Education is the foundation upon which all good marketing companies are built. Whether you’re an agency owner or freelance bot builder, you’ll want to constantly grow your skillset to bring a competitive edge to your work. Reading marketing books, taking courses, listening to podcasts: These are all great ways to build a strong Chat Marketing business.
The best marketing books will teach you everything from business structure and customer acquisition practices to strategic thinking and ways to help your team (and yourself!) stay motivated.
Here are twelve marketing books to help you create powerful marketing programs, so you can build a sustainable business in 2020.
1. “Rework” by Jason Fried
If you want to build a strong Chat Marketing business, you want to give REWORK, written by Basecamp co-founders, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, a good read. This book will inspire you to rethink what you know about strategy, customers, and productivity. You’ll take away a list of principles you can use to shape your own business, and build a sustainable foundation for the company you truly want.
“If given a choice between investing in someone who has read Rework or has an MBA, I’m investing in Rework every time. This is a must-read for every entrepreneur.” — Mark Cuban, co-founder of HDNet and Broadcast.com and owner of the Dallas Mavericks
2. “Invisible Selling Machine” by Ryan Deiss
Invisible Selling Machine walks you through the best email marketing practices to build and convert your list. Learn about each phase of the prospect/customer lifestyle, how to automate them, and turn strangers into customers, and then raving fans.
“Ryan Deiss does not disappoint with this little gem. It’s packed with great how-to information, exact email templates, and all of the psychology behind what goes into his billion-email-per-month selling machine. Just implementing a few of these ideas has literally added a few thousand to my monthly revenue, and I’ll continue to do so for a number of clients in the future. ” — Taylor H, Amazon Buyer
3. “They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer” by Marcus Sheridan
They Ask You Answer is a plain and simple guide on how to build trust with customers so that you gain an edge over your competitors. It’s centered around the idea of using content to educate and help customers, and turn them into brand advocates. They Ask You Answer is essential for companies hoping to get ahead in Chat Marketing.
“They Ask You Answer is more than another marketing book. It is a playbook filled with actionable steps you can take to start transforming your business today. I’ve used the principles and strategies within these pages to help dozens of clients become THE authority in their industry.
The second edition brings in new strategies and case studies for video marketing, conversational marketing, and scaling up. If you are a fan of the first edition, you won’t want to miss out on the second.” — Amber, Amazon Buyer
4. “Influence: Science and Practice” by Robert Cialdini
Ever wonder how to get your prospects to say yes? In this classic marketing book, Dr. Robery Cialdini explains the psychology behind why people say yes, and how you can apply those approaches to your business. You’ll learn the six universal principles of persuasion and how to become a skilled persuader yourself, so you can create more compelling sequences that drive conversion.
“As an author of books on selling, I keep an eye out for the best books on sales and sales psychology. This book is a game-changer.
… Salespeople are changed by the content of this book, like with all great sales books. For salespeople to benefit from a sales book, the ideas have to be explained, understood, proven, accepted, and made real. This book does that. I own perhaps 2,000 books on the subject of selling. This is certainly in the top 5.” — Claude Whitacre, Author
5. “Smash the Funnel” by Eric Keiles and Mike Lieberman
The buyer’s journey today is complex for both marketers and consumers. There is so much information available on the internet — videos, messaging apps, SMS, websites, social media, email, ads — it can often be overwhelming for companies to cut through the noise. This book challenges you to reimagine how people buy your product, and what you can do to make an impact on their journey.
“Time and time again, Mike and Eric are found changing the way business owners think about marketing. Each book they release cuts through the normal way marketing is practiced and introduces new and effective ways to better market our businesses.
With ‘Smash The Funnel,’ my team and I are putting the customer at the center and simplifying the buyer journey leading to my business being so much better in tune with how buyers are operating in today’s hectic marketing world.” — Jeremy, Amazon Buyer
6. “Crushing It!” by Gary Vaynerchuk
If you want to grow your personal brand, you want to read “Crushing It!.” The book paints a picture of the rise in self-branding, with stories of many successful entrepreneurs who’ve followed these principles. You’ll learn how to use social media to gain influence while becoming a better you, both personally and professionally.
“Gary Vaynerchuk’s ‘Crushing It!’ was a great representation of the modern day. It truly shows the new styles of art, influence and especially job opportunities that social media has created for us. It is amazing how much one person can know about a topic. But after looking deeper into Gary and some of his other books, it is clear that he is a knowledgeable, credible and dependable source for a lot of these ideas…
Get the book. You won’t regret it. It will open a part of your brain and heart that will make you understand things about yourself and the space around you better.” — Jake Jervis, Amazon Buyer
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7. “Everybody Writes” by Ann Handley
Writing is the backbone for every Chat Marketer. From SMS messages to Messenger flows, what you write is more important now than ever before. It can make your bot persona friendly or boring, funny or serious — and can make or break getting that final conversion. Whether you’re an agency or solopreneur, you want to learn how to write effectively, and reading Everybody Writes is a great place to begin.
