Best Marketing Books - Do You Agree?

What are the best marketing books?

It is a huge question and the answer does depend on where you are but I have just searched Amazon.com and there is an overwhelming choice of marketing books.

As at October 13th, 2008 there were 416,117 items listed.

So for a small or medium sized business, which are the best marketing books?

I have listed my thoughts below and the books include Jay Abraham, Jay Conrad Levinson, Michael Port, John Jantsch, Mark Joyner and others (links take you to articles inspired by these authors on my Business Coaching Blog).

For your convenience (and a chance to earn some money to buy chocoiate) I had added links to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. These are affiliate links which means that if you buy, I get a little something to fund my chocolate habit.   
 

Best Marketing Book Nomination 1 - "Getting Everything You Can From Everything You've Got" by Jay Abraham

If you have an established business and you believe that there is extra potential for what I call "hidden profit" then Jay Abraham is the man who has turned finding and exploiting profitable opportunities into both an art and a science.

For many years Jay Abraham has been recognised as the world's highest paid marketing consultant and he has generated in the region of $7 billion of extra profit.

"Getting Everything You Can From Everything You've Got" is currently his only mainstream marketing book but I like all my clients to read it.

See my five star review of Getting Everything You Can - it is a superb marketing book and very much deserves its place as one of the best marketing books.

This marketing book is available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Best Marketing Books Nomination 2 - "Money Making Secrets of Marketing Genius Jay Abraham and Other Marketing Wizards" (also known as the "Mr X Book")

Even better (more comprehensive) than Getting Everything You Can is this legendary marketing book which was reputedly written by a Jay Abraham fan who "stole" Jay Abraham's secrets from many courses and programs and turned it into a tightly edited marketing master-file.

Unfortunately it is so much more expensive than Getting Everything You Can that it is only sensible to consider if you already buy into the Jay Abraham ideas.

This is not a marketing book to judge on its appearance as there is little white space and no diagrams.

See my 4.5 star review of the Mr X book. It is the price and presentation that has cost the book the half star downgrade.

You can buy the ebook here (affiliate link) or the book from Abraham.com

Rumour has it that this marketing book is being updated for the Internet by Rich Schefren and the price is increasing to $1,000 per copy.

I bought the ebook and I was lucky enough to be sent the bound copy of this marketing classic as a bonus from a Rich Schefren program. I certainly consider it to be one of the best marketing books, even if it is one of the most expensive.

Best Marketing Books Nomination 3 - "Guerrilla Marketing" by Jay Conrad Levinson

Guerrilla Marketing was especially written to teach small companies how to market themselves without a big budget in the early eighties and since then, Guerrilla Marketing has become to the best selling brand of marketing books in history.

This marketing book is focused on marketing, creating a marketing mindset and writing and implementing a marketing plan.

The classic Guerrilla Marketing book is now in its fourth edition (released 2007).

You can read my 5 star review of Guerrilla Marketing.

This marketing book is available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

The content is excellent but like Jay Abraham's Mr X book, the presentation of the Guerrilla Marketing book could be improved.

Best Marketing Books Nomination 4 - "Startup Guide To Guerrilla Marketing" by Jay and Jeannie Levinson

An easier introduction to Guerrilla Marketing books and much better presented is the "Startup Guide To Guerrilla Marketing" by Jay and his wife released in 2008 but this marketing book isn't as extensive.

See my 4.5 star review of the Startup Guide To Guerrilla Marketing

This marketing book is available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

If you are familiar with marketing and used to reading business books, I recommend that you read Guerrilla Marketing and skip this second book. Otherwise I believe you should start with the "Startup Guide To Guerrilla Marketing" and then, if the concepts click with you move on to the "Guerrilla Marketing" book.

Best Marketing Books Nomination 5 - "Guerrilla Marketing Revolution" by Jay Conrad Levinson and Paul Handley

The first Guerrilla Marketing book created a storm when it first came out but gradually it has become absorbed into traditional marketing. The amazing success has created imitators who also target the smaller businesses and Guerrilla Marketing has entered the business schools and big corporates.

Then in 2005 along comes another marketing book to challenge the traditional ways of marketing - The Guerrilla Marketing Revolution which builds on the psychology of buying and selling and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques.

Unfortunately Paul Handley died shortly after publication but someone has to pick up and advance the marketing ideas included in this book.

See my 4.5 star review Guerrilla Marketing Revolution

This marketing book is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Best Marketing Book Nomination 6 - "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port

"Book Yourself Solid" is a terrific guide to marketing for professional service providers, well written and with a strong, practical focus.

Michael Port is not as famous as Jay Abraham or Jay Conrad Levinson but he is building an excellent reputation.

You can read my 4.5 star review of Book Yourself Solid. I am predicting that I will be upgrading my rating from 4.5 stars to 5 stars.

This marketing book is available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Best Marketing Books Nomination 7 - "Duct Tape Marketing" by John Jantsch

Duct Tape Marketing is another marketing book targeted at smaller businesses and is an excellent read which will help you put together your marketing tools. It is very much focused on attracting new customers and clients rather than marketing to existing customers.

You can read my 4.5 star review of Duct Tape Marketing.

