30 Ways Authors Use Videos to Engage with Readers

Video is a great way to grab readers’ attention and engage with them in a personal way online. It could lead to an increase in book sales, as 82% of consumers have been convinced to buy a product by watching a video. And since consumers prefer video over any other type of content for learning about a product, sharing videos can help you reach a subset of fans you may not get in front of otherwise.

Since video can be such a powerful marketing medium, we wanted to compile some examples of how authors use videos to engage with readers. While creating videos might seem like a lot of work, keep in mind that many of these videos are under one minute long or broadcast live and are not professionally produced or highly polished. However, some of these got thousands of views, and it’s obvious from the comments that fans loved them. We hope these examples inspire you if you’re considering creating videos to promote a book or connect with readers.

1. Answer fans’ questions

Marketers often find that short video offers the best return on investment (ROI): It’s quick for audiences to consume and can be quicker to produce. But live streaming is another low-effort way to produce video — simply hit record! — that doesn’t have to be super polished. Kristen Harmel hosted a Facebook Live chat to answer fans’ questions about her book. The video was then available afterward for anyone to watch on Kristen’s Facebook page.

Lindsay Buroker published a prerecorded video on YouTube answering fans’ questions — a great option if you’re not comfortable filming live videos. She tweeted the YouTube link, mentioning some of the included questions and letting readers know they could navigate the video through time stamps in its description.

2. Show a sneak peek of an upcoming release

Johanna Basford posted a 10-second Facebook Reel providing a sneak preview of her coloring book. She flips through the pages, showing glimpses of the new artwork her fans would get to color.

3. Reveal the title of an upcoming release

Meagan Brandy posted a sensual video on Instagram to announce the title of her steamy romance novel. In the caption she encourages viewers to sign up for her newsletter for updates on this book.

4. Reveal the cover of an upcoming release

Jayne Ann Krentz shared a striking video graphic to reveal her upcoming release’s cover. She included a thank-you message to the art team at her publisher and let readers know where they could find preorder links.

5. Show copies of books being prepped for delivery

Jessica Cage posted a sweet TikTok video packing up a book for one of her readers. It’s clear from the video that Jessica adds a personal touch to her orders, including a note and a handmade bookmark with each one.

6. Announce a book’s release

Christina Dodd accomplished two feats in one video, showing off her awesome bookshelves (designed by her husband!) and announcing her book’s release. Authors do have to be pretty good at multitasking these days.

Melissa Foster animatedly celebrated the release day of her romance novel, sharing a fun video on her Instagram feed chatting about the book. She also included a preorder link in her Instagram bio.

7. Introduce new characters

Philippa Gregory published a video introducing three characters from her novel. The video was filmed at a location mentioned in this historical fiction book, and includes subtitles so fans could watch without sound if they preferred. This is a great example of a more polished video that’s still short and sweet, clocking in at 1:23.

8. Reveal contest or giveaway prizes

Brenda Novak built buzz for one of her holiday-themed giveaways by publishing a video of her book in a beautiful snowy setting. A video like this is easy to create, and sound isn’t even necessary.

9. Create a relevant tutorial

Francesco Francavilla, a bestselling comic book writer and artist, created a step-by-step tutorial showing readers how he draws one of the characters in his repertoire. He followed up the next day to let his fans know they could buy the tutorial drawing.

Jojo Moyes created a short, fun, and silent video on “How to survive a tearjerker.” This is a great example of how anything can be tutorialized, even if you don’t publish nonfiction, comic books, or coloring books. Get creative!

10. Provide DIY tips

Debbie Macomber published a one-minute DIY video for creating a centerpiece for a summer party, which is consistent with Debbie’s author brand. As you can see, you don’t need to publish a long video to get a lot of views and engagement — this short video got 40K views!

Erin Gleeson, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, posted an Instagram video demonstrating how she elegantly wraps cookbooks to give as gifts.

11. Join forces with other authors

Alka Joshi teamed up with Nancy Jooyoun Kim for a conversation on both of their debut novels. They then shared videos of the chat to their Instagram pages. This was a great cross-promotional opportunity, since each author got exposure to the other’s fan base.

Chloe Gong gathered other young authors to make a collaborative TikTok video introducing some of the Gen Z voices in traditional publishing. The various clips show different up-and-coming authors along with their books and the themes they explore.

12. Use humor

Sabaa Tahir posts funny author life TikToks that range in topic from her own writing process to relatable struggles that all writers face (ever excitedly finish a first draft, only to be faced with endless edits?). She adds an authorly spin to existing TikTok sounds and trends.

Sophia Elaine Hanson made an amusing TikTok video about killing off fan-favorite characters. It’s simple to add music and text to TikTok creations, making this platform a great option for authors looking to post fun videos and reach younger readers.

