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Enjoy The Best Marketing Books To Grow Your Business

Everybody needs a good book to learn and speed up the process to learn about marketing. Whether you are launching your own startup or you are a marketer looking to grow your department, these best-selling marketing books will help you expand your knowledge and reduce the amount of time it takes you to learn successful marketing strategies.

I do a lot of reading (210 titles and counting on Audible). Since I have read so many titles I want to share some of the best books in my Audible library and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

We live in a world where technology and information can be accessed at the push of a button. The problem is, most business owners don’t know what to do with it all. If you’re looking for some marketing inspiration, here are eight of the best marketing books that I’ve read to get my mind going and help me build a framework for success.

1. Marketing Made Simple

marketing made simple best marketing books

Quick Overview:

Donald Miller is a marketing expert and entrepreneur who has been teaching people in many market spaces about how to market their products or services. His 20 years of experience are brought together in this though-provoking and entertaining best-seller.

While many other marketing books like to keep things vague or abstract, Mr. Miller simplifies the process of marketing your business by sharing actionable advice and techniques that anyone can use.

It could be time to pickup this must-read book if you are frustrated with the lack of results in your digital marketing efforts. Learn about the four P’s of marketing (product, price, place & promotion), as well as other important topics such as branding and customer service.

This book leans on a number of case studies around messaging, leadership, and marketing strategies that can help you get a proven formula that will help you identify what type of advertising works best for your business so you can stop wasting money on ads that don’t provide results!

Key Takeaways:

Donald Miller’s book “Marketing Made Simple” has been pivotal in my own marketing strategy. As an entrepreneur, I find myself constantly looking for ways to help grow my business while still maintaining a sense of sanity. It can be difficult to stay on top of trends, know what works and what doesn’t work and how to balance all the things that need attention at once – especially when some tasks are time-consuming or seem boring.

Here are some of the top takeaways from one of the best marketing books:

  • Most Customers Need 8 Touchpoints: You should be creative and persistent when marketing your product. Customers require 8 touchpoints before they buy from you, so you need to share blog posts, social media posts, emails, and advertisements to build the relationship and secure the sale!
  • Don’t Confuse Marketing And Branding: Branding is about the feelings associated with your brand, while marketing communicates what you have to offer. If you focus too much on branding and not enough on messaging, then people will never be able to understand how they can help themselves through purchasing from your company.
  • Craft Your One-Liner. This includes a problem, a solution, and the expected result. The problem is the initial hook that draws people in. It’s a potentially interesting question or dilemma we can all relate to and then discuss with others. This three-step process can help you capture attention and get your audience to engage with your brand.


2. Traffic Secrets

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Quick Overview:

Traffic Secrets is one of the best marketing books I have ever read because it is a dense case study on behind-the-scenes real-world advice on marketing strategies that Mr. Brunson performs for his companies. If you are looking for an honest and repeatable digital marketing strategy that you can use for your business, then you need to pick up this content marketing book.

This is one of the best marketing books because it provides real-world, step by step plans that you can use to capture more leads and increasing conversions on your website.

Key Takeaways:

Russell Brunson is an entrepreneur, speaker and author of the book “Expert Secrets” that reveals how to generate massive amounts of traffic. In this blog post, we will share with you a few takeaways from his seminar about generating traffic.

  • Have a plan for what your customer’s experience should be like on your website before they ever hit the site.
  • Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never heard about you before and design it so that when they show up at your site they are blown away by what is happening there already.
  • Use free tools like Google Trends to see what topics people are searching for and use those topics as content ideas.
  • Always test new things out before investing too much without data.

Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build A Business You Love, And Live The Life Of Your Dreams


3. Launch

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Quick Overview:

The launch of any business takes a lot of time and effort, but what if there was a way to create an initial surge in sales? That’s where Launch comes in.

This book will teach you how to market your product using the same techniques that have been used by successful internet entrepreneurs like Pat Flynn (who now has over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube) and Matt Clark (who is about to release his first New York Times bestseller).

With this guidebook you’ll be able to find success no matter what industry or niche you’re trying to break into. The steps are laid out for you so all it takes is some hard work and dedication! You can’t afford not to buy this book!