“Writing has been my job and passion for twenty-five years, but I needed the how-to advice that the author promised in her introduction: ‘… part writing guide, part handbook on the rules of good sportsmanship in content marketing, and all-around reliable desk companion for anyone creating or directing content on behalf of brands.’ She delivers everything she promised and more.
… but Part V – wow! It alone was worth ten times the price of the book. She gives point-by-point guidance for 13 different types of content that marketers create, such as blog posts, tweets, emails, headlines, home pages, infographics, and more. Nearly every marketer will learn something on every page of this section, no matter how experienced you are. I expect to return to this section again and again” — PG Bartlett, Amazon Buyer
8. “Marketing to Mindstates” by Will Leach
Yet another great marketing book for today’s marketer. Leach takes the overly complex topic of behavior psychology and economics and turns it into an easy-to-read and actionable book to grab people’s attention and drive purchase behaviors. If you want to improve your messaging and create better lead generation and sales flows, you want to check out “Marketing to Mindstates.”
“For the first time, decades of behavioral and psychological decision-making theories are illuminated and come to life in a practical, approachable application guide.
You will finish this book completely re-thinking your research, marketing and go-to-market approaches.” — Pam Forbus, SVP Consumer Experience, The Walt Disney Studios
9. “Girl Code” by Cara Alwill Leyba
Cara shares the secrets of building confidence in yourself and empowering other women as a female entrepreneur. HerCode offers continual strategies to foster the power of connection and to connect with why you do what you do in both life and business. She will guide you through how to handle things like jealousy, burn out, treating yourself right, and how to determine what success means to you.
“This book is seriously amazing and one I will recommend to all my friends. Being a female entrepreneur can be ridiculously tough and one of the toughest parts can be dealing with other women. When women show up and support other crazy amazing things can happen!
This book helps you roadmap your personal thoughts and dreams to be a better you by helping you connect with yourself and your why. Through truly connecting with your why and forgetting jealousy of others you can find a space where you support those around you instead of beating them down.” — Kat, Amazon Buyer.
10. “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” by Mark Manson
Life as an entrepreneur is not easy. You have to manage clients, employees, numbers, strategies — all which can become extremely overwhelming if you let it get to you too much. In this not-really marketing book, Mark Manson walks you through how to take control of those emotions, in a satirical and philosophical way. If you’re a person who’s constantly affected by the emotional roller-coaster of life (and most of us are), and you want to not give a f*ck anymore, you should read this book.
“Resilience, happiness, and freedom come from knowing what to care about—and, most importantly, what not to care about. This is a masterful, philosophical, and practical book that will give readers the wisdom to be able to do just that.” (Ryan Holiday, New York Times bestselling author of “The Obstacle is the Way” and “Ego is the Enemy”)
11. “Content Mavericks: How to Grow Your Business with Insanely Shareable Content” by Andrew and Pete
This marketing book comes recommended by ManyChat Educator Partner Kelly Mirabella. She describes it as pivotal to the success in her business over the past two years. As Chat Marketers, we heavily rely on valuable content for our audience to build closer ties with them. However, creating this type of content isn’t always easy. In “Content Mavericks,” you’ll learn how to build an audience and make money from your content marketing efforts in seven steps.
“I have to say this is one of the best books about marketing or business I’ve ever read. It’s easy to read and written in a conversational genuine way. It’s the first book I’ve read that didn’t make me feel slimy about being a side hustler. Andrew and Pete have a content strategy that actually aligns with my moral compass. There’s absolutely nothing in this book that feels scammy or dodgy. I followed all the steps and strategies in this book with a completely clear conscience.
Each strategy in this book builds off the one before it. It’s like a road map to connect your business with your audience. I’ve gone through the steps and have seen big gains with repayable engagement ever since. I think as I continue to fine-tune and hone my content stamp, I will continue to see growth and improvement because I will connect and help more of the people my content is designed for.” — Jeni B, Amazon Buyer
12. “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey
“The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People” by Stephen R. Covey has been around for decades. It’s a classic self-improvement book that has sold over 20 million copies (and counting!). But more importantly, it’s helped everyone from marketers to business owners develop practices to achieve continual growth and improvement, both professionally and personally. Reading this book will give you new ways to develop teamwork, collaboration, and communication amongst your team, plus a little dose a self-mastery to crush your own goals in life.
“This book explains the seven principles that make a person more effective personally and professionally. Covey shows how a principle-centered, character-based life helps you build healthy relationships that are key to an effective life. This classic is well worth reading for its perspective and practical advice.” — Chad Warner, GoodReads Review
Final thoughts
These are just a few of our favorite marketing books for building a better Chat Marketing business. Whatever books you choose to go for, don’t forget to share the insights you pick up on the ManyChat community Facebook page!
Want to become a better marketer? ManyChat’s Chat Marketing software can help you build high-converting, automated campaigns that get results. Try it today, it’s free to get started.
