Top 9 Must Read Marketing Books in 2023

As a marketer, keeping up with latest marketing trends is essential; otherwise, you’ll lose your edge over other marketers. Upskilling does not necessarily mean getting certified, as there are numerous ways to do that. Listening to podcasts, reading Twitter threads, and staying active on marketing forums are ways to keep yourself updated.

You should also consider reading a few selected marketing books. The issue with all these resources is that without proper guidance, you might spend your time on many useless ones before you eventually get the quality ones. However, we have compiled a list of marketing books you should read in 2023.

That saves you a lot of stress, innit? Let’s get to it! – Below is a list of marketing books we recommend you to read by 2023.

Purple cow – Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

Author: Seth Godin

Overview

Seth Godin speaks a lot on marketing and published “Purple Cow” in 2003. In this famous book, he shared his opinion on why companies should focus more on creating great products or services rather than creative forms of advertising. Building a great product and targeting a specific audience that can spread it through word of mouth is what he advocates for.

The book is a good read for any marketing freak as it contains concepts backed by relatable examples. However, the purpose of citing those examples in his book is not for you, as a marketer, to copy them directly. Regardless, you shouldn’t be boring in your marketing campaigns; a good product without proper marketing will likely fail.

He likens some products to “brown cows”. Having seen the same colour of cows repeatedly, no doubt it becomes boring. But coming across a “purple cow” out of the many brown ones is enough to catch your attention.

Hence, author Seth urges you to create a noticeable product that can market itself. While this might look simple, how many companies have adopted it? It’s definitely worth reading as a marketer!

Buyology – Truth and Lies About Why We Buy

Author: Martin Lindstrom

Overview

The media is undoubtedly filled with useless ads, but what triggers consumers to buy? This is an exciting read on marketing that answers this question. BUYOLOGY is an outcome of a three-year neuromarketing study conducted by Lindstrom on over 2,000 volunteers to understand what influences their buying decisions.

Basically, it explores the subconscious mind of consumers to figure out what intrigues them to buy some products. In his study, Lindstrom assesses the effectiveness of some aspects of a company’s branding process. His result is surprising as it discredits our general beliefs about advertising and promotion.

Moreover, the book is interspersed with intriguing stories of some famous brands like Calvin Klein, Nokia, Ford, Marlboro, and American Idol. To elicit his idea, he highlighted the “why” of some companies’ failure and the success of others. You might want to find out, innit?

The 1-Page Marketing Plan – Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand Out From The Crowd

Author: Alan Dib

Overview

To some marketers, creating a good marketing plan seems complicated that, if possible, they’ll skip that process. Alan identified this issue and developed a one-pager solution that makes it easy and fast to create a good plan for your marketing campaigns.

Alan believes you’re not doing it right if you depend too much on advertisements for sales. The logic here is that many people are not interested in your ads. What actually brings them to you is the value they see in what you do. Hence, you should focus on value delivery.

In his book, Alan tells you “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 companies; How to close sales without being pushy, needy, or obnoxious while turning the tables and having prospects begging you to take their money; A simple step-by-step process for creating your own personalized marketing plan that is literally one page; How to annihilate competitors and make yourself the only logical choice; How to get excellent results on a small budget using the secrets of direct response marketing; How to charge high prices for your products and services and have customers actually thank you for it.”

Marketing For Dummies

Author: Jeanette Maw McMurtry

Overview

Many marketers still struggle to identify their target audiences and how to reach them. While many resources claim to proffer solutions to these, how many of them genuinely meet your expectations? “Marketing for Dummies” exposes you to an easy way to find, reach, and engage your potential customers irrespective of the kind of business you do.

It teaches you where to find your target audience, how to offer what they want, and exactly how they want it. It also equips you with valuable resources that can fast-track results from your marketing campaigns.

Essential marketing techniques like SEM, guerilla, global and behavioural marketing were covered. Of course, this is one book I’ll recommend if you are passionate about these techniques!

The Crypto Marketing Playbook

Author: Paul Democritou

Overview

Paul Democritou is well-knowledgeable in consumer psychology and has been teaching that for over two decades. He works with major crypto projects and startups as a marketer. You shouldn’t be surprised this book targets blockchain marketers.

This book teaches you how to take advantage of human psychology and give your project the needed visibility. However, Paul claims that what he teaches works irrespective of your product type, the social media used for your promotions, and budget size.

This is a breakdown of what you’ll learn…

“How to use approved copy to create powerful ads and brand consistency; How to win trust and Influence people; Proven psychological persuasion hacks to compel people to respond; Sales science strategies for writing effective copy; Things you should always/never do in your marketing.”

Digital Marketing Strategy – An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing

Author: Simon Kingsnorth

Overview

If you’re just starting out as a digital marketer, “Digital Marketing Strategy” is definitely one of the books I recommend you read. The book covers various aspects of digital marketing; budgeting & forecasting, personalization, customer service, user experience, content strategy, social media analysis and measurement, and organizing and delivering a digital marketing strategy to secure funding.

In this book, author Simon Kingsnorth presents the best way to formulate a marketing strategy for your company. He doesn’t just give a general method to do this. Instead, he demonstrates various techniques you could possibly adopt through case studies, illustrations, charts, and checklists.

For experienced marketers, “Digital Marketing Strategy” could serve as a “brain refresher” and a good reference source. No doubt, Simon put in the necessary work to create this magic!

Building a StoryBrand – Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

Author: Donald Miller

Overview

How do you want your potential customers to understand your product if you don’t pass a clear message to them? As a marketer, knowing how to connect with your target audience is quite essential for the success of any product you handle.

On the other hand, using the wrong words to tell your potential customers what you can do for them might be a turnoff. Of course, this could cost you millions lost in revenue. Through “Building a BrandStory”, Donald Miller conveys his teachings on how to clearly tell your brand story so your audience can connect well with you.

As a business, talking about who you are, what you do, and what is unique about you the right way can dramatically transform your business. Seven universal story points that trigger all human responses; why customers make purchases; how to simplify a brand message for your audience to understand it; and how to create compelling messages for different media are covered in this marketing book.

Influencer – Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media

Author: Brittany Hennessy

Overview

Influencer marketing is one big thing in this current age of social media. While it could be profitable, many individuals struggle to make their dreams come true as influencers. If you fall into this category, I can tell you’re probably not doing it the right way. Therefore, you should consider getting a copy of this book to influence your career.

In this book, Brittany teaches how to build an audience and engage them, package your brand and pitch your favourite companies, monetize your influence and figure out how much to charge.

She gives a proper insight into the world of influencers and how you could step up your game among your contemporaries. The book is relatively easy to read and understand. Moreover, each step outlined is succinct and well-detailed.

Quantum Marketing – Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow’s Consumers

Author: Raja Rajamannar

Overview

“Quantum Marketing” speaks volumes about technological advancement and how marketing has evolved with it over time. It is primarily targeted at large companies because the stated examples could be less or not valid for small-sized companies. Therefore, if you work as the Chief Marketing Officer for a big brand, it will be an exciting read for you.

Between, author Raja Rajamannar is a marketing leader at Mastercard, a global payment network processor. And obviously, he has hands-on experience building a top brand worldwide.

As a reader of this book, you’ll “understand the evolution of marketing and how to be at the forefront of future change; Get clarity on the right marketing strategies and tactics to pursue amidst an ever-evolving industry; Achieve breakthroughs in innovative thinking to compete in modern business, and Gain perspective from top marketers across industries.”