Key Takeaways:

Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything is a book that teaches readers how to sell almost anything using the internet.

The launch of this book will be on January 18th, 2019 and it will have all the information you need to know about starting your own successful e-commerce business! Here are some of the top takeaways from one of the best marketing books on the market:

  • Identify your target market – You need to know who you are selling to before you can figure out what they want from you.
  • Give them something valuable – This could be a free training video, a great bonus offer or anything else that shows that you care about their success
  • Give them multiple options- If someone likes one of your products but wants another one instead then make sure they have many choices available
  • Get influencers talking about it- Find a way to collaborate with influencers so you can co-brand their interests with your marketing strategy. This is a win-win for everyone, and it’s a great way to get your product or service in front of a new audience.


4. Content Inc.

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Quick Overview:

Content Inc., written by Joe Pulizzi, is a cornerstone best-selling marketing book that all marketers, business owners, and entrepreneurs need to read.

In this book, he shares what he’s learned in his 20-year career as an entrepreneur and content marketer to help you build your own successful business.  The book offers insights and advice on topics like how to find your audience, how to make money from blogging or podcasting, and why it’s never too early (or late) to start building your personal brand.

Key Takeaways:

Rated as one of the top business books available, it will teach you everything from what goes on behind the scenes of top blogs and news sites, to how you can create your own company that produces valuable content while monetizing through advertising and sponsorship deals.

  • Content Marketing Is A Marathon: It can be difficult to make content marketing work. One of the reasons is that it takes a lot more time and patience than just putting out posts on social media or blogs, which often fail because they are only short term strategies. If you’re willing to commit yourself over an extended period of 18 months – what’s one year if we’re talking about how successful your business might become in two years from now? – then this marathon may well be worth tackling!
  • Don’t Talk About Your Business: It’s not about us. It’s always been about our customers, and their needs are what we should be trying to fulfill- that is the key competition advantage in any business today.
  • Most Companies Don’t Have A Content Strategy: In the age of information overload, it’s difficult to stand out.  This is why companies need a content marketing strategy that takes into account what they want their customers and prospects know about them without being overtly sales-y or pushy.


5. How To Write Copy That Sells

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Quick Overview:

Ray Edwards is an entrepreneur and copywriter who has written for clients such as Ford, McDonald’s, Verizon Wireless, General Electric. He helps entrepreneurs take their business to the next level by writing sales copy that sells.

Copywriting is the basis of all marketing- from SEO to social media marketing, and email marketing and permission marketing, you need to know how to write great copy. Add this to your reading list if you want to keep your brand top of mind and enhance your marketing message.

Key Takeaways:

All marketing efforts are grounded in data, and the copywriting process starts with research. You have to know your audience and their pains before you can sell them on the solution. Marketing professionals need to know how they can use success stories and other tactics to enhance the overall marketing efforts.

  • It is important to know your audience so you can make sure that what you are writing resonates with them and their needs.
  • You should also use words in a way that will inspire confidence in people who read your content. There are many ways of doing this but one good idea might be including testimonials from happy customers or giving guarantees of satisfaction where appropriate.
  • Finally, always keep things simple when you write content for a target audience. Don’t add content just for the sake of adding content. Concise copy will help get your audience to the point of a sale as quickly as possible.


6. Purple Cow

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Quick Overview:

Seth Godin is a businessman and author of many books that range from how to market a successful company to how to position your brand for success against your competitors. He has written several marketing books that deal with leadership within a company to the marketing strategy to drive more customers and sales.

Mr. Godin’s “Purple Cow” will help you to stand out from the crowd so that people care about your product or service. This advice can have a big impact on your small business and help you take your startup to the next level.

Key Takeaways:

Look no further if you are looking for a thought-provoking marketing book to get you on the right path to success.

This is one of the best marketing books because it clearly defines basic marketing concepts like the need to stand out from your competition. In his book, Mr. Goodin talks about how to get people’s attention and keep it. Here are some of the top takeaways from this amazing marketing book:

  • The Purpose Cow Concept: The idea is truly unique and captivating. It’s one of the few ideas that stand out in a crowded marketplace full of mediocre ideas and products.
  • Get Content Shared With Sneezers: Sneezers are the people who you want to see your products and ideas because they will spread them around for free. Finding these sneezers is essential, so make sure you have a plan of action when it comes to marketing as soon as possible.
  • Boring Means Failure: Being average is the riskiest strategy. There are plenty of businesses that put in a lot of work to be just mediocre, but there’s only one way for you to stand out: being different and better than your competition!


