How author Melissa Addey reaches new readers with video book trailers

The Goal

Reach new readers on social media

Melissa Addey’s novels take readers on journeys across centuries and continents, from the Forbidden City to the streets of Ancient Rome. Her work is inspired by what she calls “the footnotes of history,” the overlooked stories and characters that remind us that the past was a real place, with real people and compelling stories.

As an independent author, Melissa is responsible for writing and marketing her books, and social media is one of her most powerful tools for connecting with audiences. But to stand out in the ever-crowded and always-competitive social landscape, she needed something more engaging than a book cover or a static image.

She wanted to bring potential readers into her world, and she knew with modern attention spans, she had only a short window to do so.

The CHALLENGE

Still images were not breaking through

Melissa put in the legwork to learn how to run Facebook ads and followed the recommended strategies carefully, but the ads weren’t gaining traction. “I took a very expensive course that talked you through how to do Facebook ads, and I could not make it work with static images. It just didn't do anything.”

Not giving up just yet, video trailers felt like a natural next step. As a novelist, not a video editor, she had a story to tell, but little to no technical experience. “I'm not particularly a tech-y person. I really like drag and drop.” When she discovered Animoto, it offered exactly what she was looking for: a straightforward, drag-and-drop tool that made it fast and easy to create visually compelling trailers, no experience needed.

Even better, she saw results immediately. “The minute I switched to video trailers, things took off.” Ad performance turned around immediately, and it was easy to see why.

Video allowed her to immerse viewers in the worlds she built, providing a window into the atmosphere, the characters, and the stakes of her books in ways that static images simply cannot. “I’m a storyteller, and suddenly I could tell my stories, or at least enough to attract the attention I needed to get them to want to learn more.”

"When I first discovered Animoto, I bought a monthly plan and did nothing but create videos for months. I liked it so much, and the videos worked so well, that I decided I needed it year-round."

Melissa AddeyAuthor

Why Animoto

A fast, flexible solution for videos that bring her stories to life

Animoto gave Melissa an intuitive (and dare we say fun) way to market her novels with compelling, digestible book trailers. “When I first discovered Animoto, I bought a monthly plan and did nothing but create videos for months. I liked it so much, and the videos worked so well, that I decided I needed it year-round.”

She’s now gotten to the point where she’s starting most of her trailers from scratch, but when she first signed up, Animoto’s book trailer templates were the perfect place to start. “When I run workshops for other authors, I always tell them to start with a template. It shows you what a great trailer can look like and gives you a benchmark to build from.”

Animoto also stood out compared with other tools Melissa had tried. While she uses Canva for other design work, its video editor didn’t offer the same speed or quality. “I tried replicating an Animoto video on Canva, and I had all the same pictures and music to work with, but the whole process took a lot longer and I wasn’t pleased with the finished product. It would be easy to have all my design and video in one place, but the videos I created with Canva just didn’t measure up. ”

On her Professional Plus plan, Melissa also got access to Animoto’s full library of over 100 million photos and video clips from Getty Images. For an author covering as many cultures and periods as Melissa does, this is essential. “The built-in media library is fantastic. I even found Forbidden City photos from China that normally I would have had to pay for.” That means that even on Animoto’s top-tier plan, she’s saving time and money that she would have had to spend tracking down the hyper-specific media she needs to bring her stories to life.

What started as an experiment has become a core part of how Melissa grows her readerbase and drives purchases. “I use it all the time. Every book on my website has its own video trailer and I run those Facebook ads to this day.”

Key Takeaways

• Video drives visibility and results: For Melissa’s ads, video trailers succeeded where static images failed.
• Start fast with a template: Our templates give creators of all skill levels a high-quality starting point to make their own.
• Save time and money with our built-in media library: Animoto’s Pro+ library eliminates the need to source and purchase assets.