20 years ago marketing was done by getting your business listed in business directories such as Yellow Pages and printing flyers and catalogues of products and services.
In a short period of time, major leaps of technology forced marketers to change the way they were marketing products and services and adapt to the new era of Google-search ranking, social media accounts and chatbots.
Video marketing, inbound marketing, social media marketing, influencer marketing. Nowadays there are so many ways of doing marketing that some marketers may feel confused, frustrated or overwhelmed.
Here is our list of 5 books every marketer should read in 2018 to stay updated:
The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, and Stand Out from the Crowd
By Allan Dib
image source: amazon.com
Who is Allan Dib?
Allan Dib is a serial entrepreneur, rebellious marketer and technology expert. He has started, grown and successfully exited multiple businesses in various industries.
His last business was in the hyper-competitive telecommunications industry. It went from startup to four years later being named by Business Review Weekly (BRW) as one of Australia’s fastest growing companies – earning a spot in the BRW Fast 100 list.
Allan is passionate about helping businesses find new and innovative ways to leverage technology and marketing to facilitate rapid business growth. As a highly sought after business coach, consultant and public speaker, he frequently shares his proven strategies and cutting edge tactics with people all over the world.
What you will learn
- How to get new customers, clients or patients and how to make more profit from existing ones;
- Why “big business” style marketing could kill your business and strategies that actually work for small and medium-sized businesses;
- How to close sales without being pushy, needy or obnoxious while turning the tables and offering value to your prospects;
- A simple step-by-step process for creating your own personalised marketing plan that is literally one page;
- How to overcome competitors and make yourself the only logical choice;
- How to get amazing results on a small budget using the secrets of direct response marketing.
Readers’ reviews on Amazon
684 customer reviews
5 stars – 91%
My MBA marketing courses didn’t teach me as clear as this book did. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and have bought 5 copies for my employees. No more random acts of marketing for me…
Hurst
It was almost like the light bulbs were turning on in my brain as I read the pages and performed the exercises. Bam, bam, bam. At the end of the book I had a complete, robust, inexpensive and sustainable marketing plan for my business. In fact, my marketing plan is so complete that I’ve already started implementing it.
Don W.
I’ve been in the marketing business as a owner of a small ad agency for 40 years, on the client side as a marketing director and as professor of marketing teaching college. And I say you cannot find a more accurate marketing book to read. And I read at least 2 business books per week.
David Jewell
Beyond Influencer Marketing: Create Connections with Influential People to Build Authority, Grow Your List, and Boost Revenue
By Cloris Kylie
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Who is Cloris Kylie?
Cloris Kylie, Marketing MBA, helps you tap into connections with influencers to build authority, grow your list, and boost revenue.
A sought-after influencer marketing specialist and bestselling author of “Beyond Influencer Marketing”, Cloris has been featured on network television, on top-ranked podcasts and YouTube shows, including the #1 podcast for entrepreneurs, “Entrepreneur On Fire.” Cloris’s articles have been published on websites with millions of followers, such as Tiny Buddha, MindBodyGreen, and Addicted2Success.
Cloris has grown a large network of influencers who have played an essential role in the growth of her coaching and consulting business.
What you will learn
By reading this book, you’ll discover how to:
- Avoid common roadblocks to connect with influential people;
- Tap into your network of connections to land your ideal clients;
- Build and nurture long-lasting business relationships;
- Create a solid marketing foundation and become “influencer ready”;
- Assume a winning mindset that leads to measurable success.
Readers’ reviews on Amazon
58 customer reviews
5-star: 98%
This book is a great find, it has a ton of great content and is easy to read filled with engaging content, success stories and case studies from highly successful people. You can tell that this author really knows the subject, this is much more than just a brief overview of the topic, it is a guidebook from an expert.
Sean Sumner
This book is loaded with so much information to help any company, entrepreneur or author by giving concrete steps that can help expand their reach, grow their brand, increase their recognition, increase their email list, which in turn, could grow their income.
Stokes
DO NOT underestimate this book. I have been an entrepreneur for over 20 years and I honestly thought I fully understood what ‘influencer’ marketing was. After reading this book I realized what I knew was just the tip of the iceberg. This is an incredibly well thought out and detailed description of how anyone who is a coach or consultant of any kind can use ‘influencers’ to grow their business exponentially. I was impressed. You will be learning from someone who has “been there, done that”. I will put many of these ideas into practice immediately. This is a great investment and is highly recommended.
Ronald L. Schaffer
Storynomics: Story-Driven Marketing in the Post-Advertising World
By Robert McKee and Tom Gerace
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Who is Robert McKee? Who is Tom Gerace?
Robert McKee is the legendary story master whose popular writing workshops have earned him an international reputation.
Tom Gerace is a digital marketing expert and CEO of Skyword.
Together they guided big companies such as Samsung, Marriott and IBM to transform their marketing from an ad-centric to story-centric approach.
What you will learn
Based on the worldwide seminar offered by Robert McKee and Tom Gerace — Storynomics translates the lessons of storytelling in business into economic and leadership success.
In Storynomics, the authors map a path for brands seeking to navigate the rapid decline of interrupt advertising, bringing their knowledge to business leaders and entrepreneurs alike.
Drawing from dozens of story-driven strategies and case studies taken from leading B2B and B2C brands, Storynomics demonstrates how original storytelling delivers results that surpass traditional advertising.
How will brands and their customers connect in the future?
Storynomics provides the answer.
Readers’ reviews on Amazon
19 customer reviews
5 stars: 95%
In Storynomics, Gerace and McKee provide the framework and process to make us all great storytellers. They set the stage for the future of marketing and teach the reader how to chart their own course. Their writing style is engaging and inspiring. Similar books I’ve read conveyed lofty goals and stories of others success but with no way to achieving those goals within your own organisation. It’s clear to the reader both writers have the expertise and proven experience putting these methods to work.
