We, marketers, are typically very busy. It takes a lot of time to keep up with social media, emails, Slack chats, internal and customer events, phone calls, webinars, workshops, and, on top of that, designing the new, best marketing strategy ever. But how about continuing our education in our field? If we don’t keep up with the current developments, we risk losing any strategic advantage we had previously. Clients or other members of the firm’s operations team will inevitably ask us questions for which we are unaware, and we will fail to find a response. So, given how valuable our time is, what can we read to keep our skills up to date? Of course the marketing books.
For founders, advertisers, and anybody else running a company or selling a brand, we’ve assembled a list of the best marketing books of all time. On this list, learn how to think differently, consider the meaning of your brand, determine how to sell to your clients, and crush your marketing campaign in 2021 from some of the best marketers and business leaders.
Top 14 Marketing Books That Every Marketer Must Read
1. Content Chemistry – Andy Crestodina
Andy Crestodina’s classic Content Chemistry, first released in 2012, is now in its 5th edition. It is the culmination of more than a decade of studies into marketing tactics and customer psychology, he claims. Andy has meticulously updated the text since its initial publishing to reflect the most recent studies, evolving methods, and new principles. In other words, it’s supposed to act as a primer for those who are new to marketing as well as those who want to catch up with the latest trends. Much further, the workbook-style makes it an excellent manual for training and allows you to apply what you’ve learned.
Several Amazon reviews have listed it as one of the best books they’ve ever read. It’s a brilliant book for brand producers who want to make their content more important to today’s market, according to conventional marketing practitioners. In other words, influencers who deal for a number of organizations would profit immensely from this book.
2. AI For Marketers, 2nd Edition – Christopher Penn
One of the Social Tools Summit conferences I hosted a few years ago featured Christopher Penn as the keynote speaker. I’d heard of Christopher and was a subscriber to his email newsletter for a while, but his intellect, expertise, and capacity to turn an audience with his speaking blew me away. Now he has a book that he will share with us!
Do you want to see how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the marketing industry? Christopher has a lot to say about AI-related marketing issues as an author and mentor. His book explores all of the current developments in artificial learning, as well as how advertisers will benefit from this new technology. Did you know that YouTube’s recommendations, which are dependent on your previous views and searches, are AI-powered? However, the current use of AI in marketing has progressed well beyond that. In addition to explaining the most recent developments, Christopher offers practical tips about how to break through the jargon to determine who is competent in AI and who isn’t.
3. Life Scale – Brian Solis
Brian Solis is best known for his marketing think leading, but anybody who knows him or has read one of his books is the intended audience for his newest title, which is also a must-read. Will you have difficulty concentrating due to shiny things and excessive social media? That’s what Brian went through, and it’s why he wrote Life Scale. Instead of being primarily a marketing theory novel, Brian offers us a life management text.
In reality, the book’s purpose is to show us how to free ourselves from the “endless scroll.” His idea is straightforward: if we can learn to use our time effectively, we can have more free time, spend more time with our friends, and be happier overall. To put it another way, time spent on the machine or on social media isn’t anything. It must be possible to turn it off. This is particularly true for advertisers, who spend their days bombarding people with promotional ads. We just need other people to help us learn about how we invest our time, and reader after reader has found Brian’s advice useful in reclaiming their lives from work.
4. Winning at Social Customer Care – Dan Gingiss
If you want to learn how to interact with clients on social media? Dan will show you how to turn your future PR tragedies into customer service victories—and benefit. This network marketing book will take you through every step of creating a social media-based customer-service team, particularly if you need to do so. This includes how to educate your personnel, pick technology vendors that can fulfil your needs, and build a customer service strategy that is suitable for your business.
Dan breaks down his advice into eight simple steps and walks you through each one. These moves are tailored to support current systems as well as be flexible for businesses of all sizes. Think again if you think this book is just about customer service and not about social media. Check out Dan’s presentation on “How to Get People Talking Positively About Your Brand on Social Media” from Social Media Marketing World.
5. Fanocracy – David Meerman Scott and Reiko Scott
What does it take to transform regular customers into supporters, and fans into the brand’s most valuable marketing assets? In his brand-new book Fanocracy, marketing author David Meerman Scott and neuroscientist daughter Reiko Scott, a father-daughter duo, will teach you how to do it. The fundamental principle is that, even in this wired universe, there is one direction in which business never changes: it’s all about partnerships. Customers should be handled with dignity, offered better value for their money, and reminded that it’s all about them. In company, don’t be phony; instead, be honest. The father-daughter team can show you how to do it in a digital environment, and then you will watch your company flourish. Fanocracy is one of the best network marketing books.
The interesting insights that Reiko offers as a neuroscientist are what makes this book so exciting. What is learned in the book is backed up by neuroscience information that Reiko gives to the reader in this book. I can’t think of a more credible marketing author on this list than David, author of The Latest Rules of Marketing & PR, which has sold over 400,000 copies. In David’s words, “It was essential to be inclusive of a wide variety of ideas of fandom, so my co-author Reiko, a millennial woman neuroscientist, is the reason our book rocks.”
