Marketing has been around in one form or another for more than 1,000 years, but digital marketing and the Inbound Marketing methodology are still in their infancy.
The following list will guide you through 25 of the best marketing books the market has to offer; they will help you on the path to improving your digital marketing, and take your online efforts to the next level.
1. Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
If you’ve been struggling with making your digital marketing ideas “stick,” then this is the book for you; explore six common traits behind some of the stickiest messages with authors Chip and Dan Heath. As frustrated as we can get when some hoax story circulates like wild fire, there are lessons to be learned from them.
2. 
The Accidental Creative: How to be Brilliant at Moment’s Notice by Todd Henry
Today’s work world can be tough. Before, just getting your job done was enough; today, everyone, no matter the role, needs to have a little brilliance in order to show their worth. In The Accidental Creative, Todd Henry gives his readers a base for brilliance by teaching them how to focus on critical work, develop stimulating relationships, manage energy, curate stimuli, and leverage
3. Fascinate by Sally Hogshead
Fascination—fascination itself is quite the mesmerizing concept, and a relative mystery. In this book, Sally Hogshead shares the answers to making your brand fascinating. Hogshead helps you learn how to increase prices, build revenue, get better leads, and attract raving fans all through the science of fascination.
4. Making Them Believe by Dan S. Kennedy and Chip Kessler
John Brinkley was a controversial medical doctor in the early 20th century. Though his medical degree was questionable, his ability to market himself and his products was not. This book will teach you 21 adventurous marketing principles that have held up to the test of time.
5. Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
It feels good to hear someone say ‘yes’, especially when it comes to sales. Cialdini shares his techniques and strategies, all of which are backed by scholarly research and evidence from experimental work, behind getting more people to say ‘yes’.
6. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Ries and Trout raise a great question: there are laws of physics and laws of nature, so why aren’t there laws of marketing? The authors have come up with 22 immutable laws to follow so anyone can launch and maintain a winning brand.
7. The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert W. Bly
A true classic for anyone who writes! Bly guides his reader on how to write persuasive ads, direct mail, and commercials—anything! His book will teach you to write copy that sells products. The newest edition even includes copywriting in the age of the Internet.
8. Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore
If you have a product you’re not so sure will catch on with the mainstream consumers of the world, this might be the book for you. Moore explores the Technology Adoption Life Cycle and how important it is for innovators to close the gap between different stages, resulting in an accelerated adoption of some new products. This book includes plenty of examples of both successes and failures.
9. No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent by Dan S. Kennedy
Who are the spenders in today’s society? It was once the consumer-driven middle class. Over time, however, their buying power has shrunk (and it’s still shrinking). So to whom do we market now, and how? Kennedy demonstrates how to reposition your brand in order to attract the more affluent buyers of today’s world.
10. Outrageous Advertising That’s Outrageously Successful by Bill Glazer
Before writing this book, Bill Glazer had a bad experience with a water sprinkler and his store, resulting in water-damaged goods. Instead of the typical approach of settling for what he could get, he did the OUTRAGEOUS—and profited far more than if he had settled. Glazer keeps it simple and explains, straightforwardly, how outrageous advertising can make you money.
11. The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joeseph Sugarman
Sugarman, a renowned copyrighter, is offering all of his expert advice on copywriting in this resourceful piece. The guidelines are practical and proven; get ready to entice your customers.
12.Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
Couple blunt and opinionated with an extreme passion for advertising and you've got David Ogilvy, a hugely successful icon in the advertising world. In this book, the legend himself guides you through the world of advertising. What more could you want?
13. Million Dollar Mailings by Dennison Hatch
In this book, Denison Hatch gives his readers the ultimate inside scoop on creative direct mail techniques, interesting approaches to copy, design, formatting, and offers. Quite simply: if you write copy, you need to read this book.
14. Impossible to Ignore: Creating Content to Influence Decisions by Carmen Simon
With anything and everything available on the web, creating memorable content that outshines competitors’ can be difficult. Carmen Simon's Impossible To Ignore offers the latest in brain science mechanisms that help us to create memorable messaging that your current and potential customers alike won't forget.
15. Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message by Michael Masterson
You've got your reader's attention. But what comes after the headline? Marketing extraordinaire Michael Masterson and copywriter John Forde are here to provide you with an abundance of genius advice on writing successful leads.
16. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher
VoglerThis updated and revised version of Vogler's esteemed The Writer’s Journey will tell you all you need to know about—well, writing. It's long been reveled as a classic, and continues to be relied upon as one of the most instructional books for writers of all kinds and walks of life.
17. Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers by Seth Godin
This book will teach you exactly what the title says it will. It’s got everything you need to know about permission marketing, along with the secret to shaping messages for consumer consumption, and how to think about the advertising of products, services—anything—in an entirely different way.
18. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuck
Social media expert; New York Times bestseller; what more could you want behind a book's contents? Gary Vaynerchuk will teach you how to knock out the competition by engaging your customers and creating high-quality content that works. And that’s just the warm up.
19. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
The tipping point: a crossing of a threshold, and eventually spreading of a social behavior, idea, or trend. A quick look at Gladwell's exploration into this phenomenon is all you need to understand why his book has caught on with some of the world's best marketers.
20. The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
Based on the idea that both our economy and culture are in the process of shifting from mass market to niche, Anderson's Long Tail explores the reasons for which the future of our commerce is not the same as it once was, and the direction in which it’s heading. Learn why Anderson believes that with ample availability comes a market that lives forever, in every niche.
21. Inbound Marketing: Attract, Engage and Delight Customers Online by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah
From the basics to the trade secrets, Scott's book should be your go-to for Inbound Marketing. Learn how to best put to use the inbound methodology in order to "get found" by the people who are already looking for you.
22. Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
The ultimate how-to for advertising, Hopkins draws on century-old knowledge and applies it to the modern world of marketing impeccably. Without a doubt this is one of the best places to start in learning the ins and outs of the advertising world—what works, what doesn’t—and how best to apply it to your business.
23. Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break Through Clutter, and Win More Customers By Marketing Less by Joe Pulizzi
Learn how to cut through the clutter, noise, and plethora of bad information available to each and every one of us, on just about any platform you can think of. This book will teach you all about the strategy behind process, implementation, and ultimately, the measurement of success. Perfect for any level marketer.
24. The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier
Collier's classic is still relevant in today's digital marketing world. A tome of direct marketing methods, business education, and overall salesmanship, this book is a classic. The Robert Collier Letter Book instructs readers on how to gain prospects' attention, distinguish oneself from the competition, and focus wholly on the customer's needs. It may sound relatively simple, but there's a reason Collier's book is the definitive guide to copywriting. 
25. Contagious; Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
What's the secret behind viral content? And what makes something viral, anyway? From studies that outline the power of physiological arousal, to the triggers we need in order to delve into something—Berger touches on all of it with such intellect and wit, you won’t be able to stop reading.
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