The BEST Books For Your Marketing Buck!
When looking for knowledge, one usually turns to books, right? It’s been that way for
centuries—books are the vessels of knowledge, empowering us with the information we
need to learn just about any subject.
And when going into business, one of the first subjects entrepreneurs head to the library
for is marketing.
Why? As my dentist puts it so eloquently: “They don’t teach marketing in dental
school.”
So for most business owners, marketing is a self-taught subject. And there’s no
shortage of reading material promising to teach all you need to know about attracting
and retaining clients.
In studying for my masters degree in mass communication, I had to read (what felt like!)
thousands of volumes on marketing. When I started my communications practice, I
added even more to my personal library. Some are favorites, dog-eared and
highlighted, while others can’t hold my interest past the first chapter.
So if you’d like to keep from filling your bookshelves with marketing books that are easy
to read and beneficial to your business, keep reading. I’ve listed five of my most dog-
eared, highlighted, and all around favorite marketing books full of information that
attracts clients…and raises your bottom line!
1) Getting Business To Come To You: A complete Do-It-Yourself Guide To
Attracting All The Business You Can Enjoy Paul and Sarah Edwards and Laura
Clampitt Douglas
Don’t let the size of this seven-hundred page beast scare you. Hands down, it’s one of
the best. Full of examples, tactics, and practical ideas, this book breaks down
everything from advertising and publicity to networking and above into very simple steps.
There’s also a handy resource index at the end of each chapter, and personal stories
from entrepreneurs and business owners discussing the tactics they used, how they
worked, and why they were successful.
If you only get one book, this is the one to get.
2) Marketing Your Services For People Who Hate To Sell Rick Crandall, PhD
Dr. Crandall’s angle is one most of us can identify with---a hatred of selling. Most of us
would rather walk fiery coals than try to sell someone on something, and the good doc
acknowledges this comfort from the get-go. So instead, he discusses the traditional
marketing methods (publicity, brochures, websites, advertising, etc.) with an emphasis
on consultative selling: identifying the problems or needs of your market, then showing
the market how your services help solve those problems.
By offering a solution, not selling a widget, some of the sting is taken out of the selling
process. An easy read full of practical solutions and suggestions.
3) Guerrilla Marketing Jay Conrad Levinson
The guerrilla guru. I love just about everything Jay’s put out, and this book is one of my
favorites. Guerrilla marketing is the process of high impact marketing without the high-
impact cost, and Jay’s turned it into a brand all itself. This book is full of innovative and
original twists on traditional marketing, all designed to give you the most bang for your
marketing budget.
4) Guerrilla Marketing For Free Jay Conrad Levinson
Just what the title promises, this book has one hundred tips and ideas on how to market
for free. Everything from where to market (getting involved in the community, publishing
articles in newsletters of others), ways to market (offer gift certificates, make free trail
offers, enhance your follow-up methods), to who can help you market (affiliate programs,
referral programs, etc) is in this handy volume.
5) Marketing With Newsletters Elaine Floyd
Newsletters (obviously) are a subject close to my heart, and this is by far one of the best
books I’ve ever seen about the subject. Not only does it discuss why and how
newsletters are such a potent weapon in your marketing arsenal, but it walks you
through design, copy, content, distribution, and how to build a subscriber base.
If you’re thinking of doing a newsletter, this is a great addition to your bookshelf.
Julie Ann Waid is owner of Waidwrites Communications, a full-service writing and
editing firm specializing in marketing communications. Sign up for her free e-zine
“J’s Communique: Marketing Tips For Business" at www.waidwrites.com.
Copyright 2006, Julie Ann Waid. All rights reserved in the U.S. and abroad. This
article is free to be distributed free of charge so long as the resource box above is
left intact.
When looking for knowledge, one usually turns to books, right? It’s been that way for
centuries—books are the vessels of knowledge, empowering us with the information we
need to learn just about any subject.
And when going into business, one of the first subjects entrepreneurs head to the library
for is marketing.
Why? As my dentist puts it so eloquently: “They don’t teach marketing in dental
school.”
So for most business owners, marketing is a self-taught subject. And there’s no
shortage of reading material promising to teach all you need to know about attracting
and retaining clients.
In studying for my masters degree in mass communication, I had to read (what felt like!)
thousands of volumes on marketing. When I started my communications practice, I
added even more to my personal library. Some are favorites, dog-eared and
highlighted, while others can’t hold my interest past the first chapter.
So if you’d like to keep from filling your bookshelves with marketing books that are easy
to read and beneficial to your business, keep reading. I’ve listed five of my most dog-
eared, highlighted, and all around favorite marketing books full of information that
attracts clients…and raises your bottom line!
1) Getting Business To Come To You: A complete Do-It-Yourself Guide To
Attracting All The Business You Can Enjoy Paul and Sarah Edwards and Laura
Clampitt Douglas
Don’t let the size of this seven-hundred page beast scare you. Hands down, it’s one of
the best. Full of examples, tactics, and practical ideas, this book breaks down
everything from advertising and publicity to networking and above into very simple steps.
There’s also a handy resource index at the end of each chapter, and personal stories
from entrepreneurs and business owners discussing the tactics they used, how they
worked, and why they were successful.
If you only get one book, this is the one to get.
2) Marketing Your Services For People Who Hate To Sell Rick Crandall, PhD
Dr. Crandall’s angle is one most of us can identify with---a hatred of selling. Most of us
would rather walk fiery coals than try to sell someone on something, and the good doc
acknowledges this comfort from the get-go. So instead, he discusses the traditional
marketing methods (publicity, brochures, websites, advertising, etc.) with an emphasis
on consultative selling: identifying the problems or needs of your market, then showing
the market how your services help solve those problems.
By offering a solution, not selling a widget, some of the sting is taken out of the selling
process. An easy read full of practical solutions and suggestions.
3) Guerrilla Marketing Jay Conrad Levinson
The guerrilla guru. I love just about everything Jay’s put out, and this book is one of my
favorites. Guerrilla marketing is the process of high impact marketing without the high-
impact cost, and Jay’s turned it into a brand all itself. This book is full of innovative and
original twists on traditional marketing, all designed to give you the most bang for your
marketing budget.
4) Guerrilla Marketing For Free Jay Conrad Levinson
Just what the title promises, this book has one hundred tips and ideas on how to market
for free. Everything from where to market (getting involved in the community, publishing
articles in newsletters of others), ways to market (offer gift certificates, make free trail
offers, enhance your follow-up methods), to who can help you market (affiliate programs,
referral programs, etc) is in this handy volume.
5) Marketing With Newsletters Elaine Floyd
Newsletters (obviously) are a subject close to my heart, and this is by far one of the best
books I’ve ever seen about the subject. Not only does it discuss why and how
newsletters are such a potent weapon in your marketing arsenal, but it walks you
through design, copy, content, distribution, and how to build a subscriber base.
If you’re thinking of doing a newsletter, this is a great addition to your bookshelf.
Julie Ann Waid is owner of Waidwrites Communications, a full-service writing and
editing firm specializing in marketing communications. Sign up for her free e-zine
“J’s Communique: Marketing Tips For Business" at www.waidwrites.com.
Copyright 2006, Julie Ann Waid. All rights reserved in the U.S. and abroad. This
article is free to be distributed free of charge so long as the resource box above is
left intact.
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