7. Contagious: Why Things Catch On

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Quick Overview:

In Contagious, author Jonah Berger outlines the six principles that drive word-of-mouth and social transmission. This book is perfect for any marketer because he discusses how these principles can be harnessed by brands to create contagious content marketing campaigns.

Berger looks at six different ways that things can become contagious: emotions, social media marketing, public events, word-of-mouth, news media and unexpected messages. He then goes into detail on each one explaining why they work and giving real life examples so that it becomes easier for you to understand what he means.

Key Takeaways:

Do you want to know how your products can gain more traction with customers? Do you want to know what it takes for an idea to go viral? If so, check out how you and apply Berger’s recommendations to all types of digital marketing like SEO, email marketing, and social media marketing.

It will give you insights on why things catch on and help you build a marketing campaign that’s more likely to succeed in spreading the word about your business. This epic book will show you how to build a real marketing strategy and not rely on short-term strategies that growth hackers and other “gurus” rely on. Here are a few takeaways that you will find in this awesome marketing book:

  • Make Your Customers Look Smart: Berger says people are more likely to share content that makes them look smart, so the creators of this marketing ought to take into consideration how it reflects on their intended audience if they were shared.
  • Word-of-Mouth Happens Offline: Berger is offering a new perspective on how to market and advertise. While the majority of word-of mouth marketing happens offline, there are ways for businesses to reach their target audience through social media or email outreach with web links.
  • Online Marketing Is Powerful: Digital marketing is a powerful tool. The power of the internet, specifically digital advertising methods such as pay-per-click and banner ads, allow users to speak to 100’s or even 1,000 people at once with just one post on social media!


8. Building a StoryBrand

best marketing books small business owners building a storybrand

Quick Overview:

The StoryBrand is a framework for telling your company’s story in the most compelling way possible. Written by Donald Miller. This book will help you share your business’ unique narrative so that it stands out from the competition. It also features an assessment to determine if you’re currently living out your brand’s story or not.

Building a StoryBrand is an invaluable guide for business owners who want to create an organization that their customers will love and be loyal to.

Donald Miller’s research shows that storytelling is the most powerful way to connect with your audience and build a community around your company.

This book provides guidelines on how you can craft stories that are authentic, memorable, and shareable so you can increase customer retention rates, improve conversion rates, and generate greater profits.

Key Takeaways:

This is one of the best marketing books because it is a valuable resource for any business owner looking to build a strong brand. The book provides an overview of how to create and communicate your story in order to attract customers and grow your business.

  • Your Customers Are The Heroes: A strong customer-centric culture is the key to success. It begins with hiring employees who are engaged in their work and find joy in making customers happy, even without a raise or promotion on the horizon. The company’s core values should revolve around putting your customers first at all times; this starts by understanding what they value most from you, whether it be safety, affordability or quality product selection.
  • Always Give Customers More Value: Businesses will never have a long-term strategy if they focus on profiting off of their customers instead of focusing on adding value to the experience. They’ll be more successful in the long run by creating loyal followers and satisfied patrons rather than trying to sell them everything for an outrageous price.
  • Let Customers Drive Your Business: We have to think in terms of the value we bring our customers, not simply what product we sell. We know that having an engaging customer experience isn’t just about making a sale or providing valuable information- it’s also about figuring out how you can make your company stand apart from all other companies on and offline. We always want to do more than offer something new but instead give them something extraordinary they didn’t even realize they needed before now!
  • Make Your Customer Problems The Enemy: Identifying your customer’s problem will make them feel understood, and this bridges the gap between you. In your story, the person should be painted as the villain who is causing their own problems.

About the Author: Chris

Chis is the Lead Strategist at StrategyBeam with over 19 years of marketing know-how up his sleeve. He loves transforming business marketing campaigns into success stories by boosting efficiencies across all campaigns. When not strategizing, he can be found laughing at the monkeys at the zoo.

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