6. Likeable Social Media – Dave Kerpen
Do you need to catch up with the current social media platforms? Dave believes that with 3 billion users on social media, any company should have a robust social media marketing plan. Likeable Social Media, now in its third edition, is regarded as a classic marketing text. It was written before the invention of newer social media sites like Snapchat, but in the third version, these are explored alongside the existing networks.
In this book, Dave talks about what makes customers “like” and otherwise engage with your content. It isn’t as simple as putting out announcements about sales and product rollouts, because you have to get a customer to care. Most reviewers point out that real-world examples and case studies are especially helpful. After all, what good are principles if you can’t put them into practice?
7. Killing Marketing – Joe Pulizzi
Everyone knows that marketing is expensive. Joe Pulizzi, on the other hand, is on a mission to convince us advertisers that ad prices can potentially be beneficial. We are, after all, already paying money to make money, so as any content marketer knows, the right content will inspire future consumers to buy from us. Joe, on the other hand, goes a little further than most content advertisers by calling for the use of owned newspapers. In this scenario, you’re already profiting from the material you’re distributing, which allows you to benefit even more as consumers purchase additional goods and services. This helps you to not only get a return on your money but also to recover it. How’s that about a strategy?
8. Talk Triggers – Jay Baer
Did you know that consumer referrals account for almost 20% of all sales? And that the “chatter” around the organization has affected 90 percent of sales? Customers referring their friends is vital to business development, particularly if you operate in a local environment. Jay Baer offers actionable advice to inspire clients to chat in order to help you succeed by referrals. In essence, the trick is to go beyond and beyond with the clients or to have a customer-centric signature. There are specific examples given, as well as for instructions on how to create your own customer calling card. Best of all, these findings are backed by studies as well as anecdotal evidence.
9. The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur – John Jantsch
It’s difficult to slow down and think, particularly if you’re a busy entrepreneur. As a business mentor, John Jantsch is well aware of the issue: overworked entrepreneurs who lose concentration and quality of life as a result of their hectic schedules. To assist others, he wrote The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur, a series of inspiring thoughts and quotations. Every day of the year, even leap years, has one. In comparison to his own ideas, John draws extensively on the ideas of the Transcendentalists of 200 years ago, whom he sees as forerunners of the new entrepreneurial spirit.
Best of all, besides being targeted toward entrepreneurs and other busy people, the subjects are usually not business-related. Overall, the intention is to assist you in sitting down and reflecting on your own mental needs so that, one day at a time, you can trust yourself again. The majority of marketers we encounter are entrepreneurs or work in an entrepreneurial environment. As a response, this book was added to the list.
10. They Ask, You Answer – Marcus Sheridan
They Ask, You Answer – Marcus SheridanMarcus Sheridan is more than just a marketer; he is a business owner who was able to expand his pool installation company during the 2008 housing crisis. Marcus uses his experience to explain that the conventional distribution funnel is faulty. He states that in order to be competitive, you must be able to address the questions that your future clients have.
Content marketing, in general, is one of the best solutions to this issue, particularly where it includes customer education in the related sector. To take advantage of this trend, you’ll need a solid content plan that includes SEO-friendly blog posts and blogs. Then you must successfully handle your inbound marketing and revenue, which requires customer satisfaction and referrals that lead to increased sales, customer support, and consultations.
11. How Brands Become Icons – Douglas B. Holt
Former Harvard Business School professor Douglas B. Holt points out what advertisers need to know if they want to express a genuine brand that resonates with consumers over time, not just once because of a cheap price or hype, in his best-selling book, which is a contender for one of the best marketing books of all time. Holt lays down his tips for cultivating a marketing campaign that goes beyond gimmicks and builds a real brand bond with prospective clients, using examples from legendary brands such as ESPN, Mountain Dew, Volkswagen, Budweiser, and Harley-Davidson.
12. Blue Ocean Shift – W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Blue Ocean Shift is expected to be a mega success as a follow-up to Blue Ocean Strategy, which shipped 3.6 million copies. One of the best marketing strategy books, which is now available for pre-order, contains methods, procedures, innovative analysis, and case studies. It demonstrates how a number of companies transitioned from operating in a highly competitive environment (a red ocean) to securing a position in an uncontested blue ocean.
13. Future Marketing: Winning in the Prosumer Age – Jon Wuebben
Jon Wuebben, co-founder and CEO of Content Launch, explains how current societal and technical trends can impact ads in Future Marketing. This one of the best marketing strategy books highlights future improvements in brand messaging and audience development based on new research. It also considers how marketing has evolved in the era of the “prosumer” or online influencer.
14. Originals – Adam Grant
Originals aren’t just a New York Times best-selling novel. It’s also on Virgin creator Sir Richard Branson’s list of must-reads, so it’s deserving of its place among the best marketing books.
This book illustrates how to cultivate and nurture originality by understanding brilliant ideas, gaining supporters, releasing at the right time, and eliminating anxiety and doubt, based on analysis and anecdotes from a variety of niches. It also discusses how to foster a culture of resistance and combat groupthink in order to achieve much greater success.
Conclusion
There are a lot of publicity and sales books out there, and more are being published all the time, so with this list, we’ll make sure you’re spending your time wisely on the best of the best.
While preparation makes better, use these books to ensure that the marketing you’re doing is as close to flawless as possible.