A study by the National Endowment for the Arts found that only 43% of U.S. adults read any form of literature that’s not required for work or school. That’s disappointing as the habit of reading is widespread among some of the most successful people in the world.
Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day, Mark Cuban reads 3 hours a day, and Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. A successful digital marketer needs to possess a curiosity and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. This knowledge is prevalent in plenty of digital marketing books and guides authored by some of the most successful marketers in the world. Continue reading for our list of favorites.
Top 18 Digital Marketing Books to Read in 2019-20
1. What Customers Crave: How to Create Relevant and Memorable Experiences at Every Touchpoint | Nicholas J. Webb
Do you think you know your customers? The best companies in the world start by tirelessly researching their customer’s wants, needs, and desires. In the age of information, those insights are often difficult to discern. Within What Customers Crave, author and accomplished business strategist , simplifies the process into two straightforward questions: What do your customers love? What do your customers hate?
In this book, you’ll learn how to foster relevant and unique customer experiences at every point of contact. Webb brilliantly deep dives into understanding how to delight a customer in every experience with your brand. Learn who your customers are and what they care about in the ever-changing age of the internet.
- Amazon Rating: 4.3/5 (54 reviews)
| Derek Thompson
In Hit Makers, Atlantic senior editor explores the hidden psychology of why we like what we like and how the economics of mass cultural markets shape our entire lives. More specifically, Thompson analyzes the secret histories of pop culture hits and the science of popularity. As marketers, it’s extremely important to understand how ideas flow throughout society. We suggest you pick up a copy and learn more about interesting topics like why Facebook is the most important modern newspaper and why all Hollywood blockbusters are sequels.
- Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 (154 reviews)
| John Hall
Top of Mind will teach you how to achieve top-of-mind distinction by engaging prospects, customers, and colleagues with a strategy Hellweg calls “you marketing.” This is essentially the idea that consistent and quality content makes people’s lives better by connecting people with what they value. In other words, your content needs to provide value! Rethink the way your business goes about marketing with Top of Mind from John Hall.
- : 4.8/5 (62 reviews)
| Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown
From the mind of Morgan Brown and Sean Ellis (inventor of the phrase growth hacking), Hacking Growth dives into the origin of growth hacking. Included are countless real-life examples from high growth companies like DropBox and LogMeIn. Furthermore, the book is split up into two distinct sections: The Growth Method and The Growth Playbook. Hacking Growth is a must-read for any entrepreneur looking to successfully scale a business.
- : 4.8/5 (85 reviews)
| David Ogilvy
Published in 1985 before digital marketing was even thing, this book is still a must-read for anyone in marketing and advertising. That’s because David Ogilvy, “the father of advertising,” principles and teachings ring even truer today than when the book was released. Learn the secrets behind advertising that actually works and how to come up with ROI generating copy.
- : 4.5/5 (300 reviews)
| Nir Eyal
You may not think about it much, but most of our daily product use is heavily based on habit. This book by explores why people engage with certain products and why other products fail. You’ll learn the four-step process for making products that attract users. This process of a trigger, action, action, reward, and investment is a proven principle used by some of the fastest-growing startups in the technology space.
- : 4.7/5 (1,148 reviews)
| Alistair Croll & Benjamin Yoskovitz
Founded on the principles laid out by the lean startup, Lean Analytics shows you how to utilize one simple metric to fuel your entire growth strategy. The author backs up his claims with case in-depth case studies from companies like LinkedIn, Airbnb, and PayPal. When it’s all said and done, reading this Lean Analytics help you determine the best and most effective metric to utilize with your startup.
- : 4.5/5 (123 reviews)
| Seth Price & Barry Feldman
If nothing else, this book displays the immense importance of branding and more specifically personal brands. This thorough guide provides you with 26 lessons on how to develop a successful personal brand. Most importantly, The Road to Recognition displays insights from plenty of accomplished business people who benefited from their own personal brand.
- : 4.9/5 (95 reviews)
| Adam L. Penenberg
Viral Loop is a primer on the power of shared content in the age of the internet. Adam L. Penenberg, an accomplished writer from The New York Times and WIRED, gives a detailed account of how online products were designed to go viral. This includes first-hand accounts from companies like Facebook, eBay, Twitter, and Flickr. At the end of the day, we suggest reading this book for an in-depth background on designing a product for mass scale.
