Don’t Be a Reluctant Performer – Take Charge of Video for Your Book
Boy George and Gal Gadot
Some personalities are bigger, more vibrant, and more focused than others. Think of Robin Williams. Think of Boy George. Think of Gal Gadot. Think of my daughter, Chloe DiVita, who has always been comfortable on stage in front of an audience (this link goes to her Instagram page, which is well worth checking out).
Others are quiet and reserved. I’m generally so. Many authors are reserved. They pour so much of their energy into their books, they have little left to offer the world. When I mention marketing and putting themselves in front of a crowd, many of my authors cringe and say, “But I just want to write books. I don’t want to talk to people.”
It’s not as bad as it sounds. These authors are as appreciative of their audience as any stage performer is. But they’re shy. They want to direct from the sidelines and bask in the applause by peeking around the curtain.
“They like me! They really like me!” they say out loud, but only to themselves.
Just as the more vivacious personalities on stage absorb the energy of the audience, shy people, authors who are quiet and reserved, absorb energy from book sales and book reviews, knowing people are reading and liking their books.
But it’s not enough.
The power of video can be huge!
As an author, you have to do more. You have to accept that in this century, so full of technology that can help you market your book in so many different ways, video is rapidly becoming King. Video takes content to a whole new level of engagement.
It’s a given now. You need to tap into the power of video for your book. No matter how shy you are. No matter how reluctant you are to be on camera, you cannot avoid this part of your marketing responsibilities.
With all the new technology and all the new tools of today, you can learn to become a voice for your books, on camera. Not just in silent words.
With video, you can become a videographer and a star at the same time, just by clicking a few buttons.
Writer’s Digest, in January of this year, 2025, shared an article from Paula Rizzo, titled, How to use video to sell more books.
In the article, Rizzo began by saying,
The more video you do, the easier it will feel. And as you create videos that engage your audience, you’ll build momentum around your book and get people interested in grabbing a copy for themselves.
With that end in mind, I thought I would share some video personality traits you might understand – and what they mean to your success in creating amazing videos that can help you sell books!
Three video personalities and what they mean
One: The “I’m in charge” personality!
The people who have these personalities are vivacious and energetic! They’ve taken charge of their success, and they are out there making videos that support their business. People who are ‘in charge’ personalities command the stage and aren’t overly concerned with perfection. Being in charge allows these personality types to be the director, producer, and the star of the show.
This personality type understands the time and effort needed to produce the quality that will demonstrate the power of their book. And they know they can edit, edit, and edit some more to achieve it. These people are out there doing it now. Think of me. I do videos for LinkedIn a lot.
Here’s a recent video where I talked about creating book trailers and where I advise the author to include their face somewhere in the video.
If you’re an “in charge” personality type, congratulations! You get it! You understand that the need for video in today’s business world is a necessary part of any strategic marketing plan. I encourage you to teach this to other authors.
Two: The reluctant performer.
This was me, at one time. I knew I needed to make more videos, and I knew my face should be in the video, somewhere. I experimented, I did some book reviews on my early blog, Lipsticking.com, and I started to get more comfortable with Zoom. But I only did it because I knew I should. I was getting no joy from it.
Looking back at those videos, I can see that the spark wasn’t there. I said what I had to say but little else. My personality was not coming through. No doubt, viewers saw it, also.
Today, I’m leaning towards becoming more of a #1 personality – more confident and self-assured. More willing to make mistakes and not allow them to define me. More willing to be me and not who I think other people want me to be.
I find many authors fit in this category. They cringe at the thought of being on video. They don’t like the way they look. Nor do they like the way they sound. They think they have to be someone else, other than who they really are.
Because of this, they avoid video altogether. Or they create a video which is merely a series of slides with their voice or someone else’s doing the narration. It’s better than no video at all, but understand this: people want to see your face. People want to connect to you, the person. Not just to your book.
Practice. Practice. Practice. It doesn’t make perfect, as the saying says it will, but it does help you become comfortable in front of the camera, learning how to bring your own brand of personality forward. Which brings us to number three.
Three: The “I’m Teachable” video star.
This is you if you’re ready to be taught by a professional. Yes, you can spend the hours you need to learn on your own, but that could delay your results for weeks, even months. I recommend learning from a professional, and one of the best is Annette Richmond. I recommend her book, Mastering Short Form Video Content.
I also think Dan Bennett is worth checking out. Here’s an interview I did with him in 2023, and all of the advice he gives is still relevant today.
Both of these video professionals are on LinkedIn; look them up and follow them. They don’t just talk about video, they demonstrate it. And that’s what you need.
Don’t be left behind
Whether or not you’re afraid of the camera, if you haven’t already started, I’m urging you to start now! However, I do advise you to learn more about the right equipment, the right ‘look’ (yes, how you dress, what your background is like, and how you sound), and Annette and Dan can teach you all of that, along with teaching you about presence on camera and how to add captions, other video, fly-ins, and more.
If video is not on your list of how to connect with readers, I fear you and your book will be left behind. So many other authors feature videos on their websites and in their social media, every day you avoid doing video puts you weeks, months, even light years behind them.
Learning the ins and outs of all the various technologies and how to make them work for you as you create your own videos will serve you well in your book marketing.
If you’re in the #1 or #2 categories, start small. Do a five-minute Zoom or use Vimeo. With each of these, you can produce your video without publishing it to the world. Then, take time to review it to determine if it’s ready for prime time. I do this a good bit. I record on Zoom and watch what I’ve done to decide if I need to redo the video for one reason or another, or if it’s ready for uploading to YouTube or LinkedIn.
If you’re in #3, I hope this was helpful. Take advantage of connecting with Annette and Dan, and you will find yourself becoming a video master, soon enough.
Remember, however, that your video isn’t about you or even about the book as much as it’s about what you can provide for the viewer to enhance their day or their week. Share videos about topics like these:
- A day in the life. Yes, tell them more about yourself.
- How you came to choose the title of your book.
- How you chose the cover design.
- What important things they need to learn about individual chapters.
- Include a CTA or call to action: a way to contact you, visit your website, or connect with you on social media.
- Ask questions.
- Share upcoming ideas for your next book.
- Invite the viewers to share their thoughts about your book(s) in the comment section of your blog
What else can you do short, purposeful videos about?
Any questions? If you’re still not doing video, share why in the comments.
Visit me on LinkedIn for more content around writing, publishing, and marketing a book. Or, visit my YouTube channel where I have dozens of interviews with experts and professionals in the book industry. Along with a few videos of my own.
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