Book Trailers - is anyone actually watching them?

I never watch them. They seem daft, to me, for books.

I've never gotten the appeal of a book trailer. I don't watch them. I'm swayed by cover and blurb. Period. I don't even care about the reviews.

If you stick one in front of me I'll watch it, but I certainly don't seek them out.

I generally don't watch them. I've seen one and found it rather poorly done.

If I do a book trailer in the future, I'll try to cooperate with a popular indie composer for epic music. The trailer should get much more attention with a new track by that guy. 

In a general setting where readers search for a book to read, I don't think they get used often to make that decision. That being said you can add a trailer to your Amazon author account attached to a book, which can then be viewed when anyone visits that book.

I think where a trailer can actually be useful is for larger conferences, cons, fairs......That is where I have seen them most often. Playing on a computer of TV screen at a booth to draw readers in from the attendants. They have some pull there if they are done well. Also, they are used in conjunction with a look book when shopping the film/TV industry with a potential  book to screen adaptation.

My mind cannot comprehend a video trailer for a book.
I would expect a movie and then be disappointed that it was only a book. And I'm an avid reader.

I don't think I've ever seen a book trailer and have no desire to. I like to look at covers and blurbs before I buy or borrow a book. I don't buy into hype and if it's popular, I usually will pass. I don't do 'fads'. If a book is really good and is hyped, I pass on it unless someone who knows me actually tells me I have to read that book. Happened with Harry Potter, and I loved it.
Passed on Twilight and 50 Shades.

I wouldn't even know where to look for a book trailer unless it popped up in my email or my Facebook feed. A video trailer for a piece of prose seems like a waste of time and money to me.

Like others, I don't see the appeal of a trailer, but I'm also willing to concede that some genres might benefit (teens, for example, or any demographic that generally tends to spend a lot of time on YouTube, or whatever relevant site has videos).  Even though book trailers have been discussed for a couple of years I never hear anything about them other than on Kboards, so perhaps it's a concept that hasn't taken off.

I tend to find them when visiting author websites, and yes, I do watch them...but then by that time I have probably already bought the book and am visiting the author's website because I am already a fan. One top-selling author told me also she keeps making them because her regular fans like to stop by her website to watch them.  So I think it is a useful tool to further engage the readers you already have.

Book trailers are a drip in the pan of marketing and sparking interest, and don't seem to be a major driver. At least not that I've seen or experienced. Of course, better quality vs. poor quality will have an impact as well.

Much, much quicker to glance at the cover and read the blurb.

I don't, but I suspect it may be a generational thing. They might work for YA

I never watch them, which is why I've never created them for my own books.

I think I watched one once.

When I went with my last publisher 5 years ago book trailers were the "in" thing. So I made a bunch of them (I was a graphic artist in my day job), put them up on You Tube, and I thought they were neat. 5 years later...hardly anyone has ever looked at them. So I don't make them anymore for my new books.

Heather Hamilton-Senter said:

I have the tech skills to create a book trailer for my series, but I've delayed putting the time into them as I wasn't sure it was worth it? Does anyone actually watch these outside of other authors? Are their places to promote using them? Well done ones look great, but I don't think I've ever gone looking for a trailer when I've been wondering what to buy.

Are they a novelty whose time has passed? Or are they a significant marketing tool?

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I don't know the answer to the subject line question, but I do know this one is excellent (found on Passive Guy's blog)

I watch them often and believe they could be a powerful marketing tool.

However, I've yet to be inspired to buy a trailer's book. They're just too slow and low quality.  You're also not going to get a lot of exposure with them if you don't understand the appropriate ways to advertise videos or don't intend to post more content on the video channel they're hosted on. Videos don't advertise themselves - you have to actively look for an audience. Getting views on something like YouTube is a business of its own.

So unless you're going to put real effort into making and advertising it and/or are marketing your book to an audience that is more visually inclined, I'd say don't bother. The only other case I could see it working for is if you already have a large audience and want to psych them up for the next book.

If you want to do it for fun, why not? But I think for the investment in time you could probably find a hundred other things that would be more useful. Cross-marketing with like authors, filling out promo forms even for the cheap sites, writing the next book ...

In Facebook groups (that have gotten me so depressed I've left them behind) I've seen book trailers being bandied about like they're a MUST HAVE. But I think they're far down the list.

I think they're little bonuses for readers who are already fans. I did one for my romantic comedy series and loved it. Took me a whole day, cost me $10 ($5 for the music and $5 for the voice-over), but it was a lot of fun. I have it on my website, Youtube, Amazon and Goodreads. It's had a few hundred views on Goodreads, and a couple thousand on Youtube. I very much doubt it's helped sell any books, though.

I don't go out of my way to watch them (because they're usually awful). I've only seen one that was any good - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but I'd already decided I wanted the book before I watched it.