- : 3.9/5 (56 reviews)
| Jonah Berger
“Word of mouth is 10 times as effective as traditional advertising, but why do people talk about and share certain things rather than others? Why do some products catch on, some ideas diffuse, and some online content go viral?” This is the basic premise for Berger’s book that’s gone almost as viral as the concepts mentioned in the book. Learn the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. We love this book because it pairs extremely thorough research with real-life compelling examples.
- Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 (900 reviews)
| Dale Carnegie
, one of the most successful investors to ever live, regards the teachings of Dale Carnegie as some of the most important business lessons he’s ever utilized. We believe if it’s good enough to help him, it’s probably good enough to help you. At its core, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is a personal development book that helps you work towards becoming a better person. Check out this book for a range of practical tips and tricks that will help strengthen your relationships with people throughout life.
- Amazon Rating: 4.6/5 (7,359 reviews)
| Chet Holmes
Despite its title, The Ultimate Sales Machine isn’t solely about sales but also scaling a business from all funnels of marketing. You’ll learn Chet Holme’s same processes for time management, running teams, and how to optimize every stage of your marketing channel. We like to think of this book as an official guide for new CEOs.
- Amazon Rating: 4.6/5 (371 reviews)
| Travis Wright & Chris J. Snook
Nowadays, it’s all about customer satisfaction. If you’re not fulfilling a need in a convenient way, your customers or clients can certainly look for other options. This book teaches anyone interested in business how to create a more engaging customer experience strategy. Furthermore, Digital Sense dives into how companies can better compete in the market by meeting customers where they are and engaging with them in novel way.
- : 4.6/5 (27 reviews)
| Jonah Berger
From the author of Contagious, Invisible Influence explores the idea that we believe we have greater control over our everyday decision making than we actually do. More specifically, we are all susceptible to the power of social selling. We recommend this bok to marketers of all levels as it helps you understand the hidden factors that shape our behavior.
- : 4/5 (98 reviews)
| Adam Grant
Originals is a New York Times bestseller that delves into how people can foster new and revolutionary ideas. Grant draws upon his insights from business, politics, sports, personal life, and entertainment to explain how to recognize a good idea at the source. More specifically, anyone in business will love the ideas expressed about building a team of leaders and choosing the right time to act.
- : 4.3/5 (566 reviews)
16. Digital Marketing for Dummies | Ryan Deiss & Russ Hennebery
We’ve all seen the bright highlighter yellow “For Dummies” books that give you amazing step by step overviews to all different skills, hobbies, jobs, trades, and more. The digital marketing version is no exception. The friendly guide teaches you the fundamentals of various forms of digital marketing strategies and tactics in order to spread the reach of your brand, boost audience engagement, and build up customers. You’ll learn everything from up to date best practices in SEO and SEM to the latest ways to utilize content and influencer marketing. For a less pretentious guide to digital marketing, put Digital Marketing for Dummies on your must-read list.
- Amazon Rating: 4.6/5 (59 reviews)
17. HELLO MY NAME IS AWESOME | Alexandra Watkins
Hello My Name is Awesome is the premier guide to naming your product and business. Now updated, the second edition includes a full-scale reboot with twice as many resources and stories around the most and least successful names out there. This book will provide you with brainstorming tools, techniques, secrets, and strategies to steal the best available domain name and get your brand started off on the right path. A company isn’t a company without a name. Find yours with a little help from author Alexandra Watkins.
- : 4.8/5 (213 reviews)
18. Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints & Keep Your Customers| Jay Baer
Jay Baer believes your haters aren’t your problem, but completely ignoring them is. He believes a rise in consumer complaints is a huge opportunity and catalyst for turning better customer service into a marketing advantage. 80% of companies claim they offer exceptional customer service but only 8% of customers agree. Jay runs through the critical steps necessary to retain and please customers in the age of the internet when customer service has become a crazy rollercoaster ride for businesses.
When it comes to advancing in a digital marketing career, books might not be your first thought. Here at Brandastic, we absolutely love books and have found plenty of amazing reads that help advance the thinking of any marketer. Not to mention, reading helps you reduces stress and is an amazing brain exercise. Put down that phone or iPad and pick up a book to learn some new skills and relax.
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