http://www.stephenzoeller.com/the-top-52-essential-books-for-marketers/

THE TOP 52 ESSENTIAL BOOKS FORMARKETERS

I h a v e a c c u m u l a t e d a r e s o u r c e l i s t o f t h e t o p m a r k e t i n g b o o k s f o r m a r k e t e r sb a s e d o n p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e a l o n g w i t h r e s e a r c h f r o m a c a d e m i c s , m a r k e t i n gp r o f e s s i o n a l s , a n d t o p o n l i n e m a r k e t i n g i n f l u e n c e r s .

T h i s c o l l e c t i o n o f m a r k e t i n g b o o k s t a k e s y o u f r o m t h e b o o k s u s e d i n t h eb u s i n e s s a n d m a r k e t i n g c u r r i c u l u m o f m a n y u n i v e r s i t i e s l a y i n g t h e c r i t i c a lf o u n d a t i o n s t o u n d e r s t a n d m a r k e t i n g a n d a l l t h e k e y e l e m e n t s r e q u i r e d f o r am a r k e t e r .

T h e l i s t c o n t i n u e s t o b u i l d o n t h e b o o k s u s e d i n g r a d u a t e a n d p o s t g r a d u a t el e a r n i n g w i t h a d d i t i o n a l b o o k s f r o m m a r k e t i n g e x p e r t s a n d i n f l u e n c e r s t h a ta r e r e l e v a n t i n t o d a y ' s e v e r - c h a n g i n g b u s i n e s s a n d m a r k e t i n g l a n d s c a p e .I h a v e t r i e d t o c o v e r a w i d e - v a r i e t y o f d i s c i p l i n e s w i t h i n m a r k e t i n g p r o v i d i n gi n s i g h t t h a t i s r e l e v a n t a n d a c t i o n a b l e t o g r o w y o u r k n o w l e d g e a s a m a r k e t e r .

I h a v e b r o k e n d o w n t h e b o o k s i n t o v a r i o u s c a t e g o r i e s , b u t t h e r e i s as i g n i f i c a n t d e g r e e o f c o n t e n t c r o s s o v e r , e s p e c i a l l y w h e n i t c o m e s t o s o c i a lm e d i a . M y i n t e n t w a s t o c a p t u r e a n d c a t e g o r i z e t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s i n t o t h em a i n i d e a o f e a c h b o o k .

T h i s c a n a l s o b e f o u n d o n m y b l o g a t : h t t p : / / w w w . s t e p h e n z o e l l e r . c o m / t h e -t o p - 5 2 - e s s e n t i a l - b o o k s - f o r - m a r k e t e r s /

01 M A R K E T I N G M A N A G E M E N TB Y P H I L I P K O T L E R A N D K E V I NL A N E K E L L E R

T h i s i s t h e e s s e n t i a l m a r k e t i n g t e x t w i d e l yu s e d b y u n i v e r s i t i e s a n d t h e b o o k I r e f e r e n c em o s t o f t e n a s a m a r k e t e r . I t i s t h e m o s tc o m p r e h e n s i v e m a r k e t i n g b o o k c o v e r i n gm a r k e t i n g t h e o r y a n d p r a c t i c e w i t h c o n s i s t e n tu p d a t e s t h a t r e f l e c t t h e c h a n g i n g b u s i n e s s a n dm a r k e t i n g e n v i r o n m e n t .

T h e t w o a u t h o r s ; K o t l e r a n d K e l l e r a r e l e g e n d so f m a r k e t i n g a n d t h e i r b o o k s h a r e s t h ec u m u l a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h p r a c t i c a l m o d e l s ,t o o l s , s t r a t e g y , a n d t a c t i c s t h a t a r e p r o v e n .T h i s i s o n e o f t h e m o s t u s e d r e s o u r c e s i n m yl i b r a r y t h a t I c o n s t a n t l y r e f e r e n c e a n d g o b a c kt o a s a p r i m a r y r e s o u r c e f o r m a r k e t i n g .

02 P R I N C I P L E S O F M A R K E T I N G B Y P H I L I P K O T L E R A N D G A R YA R M S T R O N G

I would suggest this as the next marketing book to read

immediately after Kotler and Keller’s Marketing

Management.

The book extensively covers marketing definitions,

theories, models, strategy with practical applications.

Kotler and Keller provide a great link between theory

and real-world application in Principles of Marketing

that I recommend.

03 A F R A M E W O R K F O R M A R K E T I N GM A N A G E M E N T B Y P H I L I P K O T L E R A N D K E V I NL A N E K E L L E R

This book is meant to be a stripped down version ofKotler and Keller’s Marketing Management with thelatest marketing theories, approaches, techniques,and thinking. The book provides anothercomplimentary book focused on holistic marketingand the role of creativity and innovation insuccessful marketing.

The condensed nature of the book along with themost updated examples from companies that aresetting the benchmark for marketers today.The book is another great example from Kotlerlinking theory and practice through the use ofextensive case studies, simulations, and projects.

04 S T R A T E G I C B R A N D M A N A G E M E N T :B U I L D I N G , M E A S U R I N G , A N D M A N A G I N GB R A N D E Q U I T Y B Y K E V I N L A N E K E L L E R

Kevin Lane Keller, who has co-authored Marketing

Management, provides the essential book on brand

management and the branding process. I would recommend

reading Marketing Management first because this puts

branding in context with other marketing management

principles.

Strategic Brand Management expands and elaborates on the

theories and practical applications providing a go-to

resource for all things brand related. The text

comprehensively covers the latest industry thinking and

developments in brand management including an

exploration of brands, brand equity, and strategic brand

management. Keller provides a text that helps marketers

make better day-to-day and long-term brand decisions and

improve the long-term profitability of your brand

strategies.

