I love to read (duh).
And when I’m not reading supernatural romances, I’m devouring nonfiction business and self improvement titles. (Amazon loves me!)
The following list encompasses some of my favorite, and most recommended titles in the field of marketing. I’ve included links to these titles on Amazon (And yes, these are affiliate links. But if you know me, you know I don’t recommend anything lightly).
I’ve also included the authors’ Twitter handles (linked via their names) so you can follow them online for more delicious words of wisdom. Some of these are classics that I’ve been recommending for years. And others are fairly new — one of ’em belongs to me!
They’re in no particular order. The one thing they all have in common: solid advice and information you need in order to market successfully. Enjoy!
- Engagement from Scratch!: How Super-Community Builders Create a Loyal Audience and How You Can Do the Same! by Danny Iny, C.C. Chapman, Mitch Joel, Natalie Sisson, Corbett Barr, Danny Brown, Brian Clark, Derek Halpern, Gini Dietrich, Dino Dogan, Evan Carmichael, Guy Kawasaki, Randy Komisar, Kristi Hines, Jeff Bullas, Sean Platt, Mark W. Schaefer, Marcus Sheridan, Adam Toren, Anita Campbell, Alexander Osterwalder
- Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing by Roger Dooley
- Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan, Julien Smith
- It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business Is Driven by Purpose by Roy M. Spence Jr., Haley Rushing
- Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port
- Beyond Booked Solid: Your Business, Your Life, Your Way–It’s All Inside by Michael Port
- Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
- Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne
- The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
- Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki
- Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition by Michael A. Stelzner
- Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (New Rules Social Media Series) by Ann Handley, C.C. Chapman
- Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
- Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
- All Marketers are Liars (with a New Preface): The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works–and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All by Seth Godin
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
- Guerrilla Marketing (any of his books) by Jay Conrad Levinson
- The E-Myth Revisited (not strictly marketing but uber important) by Michael E. Gerber
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries
- The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies by Chet Holmes
- The Idea Writers: Copywriting in a New Media and Marketing Era (Advertising Age) by Teressa Iezzi
- Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy That Grabs Their Attention and Compels Them to Buy by Maria Veloso
- Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate by Brian McDonald
- Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom
- Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy by Martin Lindstrom
- Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation by Sally Hogshead
- The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field by Mike Michalowicz
- Attract and Feed a Hungry Crowd: How Thinking Like a Chef Can Help You Build a Solid Business by Yours Truly (Tea Silvestre)
- Brandscaping: Unleashing the Power of Partnerships by Andrew M. Davis
- Social Media is Bullshit by B.J. Mendelson
How about you? Is there something you’ve read (related to marketing) that I didn’t list here? Please let me know in the comments. I’m always looking for another great book!
More From Story Bistro:
Lovably Unpopular: An Interview with Erika Napoletano and a Chance to Win Her New Book
Brainfluence: An Interview with the Author
Dinner Conversations: Engage Your Fans Online
Engagement from Scratch: An Interview with Danny Iny
A Pumpkin with a Plan (Or, How to Quit Being a Slave to Your Business)
Social Media is Bullshit: An Interview with the Author, Brandon Mendelson
Visual Marketing: A Review and Interview with the Authors
Thanks for asking, Jonathan. I hadn’t planned on it, but I did read some great books this past year and could certainly add to the list. Reading Pamela Slim’s “Body of Work” now…great stuff!
Excellent list… especially Book Yourself Solid and Made to Stick and Invisible Ink. Are you coming out with a new one for the new year?
Great list of books, read some, will bookmark to read others!Two books I would add:Influence Marketing by Danny Brown/Sam Fiorella – one of the best business/marketing books around, seriously. A game changer.http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Marketing-Measure-Influencers-Biz-Tech/dp/0789751046Humanize by Maddie Grant/Jamie Notter – great change culture book.http://www.amazon.com/Humanize-People-Centric-Organizations-Succeed-Social/dp/0789741121/
What a great list! Thanks for compiling all these great titles! Another great book I would recommend is John Morgan’s “Brand Against the Machine.”.
I am printing this out for my next trip to the bookstore!
Great list! I love finding new authors and books that help me polish my marketing skills. I had heard a few of them but some – never. Just ordered Braininfluence one and Immutable Laws of Branding. Cool titles. I’ve been thinking of getting serious about branding lately, and these books look helpful. (Sidenote: what a great question, Claire!)And thanks Tea! Don’t forget to keep us updated with your reading list. 🙂
Hi Pace! Yes, I just read that the other day (was going to leave a comment, but got sidetracked by some sort of marketing emergency)…I totally agree with you and Kyeli on your new “laws.” Especially the paradox that they’re both laws AND mutable. Sweet! The old school stuff needed to be updated. Thanks for that. 😉
If you liked The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, I’d love to hear what you think of my take on ’em: The 22 Wildly Mutable Laws of the New Marketing. http://thepeacefulentrepreneur.com/22-laws/
Tea,That’s a great list of books. One of my favorites is “Think and Grow Rich” My highest recommended book. The next one i would recommend is Tribes. But that goes without saying. Haha.Ken PickardThe Network Dad
If you were in the process of starting up an online business for the 1st time and had about a hour a day, where would you start with the above list? Is there anything perticularly suited?