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Are you ready to level up your mad marketing skills and build better and longer-lasting customer relationships?
Then it’s time to get to reading. We’ve compiled a list of the 50 BEST marketing books ever. And we’re betting you haven’t read or heard of them all!
Modern consumers HATE being sold to. They are savvy, connected and looking for a heck of A LOT more from the companies and brands they buy from. Instead, they want relationships and companies (and people) that care about THEM. They’re looking for beliefs and values that align with their own. They’re searching for brands that ask them what they WANT.
Today’s clients like to be INCLUDED.
Knowing all this, we scoured the web and bookstores. We asked marketing experts what books they recommended for upping your marketing skills. Then we took all the suggestions and created a master list that includes not only some of the latest written texts but also classics that keep holding true decades after they first came on the scene.
If you’re ready to stand out from the crowd of similar or identical products like the Las Vegas strip on a black night, then get to reading. We’re POSITIVE these books are filled with strategies that will have you asking the right questions and providing your ideal clients with exactly what they are looking for.
This blog earns money via affiliate marketing – meaning that I may earn a commission when you purchase a product or service after clicking a link on this site (at no additional cost to you). As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Which Section Do You Want to Read First?
Digital Marketing Books
1. Call To Action By Bryan Eisenberg And Jeffery Eisenberg
Are you ready to get the most out of your website?
Then you need to read this blueprint for building a website that creates the momentum and communication needed to deliver value straight to your client’s device.
2. The Growth Marketer’s Playbook by Jim Huffman
Ready to embrace the digital age and see growth like Sephora and Hot Wheels?
Take a look at this step-by-step playbook on how to find opportunities and gear your business towards growth in today’s society.
3. How To Win Friends And Influence People In The Digital Age By Dale Carnegie
Attraction and influence marketing are nothing new. This is an updated version of one of the absolute must-read classic marketing books on the market. Succeed using common sense approaches to build relationships that work.
4. Competing in the Age of AI by Marco Iansiti and Karim R, Lakhani
Artificial intelligence is here to stay and is making an impact on every industry. Are you ready to learn how to scale your business and how you’re going to compete in the world of AI?
Find out how to compete in the rapidly changing world of technology.
5. The Conversion Code By Chris Smith
In the age when consumers often know more than you do, Chris crafts a step-by-step strategy for finding, connecting and building relationships with the modern consumer—and converting them into leads and sales.
Social Media Marketing Books
6. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook By Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vee’s superpower is using communication skills on social media to create followers that hang on his every word. Find out how he does it in this can’t-miss marketing book.
7. #GetSocialSmart: How to Hone Your Social Media Strategy by Katie Lance
Leveraging the RIGHT social media platforms is a must for every business and brand today. #GetSocialSmart delivers strategies for live streaming, video and written content to help you develop a loyal following and will leave your customers begging for more.
8. Crush It By Gary Vaynerchuk
Ready to turn your hobby—your passion—into something that makes you money? Follow the teachings of Gary Vee to find out how to use the power of the internet to turn something you love into a money-maker using social media.
Network Marketing Books
9. Top of Mind by John Hall
Want to be the first name your customers think of when it comes to helping them succeed? This is a useful guide on how to build the relationships and trust that keep you front and center in your customers’ minds.
10. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
This is one of the most-read marketing books of all time. This classic work compiles lessons from famous world leaders to help you uncover what worked and what didn’t—so you don’t make the same mistakes on your road to success.
11. You, Inc: The Art of Selling Yourself by Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford
Stop competing with noisy online distractions and stereotyping. This book gives you more than 150 lessons and practical strategies to help you acquire and keep your client’s attention. This is a marketing book staple for any business owner.
Affiliate Marketing Books
Books will be added soon…
Real Estate Marketing Books
Books will be added soon…
Email Marketing Books
12. Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff
This is one of the top marketing books for helping you get into the heads of your clients and create a winning pitch that persuades with confidence.
13. Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
When was the last time you enjoyed being sold?
Seth Godin is back with another one of his marketing books that tosses traditional advertising in the trash. You’ll learn how to communicate with customers who actually want to hear from you, in a way that builds relationships and trust..
