Sue Grimshaw, romance buyer for Borders/WaldenBooks, recently launched the True Romance video series as part of Borders’ mega updates to its website.  So far she’s interviewed Lisa Jackson and Lisa Kleypas on their newest releases.

Today, news broke that Barnes & Noble is also getting into “vlogging,” wherein every week booksellers around the country will talk about  recommended reads across a number of genres.  The booksellers are in their stores with a FlipCam–no fancy studio or equipment (and sometimes that’s not so good)–and you get the sense that they really love the books they’re recommending.  In this one, Kirsty from Seattle talks about Deanna Rayborn’s SILENT IN THE GRAVE.

I love the idea of the videos, but to make them work, I think retailers should:

  • make sure they’re easily accessible with a link from the homepage to something that says “Video” or “Videos, Reviews & More” or “Behind the Books” or something – I don’t necessarily make a quick connection that the “B&N Studio” or “Borders Media” tabs are going to give me content like exclusive interviews, recommendations and reviews.
  • link videos to the book description page
  • make it possible to embed the videos on blogs.  I know they probably want to drive traffic directly to the site, but these days, it really seems sharing is the best way to go.  And isn’t the point to spread the message and build the brand?
  • have a good mix of known authors, but even more importantly, let people know about up-and-comers.  Most readers already know the big bestsellers and when their books are releasing. 

Has watching a video ever made you buy a book?  Or do you mostly look for videos from authors you already know?