05 P R I N C I P L E S O F A D V E R T I S I N G & I M CB Y T O M D U N C A N

Duncan’s Principles of Advertising & IMC provides an

essential understanding of all the major marketing

communication functions. The topics Duncan covers include

the major media alternatives, and the processes for

integrating these activities in the most effective and

efficient way to develop long-term, profitable customer

relationships that build brands and create brand equity.

This book is essential to understanding the principles and

practices of advertising and the importance of integrated

marketing communications (IMC). Duncan provides an

effective marketing communications framework/approach

required for any business to succeed helping to break

through in the current business environment.

06 I N T R O D U C T I O N T O E − C O M M E R C EB Y J E F F R E Y R A Y P O R T A N DB E R N A R D J A W O R S K I

This is a textbook that comprehensively covers the entire

ecosystem of e-commerce. The book is written with a

strategy first and technology second approach to e-

commerce.

The book provides marketers with an understanding and

framework for e-Commerce business centered on four

infrastructures including, Internet infrastructure, strategy

formulation and implementation, technology concepts,

public policy issues, and capital infrastructure.

This book helps marketers understand the e-commerce

and digital environment with the effective strategy and

tools to market to a targeted audience and understand

customer focused web design in the digital landscape.

07 C O N S U M E R B E H A V I O R A N D M A R K E T I N GS T R A T E G YB Y J . P A U L P E T E R A N D J E R R YO L S O N

This book is excellent and provides an approach to

understanding consumers and represents a framework

that guides marketing strategy and tactics to achieve your

organization’s goals.

The focus of this book is on strategy related to consumer

behavior. The organization of the book is based on the

Wheel of Consumer Analysis that provides a framework to

understand consumer behavior.

The chapters concentrate on the four major parts of the

Wheel of Consumer Analysis along with short cases that

help integrate consumer behavior information into the

marketing strategy development process that marketers

use every day.

08 M A R K E T R E S E A R C H I N P R A C T I C E : H O WT O G E T G R E A T E R I N S I G H T F R O M Y O U RM A R K E TB Y P A U L N H A G U E , N I C H O L A SH A G U E , A N D C A R O L - A N N M O R G A N

Marketing Research in Practice provides a lively and

approachable read, great for practical application, not just

theory. The authors’ provide a clear, step-by-step guide to

the whole marketing research process, from planning and

executing a project through to analysis and presentation of

the findings. The authors’ explain how to use tools and

methods effectively and get the most reliable results.

I liked the relevancy and the focus, especially on current

topics such as international and new research trends along

with coverage of social media research and mobile

surveys. The book offers significant value for everyone from

a student to an experienced marketer with a range of online

tools and templates supported by examples from real market

research practice.

09 M A R K E T I N G R E S E A R C HB Y D O N A L D C O O P E R A N D P A M E L AS C H I N D L E R

Marketing Research is written taking the overview first

approach to teaching marketing research with thorough

coverage of business research topics supported by solid

theory.

The book’s theme focuses on managerial decision making

with topics and applications presented

using comprehensive case studies based on the authors'

successful background as marketing research consultants

providing research methods that result in actionable

insight.

10 S T R A T E G I C M A N A G E M E N T : P L A N N I N GF O R D O M E S T I C A N D G L O B A LC O M P E T I T I O NB Y J O H N P E A R C E A N D R I C H A R DR O B I N S O N

Pearce and Robinson give marketers a comprehensive coverageof strategic management focused on conceptual tools and skillscreated by scholars and real-world practitioners that I go backto very often. The book provides an overview of strategicmanagement, strategy formulation, strategy implementation,control, and innovation, along with 30 current and relevantbusiness cases that bring to life Strategic Management.

I recommend reading this book first as it sets the tone andprovides structure for everything related to business andstrategy. My thought is that technology is a tool driven bystrategy carried out by living people. If you don’t get thestrategy correct and implement and execute on the tactics, thenthe probability of your business failing are much greater.

I recommend reading the marketing research books after thisbook because they provide the methodology to gain insightfrom research that drives all strategy efforts.

11 M A K I N G I N N O V A T I O N W O R K : H O W T OM A N A G E I T , M E A S U R E I T , A N D P R O F I TF R O M I TB Y T O N Y D A V I L A , M A R C J . E P S T E I N ,A N D R O B E R T S H E L T O N

The authors’ of Making Innovation Work provide a proven end-to-end process for driving sustained growth based oninnovation. With a vast amount of consulting experience alongwith a comprehensive review of innovation research, theauthors’ provide a guide for innovation that works in the realworld. The techniques discussed are proven by top companiessuch as Toyota and HP.

The text provides a strategic take on innovation that aligns withbusiness strategy as a cornerstone concept flowing into thethings that work, and what doesn’t and the use of various toolsand concepts to maximize the value of innovationinvestments. Making Innovation Work will be your go-toreference for managing and developing a proven realisticstrategy for innovation.

12 B U Y E R P E R S O N A S : H O W T O G A I NI N S I G H T I N T O Y O U R C U S T O M E R ' SE X P E C T A T I O N S , A L I G N Y O U R M A R K E T I N GS T R A T E G I E S , A N D W I N M O R E B U S I N E S SB Y A D E L E R E V E L L A

Adele Revella's book is my one and only resource for buyer

personas from the master.

The buyer personas approach helps marketers with a step-by-

step guide to developing and using buyer personas that lead

to sales and marketing activities that measurably impact

business and marketing goals.

Adele Revella delivers the marketing solution for listening to

your customers and meeting their needs efficiently with a

more effective messaging strategy that cuts through the

cluttered messages in the marketplace and truly

differentiates you from the competition.

13 P O S I T I O N I N G : T H E B A T T L E F O R Y O U RM I N D : H O W T O B E S E E N A N D H E A R D I NT H E O V E R C R O W D E D M A R K E T P L A C EB Y A L R I E S A N D J A C K T R O U T

Positioning is an absolute must-read classic and is the best-selling marketing book of all time from the world’s best-knownmarketing strategists. Ries and Trout provide the most trustedindustry resource on the subject of positioning. Although thecase studies are less relevant, this book remains the first bookoutside the mandatory classroom texts you have to read as amarketer.