13. Reveal the inspiration for a book

Elizabeth Gilbert posted a Facebook Live video upon the paperback release of Big Magic, explaining what inspired her to write it. This is a great example of how a video doesn’t have to be perfectly polished to get 400K views — the beginning of the video includes a couple minutes of troubleshooting. If anything, it shows Elizabeth’s down-to-earth, go-with-the-flow personality, which parallels her memoir.

James Patterson published a quick 30-second video where he discusses the inspiration behind his middle grade series, Middle School.

14. Provide a writing progress update

Brittany Wang posted a YouTube video with progress updates for her second novel, sharing her process as she finished her outline and sent it out to her critique partners.

15. Post a book unboxing video

Hafsah Faizal posted an exciting ARC unboxing video of We Hunt the Flame where she gets to hold her words in a bookish format for the first time.

Elise Bryant posted a video of her unboxing the ARCs of her debut novel. Including her kids added a fun and intimate feeling to the video.

16. Play with filters

Colleen Hoover shared a funny video compiling clips of “what career rock bottom looks like.” She used Snapchat to create each clip, along with Snapchat filters to add to the hilarity, and posted it to Facebook. TikTok is another tool you can use to add filters and text overlays to videos before cross-posting them to other social media platforms.

17. Host a video party

Barbara Freethy hosted a creative holiday-themed online video party on her Facebook page. First, she posted a welcome video explaining the party.

Throughout the day, she published videos from other authors on her page. She also ran a giveaway in which a commenter from each video won a prize. This was a great cross-promotion opportunity for all of the authors involved!

18. Share writing tips

J.P. Beaubien is known for sharing valuable writing suggestions through creative animated videos that highlight what you shouldn’t do. In a characteristically snarky video, J.P. gives advice on how to end a story.

19. Recommend or review other books

David Baldacci posted a Twitter/X video recommending a few upcoming releases to his fans. Along with helping his fellow authors, he supported independent bookstores by suggesting that his audience buy the books from local booksellers.

Jen Campbell often recommends and reviews other authors’ books on her YouTube channel. In this video, she shared her picks for the best books of 2023.

20. Crowdsource book ideas

Emily Giffin published this relaxed video calling for ideas from her fans for her next book. This was a great way for her to make her fans feel involved in her writing process!

21. Bring attention to important causes

Neil Gaiman posted a GIF video in support of the UN Refugee Agency. The video shows outfit illustrations sent in from his fans around the world and highlights the need to keep refugees safe and warm.

22. Show off your pets

Aiden Thomas posted an adorable video cuddling with their cat on a work break.

23. Share personal moments

Mary Kay Andrews posted a cute video clinking glasses with her husband in honor of their 44th wedding anniversary.

24. Share your book’s tropes with new readers

Discussing favorite book tropes is a prevalent trend in TikTok’s #BookTok community, and contemporary romance author Hannah Grace illustrated a popular romance trope with a video of her book cover.

Alyssa Cole used a trending TikTok sound, cross-posting the video to Instagram, to share the premise of her book How to Find A Princess. Trending sounds are songs and audio clips that a lot of TikTok users use in the backgrounds of their videos.

25. Provide a glimpse into your workspace

Nikki M. Griggs excitedly posted a quick tour of her writing setup, with a caption asking other authors to share what’s on their desks!

K.A. Emmons shows fans how she’s enjoying her cozy writing space in this simple video with a comforting audio track.

26. Stream a live book signing event

Loni Love streamed a virtual book signing to Facebook Live. She spent about an hour signing book copies and interacting with fans.

27. Celebrate your accomplishments

Glennon Doyle shared a touching note thanking fans for their support along with a video of impressive accolades for her book. This video shared the news of her book topping numerous bestseller lists and recognized readers for their involvement in that success.

28. Share #authorproblems

Claribel A. Ortega posted one of her humorous TikTok videos to her Instagram account, poking fun at her lack of progress with an impending deadline.

Amy Zhang shared a TikTok video depicting a problem many authors are familiar with — having far too many tabs open at once!

29. Read from your book

Kathryn H. Ross shared a heartfelt reading of her memoir on her Instagram feed.

Zakiya Dalila Harris shared a video from the recording session of her audiobook. She shared some love for her narrators in the caption, while also getting readers excited for a new format!

30. Post a book trailer

Katherine Applegate posted the beautifully animated book trailer for her new middle grade book. Letting fans know that the trailer was narrated by the actor Danny DeVito surely helped build excitement.

Heather O. Prince shared an adorable trailer featuring illustrations from her children’s book. This is a great example of how a book trailer doesn’t need to be elaborate to draw attention!

This post was originally published on February 1, 2017, and has been updated with new videos and ideas.

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About Leila Hirschfeld

Leila Hirschfeld is an Account Manager at BookBub, where she helps publishers effectively market their ebooks. Leila is also an author of middle grade biographies It's Up to You, Abe Lincoln and It's Up to You, Ben Franklin.