Brian
Before diving into the craft of compelling storytelling, the authors address my inner skeptic by time-traveling to establish how we got here, proving (in multiple ways) the sheer cognitive power of story, and describing what – exactly – a story is NOT. Next comes the good stuff. McKee & Gerace walk us through the eight vital stages of story design. We learn why every element is crucial, what each one can do for an audience, and how to supercharge the individual stages for maximum emotional connection.
Joel Johnson
Highly recommend. I found the book’s approach to a quickly changing world of marketing and advertising enlightening and motivating. The book delves deeply into the mechanics of what makes a compelling story and explores the challenges facing brands as consumers became savvier about avoiding traditional ads. The book features real-world examples of companies that harnessed the power of storytelling to build brand loyalty. I also like the helpful metrics as well as suggestions and guidelines for introducing a storytelling mindset into your business, whether it be a one-person shop (like mine) or a large corporation.
Ann T.
10x Marketing Formula: Your Blueprint for Creating ‘Competition-Free Content’ That Stands Out and Gets Results
By Garrett Moon
image source: amazon.com
Who is Garrett Moon?
Garrett Moon is the CEO and Co-Founder at CoSchedule, the web’s most popular marketing calendar. Ranked as the best business tool built by a startup on Entrepreneur.com, CoSchedule helps more than 10,000 marketing teams stay organised in 100+ countries around the world. In 2016, CoSchedule was named one of the top five startups in Tech. Co’s Startup of the Year Competition.
As a thought leader, Garrett has been blogging and speaking about content marketing, social media marketing, and startup business for more than seven years. He’s been featured on sites like Entrepreneur, Forbes, Social Media Examiner, and Content Marketing Institute.
What you will learn
You will learn to overcome a lack of time, struggling to produce content, an inability to engage your audience, and so many more marketing roadblocks.
If you think marketing success belongs only to elite geniuses or those with huge budgets, think again—10x marketers achieve 10x growth regardless of their limitations. This book is about finding the strategic shortcuts to get you to results fast. It’s about short-circuiting the path to jaw-dropping growth. You have to find your own way—and The 10x Marketing Formula is that path.
So, if you’re ready to look like a marketing genius and revolutionise your results (and mindset), you’ve just found your path.
Readers’ reviews on Amazon
17 customer reviews
5-star: 82%
The crux of the book is that you need to start producing content that brings 10x rewards, not 10% rewards. They provide you with a good definition of what that is but they don’t leave you hanging with a definition. There is a fairly straight forward strategy that the book provides you with so that you can start producing great content.
Curtismchale
Until I read this book, growth for my business felt unattainable because of the struggle to stay above the noise. After reading this book, I understand what measurable growth looks like, and I’m seeing real growth in my business. Rather than spending countless hours on social platforms just trying to get clients to notice me, I’m creating more valuable marketing that’s seeing much higher return. I’m spending my time with my family making memories, instead of wasting away in front of a screen.
Haley F.
I don’t have a lot of extra time for reading, but I MADE time for this book! 10x Marketing Formula provides immense clarity in a niche that’s cluttered with a million “shoulds” and empty promises. It’s thick with actionable advice. Most of the time, I could only get through a few pages at once, because I wouldn’t get far before I’d be inspired to do something right that minute! This is no pie-in-the-sky fluff piece. Garrett makes no illusion of the fact that this is hard, disciplined work. But it’s work with PURPOSE. Following Garrett’s 10x principles has revolutionized the way my team works. It’s helped us focus our priorities and we are on our way to 10x results.
Jill Maldonado
Digital Marketers Sound Off: Tips, Tactics, Tools, and Predictions from 101 Digital Marketing Specialists
By Matt Chiera
image source: amazon.com
Who is Matt Chiera?
Matt Chiera is Founder of Ice Nine Online, a Chicago-based digital agency by day and market research lab by night. Matt is also Digital Director for enterprise advertising agency The Well and former Head of Business Development for award-winning search marketing agency Perfect Search Media. Matt has been managing and executing digital marketing projects for over a decade.
Matt put Digital Marketers Sound Off together because he couldn’t find a resource like it for himself. There are plenty of books out there that share only one person’s insights about digital marketing. Digital Marketers Sound Off is a book where you’ll find 101 digital marketing specialists sharing their favorite tools, tips, tactics, and predictions for the future.
What you will learn
- What tools top digital marketers use on a daily basis;
- The single most effective tactic used by digital marketing specialists;
- How digital marketers determine success and failure in their campaigns;
- Tips that will improve your digital marketing immediately;
- The biggest mistakes made by digital marketers and how you can avoid them;
- Predictions for the future of digital marketing and how you can stay ahead of the curve;
- Digital marketing insights spanning many specialisations: Search Engine Optimisation, Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, PR, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Affiliate Marketing.
Readers’ reviews on Amazon
14 reviews
5 stars: 100%
I was a digital marketing noob before I picked up this book. Now I feel like I could actually get a job doing Social Media Marketing, SEO, Facebook Ads, or one of the other digital marketing specializations in the book. This book was like Digital Marketing 101 with info that I think I could actually use to be successful in the field.
Robert Jenkins
I found this book to be very useful for social media marketing, email marketing and a few other tidbits around getting more people to know you exist. I would love to see new editions with additional contributors, more topics (Instagram specifically…) but this is a fantastic start to laying plans or improving a digital marketing landscape.
Joe Arko
Being in the marketing space myself, I’m always looking for new information and fresh ideas. Wow, does this book hit the ball out of the PARK! Every chapter had me scribbling notes of new ways to grow business. I highly recommend this book to marketers and want-to-be marketers alike. Awesome stuff Matt!
Stevie B.
