It’s always a good time to think about how we can improve ourselves and our approach to business especially in the rapidly changing world of marketing. No matter how great of a business you have, you won’t have much success if no one ever knows about it. So, you can say marketing is a pretty big deal. Ready to learn more? We’ve found some of the best marketing books for entrepreneurs to kick your marketing strategy into high gear and make the most of the tools at your disposal in 2021.
Whether it’s online marketing, social media marketing, or digital marketing you’re looking to improve, you’re sure to find something to read from this list of business marketing books. We’ve narrowed down our list of the top marketing books to 30 within the following categories:
- General marketing
- Marketing Branding
- Customer service
- Digital Marketing
- Content marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Future of marketing
- Social media marketing
With so many topics to choose from, you’re bound to find the perfect marketing book to fit all of your business needs. Happy reading!
The Best General Marketing Books
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!
The best-selling authors Al Ries and Jack Troutlay out 22 innovative rules for understanding and succeeding in the international marketplace. From the Law of Leadership to The Law of the Category to The Law of the Mind, these valuable insights are designed to stand the test of time and present a clear path to successful products.
Methods of Persuasion: How to Use Psychology to Influence Human Behavior
Get inside the mind of your customer. This may sound creepy, but this book by Nick Kolenda provides an effective strategy to get potential customers to want your product a foundation for any marketing plan.
Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
This expanded edition by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne is crucial for any marketing plan. The central thesis is that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating “blue oceans” untapped new market spaces ripe for growth. And this book provides a systematic approach.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Think you have the next big idea? This book by Malcolm Gladwell breaks down that “magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” The phenomenon outlined here has changed the way people think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade
We’ve always been told that our messaging is important. But this book by Robert Cialdiniargues that it’s really the moment before that message is delivered that matters. What if you could persuade customers before you ever got a chance to message them? This book shows the way.
Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small
Interested in ramping up your marketing without having to increase your budget? This is the book for you. Author Nick Westergaard takes you through tips, hacks, and new ideas to add to your marketing strategy.
The Best Marketing Books on Branding
Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team, 4th Edition
A bestselling toolkit for creating, building, and maintaining a strong brand—this book by Alina Wheelerprovides brand managers, marketers, and designers a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and implementing effective brand identity. It’s a detailed look at the latest trends in branding, including social networks, mobile devices, global markets, apps, video, and virtual brands.
The Road to Recognition: The A-to-Z Guide to Personal Branding for Accelerating Your Professional Success in the Age of Digital Media
This book by Barry Feldman and Seth Priceis packed with actionable advice for developing your personal brand and accelerating your professional success.
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
The book by Donald Miller provides a process through which business owners can fine-tune how they talk about their brand and connect with customers.
The Best Marketing Books on Customer Service
Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers
Customer service is an often overlooked marketing tool. This book by Jay Baerbreaks down how you can give customers a “knockout” experience and keep them coming back for more—even when all they do is complain about you.
Questions That Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants, Second Edition
Learn how to ask the questions that get to the bottom of what your customer or client needs. Knowing your product is not enough—you also need to know your customer. This book by Paul Cherryprovides a path to figuring that out.
The Best Digital Marketing Books
The Lead Machine: The Small Business Guide to Digital Marketing: Everything Entrepreneurs Need to Know About SEO, Social Media, Email Marketing and Generating Leads Online
If you’re looking to unlock the power of digital marketing, then this book by Rich Brooks is for you. Brooks outlines how to make a digital marketing plan and make the most of the digital tools at your disposal.
The Conversion Code: Capture Internet Leads, Create Quality Appointments, Close More Sales
The testimonials for this book alone could hook you. Having helped thousands of businesses generate millions of leads, this book by Chris Smithprovides a blueprint for successful sales online.
SEO 2018 (No Bullsh*t) Strategy
This step by step guide to understanding SEO strategy will help you skyrocket to the top of the search engine results reportedly for free. The author, Casey Leigh Henry, helps you learn to create high-quality content that can lead to more results for your business.
