Release your book trailer before launch, then keep using it afterwards. The trailer works hardest during the weeks when readers can pre-order your book, so share it as soon as your pre-order page is live. After launch day, the same video keeps selling; only its call to action changes.
When Should You Release Your Book Trailer?
The best moment to release your book trailer is when readers can act on it. For most self-published authors, that means the day your pre-order page goes live, or as close to it as you can manage. A book launch trailer shared months before anyone can order builds a little awareness, but it wastes the video’s strongest feature: it ends with something to click.
Each platform gives you a different pre-order window. Amazon KDP lets readers pre-order a Kindle ebook up to one year before the release date, and it requires your final manuscript more than 72 hours before that date. IngramSpark lets you set the publication and on-sale dates up to 365 days ahead, and enabling distribution with future dates creates pre-order pages at retailers. Draft2Digital lets you set an ebook pre-order for any future date, and it requires your final manuscript and cover no later than 10 business days before the release date.
Print works differently on Amazon. KDP does not offer pre-orders for paperbacks or hardcovers. Instead, its Schedule a Release option lets you pick a release date up to 90 days ahead while keeping the book’s page hidden until that day. If print on KDP is your main format, there is no early page for a trailer to point at. In that case, sharing the trailer two to four weeks before launch, alongside your advance review copies and your pre-launch email list, usually makes more sense than months out.
A pattern we see often at ebookpbook: an author books a trailer timed for launch day itself, then has nothing new to share during the pre-order weeks, which is exactly when momentum matters most. Scheduling the trailer to arrive before pre-orders open fixes that at no extra cost.
What Changes After Launch Day?
Launch day does not retire your trailer; it changes the trailer’s job. Before publication, the video’s call to action points at a pre-order page or an email sign-up. From release day onwards, it should say the book is out now and point at the buy page instead.
Many authors run this as a two-stage release. A short teaser of five to fifteen seconds goes out first on social feeds, where short clips travel furthest. The full trailer follows when pre-orders open or on launch day, and it usually runs 30 to 90 seconds. We cover how long a book trailer should be in a separate guide.
One practical detail catches authors out: a release date baked into the trailer’s closing screen makes the video age overnight. When we build trailers at ebookpbook, the closing text sits on its own layer, so “Pre-order now” can become “Available now” without re-editing the whole video. If you commission a trailer, ask for both versions of the closing screen up front.
After the first month, the trailer stops being a campaign piece and becomes a permanent asset. It can live on your website, your Amazon author page, and your pinned social posts. It also earns a fresh push whenever something changes: a paperback or audiobook edition, a new book in the series, an award, or a seasonal promotion.
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How Early Should You Commission the Trailer?
Work backwards from the date you want the trailer live, not from your publication date. Production takes time. Template-based tools can produce a simple trailer in a day or two, while a professionally edited trailer commonly takes one to six weeks depending on the style, the length, and how many revision rounds you need.
Two things need to exist before trailer work can start: the final cover art and the book’s hook. The cover normally closes the video, so a trailer commissioned before the cover is finished will stall. If you want the trailer ready when your pre-order page goes live, brief whoever is making it as soon as the cover is approved. If you have not yet chosen who will make it, our book video trailer service shows samples and pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it too late to make a book trailer after my book is published?
No. A trailer made after publication skips the pre-order stage but keeps every other use: your website, your Amazon author page, Goodreads, email footers, and pinned social posts. New editions and new books in a series give it fresh launch moments later.
Can a book trailer help sell pre-orders?
It can support them. During the pre-order window the trailer is often the only new, shareable asset an author has, so pair every share with a direct pre-order link. The video creates the moment of interest; the link converts it.
Where should I post my book trailer on launch day?
Upload it to YouTube first so you have a permanent link, then share that link through your social channels, your newsletter, and your author profiles. Our guide to where to share your book trailer covers the full list of placements.
Should the teaser and the full trailer be different videos?
Yes, cut them separately. A teaser is a five-to-fifteen-second excerpt built for social feeds, while the full trailer carries the complete pitch and the call to action. Cutting the teaser from the finished trailer keeps the two consistent.
Do I need a new trailer for the paperback or audiobook edition?
Usually not. A re-edit with an updated closing screen and call to action is enough, and it costs far less than a new production. Save a brand-new trailer for a brand-new book.