14. The Art of the Pitch by Peter Coughton
Every piece of marketing content you create is a pitch. So, if you can’t pitch and close the deal, your business won’t survive. Learn tricks for creating pitch presentations that convert to sales.
Marketing Books for Beginners
15. Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levison
Are you a small business trying to compete in a big world?
You HAVE TO read this book. You’ll learn how vital it is to automate marketing processes, stay current with current marketing technology trends, and use the power of freelancers to further your business.
16. Marketing for Dummies by Jeanette McMurtry
Brand new to the business world?
Then you have to read “Marketing for Dummies.” It’s full of tried-and-true, evergreen marketing strategies that work for not only small businesses, but giant corporations as well.
17. Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Ever wonder why people continually fall for get-rich-quick schemes but don’t look twice at a solution—your solution—that actually works? Then you need to read this one and learn why people are more apt to believe the lie, so you can learn how to make your truths stickier.
18. Blue Ocean Shift by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Go from being just another fish in the sea to the one who outswims the whole school when you read the step-by-step marketing strategies included in this bestseller.
Product Marketing Books
19. Ask by Ryan Levesque
Want to know what people want so you can create a product or service that sells?
Learn exactly what and how to ask so that you get the right answers every time.
20. Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Learn how to transform your business into a “purple cow” that stands out in a crowd of identical products and services. We consider this one of Seth’s best marketing books.
21. Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
New ideas can create waves that change the world. “Tipping Point” examines past ideas for clues to help you craft strategy in your business RIGHT NOW that will successfully change the way consumers think and do.
Sales & Marketing Books
22. Hooked by Nir Eyal and Ryan Hoover
Want to know what motivates people to buy?
Dig deep into this book for the four-step habit-forming marketing process that not only hooks your customers initially but keeps them coming back for more.
23. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
This is one of the “oldies but goodies” classic marketing books. It’s filled with marketing laws written before the digital age, but they’re still relevant today to successfully launch brands that connect and last.
24. Marketing: A Love Story by Bernadette Jiwa
Modern marketing isn’t about manipulating clients into buying your products and services. Instead, Ms. Jiwa guides us through how to develop trust as an effective selling tool by working to understand and assist your clients.
25. The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited by Emanuel Rosen
Consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations first and foremost over any other form of marketing. Mr. Rosen is the expert at helping you learn how to create buzz around your products and services—and keep people talking.
26. Marketing Rebellion by Mark W. Schaefer
In the age of information overload, consumers are quick to jump ship. Mark explores how you can create loyal customers who advertise for you, while helping you make sense of the fast-changing pace of today’s business environment.
27. The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allen Dib
Are you ready to build a deliberate marketing plan that takes you from zero to hero on ONE PAGE?
Spend a few hours reading this book, then create your own marketing plan, literally on one page.
28. Secrets of a Master Closer by Mike Kaplan
You don’t need gimmicks, tricks or hacks to sell. Instead, deliver value. That’s how you’ll build trust and make customers love you. This book gives you the eight-step strategy Mike developed to do just that—and turn the employees of his THREE multi-million dollar companies into master closers.
29. Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday
Throw out everything you know about traditional marketing and hack the market using strategies and techniques that have helped create many of the modern mega-companies.
30. Conversational Marketing by Dave Gerhardt and David Cancel
Chatbots can give your customers instant answers, resulting in faster decision-making and buying. This book will show you how to make them work for your business.
31. Magnetic Marketing by Dan S. Kennedy
Mr. Kennedy dips into the simple and not-so-simple practices of successfully using attraction marketing to find, attract and keep clients who will happily tell the world how much they love your products and services.
32. SNAP Selling by Jill Konrath
Keeping it simple is one of the easiest and best marketing strategies available. Stop overthinking it and find out how to become invaluable to your customers by aligning with what they believe in and are looking for.
33. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
Simon’s strength is in demonstrating how great leaders flip the typical business model on its head. Rather than trying to lead with selling your “what” (product/service), he clearly shows how starting with a purpose people can believe in, identify with and connect to on an emotional level is a far superior approach to selling your company’s products and services, as well as attracting top talent.
34. To Sell Is Human by Dan Pink
We are all selling something today, whether it’s getting our kids to eat their peas or pitching a product to a potential client. Learn how to keep it human while succeeding in today’s society of selling by looking at things from others’ perspectives.