Positioning provides a roadmap to beat the competitioncreating a position in the consumer's mind reflecting thestrengths and weaknesses of your company relative to thecompetition. Positioning Started a revolution in advertising andwas the first book focusing on the problem of communicating inan over-communicated society. Ries and Trout offer some of thebest case histories and stories for some of the most successfulcampaigns and stunning failures in the advertising world.

14 T H E 2 2 I M M U T A B L E L A W S O FM A R K E T I N G : V I O L A T E T H E M A T Y O U RO W N R I S K !B Y A L R I E S A N D J A C K T R O U T

Ries and Trout, the world-renowned marketingstrategists and best-selling authors provide anotherclassic.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing offers the wisdomand experience of these two marketing legends in aneasily digestible format.

Ries and Trout provide high-level marketing strategiesalong with a lot of examples that worked 20 years agoand still work today.

15 K E L L O G G O N B R A N D I N G : T H EM A R K E T I N G F A C U L T Y O F T H E K E L L O G GS C H O O L O F M A N A G E M E N TB Y P H I L I P K O T L E R & A L I C ET Y B O U T

Kellog on Branding is a comprehensive review of the latest

strategies for building, leveraging, and rejuvenating brands

from the faculty of the Kellogg School, the respected resource

for dynamic marketing information for today's ever-changing

and challenging environment. If you do not read this book as

part of your marketing curriculum, I highly recommend

reading it after Keller’s book on Strategic Brand Management.

This text offers a comprehensive coverage of brand

management with key branding concepts, including brand

positioning and design, strategies for launching new brands,

leveraging existing brands, managing a brand portfolio, and

techniques for building a brand-centered organization. The

text is brought to life with critical insights from senior

managers who have been in the trenches and fought branding

battles and won.

16 T H E I N S I D E A D V A N T A G E : T H ES T R A T E G Y T H A T U N L O C K S T H E H I D D E NG R O W T H I N Y O U R B U S I N E S SB Y R O B E R T B L O O M A N D D A V EC O N T I

The Inside Advantage provides valuable insight about how

brands can effectively market and sell using a deep knowledge

about their customers. The main idea is that every business has

at the very least one strategic asset that can form the basis of

future growth aptly named the Inside Advantage. Bloom and

Conti detail a four-step process called the Growth Discovery

Process resulting in a clear understanding of who your

customers are and the offerings required for those customers.

The Inside Advantage will help you to connect with the people

that matter the most providing the critical element for a

successful social media programs. The Inside Advantage gives

marketers advice and real-world case studies from Bloom’s 45

years of experience growing businesses and brands of every size

and type, including Southwest Airlines, Nestlé, and L'Oréal,

numerous B2B firms, non-profit organizations, and start-ups.

17 C T R L A L T D E L E T E : R E B O O T Y O U RB U S I N E S S . R E B O O T Y O U R L I F E . Y O U RF U T U R E D E P E N D S O N I T .B Y M I T C H J O E L

Mitch Joel is a leading digital marketing authority, columnist,author, former chairperson of the Canadian MarketingAssociation, and current president of Mirum. Mitch details theways technology has transformed how brands and businessescreate, connect, and adapt to a constantly shifting landscape.

Ctrl Alt Delete provides the reason for your brands to adaptand the way to do it helping to ensure your brand hasconsidered certain essential elements in its business andmarketing strategy.

Joel specifies five new movements that are forcing brands toreboot. The book provides critical insight and a method tohelp plan and successfully manage the current social,economic, physical, and digital environment.

18 P E R M I S S I O N M A R K E T I N GB Y S E T H G O D I N

Permission Marketing is the essential book to understand thatpushing your marketing message on your customers usinginterruption marketing does not work any longer and ends upannoying them defeating the purpose of marketing.

I recommend this book to any person involved with businessto help them understand modern marketing and the changingparadigm of our current landscape.

Godin with his turn strangers into friends and friends intocustomers approach helps you to understand how and whythis “permission marketing” formula works especially in acrowded marketplace with an overwhelming amount ofmessages for consumers to choose.

Godin uses expressive language combined with his humorouspersonality making this and his other books a very enjoyableand insightful reading experience.

19 W H A T ’ S T H E F U T U R E O F B U S I N E S S :C H A N G I N G T H E W A Y B U S I N E S S E SC R E A T E E X P E R I E N C E SB Y B R I A N S O L I S

What's the Future of Business is a great book about thinking beyond'products' to 'experiences' aligning the essential concepts of userexperience with the vision of innovative leadership to improvebusiness performance, engagement, and relationships for a newgeneration of consumers.

Solis focuses on the customer with a thorough understanding of thedynamic customer journey is a key concept and helped me tounderstand the complex journey a customer takes in the currentenvironment, on the path to purchase and loyalty.

The book goes further than most books and helps business leadersrethink business models, products and services, marketing, andcustomer and employee relationships with desired experiences in mindthat can be used for building and implementing successful business andmarketing strategy.

20 I N F L U E N C E : T H E P S Y C H O L O G Y O FP E R S U A S I O N , R E V I S E D E D I T I O NB Y R O B E R T B . C I A L D I N I

Cialdini provides a classic book that is an invaluableresource for both sales and marketing personnel helpingto understand the psychology of why people say yes.

Influence is a must-read book with over 35-years ofevidence-based research to understand what causespeople to change behavior using six universal principlesand how to use them to persuade people successfully tosay yes.

This book has helped me to form the foundation andoverarching approach to developing marketing campaignsand copy.

21 B U Y - O L O G Y : T R U T H A N D L I E S A B O U TW H Y W E B U YB Y M A R T I N L I N D S T R O M

The author, Martin Lindstrom, voted one of Time Magazine'smost influential people of 2009, presents valuable findingsand insight required for any marketer or business personnel.