You can buy the Duct Tape Marketing book from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Best Marketing Books Nomination 8 - "Mind Control Marketing" by Mark Joyner

The Mind Control Marketing book is very different from the books listed above. Mind Control Marketing is split into two sections. The first reveals mind control or persuasion tactics which are used to influence people to buy. The second part looks at winning the marketing battle and in particular what it takes to win.

You can read my 4.5 star review of the Mind Control Marketing book or get the first two chapters for free from Mark Joyner's training company Simpleology.

Best Marketing Books Nomination 9 - "The Irresistible Offer" by Mark Joyner

I am recommending a second marketing book by Mark Joyner which is very focused on putting together your offer for a particular product or service.

I want to read it a second time before I write my book review so it may seem premature to include it on this list of best marketing books but I have done so for two reasons:

1. I agree with Mark Joyner, your offer is at the core of your marketing which is at the centre of your business. Too many people don't know how to put together a compelling offer.
    
   
2. It is currently available as a free pdf from Simpleology but I don't know how much longer it will be. I thought you would appreciate the chance to grab it while you can.

Best Marketing Book Nomination 10 - Neuromarketing by Patrick Renvoise and Christopher Morin

This book brings together the brain research from neuroscience and applies the ideas to marketing. Interestingly I didn't find many revelations about new things that worked in marketing but it ties together direct response marketing and brand image marketing in a way that makes sense of both.

You can read my 4.5 star review at Neuromarketing

You can get a copy of Neuromarketing from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Best Marketing Book Nomination 11 - Triggers by Joe Sugarman

In this exceptional book, direct marketing superstar Joe Sugarman takes you through the thirty psychological triggers that can influence, motivate and persuade a prospective customer to buy.

Told through the power of stories, Triggers is an excellent book for people who find traditional marketing books dull and boring.

See my review - Triggers Joe Sugarman

You can get this book from Amazon.com

What Do You Think Are The Best Marketing Books?

My blog works best when there is interaction so if you had to list your favourite marketing book, top 3 or top 5 which would you choose?

Has any marketing book made a profound change to the way you think about business or act in your business?

Let me know your thoughts on the best marketing book by leaving a comment but watch out for the captcha required to prove that it is a human rather than automated posting.

I am always keen to read more good marketing books. I will be writing another blog soon to capture the best Copywriting books. 

Comments

[Online Marketing Noob]

Thanks for putting together this list. There are so marketing books out there that I don't know where to begin. The Guerrilla series looks like the place to start.

[Paul Simister]

I do have more marketing books to add to the list and as a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach, I am biased. Some of the books are definitely better than others.

The individual reviews give you more idea about the individual books and whether the style of marketing fits you and your business.

[MarketingTwins-Randy]

I will offer up John Jantsch's DUCT TAPE MARKETING as one of the best and most practical small business marketing books. I read the book 4x in 2 months as I was starting my business - I then loved it so much that I decided to become an authorized Duct Tape Marketing coach. But I recommend it solely on the fact that when people read it, they typically say, "WOW, this is so practical!" Good stuff!

Also, David Meerman Scott's NEW RULES OF MARKETING & PR is another one of my practical favorites.

-Randy

[Paul Simister]

Randy

Thanks for your comment and you are absolutely right.

Duct Tape Marketing is an excellent book as I make clear in my 4.5 star review and I had intended to add it together with a few others to the list.

I made the mistake of writing too much about each book which then meant the blog posting took too long.

I will be adding Duct Tape Marketing soon.

[John E]

I would like to recommend the book Cunningly Clever Marketing by Andrew Wood. You can find this book at http://www.cunninglyclevermarketing.com . Jay Conrad Levinson said the following about Cunningly Clever Marketing "Cunningly Clever Marketing made me laugh, wince, nod in agreement, howl, point out a statement to my wife, and become wiser in the ways of both marketing and reality.
A superb read!"

[Paul Simister]

John

Thanks for your addition to my list of best marketing books.

[Expert Marketing Tips]

World’s Top Internet Marketing, Social Media and Online Business Books you should have read but haven’t yet: http://htxt.it/ghrb

[George]

Interesting list of marketing books but I haven't read a great Guerrilla marketing book yet. Not read two of the one's you mention and but I did read an old version of Guerrilla Marketing.

The best marketing book for me is "The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide" by James Stephenson.

Immensely practical and I book I refer to many times when I want to check up on what I am doing with a new area of marketing.

Highly recommended and the author is not trying to sell you on his consulting or coaching program.

[Paul Simister]

Experting Marketing Tips, you just scraped in under my spam filter as your list is relevant to the best marketing books.

I generally prefer people to post with their names rather than a keyword based phrase.

I had a look at your list of the best social media marketing books but really it is just a list of links to Amazon.

It would be much better if you explained why you thought those books were the best social media marketing books and who you thought they were particularly relevant to.

[Paul Simister]

George

Thanks for your suggestion of Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide.

I bought the 2nd edition about three months ago and I am slowly working through it.

While many of the other marketing books suggested above are books that you should start to read and then finish fairly quickly, this one is a book to dip in and out of.

It is certainly extensive and while I have one or two minor misgivings, I tend to agree with you and think that it will make this list of best marketing books.

I am also reading Cunningly Clever Marketing which is suggested above and that also looks to be an excellent, practical guide to marketing.

[Paul]

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