva. All you need to do is set the right background theme, select appropriate music from the app’s library (or upload your own), and pen a short and compelling backstory for your protagonists!

The Shiva Trilogy by Amish (HarperCollins India): Series Trailer 1: The Shiva Trilogy

Top 5 book trailer makers

1. Canva: The OG editing tool that has a wide gallery of templates and graphics that extend to book trailers as well, Canva is easy to use for beginners and creates good quality videos that can be exported to and uploaded on a variety of online platforms.
2. Adobe Rush: A tool so simple that anyone can use it, Adobe Rush offers a robust trailer-making experience that allows you to choose from a wide variety of music, slide speeds, voiceover options, and more.
3. Instagram Reels: If you plan to film a book trailer using human models, Instagram Reels is the place to go! Here, you have access to a wide variety of editing tools and music, and can create vertical trailers that will perform well on Instagram, YouTube Shorts, Facebook, WhatsApp stories, and so on.
4. Animaker: An online trailer maker with hundreds of free templates, Animaker has an extensive gallery of images and graphics that authors and publishers can use to craft a compelling book trailer that is bound to grab eyeballs.
5. FlexClip: An easy-to-use online trailer maker, FlexClip offers a wide variety of free templates that can be easily edited and honed using a simple drag-and-drop interface. It has an extensive toolkit and AI assistance to elevate your book trailer from good to amazing!

Now that you know the perfect recipe to grab the viewers’ attention and keep them engaged, you can get started on crafting the perfect trailer for your book. Happy creating!

Check out PaperTrue’s expert publishing services and writer support to enhance your writing today! With our expert editors, detailed instructional blogs, and AI-powered services, we can help you bring your book the visibility it deserves!

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Tanvi

With a foundation in Life Sciences, Tanvi enjoys curating technical writing tips tailored for ESL students. When she's not translating complex concepts into bite-sized nuggets, she can be found playing with dogs or painting landscapes.