Marketing | 11 min read

Mar 20, 2019

18 Best Marketing Books That Every Marketer Must Read in 2019

Having a fabulous product and an amazingbusiness plan doesn’t promise good sales, butan effective marketing plan does. As a first-time entrepreneur, you have no idea how the market works, butall the famous businessmen and women were once in your position. They excelled and so will you. Some of them have compiled their experiences and learning into books, which are not only enlightening but help you understand your business better.

 

Best marketing books for entrepreneurs

  1. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Robert Grant

You would have seen two products in the market that are strikingly similar but offered by two different brands. It is common for businesses to imitate each other, which is what competition is all about. If you feel your product lacks uniqueness, read Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Robert Grant to clear up your mind and come up with a solution. By giving the world something that isn't in the market currently and convincing them that they need it, you improve your chances of becoming successful.

1.	Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Robert Grant

  1. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

This marketing book by Malcolm Gladwell emphasizes on the fact that businesses are not just about marketing. Gladwell shares his experiences as a marketer and teaches you different ways to understand split-second differences made by their bosses. It is available on Audible as well, so you can listen to it while travellingor working out at the gym.

blink by MalcolmGladwell

  1. The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis

The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis is unarguably the best marketing book because it offers the most amazingadvice about decision-making and judgments. Once you start reading the book, you won’t be able to keep it down until it is over. The book focuses on understanding human psychology, which will eventually give you better control over the market.

undoing project Michael Lewis

 

Best books on marketing as a Christmas gift

  1. Hacking Marketing: Agile Practices to Make Marketing Smarter, Faster and More Innovative by Scott Brinker

Considered as the best book on marketing by many, Hacking Marketing by Scott Brinker is a wonderfulguide for new businesses and marketing managers who mostly use directing marketing. It also talks about how marketing and technology influence each other. The book is dividedinto five parts that startwith different ways you can use technology in your marketing plan, different ways to manage campaigns and execute them, and how to hire new talent in the industry.

hacking marketing Scott Brinker

  1. Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior by Jonah Berger

Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior by Jonah Berger is one of the best marketing books for beginners as it teaches you how to influence your target audience and make thepracticaldecision for your company's growth. Berger has more than 15 years of experience in the influence industry and has done a great job combining all this experience and tips in the book. He emphasizes how your product should be different from the competitors but not too differentthatyour target audience doesn’t identify it.

invisible influence Jonah Berger

  1. Experiential Marketing: Secrets, Strategies, and Success Stories from the World’s Greatest Brands by Kerry Smith and Dan Hanover

If you want a book suggestion to read marketing now, Experiential Marketing by Kerry Smith and Dan Hanover is a great choice. It takes you through the transition of marketing plans as customers started using online shopping more. Smith and Hanover have compiled together tenyears worth of research, experiments, case studies, and statistics. It also analyses the use of live and experiential marketing by companies. It is a short book that you can complete in a couple of days but has perfectlyexplained the psychology of engagement.

 

experiential marketing Smith and Hanover

 

Thought-provoking top marketing books

  1. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal

One of the best marketing books for beginners, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal highlights how every person follows a pattern. Once you identify the pattern, it becomes easier to sell your products and services to your target audience. Eyal’s compilation of behavioraldesign research is excellent and will give you tips on how to create a product that makes customers purchase it over and over again. As one of our personal favorite good marketing books, reading it has given us a widerperspective on customer choices.

hooked eyal

 

  1. Icarus Deception by Seth Godin

Based onthe Greek mythology of Icarus, Icarus Deception by Seth Godin is the best marketing book of all time. The book pushes you to think out of the box and take the business ahead without a definitive business plan. Godin wants readers to understand that conventional wisdom, fitting the mold, and conformity will make you a mediocre marketing manager. There isn't one successful businessman in the world that played safe and dictated the market. While you plunge into the industry with your creative and strategic thinking, use Trust Activity to improve product sales.

