Books every marketer should read in 2019
By Felicia Guthrie
Whether you’re a small business owner, a student, a marketing professional, or just someone wanting to expand your knowledge, marketing books can be a great source of learning and can expand your interests. With so many of us leading busy lifestyles, it can be difficult to dedicate the time for reading, but you have options. You can, for example, listen to the audiobook version and listen while you do other tasks! Sometimes finding the right book to read can be just as time consuming as reading the book itself. So we’ve put together a list of our top marketing book choices!
All of these books are great for entrepreneurs and small business owners who are looking to take their marketing to the next level. They are also great for aspiring or professional marketers and content creators.
Here we go: (In no particular order)
#1: CONTAGIOUS: WHY THINGS CATCH ON BY JONAH BERGER
Why do some things go viral and not others? What makes something popular? What drives people to talk more about some things than others?
Those are the types of questions Jonah aims to answer.
In Contagious, author (and marketing professor) Jonah Berger presents six principles, these principles help make products, advertising and content more “contagious”. Further, he uses research and case studies to exemplify these principles.
While I believe Jonah’s six principles for creating shareable, contagious content each carry valuable insights, one that I think is one of the most important factors of shareable content is “Emotion.” Jonah believes that when we care, we share and that when crafting messages, we need to focus on feelings and not function. Although I agree we should focus on feelings, I believe we should also present functions. Jonah presents this and his other principles with his personal opinion, research and also uses examples from popular campaigns.
If this sounds interesting to you and you want to know a bit more, try listening to his presentation at Google before buying or borrowing your copy. https://youtu.be/FN4eDk1pq6U
#2: OGILVY ON ADVERTISING BY DAVID OGILVY
Ogilvy is known as a “godfather of advertising”, he was a successful advertising tycoon, whose agencies are still performing today. With that being said, this book is a bit older than the others on the list as it was written in the 80’s. Although it’s older, don’t consider it completely outdated. There’s a reason why David Ogilvy was so successful, and much of what he wrote can be valuable to marketers, advertisers, and entrepreneurs of today.
In this book, David Ogilvy breaks down how you can create a successful campaign. As a recent marketing and advertising graduate, I can tell you that much of what he writes about is still taught today and can be useful not only to the hopeful advertiser, but also, the entrepreneur. Ogilvy touches on topics such as brand image and positioning which are important when creating a campaign or strategy, and they are topics we’ve spoken about again and again in our blogs.
David Ogilvy also talks about big ideas, something brands should always think of when approaching a new campaign. constantly thought of when approaching a project.
Ogilvy on Advertising is an easy read that will provide insights on creating advertising that works, writing good copy, and more.
#3: A SELECTION OF TITLES BY SETH GODIN
If you’re currently a marketing professional, or perhaps even a student, you’ve probably heard the name Seth Godin. Seth Godin has authored many books, mostly centered on marketing and advertising, but he also writes about leadership and more. Here are a handful of Seth Godin’s best books to keep an eye out for.
Aside from being informative, what I like about Seth’s novels is that he includes real life brands and campaigns as examples (a common thread in our picks), he uses diagrams and sketches which illustrate his points (and it also breaks up the writing to a nice flow), and he often includes bolded writing for key points.
THIS IS MARKETING: YOU CAN’T BE SEEN UNTIL YOU SEE
In this book, Seth discusses modern marketing, from positioning, to the old approaches, building trust and more. Using examples and insights, this book is meant to teach you how to meaningfully connect with the right people – your customers.
THE DIP: A LITTLE BOOK THAT TEACHES YOU WHEN TO QUIT (AND WHEN TO STICK)
This is self-explanatory, this book helps you understand when it may be time to call it quits or when to stick things out – a great question entrepreneurs and small business owners will face at some point.
PURPLE COW: TRANSFORM YOUR BUSINESS BY BEING REMARKABLE
This book presents Godin’s personal beliefs on advertising and delves into how you can not only make a product seem remarkable but actually create a remarkable product! This is a good book for beginners who need to know the basics.
ALL MARKETERS ARE LIARS: THE POWER OF TELLING AUTHENTIC STORIES IN A LOW-TRUST WORLD
If the title didn’t grab your attention maybe the content will! This book is all about the story. As marketers, storytelling is key, and a good story can result in quite a successful campaign that resonates with your audience. All Marketers Are Liars will show you how can tell authentic stories that resonate with people, set you apart and create meaningful connections.
Now that you have some great reading suggestions, we want to know what’s on your reading list?