Lindstrom’s groundbreaking, three-year, seven-million-dollarneuromarketing study, a cutting-edge experiment thatincluded 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as theyencountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, andproducts.

Buyology is an incredible must-read book that will changeyour perspective about many closely held and trusted beliefsabout what stimulates our interest and drives us to buy.Lindstrom uses neuroscience infused into the art ofmarketing to explain how everything we think is influencedby mental forces that people are only vaguely aware.

22 A U D I E N C E : M A R K E T I N G I N T H E A G E O FS U B S C R I B E R S , F A N S A N D F O L L O W E R SB Y J E F F R E Y R O H R S

Marketers and especially content marketing professionalsdiscovered the days of build it, and they will come are longgone. The core message from Jeffrey Rohr’s is that everycompany needs audiences to survive. Specifically, Rohr’sexplains that audiences are your most important asset, andyou should restructure your business and marketing strategyaround them results in more profitable relationships.

Audience provides thorough research data and case studiesto show you why and how to create your audience and buildloyal customers with a relentless focus. The methods Rohr’suses will transform your marketing strategy and help you togain a competitive advantage with proven methods that canevolve. The key takeaway is that creating a proprietaryaudience is a core marketing responsibility and should beinfused in the fabric of any business and marketing strategyand aligned to clear business goals goals.

23 O P T I M I Z E : H O W T O A T T R A C T A N DE N G A G E M O R E C U S T O M E R S B YI N T E G R A T I N G S E O , S O C I A L M E D I A ,A N D C O N T E N T M A R K E T I N GB Y L E E O D D E N

Lee Odden, one of the leading authorities on content andonline marketing gives marketers a proven and customer-centric marketing strategy that uses the best of content,social media marketing, and search engine optimizationtactics.

Odden combines a holistic digital approach with how tomaximize ROI and a true understanding of the engagementvalue of an organization’s content, SEO, and social mediacampaigns.

This book is an easy to read, step-by-step manual that Iconstantly reference almost as much as the books from Kotlerand Ries & Trout. The insight Odden provides is withoutcompare giving marketers the importance of a holistic digitalapproach that involves the entire organization.

24 T H E C O N T E N T C O D E : S I X E S S E N T I A LS T R A T E G I E S T O I G N I T E Y O U R C O N T E N T ,Y O U R M A R K E T I N G , A N D Y O U R B U S I N E S SB Y M A R K W . S C H A E F E R

Mark W. Schaefer is another leading authority in marketing,not to mention, a college professor, consultant, and best-selling author of five marketing books.

This engaging and practical marketing book providesmarketers with a six-step framework to address the massiveand ever-growing amount of content in the marketplace thatcompetes for your prospect’s attention. The Content Code isbased on a wealth of research and data exploring why somecontent is shared widely, while other content is not.

Schaefer provides practical advice on how to develop a contentstrategy and ensure your content is shareable. The sixstrategies outlined makes for essential reading that provides aroadmap to include in your business and marketing strategyand achieves measurable results that break through theclutter. The Content Code will change the way you think aboutsocial media marketing.

25 Y O U T I L I T Y : W H Y S M A R T M A R K E T I N G I SA B O U T H E L P N O T H Y P EB Y J A Y B A E R

Youtility is a great book that has changed the paradigm for

businesses and marketing moving organizations away from pushing

their product and services on customers. Baer provides a

philosophical and useful approach to products and services the

target audience finds useful by supplying helpful content focused on

customer wants and needs. Baer’s six blueprints give marketers a

plan for using information that is helpful to the target audience.

Baer’s framework forms the essential marketing component in many

of the world’s leading companies and other successful organizations

throughout every industry that cuts through the noise and clutter

characterized by our current business environment.

Youtility provides an approach that creates and retains a trusted

relationship between organizations and customers that differentiate

marketing providing bottom line results. Youtility has real-world

examples from over 700 brands that have improved their marketing

strategy and gives you the perfect argument for content marketing

skeptics that include all industries and every size organization.

26 W E L C O M E T O T H E F U N N E L : P R O V E NT A C T I C S T O T U R N Y O U R S O C I A L M E D I AA N D C O N T E N T M A R K E T I N G U P T O 1 1B Y J A S O N M I L L E R

Welcome to the Funnel, in my opinion, is the one book for any person

involved in demand generation, from marketing to sales and even

service. Jason Miller provides insight and a step-by-step approach to

attract and engage leads focused on both content marketing and

social media along with discussing the changes in modern marketing.

This book truly helps amplify content marketing success and creates

significant opportunities to grow your business using the

combination of social media and content marketing within an

integrated marketing approach.

Miller breaks down every detail needed to create a full-spectrum of

content powered by extensive research, expert input, first-hand

knowledge, and real world applications. Jason shares how to get your

content produced, how to make it stand out from the noise, how to

make sure it is getting shared, and how to measure its success. This

is an essential and classic read for modern times helping marketers

to bring focus to the top of the funnel activities that include, raising

brand awareness, building trust, establishing credibility, and

ultimately driving revenue.

27 T H E N E W R U L E S O F M A R K E T I N GA N D P RB Y D A V I D M E E R M A N S C O T T

David Meerman Scott, a leading marketing authority, strategist, and best-selling author gives marketers the go-to book for digital marketing. Scott’sinternational best-seller provides advice and a step-by-step guide forharnessing the power of modern marketing and PR to communicate withbuyers directly resulting in increased visibility and sales. Scott shows how awide-range of organizations and industries can leverage web-based content toget the right information to the right people at the right time for a fraction ofthe cost of big-budget campaigns.

Scott provides remarkable insight and relevant content that includes a wealthof compelling case studies and real-world examples of content marketing andinbound marketing success. The New Rules of Marketing and PR also includesnewer tools such as Infographics, photo-sharing on Pinterest, and Instagramalong with coverage of more traditional social media platforms such asYouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn makes this book a constantresource for modern marketing.

