Chris Marr’s top 10 content marketing books
- Are you looking for solid content marketing book recommendations?
- Are you keen to increase you knowledge and understanding of content marketing?
- Are you ready to become the marketer you need to be for your business?
A good friend recently emailed me and asked “Chris, can you recommend some business/marketing books that I can read whilst I’m on holiday?” – no problem, I’m more than happy to take time out to signpost you to great content marketing books.
Every week someone will ask me for recommendations for content marketing books that they could be reading to develop their knowledge and skills.
I love it when people ask about books, it’s a very positive sign.
Over the past 5 years I can safely say that the knowledge I have gained is single handedly down to a good reading habit.
In this article I have included my most frequently and highly recommended books specifically for developing your content marketing knowledge and skills.
If you are serious about changing the way you communicate with your audience and you want to embrace content marketing, this is a great place to start your journey.
10 highly recommended content marketing books for small business owners
One – Epic Content Marketing, Joe Pulizzi
For me, this is top of the list.
One of the major weaknesses for most content marketing efforts is the lack of a plan or strategy.
Joe Pulizzi’s Epic Content Marketing is essentially a template for creating and developing your content strategy.
If you start here you will be starting off on the right foot!
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Two – Content Rules, Ann Handley
Ann Handley is one of my favourite Authors and content marketers and she has written two best selling books on content marketing.
I read this book a few years ago and it’s still a book that I recommend frequently.
I recently revisited this book for a workshop we were delivering and if you are remotely interested in content marketing, and you don’t have this book in your library, then you really are missing out!
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Three – YouTility, Jay Baer
“The difference between helping and selling is just two letters”
Back in 2014 this book changed how I think about marketing – a 180 flip!
It’s where I first learned about and started to understand the importance of the Zero Moment of Truth and why the best kind of marketing is the kind of marketing that people find truly useful.
Jay Baer has got to be one of the smartest people in marketing today and I highly recommend reading and studying Youtility. It will change the way you think about marketing.
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Three – Crush It, Gary Vaynerchuk
This book is responsible for the start of my journey into content marketing.
I read Crush It back in 2010 and it gave me the push that I needed to start my first blog and embrace social media.
Through blogging and sharing my knowledge I began to uncover my passion for marketing, social media, management and leadership.
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Five – The Content Code, Mark Schaefer
The content that Mark discusses and shares in The Content Code feels refreshing, exciting and is unlike other content marketing books I’ve read over the past few years (and I’ve read a lot!).
I’m now even more focussed on understanding my Alpha Audience better and investing in the longer term of building a loyal community around my content.
Content marketing is evolving and my gut feeling is that The Content Code is going to play a big part of the future for content marketing.
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Six – Inbound Marketing, Halligan & Shah
Inbound marketing is a fantastic place to start with inbound and content marketing.
It will ease you into the terminology, the concepts and get you think about how inbound marketing is entirely different than traditional marketing techniques.
Essentially the book is all about getting found online and pulling people in, instead of pushing your message out through interuption marketing.
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Seven – The New Rules of Marketing and PR, David Meerman Scott
David Meerman Scott is highly regarded in the marketing industry and has written the foreword for two other books on this list.
The New Rules goes into depth about how marketing has changed and provides you with a detailed review of all the new channels and platforms available. DMS also includes numerous case studies to bring in context.
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Eight – Social Media Explained, Mark Schaefer
Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of spending time on a few calls with Mark Schaefer.
He really knows his stuff about the culture of social and content within businesses and organisations and I urge you to buy the best selling Social Media Explained and dig in.
You won’t get a step by step guide to executing social media in your business, but what you will get is a much better understanding of HOW social media and content marketing fits within the larger culture of organisations, which is probably more important for business owners.
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Nine – Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Gary Vaynerchuk
When JJJRH hit the shelves in 2013 everybody was talking about it.
The whole philosophy of the book makes so much sense about how to market our businesses in a noisy social world.
Make sure you buy the hardcopy as the book is full of images and visual case studies.
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Ten – Everybody Writes, Ann Handley
I believe that writing is the most important skill for business owners and marketers. I’ve said this before on numerous occasions.
Ann Handley recognised that there was not a book on the market to help business people with writing, so she wrote a book to fill that gap.
If you are worried about your writing skills, this book will give you hope and help you improve and develop your writing skills.
Click here to buy on Amazon UK
Your Turn
- Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you learn?
- Do you have a recommendation to add to this list of content marketing books?
Let me know in the comments section below.
Don’t forget to be awesome!
Chris.