They Ask, You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer
A good, sophisticated catchall digital marketing book. This book by Marcus Sheridan argues that quality content is the key to success—and outlines just how you can make it on any budget.
The Best Content Marketing Books
Content The Atomic Particle of Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Content Marketing Strategy
This book by Rebecca Lieb makes the case for content as the central piece of your marketing strategy and goes beyond the conventional wisdom of social media best practices. Deeply researched and insightful.
Top of Mind: Use Content to Unleash Your Influence and Engage Those Who Matter to You
This book by John Hall outlines how to be the first thing that comes to mind when customers think of your related industry, product, or need. Develop habits and strategies that focus on engaging your audience, creating meaningful relationships, and delivering value consistently, day in and day out.
The Best Influencer Marketing Books
The Influencer Economy: How to Launch Your Idea, Share It with the World, and Thrive in the Digital Age
Ryan Williams defines an influencer as someone who can create a movement based on the passion and loyal support of a niche community. This book outlines how to launch your business with influencer vision, collaborate with other influencers to build your brand and a loyal community, and thrive through authentic relationships.
Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence—and How You Can, Too
A four-time best-selling author, Gary Vaynerchuk shares stories of entrepreneurs who found success through building their personal brand on social media. This book offers a practical guide for anyone who wants to hack the popular social platforms of today to increase status—and customers—within their industry.
How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age
This time-tested classic from Dale Carnegie and associates is more important than ever as we build relationships and seed influence online, especially with the rise of influencer marketing.
The Best Books on the Future of Marketing
Non-Obvious: How to Predict Trends and Win the Future, 2018 Edition
A Georgetown University professor, Rohit Bhargava,outlines just how to know what’s coming and optimize its potential, with the central thesis being that it’s usually not the place you first look.
Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising
A time-tested marketer for major brands and businesses, Ryan Holiday, spills the beans on how to generate buzz around your business or product without overspending on traditional marketing routes.
Killing Marketing: How Innovative Businesses Are Turning Marketing Cost into Profit
One of the downsides to marketing is that it can be costly with uncertain returns. This book by Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose provides a path for the future of marketing to turn those efforts into profits.
The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter
Author David Sax uncovers how entrepreneurs, small business owners, and even big corporations have found a market selling not apps or virtual solutions but real, tangible things. Revealing deep truths about how humans shop, interact, and even think, this book blends psychology and observant wit with first-rate reporting, demonstrating the “limited appeal of the purely digital life—and the robust future of the real world outside it.”
Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth
This book from Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares focuses on how to make sure your startup doesn’t fail due to a lack of buzz around it. They’ll help you focus on gaining new customers so your business grows and prospers after you put so much hard work into starting it.
The Best Social Media Marketing Books
Social Media Marketing: Facebook Marketing, YouTube Marketing, Instagram Marketing
A literal box set to get you started on some of the most crucial social media platforms, namely Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. If you’re just diving into social media marketing for the first time, this Mark Smith setis a great option for you.
500 Social Media Marketing Tips: Essential Strategy For Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, YouTube, Snapchat
With all of the tips included in this book, you’ll get everything you need to build a strong social media marketing plan. Author Andrew Macarthy recently updated the book for 2020 to keep you updated on the latest tips and tricks to strengthen your social media marketing.
Social Media Marketing for the Future: Strategies for 2020 & Beyond
This book will help your social media strategy now, but also give you ideas for how to create a strategy that will work in the future, as well. Author J.E. Ford will help you learn how to market to Gen Z and focus on the newest social media platforms that they’re using.
The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue
This book was first published in 2000 and, now in its fourth edition, has been updated by author Shama Hyder to give readers the latest techniques for social media marketing. This newest edition includes tips for mobile design, an insight into how social media marketing works, and more.
One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days
In this book, author Brendan Kane explains the digital strategy that led him to build a massive following in a short amount of time. This book includes interviews with cofounders and CEOs of some of the most popular brands on the internet.
Getting Started With the Best Marketing Books for Entrepreneurs
With these 30 best marketing books for entrepreneurs added to your library, there’s no reason 2021 can’t be your business’s best year ever. Good luck!
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