28 C O N T E N T I N C . : H O W E N T R E P R E N E U R SU S E C O N T E N T T O B U I L D M A S S I V EA U D I E N C E S A N D C R E A T E R A D I C A L L YS U C C E S S F U L B U S I N E S S E SB Y J O E P U L I Z Z I

Joe Pulizzi, one of the leading content-marketing strategists, provides a newmodel for marketers and businesses to develop valuable content, build anaudience for content, and create a product for the audience.

The model Pulizzi introduces marketers to a new approach that flips thetraditional approach of first creating a product and then trying to findcustomers. Content Inc. shows how to get customers first and developproducts later resulting in a solid and long-lasting business positioned fortoday’s current content-driven environment.

Pulizzi provides marketers with a six-step business-building process that issmart, simple, practical, and cost-effective that he used to build his successfulcompany, Content Marketing Institute and the foundation for many multi-million dollar companies. Content Inc. offers a brand-new business or anexisting one seeking to drive innovation with a model for better, moresustainable success.

29 E V E R Y B O D Y W R I T E S : Y O U R G O - T OG U I D E T O C R E A T I N G R I D I C U L O U S L YG O O D C O N T E N TB Y A N N H A N D L E Y

Ann Handley, a leading marketing authority, and best-selling authorprovides detailed advice for every aspect of writing focused on the themesof brevity and clarity. For me, writing is something everyone from aseasoned writer to someone writing an email to a friend struggles with andeveryone should read this book.

Handley provides the book I go to most when I struggle with writingproviding an essential resource to attracting and retaining customers withexceptional online communication for a content-driven world.

Everybody Writes is a guide that walks you through the process andstrategy of content creation, production and publishing, with actionableinsight that drives results.

The book provides writing methods and techniques and tools to improveyour content that covers short and long-form content no matter what thetype of content or type of organization.

30 C O N T E N T R U L E S : H O W T O C R E A T E K I L L E RB L O G S , P O D C A S T S , V I D E O S , E B O O K S ,W E B I N A R S ( A N D M O R E ) T H A T E N G A G EC U S T O M E R S A N D I G N I T E Y O U R B U S I N E S S

B Y A N N H A N D L E Y A N D C . C .C H A P M A N

Content Rules is another great resource for creating engaging content forthe web and building a loyal audience. Handley and Chapman detail how toblend the art and science of developing content online that includesvaluable real-world case studies.

Handley and Chapman provide a book on writing that builds on Handley’sprevious work that I often reference for any writing challenge. ContentRules, helps marketers write content for a variety of content types, find anauthentic voice, and create content that resonates with your targetaudience.

Defining goals of your content with a true understanding of why you’regenerating content and how to get to the essence of your messagecombined with writing in a way that communicates in a powerful manneryour product, service, regardless of the medium.

31 B O R N T O B L O G : B U I L D I N G Y O U R B L O GF O R P E R S O N A L A N D B U S I N E S SS U C C E S SB Y M A R K S C H A E F E R A N D S T A N F O R DS M I T H

Mark Schaefer is marketing professor at Rutgers University, a consultant,and has one of “AdAge’s” Top 100 marketing blogs. Stanford Smith is anonline marketing and social media strategist who has created award-winning social media strategies for state governments and Fortune 500companies. He is the founder of PushingSocial.com; a top 10 social mediablog focused on business blogging.

Born to Blog, provides the template for building blogs that drive profit andgrowth with information and tools to create and manage a blog that deliversresults. Schaefer and Smith illustrate how blogging fits into an inboundmarketing strategy and everything you need to know about blogging.

Schaefer and Smith provide the ultimate resource on the topic of blogging, acore component of inbound marketing with comprehensive coverage ofblogging basics, setting up a blog, attracting a loyal audience, promotingyour blog, writing powerful content, and ultimately conversion into buyers.

32 E P I C C O N T E N T M A R K E T I N G : H O W T OT E L L A D I F F E R E N T S T O R Y , B R E A KT H R O U G H T H E C L U T T E R , A N D W I NM O R E C U S T O M E R S B Y M A R K E T I N G L E S SB Y J O E P U L I Z Z I

Joe Pulizzi is a content marketing evangelist, a leading expert on contentmarketing, and the founder of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), theleading content marketing educational resource. CMI provides strategicconsulting for brands such as AT&T, Petco, LinkedIn, SAP and many others.

Epic Content Marketing, explains how to attract prospects and customers bycreating information and content that create engagement. The main theme isthat the right content, distributed to the right person at the right time is how tocapture the hearts and minds of customers and position your business as atrusted industry expert. Pulizzi provides a guide to developing stories thatinform and entertain and drive customers to act, without directly telling them.

Epic Content will help you develop a strategy to create and curate great contentwhile learning how to attract and retain customers and grow your audience. Joedelivers a consistent guide and resource for content marketing that I constantlyreference. Pulizzi’s exceptional insight combined with interviews, in-depth casestudies from successful companies and leading businesses provides all the toolsrequired to change your marketing and impact profits and growth.

33 T H E P O W E R O F V I S U A LS T O R Y T E L L I N G : H O W T O U S E V I S U A L S ,V I D E O S , A N D S O C I A L M E D I A T OM A R K E T Y O U R B R A N DB Y E K A T E R I N A W A L T E R A N DJ E S S I C A G I O G L I O

If you are struggling to produce valuable visual content, then thisbook is for you. This book is a valuable resource on how to createcontent such as graphics, videos, and presentation using astorytelling approach. Walter and Gioglio provides a storytellingapproach explaining how to grow your business and improve thestrength of your brand leveraging visuals, videos and social mediarelevant for all organization sizes and industries.

The Power of Visual Storytelling gives marketers the sevenelements of visual storytelling, types of images used for visualstorytelling, and how to create a visual storytelling strategyroadmap. After reading this book you will understand how todevelop and implement visual storytelling into business andmarketing strategy that make your content more powerful andincrease engagement.

