How do you learn everything about marketing? Do you just start reading online articles? Where should you start? Will that include the best marketing books?
You can’t go wrong with the best-sellers, but do you need all of them? Is there a specific order to get you from simpler to more complex books and concepts? Plus, the list of best-sellers is dominated by new publications, and you don’t want to miss the classics.
We’ve got you covered. We’ll suggest the must-read books for everyone who wants to learn marketing the right way.
Digital Marketing for Dummies by Ryan Deiss and Russ Henneberry
If you’re a complete beginner, this is the right place to start. No; the word dummy should not offend you since that’s exactly what you are when you’re a beginner. You don’t know a thing and you want to start from scratch. Actually, that makes you smart.
This is an awesome book that offers plenty of practical tips to get you started.
It teaches you how to do anything from mapping out the customer’s journey to writing winning offers to blogging for business. When you learn everything this book has to teach, you’ll be ready to start doing marketing without getting too much help from the outside. If, for example, you planned to rely on a cheap essay service for content marketing purposes, you might be able to avoid that expense.
The title of the book is a bit misleading since this is a very detailed and demanding guide on digital marketing. You’ll need several months to go through the book and implement the tips into practice. So be ready to work on it!
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Persuasion, as one of the foundational marketing techniques, is what makes you good or bad at this. Most people are too “humble” to offer something for sale. They have an inner blockade: what if others think they are pushy? A real marketer is not being pushy; they are inspiring.
Instead of manipulating someone towards a buying decision, they guide them there through ethical strategies. This book covers them all.
Cialdini, the author of this book, spent 35 years in research to elaborate on the seven foundational elements of persuasion. Each argument is backed up by statistics and examples. He knows how to persuade; that’s for sure.
Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker
“The surprising science behind why everything you know about success is (mostly) wrong.”
That’s what you read at the top of this book cover. It’s the motif the author threads throughout the entire book.
What teachers, online articles, and everyone else tell you about achievements is usually wrong. The factors that actually determine success are quite surprising. That’s why valedictorians rarely become millionaires.
This is a quite versatile book, which ranges from Buddhist philosophy to Navy SEALs to Genghis Khan. It dissects the phenomenon of success to see what it’s really made of.
What does this have to do with marketing? Well, the book puts you into the winning mindset, and that’s what makes you a successful marketer.
#AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur’s Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness by Gary Vaynerchuk
Now, we come to the point of social media marketing. Do you see that hashtag at the beginning of this book’s title? It makes you assume it was written by an influencer. Well, you’re right!
Gary Vaynerchuk used social media marketing techniques to grow his family wine business from $3 million to $60 million. He took wine criticism to a whole new level. He started providing great value for the audience while promoting his business in the background all the time.
To see how influential he is on social media, just check his Instagram profile. With over 4 million followers and over 70K likes on an average post, you’ll be convinced: this dude knows how to handle digital marketing. His followers even log in to celebrate his birthday with him, live!
This book reveals some of the most important secrets behind his success.
What Customers Crave: How to Create Relevant and Memorable Experiences at Every Touchpoint by Nicholas Webb
The expectations of your customers are ever-evolving. What they wanted and you delivered at one point no longer works. They want more, other companies are delivering more, and you have to offer even more.
The secret to successful marketing, according to Webb, is in the answers of two questions:
What do your customers love?
What do they hate?
When you get your answers, you’ll be able to move your business forward and elevate the marketing strategy to meet the needs of your customers.
Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini
We already had Robert Cialdini on our list, but this book deserves another entry. It was a New York Times best-seller.
It gives you insights on how to attract buyers through persuasion techniques without coming off as boring or overly salesy. It’s a book from 2016, so it’s still very fresh and not out-dated at all.
Cialdini is known by his research. He’s throwing tips out of nowhere. All advice is based on facts he found through research.
It’s about the rise and fall of Theranos, a staged multibillion-dollar startup. Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the startup, was seen (marketed!) as the female version of Steve Jobs. Top-level investors backed her because they saw huge potential in her company.
The only problem was: the hype about the technology was fake. The technology didn’t work.
This shows how successful marketing can lead to inflated reputation. There’s only one problem: sooner or later, the bubble bursts. Theranos gave us all an important lesson to learn. Read the book, so you’ll learn how lies raise you high only to make you fall on your face.
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! By Al Ries and Jack Trout
This is another edition that deserves a spot on your shelves. It’s practically a textbook on how to do proper marketing. It was published in the 1990s, but it’s still highly relevant since it tackles universal issues.
“What’s the name of the first person to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo? Charles Lindbergh, right? What’s the name of the second person to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo? Not so easy to answer, is it?”
With those simple questions, the authors clearly define the first law of marketing: the law of leadership.
It’s a short book, which you’ll probably finish in less than two hours. But it will leave you thinking and researching. It offers practical advice that you’re able to implement in all aspects of marketing.
One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days by Brendan Kane
How did that happen? Did he buy followers just to get to a good number and write a book about it?
No. His techniques were perfectly legit and they worked. In this book, you’ll see how he managed to grow his social media presence through authentic, diverse, and persistent activity. All followers are authentic and they engage with him on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms.
Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
What’s the foundation of marketing? – Online marketing.
What’s the foundation of online marketing? – Content!
When you know how to write good content that attracts people and convinces them to buy products or services, you’ll be half-way on the journey to becoming successful in marketing.
First, you need to understand what type of content the audience wants to see. Then, you need to learn how to write it. Sure; you can get this info through online guides, but everything is outlined much more clearly in this book by Ann Handley.
Get Your Books!
There’s your list! You’ll need a few months to go through all of these books, but you can start your first marketing projects along the way. The important thing is to keep reading and keep learning! The best books offer systemized knowledge that sticks with you.
Samantha R. Gilbert has been working as a journalist at an online-publishing agency in New York, USA for 2 years. She is also a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, modern art, and education. Meet Samantha on Twitter.
