21 Must-Read Books Internet Marketing Books

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21 Must-Read Internet Marketing Books

I read books, sometimes. I can’t very well take my laptop into the bathtub, can I?

Recently, while reading Trust Agents, by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, I was inspired to collect a list of books for our office library. This criteria for this list is fairly broad and the recommendations have come from numerous channels–mostly I rely on authors of blogs and books who produce great content themselves. The list includes anything that is relevant to doing business in the online space. I’ve focused on books by current thought leaders in Internet marketing, but I’ve also included a handful of “classics” on writing, communication, information presentation and general business intelligence.

So, what are the must-reads for a company that cares about communication, service excellence and delivering marketing wins for their clients?

Books by current thought leaders (in no particular order):

1. The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marking, and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly, by Seth Godin
2. I Love You More Than My Dog: Five Decisions That Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad, by Jeanne Bliss (recommended by Chris Brogan - he “loves the hell out of this book”–see #5)
3. Re-Imagine!: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age, by Tom Peters!
4. Meatball Sundae, by Seth Godin
5. Trust Agents, by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith (kind of a How to Win Friends and Influence People 2.0 - see #16)
6. Free Agent Nation, by Daniel Pink
7. e-Riches 2.0, by Scott Fox
8. Gravitational Marketing, by Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller
9. What Would Google Do, by Jeff Jarvis (via @thomashardy1805)
10. Radically Transparent, by Andy Beal
11. Permission Marketing, by Seth Godin
12. Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Levinson
13. The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media, by Paul Chaney
14. Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application, by 37signals et al (via @rob11n)
15. Web analytics 2.0, by Avinash Kaushik (via @dylanspencer)

“Classics”:

16. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
17. Language in Thought and Action, by S. I. Hayakawa
18. 19. 20. Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information and Visual Explanations (three separate books), by Edward Tufte
21. The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell

I’d love some input on this list, so if you have any additional resources to recommend, please drop me a line on Twitter @micooler, or add them in the comments below.

Melissa Koehler | October 22, 2009 | Comments (6) | Categories: General

We were at the Trust Summit breakfast this morning, hosted by the Harvard Club. David Maister and Charles H. Green, co-authors of “The Trusted Advisor”, were on the panel, and were brilliant. Definitely have to add their book to the list.

JAR Team | October 23, 2009
I’d like to offer a few additions/subtractions:

Addition #1 – Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples
This book is as old as dirt, but still makes a compelling case for multi-variant headline testing (and the methods for doing so). A must read for any SEO copywriter or online editor.

Addition #2 – ProBlogger by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett
This is a great introduction to the business of being in business online. Most online marketing books tend to gloss over business strategy and profitability – this one puts it at the forefront.

Addition #3 – Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout
I conveniently overlooked this book for years until an advertising professor forced me to read it three times. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read on consumer psychology and how it correlates to marketing (both on and offline).

As far as subtractions, I’d nix a couple of Seth Godin’s books – after a while, they all start to sound the same. Also, I think that The Tipping Point, though entertaining, is too presumptuous. It’s an interesting look at social economics, but never explores alternative explanations (ex. Gladwell seems totally convinced that the lower crime rate in NY was due to the policing of minor crimes. In contrast, Freakonomics attributes the phenomenon to the legalization of abortion, and subsequently, less criminals. Neither book offers any hard evidence that a marketer could use to guide decisions.)

John William DeFeo | October 25, 2009
What a treat (yes, reference to Halloween) to see my book listed among these others, many of which I consider masterworks. I’m moved, touched and honored to be there. Thank you for the inclusion.

Paul Chaney | October 29, 2009
Paul, I have to heartily agree with Melissa, we found your book very informative. Well worth a read.

A.J. Lawrence | October 30, 2009
Melissa, thanks so much for including my book! So humbling to have Chris “love the hell out of it” and to have you feature it here. Hope you are all thriving. Jeanne

Jeanne Bliss | November 15, 2009
John- Thanks so much for the suggestions. I agree to an extent about Seth Godin’s books. But still, I wish I had written them. As with The Tipping Point, they’re both clever and entertaining. And Seth’s success with them illustrates a great point about the power of social media marketing.

Cheers,
Melissa

Melissa Koehler | November 16, 2009