34 J A B , J A B , J A B , R I G H T H O O K : H O W T OT E L L Y O U R S T O R Y I N A N O I S Y S O C I A LW O R L D

B Y G A R Y V A Y N E R C H U K

I have been a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuk since his Wine Librarydays, admiring how he took his father’s business into the digital agewith amazing results. Gary provides a very different take on digitaland social focused firmly on storytelling in a compelling and uniqueway. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is a template to effective social mediamarketing strategies that simply work.

Gary’s main theme in the book is that stories change with eachplatform, and he shows how your story should change in eachcircumstance. Gary provides six rules for storytelling on social mediaplatforms along with more detailed advice for specific platformssuch as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumbler.

Vaynerchuk goes far beyond the “how-to” approaches for differentplatforms and does a great job of explaining the basic tricks ofmarketing with practical insight. This is a must-read for its simplicityand usefulness from a true business maverick.

35 A L L M A R K E T E R S A R E L I A R SB Y S E T H G O D I N

Seth Godin is a CEO, lecturer, blogger and author of more than adozen best-selling books that have transformed the way thatpeople view marketing, change, and leadership. Seth is a keythought leader in marketing and writes one of the most popular andinfluential blogs at SethGodin.com.

The main idea of All Marketers are Liars centers on the importanceof authentic storytelling, related to your brand and the fundamentalrole it plays in inbound marketing. The primary message in the bookis quite simple; marketers should have a good story to tell, and if it’sgood enough, consumers will repeat it, and it ultimately it becomesfirmly embedded in their minds as a reality.

Godin’s writing style is witty and engaging making All Marketersare Liars an enjoyable and quick read. Godin details how to create agreat story and uses excellent examples such as Cold StoneCreamery, organic products, and the Goodyear Blimp todemonstrate the influence of marketing an authentic story.

36 H E L P ! F O R W R I T E R S : 2 1 0 S O L U T I O N ST O T H E P R O B L E M S E V E R Y W R I T E RF A C E SB Y R O Y P E T E R C L A R K

Roy Peter Clark presents a step-by-step manual for writersregardless of the platform from a journalist point of view that isa true north star for content marketers.

In Help! For Writers, Clark writes about the seven steps of thewriting process and details 21 of the most common problemsthat writers have with 210 solutions covering every media andwriting circumstance.

Clark uses a blend of sympathy, humor, and witty charm that isan ever-present resource for any writing issue I’m facing.

37 H O W T O W R I T E S H O R T : W O R D C R A F TF O R F A S T T I M E S

B Y R O Y P E T E R C L A R K

Roy Peter Clark, one of the most influential writing teachers andrespected journalist, provides writers and marketers with aninsightful and practical book on how to write effective short-formcontent.

Short-form writing is an essential skill in the Internet age andClark provides a guide on how to write effective and powerfulheadlines, titles, tweets, sales pitches, etc. for almost everysituation.

As a marketer being concise and writing short-form content is aconstant source of trouble with the various media involved in thecurrent marketing environment. Clark details how to do thisregardless of the medium providing a great read that should beon the bookshelf of any content marketer.

38 T H E A R T O F E X P L A N A T I O N : M A K I N GY O U R I D E A S , P R O D U C T S , A N DS E R V I C E S E A S I E R T O U N D E R S T A N DB Y L E E L E F E V E R

Lee LeFever the founder of Common Craft, a company knownaround the world for making complex ideas easy to understandthrough short animated videos.

The Art of Explanation is a guide to becoming an explanationspecialist, helping audiences fall in love with your ideas,products or services through better explanations in anymedium.

Explanations form the core of content marketing and LeFeverprovides the plan, package, present structure providing thewriting steps to create an effective explanation. LeFever givesmarketers a different and complementary book to all the otherwriting books out there detailing explanation, a critical elementin content marketing.

39 T H E T I P P I N G P O I N T : H O W L I T T L ET H I N G S C A N M A K E A B I G D I F F E R E N C E

B Y M A L C O L M G L A D W E L L

Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell, in Tipping Point explores thetipping point phenomenon. The tipping point is when an idea, trend,or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and becomes part of themass consciousness. Gladwell’s main idea is that ideas, products,messages and behaviors “spread just like viruses do” is a metaphorto explain the growth of “word-of-mouth epidemics”.

Three pivotal types help to trigger the tipping point includingConnectors, sociable personalities who bring people together;Mavens, who like to pass along knowledge; and Salesmen, adept atpersuading the unenlightened. The tipping point phenomenon is abook that will change the way businesses and marketers think aboutselling products and disseminating ideas.

The Tipping Point helps marketers understand the critical momentwhen a product or service goes from mediocrity to excellence.Gladwell provides a less scientific and more cultural explanation thatchallenges your sensibilities and broadens your overall perspective.

40 S T A R T W I T H W H Y : H O W G R E A TL E A D E R S I N S P I R E E V E R Y O N E T O T A K EA C T I O NB Y S I M O N S I N E K

The main thesis is the Golden Circle concept, which shows businessleaders how to inspire instead of manipulating customers or employees toact. The central idea of the golden circle theory is, people do not buy whata company does, people buy why they do it. This book will change yourmindset and look at organizations and marketing messages in acompletely different manner.

Sinek’s theory provides evidence of how most companies communicate inan uninspiring manner. Sinek explains that trust is built in an authenticway when you target customers that understand and believe in yourWHY. The philosophy and theory detailed by Sinek provide great insightand evidence for marketers focused on brand image, brand messages, andmarketing communications with a guide to how successful organizationscommunicate.

The three key takeaways for inbound marketers is alignment,incorporating the “Why” into marketing copy, and redefining buyerpersonas. Sinek uses a wide variety of real-life examples of exceptionalorganizations to provide a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead andinspire, differentiating you from the competition.