Icarus deception SethGodin

  1. Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary by Frank Luntz

After being a political insider for most of his career, Frank Luntz came out with an exceptional book called Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary. He has always been blunt with his words, which has helped him garner a lot of negative and positive support. We consider it as one of the best marketing books in the industry because these tipsand strategies are effective. You also get to know what happens in Washington, DC and how marketing helps in efficientcommunication. The better you are at it, the more customers you will get.

win frank Luntz

 

Biography books on marketing

  1. The Autobiography of Gucci Mane by Gucci Mane

When we think of best books about marketing, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane by Gucci Mane is one of the few that pop up in our head. Born as Radric Davis, Gucci Mane was born in a poor familyin East Atlanta, Georgia and made this way into the international hip-hop as a top artist. The books trackhis struggles and his wins. You might not be into hip-hop music or dance, but you can surely pick up a couple oftips on how he marketed himself into a personal brand.

the autobiographyof Gucci Mane

  1. The Life of PT Barnum by PT Barnum

Sometimes it is the simplest of all that teach us the most and The Life of PT Barnum by PT Barnum fits the definition correctly. Such books about marketing teach you what it takes to an inventor. As we all know, Barnum is known for its popularcircus, andthat’s what his book talks about. He is an inventor of marketing and advertising, which helped him become an everlasting brand. Even though, the book is consideredas one of the top 10 marketing books of all times.

the life of pt Barnum

  1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

Phil Knight is part one of the successful marketing duo behind Nike. His book, Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, is easily a part of everyone's business marketing books. It teaches you an importantlesson. Even though marketing planning is important, you need to develop tactics to execute it.

shoe dog Phil Knight

 

Top books that every digital marketer must read

  1. The Art of Digital Marketing by Ian Dodson

One of the best selling marketing books for small businesses, The Art of Digital Marketing by Ian Dodson skillfully captures the essenceof digital marketing. It is one of those great marketing books that help you understand the basics of digital marketing concepts and strategies.

the art of digital marketing Ian Dodson

  1. Visual Content Marketing by Stephen Gamble

Another member of top marketing books 2018 list, Visual Content Marketing by Stephen Gamble teaches you content marketing through creatively designed infographics. One of the top marketing psychology books, it follows the transformation of marketing from the 1980s to the present time.

visual content marketing Stephen Gamble

  1. Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler

As one of the must-readmarketing books, Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler passes a strong message. To trulybe successful, marketers need to use a combination of strategy, designand copywriting. In this best product marketing books, entrepreneurs learn how to manage different teams and orchestrate a cohesive effort towards marketing success.

 

designing brand identity Alina Wheeler

Best marketing books 2019

  1. Permission Marketing by Seth Godin

Businessweek once voted Seth Godin as the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age and forall right reasons. It was published back in 1999 but still is considered as one of the best market research books. He has wonderfully documented the start of the useof technology in the marketing industry.

permission marketing Seth Godin

  1. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay

As the best marketing strategy book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay is critically acclaimedby marketers across the world. It is an 1841classic that has won a place in the top books on marketing list for its perspective on human behavior.

extraordinary popular delusions Charles McKay

  1. The Customer Mindset by Joe DeRosa

With majorfocus on the 80/20 rule, The Customer Mindset by Joe DeRosa gives you a peek into the minds of consumers and different ways to solve purchasing dilemmas. We put it on the best marketing books to readlist as it includes DeRosa’s experience of working with Fortune 500 companies.

customer mindset joe derose

 

After you finish reading these 18 best business marketing books, head over to Trust Activity to see how your visitors turn into leads, itis a social proof software that you can use with any website. It displays customer activity to visitors and motivates them to mimic their behavior. The latest brand marketing books have emphasized on the use ofsocial proofing as a new way to convert leads. It works on the simple principle that if a person sees someone buying a product, they would want to do the same thing. Even classic marketing books identified this behavior and have made plans surrounding the concept.

Author

Greg Hickman

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