A common habit among successful entrepreneurs is that they read a lot.  Warren Buffett reportedly spends about 80% of his day reading.  We will start posting important books that we recommend and hope you find this useful, please comment below. Today’s focus is on Content Marketing which has been predicted to be a main focus for organisations in 2015, whether you like it or not, we are all in marketing. The 7 books mentioned in this post is a good place to start.

1. Permission Marketing by Seth Godin

Seth Godin is the genius marketer that gives us insight into trends of the future.

                                                                                                                                                       “Today, most marketers don’t notice, track, or interact with people until they are customers. Some don’t even pay close attention until the consumer becomes a loyal customer. Unfortunately, a few don’t notice their customers until they become disgruntled former customers. It’s essential, given the high cost of talking to strangers, that marketers move their focus of attention up the stream. They need to have a process in place that nurtures total strangers from the moment they first indicate an in interest.” – Seth Godin

 Buy It here >>

 2. EPIC Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi

Joe Pulizzi is one of the best authors that has not only defined content marketing, but has provided a step by step action on how to create it.

“In almost every one of my keynote presentations, I cover the content marketing mission statement.  It’s critical to set the tone for the idea of content marketing….or any marketing, for that matter.  Marketing professionals from small and large businesses get so fixated on channels such as blogs, Facebook, or Pinterest that they really have no clue of the underlying reason why they should use that channel in the first place. So the why must come before the what.” – Joe Pulizzi

 Buy It here >>

3. Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch

John Jantsch is the master of Small Business Marketing, if you have a small service business, this is a must read.

“My definition of marketing is: “getting someone who has a need, to know, like, and trust you.” That’s it! It is the work we must embody on the path to turning that know, like, and trust into try, buy, repeat, and refer. This work, as you may have surmised by now, is done by installing a system and systems-thinking mind-set to run your entire marketing universe.” – John Jantsch

Buy It here >>

4. How to Get Inside Someone’s Mind and Stay There by Jacky Fitt

Jacky Fitt’s book is compelling by the title alone! This is a very practical book that helps you think like your customer.

“Be in no doubt, it’s how people FEEL about your content that will make them relate to it, act on it, share it or bin it. To help your content be shared and therefore maximise your efforts, you need to ensure it combines elements of: 

Value – informative, opinion changing, useful 

Currency – newsworthy, trending, influencing 

Story – inspiration, vision, ideas, journey Emotion – desire, joy, relief, envy, fear, humour”– Jacky Fitt

Buy It here >>

5. Everybody Writes by Anne Handley

Ann Handley provides a step-by-step guide to write and create good content.

“Ours is a world where technology and social media have given us access and power: every one of us now has the awesome opportunity to own our own online publishing platforms – websites, blogs, email newsletters, Facebook pages, Twitter streams, and so on.  I don’t use the phrase awesome opportunity lightly.  The opportunity to change how we communicate with the people we are trying to reach, and what we communicate. Is tremendous – yet we aren’t taking full advantage of it.”– Ann Handley

Buy It here >>

6. The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott

David Scott helps people that have been used to the old way of marketing understand how much things have changed and what to do about it.

“Before the web, organisations had only two significant options for attracting attention: Buy expensive advertising or get third-party ink from the media.  But the web has changed the rules. The web is not TV. Organisations that understand the New Rules of Marketing and PR develop relationships directly with consumers like you and me.”– David Meerman Scott

Buy It here >>

7. Global Content Marketing by Pam Didner

Pam Didner has put together a more advanced Content Marketing book touching on 4 out of my 10 P’s of Marketing. This book has great case studies and can give you more ideas on how to have a global reach.

“In today’s content-rich world, the ability to connect different ideas and experiences is a prerequisite for marketing.  Everything else such as planning, tools, and processes follows.  Look for seemingly unrelated ideas and patterns.  Internalize how the various ideas may or may not work for you, then customize the reworking of different ideas through trial and error. You may not get it right the first time, but that’s OK! Through your attempts and experiments, you’ll discover what resonates with your audience.” – Pam Didner

Buy It here >>

Please comment below on Marketing books you’ve found helpful and share this with your friends and colleagues.