41 M A D E T O S T I C K : W H Y S O M E I D E A SS U R V I V E A N D O T H E R S D I EB Y C H I P & D A N H E A T H

Made to Stick, expands on Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Pointexpanding further on the stickiness of ideas and how they spread.The Heath brothers detail how a brand can tell a story and a step-by-step approach on how to do it setting this book apart from Gladwell’swork.

Chip and Dan give marketers an approach to making messages thatresonate (stick) with your target audience differentiating yourorganization from the clutter in the marketplace. The focus of thebook explores why some ideas thrive while others die and how toimprove the chances of worthy ideas detailing the DNA of stickyideas with a framework to make ideas stickier.

The book contains a blend of case studies and thought-provokingresearch detailing the essential elements of winning ideas that hadme laughing and engaged in the first 15 pages.

42 T H E P A S S I O N C O N V E R S A T I O N :U N D E R S T A N D I N G , S P A R K I N G , A N DS U S T A I N I N G W O R D O F M O U T HM A R K E T I N GB Y R O B B I N P H I L L I P S , G R E G C O R D E L L , G E N OC H U R C H , A N D J O H N M O O R E

The Passion Conversation is a complementary book to Simon Sinek’s Startwith Why that I recommend reading after. The authors’ premise is that tosucceed you need to make people fall passionately and madly in love withyour organization or your cause with the concept that conversations springfrom passions, not products.

The authors detail the three motivations for people to talk about businessesand causes, the idea that every marketing problem is a people problem indisguise, marketing materials are conversation tools, and how customercommunities sustain word of mouth that create a financial impact. Theauthors provide a framework to build a thriving and loyal community anddrive meaningful conversations that ultimately impact the financial successof your business.

The Passion Conversation gives marketers a quick and smart book based onthe latest academic research combined with practical, real-world examplesproving how any business can ignite and nurture long-term word of mouthmarketing.

43 T H E S O C I A L M E D I A M A R K E T I N GB O O KB Y D A N Z A R R E L L A

The Social Media Marketing Book is a great introduction tosocial media marketing.

Zarella covers the social media landscape including anoverview of the different social media tools used bymarketers.

This book is one of the most user-friendly books designed forbeginners. I highly recommend this as the place to start andbuild your social media marketing knowledge base.

44 T H E A R T O F S O C I A L M E D I A : P O W E RT I P S F O R P O W E R U S E R SB Y G U Y K A W A S A K I A N D P E GF I T Z P A T R I C K

Guy Kawasaki is a leading authority in marketing, best-sellingauthor, and previously held esteemed marketing roles at Canva,Apple, and Google. Peg Fitzpatrick is a social media strategistinnovating the world of social media. She’s spearheaded successfulsocial-media campaigns for Motorola, Google, Audi, Canva, andVirgin.

Guy and Peg provide a bottom-up strategy that delivers a focused,thorough, and engaging presence on the most popular social-mediaplatforms with over one hundred practical tips, tricks, and insights.The Art of Social Media explains the steps to build your foundation,gather digital assets, optimize your profile, attract more followers,and effectively integrate social media and blogging.

Kawasaki and Fitzpatrick provides a fun, easy-to-read book withsolid social media strategy presented in a logical order, which is noteasy considering it has mainly technical information.

45 I N F L U E N C E M A R K E T I N G : H O W T OC R E A T E , M A N A G E , A N D M E A S U R EB R A N D I N F L U E N C E R S I N S O C I A LM E D I A M A R K E T I N GB Y D A N N Y B R O W N A N D S A M F I O R E L L A

Brown and Fiorella are business intelligence and customer experienceauthorities helping some of the world’s top companies to successfullycommunicate and help organizations win. The authors show brands howinfluence marketing can become a powerful weapon and how to use socialmedia to build online relationships. Brown and Fiorella include extensiveresearch and case studies built on 20 years of experience.

Influence Marketing looks at how to leverage influencers and encourageconsumers during the purchase journey. Influencer Marketing has actionableinsight and tools that go beyond identifying and engaging key influencers witha methodology moving from brand awareness to sales acquisition intomeasuring the customer lifetime value. Brown and Fiorella, provide a roadmapto increase the number of leads and improve the quality of leads along with amethod to convert more rapidly with higher profit margins.

For me, few books capture the experience of leading authorities with theresearch and credibility of the academic world in one resource to givemarketers a critical resource for developing your marketing plan, brandstrategy, and social media strategy.

46 C O N F E S S I O N S O F A N A D V E R T I S I N GM A NB Y D A V I D O G I L V Y

David Ogilvy is widely recognized as the creator and leading authorityon modern advertising and copy. Ogilvy created some of the world’smost successful and iconic marketing campaigns for many of the largestglobal brands.

Confessions of an Advertising Man was first published in 1963 and is aninternational best-seller, often referred to as the go-to-guide for smartadvertising. Confessions of an Advertising Man is an amazing book withessential wisdom and practical insight that stands the test of time.

Ogilvy is not only a great advertiser and copy writer, but he is anexcellent writer that engages using his personal brand of engagingwisdom. The lessons and game-changing creativity, ideas, andphilosophy are incredible pearls of wisdom for marketers with topicsthat include advertising (of course), people management, office politics,corporate ethics, and in essence a roadmap for good business practices.

47 O G I L V Y O N A D V E R T I S I N GB Y D A V I D O G I L V Y

What can I say about David Ogilvy that has not already been said.Ogilvy was the founder of one of the largest advertising agencies inthe world.

This book has provided a paradigm shift in my thinking with a newperspective on marketing, advertising, strategy, tactics, and insight.Ogilvy is a maverick and true genius, whose fundamental ideas areas relevant in his era as they are today.

The main theme of Ogilvy on Advertising (coined by ClaudeHopkins) is “Advertising is salesmanship.”