Marketing Analytics Books
35. Good to Great by Jim Collins
Get an in-depth look into 28 companies that made the leap from good to great. Examine what types of leadership, discipline, and simple ideas are the recipe to take a company to the top.
36. 80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall
Are you always too busy?
Then it’s time to use this method to stop spending 80% of your time on things that don’t matter and instead, discover the 20% that truly matters for your marketing success.
37. The Content Formula by Michael Brenner and Liz Bedor
You’re told to create content, but do you really know and understand the value—the ROI—of the content you deliver? Or how to best maximize it to achieve success in today’s world? Stop guessing and know exactly what a piece of content is going to do for your business.
38. Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown
Learn the growth-hacking secrets that behemoths like Airbnb, Pinterest, Walmart and IBM used to focus on customers and keep them coming back for more and more. Read to learn a strategy that is not only cost-effective but easily scalable for any business.
Content Marketing Books
39. Inbound Content by Justin Champion
It’s time to stop tossing content out into the world in hopes it will stick. This book will help you deliberately create strategic content—inbound marketing that’s designed to bring potential clients directly to you.
40. Content Warfare by Ryan M. Hanley
Sleazy, manipulative tricks no longer work with today’s savvy buyers. What you need to win the battle for attention is content that stands out in a sea of mediocrity. Discover how to share your story so you can connect on an emotional level and win the content war.
41. Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
Your online words can either build confidence and trust or destroy it. Use this powerful advice to help you craft content that people want to read and will help determine your brand’s success.
42. All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
This book takes you through how to sell without being inauthentic, creating a story that appeals to the emotions of consumers and converts into sales without telling lies.
43. Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi
Stop selling to your customers and use the brilliance behind Mr. Pulizzi’s approach of crowdsourcing content directly from them, resulting in buyers who buy without ever feeling sold.
Marketing Psychology Books
44. The Catalyst by Jonah Berger
Have you ever noticed how when you try to push people to change, they dig their heels in further? Stop pushing with your marketing and learn how to be the catalyst that shifts people and industries into thinking, doing and buying differently.
45. Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
Dive into the psychology of persuasion. This book is all about understanding why people say yes … and applying it through six key principles of (ethically) influencing others. It’s a master class in persuasion, taught by the influence master himself, Mr. Cialdini.
46. Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom
Have you ever wanted to see into the mind of your potential customers?
To find out exactly why they buy some products and not others? Well, here’s your chance. This book explored the minds of more than 2,000 people, using neuroscience to find out what does and doesn’t influence buying behavior.
47. Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy by Delbert Hawkins and David Mothersbaugh
Delbert and David literally wrote the marketing textbook on how a successful marketing strategy affects consumer behavior. It includes marketing fundamentals and beyond for anyone looking to get ahead in their business.
48. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Market positioning, understanding where to place yourself in a world with increasing competition, is an important part of business success. These two authors use their experience to help you learn how to position yourself to be seen.
49. Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing by Roger Dooley
Prefer science to base your marketing techniques on?
Then you’re going to love this book that takes a look at both neuroscience and behavior research to help determine why and what people will buy. It’ll help any business leader find success, the scientific way.
50. Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
Stories have always connected people. “Building a Story Brand” teaches you how to use a storytelling framework to craft simple, easy-to-understand brand messages that connect with your customers.
Closing the Cover on Marketing Books
So, how many of these 50 best marketing books have you already heard of or read? And which ones did you immediately add to your reading list?
Leave a comment below with the books you love and others you think need to be added to the list.
Even though we live in a digital marketing age, the ONLY way to win with today’s consumers is still to:
- Implement marketing that speaks directly to their pain points or desires.
- Provide value and solutions to their problems.
- Let them know you CARE about what matters to them.
This means it’s more important than ever that you KNOW how to build a marketing relationship with your current, future and potential customers and foster that.
Create a content marketing strategy for your business that hits all these high notes, and…
- You’ll be set to zoom ahead of your competition with a marketing plan that works.
- You’ll know what influences people to buy.
- You’ll be able to create content that delivers value.
- You’ll learn how to build relationships that last.
And if you want some marketing advice, please reach out, and we’d be happy to chat with you!