Ogilvy’s book contains several outdated areas, especiallyconsidering we are in the age of the Internet, but the core elementsof advertising and marketing remain the same with basic humanmotives at the heart of consumer decision making.

48 C O N T A G I O U S : H O W T O B U I L D W O R DO F M O U T H I N T H E D I G I T A L A G E

B Y J O N A H B E R G E R

Contagious is another book that starts where Gladwell’s TippingPoint ends written by Jonah Berger, a Wharton professor. Bergerprovides a well-researched book that explains the critical elementsof how word of mouth and social influence works in the digital andoffline environment.

Word-of-mouth generates more than twice the sales of paidadvertising and is the primary factor behind 20-50% of allpurchasing decisions. It is between 8.5 and 30 times more effectivethan traditional media. If you want to know how to have yourproduct, solution, idea, or content spread via word-of-mouth, this isone of my favorites to read.

Berger uses storytelling format that's easy to read and full ofanecdotes exploring what does and does not spread. Bergerprovides a practical approach to help your idea or content have asignificant impact, resonate with your target audience, and becomecontagious, even on a small budget.

49 G R O W T H H A C K E R M A R K E T I N G : AP R I M E R O N T H E F U T U R E O F P R ,M A R K E T I N G , A N D A D V E R T I S I N G

B Y J O N A H B E R G E R

If you are unfamiliar with Growth Hacking, it is a set of frameworks, tacticsand best practices designed to help startups think strategically about theproblem of user growth. Growth hacking is a philosophical approach tomarketing at a startup incorporating disciplines like product management,direct marketing, brand marketing, and engineering.

Ryan Holiday, best-selling author, acclaimed marketing guru for AmericanApparel, and multi-platinum musician explains the new generation ofbrands like Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, and Dropbox, who are not using theold marketing playbook and spending no money on traditional marketing.The main idea of growth hacking is that products and businesses should becontinuously modified until fully optimized using tools that are scaleable,testable, and trackable.

Holiday, provides a practical road map for a Fortune 500 company or asmall start-up to build awareness and create a buzz for a product orservices regardless of your budget. Growth Hacker Marketing is a concise,relevant, and easy-to-read book for marketers to understand anddeconstruct the new paradigm of products and services in the modern era.

50 H O O K E D : H O W T O B U I L D H A B I T -F O R M I N G P R O D U C T SB Y N I R E Y A L A N D R Y A N H O O V E R

Eyal and Hoover use years of research and specific case studiescombined with consulting experience from a variety of tech companiesto create Hooked. I would recommend reading this book after GrowthHacker Marketing, because it picks up where it leaves off, providing theperfect complement explaining the new paradigm in marketing andproduct development.

Hooked provides a practical how-to-guide for building products writtenfor product managers, designers, marketers, start-up founders, andanyone who seeks to understand how products influence our behavior.The authors’ provide a four-step process model embedded subtly intothe products of many successful companies to encourage customerbehavior.

Eyal and Hoover detail how consecutive “hook cycles” result inproducts that achieve the ultimate goal of bringing users back again andagain without needing expensive advertising or aggressive messaging.

51 R E F E R R A L E N G I N E : T E A C H I N G Y O U RB U S I N E S S T O M A R K E T I T S E L FB Y J O H N J A N T S C H

Push marketing practices are outdated and falling out of favor. However,word-of-mouth has never fallen out of favor. Word-of-mouth, in fact,fuels business today built on developing and establishing trust frompeople referring your product or service.

The main theme of the book is the Customer Referral Cycle method forcustomers to refer others to your company, and in turn, generate evenmore referrals. Referral Engine provides the science and strategiesbehind how people recommend products and services to their friends.Jantsch describes how to tap into the instinct and desire wired deep inthe brain.

Referral Engine offers practical solutions on how to build a powerfulreferral engine by developing a systematic, consistent, and replicableapproach through powerful content, social networking, and buildingstrategic partnerships with case studies from companies such asCarhartt, Southwest Airlines, and TerraCycle. John Jantsch provides asmart and practical guide essential for any marketer or organization,especially on a limited budget.

52 8 0 / 2 0 S A L E S A N D M A R K E T I N GB Y P E R R Y M A R S H A L L

Perry Marshall is a direct marketing and sales consultant and best-selling author. Perry is a leading consultant who has consulted withthe best marketers, worldwide for more than a decade.

The main theme of 80/20 is the idea; you can save 80 percent ofyour time and money by focusing on the right 20 percent of yourmarket. Marshall provides a way to identify untapped markets,incremental improvements and high-profit opportunities, gainingtime and greater income potential.

The book is for sales and marketing professionals, but critical for anybusiness owner. 80/20 is well-written, effective, and engagingproviding a framework that changes your paradigm on how you lookat your profession and the world around you.. Marshall applies the80/20 Pareto Principle to copywriting, buying traffic, scaling traffic,dominating markets, and sales conversion creating even greatervalue for marketers and sales professionals.

The Top 52 Essential Books for MarketersT h i s l i s t o f m a r k e t i n g b o o k s i s f a i r l y c o m p r e h e n s i v e , b u t I m a y h a v em i s s e d a f e w b o o k s . I f y o u w o u l d l i k e t o a d d t o t h i s l i s t , p l e a s ep r o v i d e f e e d b a c k b y c o m m e n t i n g g i v i n g t h e a u t h o r a n d t i t l e o f t h eb o o k . A l s o , p l e a s e p r o v i d e t h e r e a s o n w h y y o u t h i n k i t s h o u l d b ea d d e d t o t h e l i s t . M y i n t e n t i s t o p r o v i d e a n u p d a t e d v e r s i o n i n t h ef u t u r e . I l o o k f o r w a r d t o h e a r i n g f r o m y o u b y c o m m e n t i n g o n m y b l o go r s o c i a l m e d i a .

The Top 52 Essential Books for Marketers and other marketing focused content canalso be found on my blog at: http://www.stephenzoeller.com/the-top-52-essential-books-for-marketers/

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