Here is our list of top digital marketing books.
Digital marketing books are guides that offer actionable strategies to maximize your digital campaigns. The books touch on email marketing, website marketing, social media marketing, and other related topics based on the real-life experiences of expert digital marketers who have run countless campaigns. Examples are Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk, and Youtility by Jay Baer. These books keep you ahead of the competition with the latest updates on how to get and convert more leads.
These guides are a subset of business books and are similar to marketing books, content marketing books, advertising books, and social media marketing books.
This list includes:
- social media digital marketing books
- digital marketing books for beginners
- best selling digital marketing books
Let’s get to it!
List of digital marketing books
Digital marketing books add value to your marketing efforts with tried and tested processes for better results. Here are the best digital marketing books you should consider for your team.
1. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk begins his lesson from the title of this book. Using a boxing analogy, Vaynerchuk compares winning the hearts of your clients with the super boxing combination that brings down an opponent.
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook outlines the major mistakes companies make, such as spending money on social media marketing without understanding the intricacies of the platforms. As a result, social media marketers often have a well-funded campaign–the right hook, without laying the foundation of quality content–the jabs.
Vaynerchuk reveals that the best companies are committed to patiently building relationships with their customers, which softens them for the hard sell. You will understand that social media platforms are constantly changing, so your marketing team must be abreast of the trends.
Creating quality content may not make a difference if you do not create content adapted to different social media platforms, mobile devices, and client-base. Written by a social media guru, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is easily one of the go-to social media digital marketing books to make your campaign more productive.
Gary Vaynerchuk is a four-time New York Times bestselling author and an early investor in Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, and Uber. He was one of the earliest adopters of the internet for business, and he built his father’s wine business from $3 million to $60 million.
He also runs a full-service digital organization, VaynerMedia, where he works with Fortune 500 organizations to create digital and social networking techniques. Vaynerchuk brings his hard-won experience to build a reliable blueprint for social media marketing.
Notable quote: “It took thirty-eight years before 50 million people gained access to radios. It took television thirteen years to earn an audience that size. It took Instagram a year and a half.”
Buy Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.
2. Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation & Practice by Dave Chaffey & Fiona Ellis
Digital Marketing is one of the best digital marketing books for beginners. The authors begin from the basics and delve into the most recent trends in the industry. You will also learn practical steps to getting the best out of your digital branding. Once you’ve established clear marketing objectives, Digital Marketing is the tool you need to navigate the competitive sphere of social media marketing.
The book teaches practical business principles through case studies and interviews with the marketing staff at eBay and Facebook. The case studies will help your team understand the marketplace better. Digital Marketing also teaches best practices in developing digital marketing strategies, techniques, and optimization for different social media platforms.
The authors’ approach is scholastic, making the book suitable for students and digital marketing practitioners. Ellis’ academic background as a Marketing lecturer at Cranfield and Birmingham universities gives the book a detailed edge for academia. Chaffey’s experience in marketing consultancy and publishing online marketing books and advertiser bundles furnishes the book with a practical angle.
Notable quote: “Although the importance of the internet varies for different organizations, what all share is changing behavior in their stakeholder audiences whether they be prospects, customers, media, shareholders or other partners.”
Buy Digital Marketing.
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3. Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less by Joe Pulizzi
Countless marketing campaigns constantly flood the online space. Hence, you need to structure your marketing so that other campaigns do not numb your customers to what you offer. Epic Content Marketing takes you step-by-step through how to cut through the noise and develop a story that will keep your customers informed and entertained. The process expressed in Epic Content Marketing will help you to:
- determine what your content niche should be
- find and cultivate your content marketing mission
- establish a sustainable template for creating epic content
- know how to leverage different social platforms
- understand how to grow your audience using your established platforms
- measure your content’s performance.
Fortune Magazine named Epic Content Marketing one of the five must-read best selling digital marketing books. Pulizzi flaunts his content marketing expertise to show you how to attract prospects by creating content they can interact with easily. He posits that interrupting customers with mediocre content they do not care about will only lead to wasted resources.
Notable quote: “Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling.”
4. Digital Marketing for Dummies by Ryan Deiss and Russ Henneberry
Digital Marketing for Dummies is a pivotal digital marketing book for beginners. In this book, you will learn the importance of landing pages and over 50 blog categories you can choose from to begin your digital marketing.
The book focuses on the following:
- marketing planning
- SEO
- SEM
- social media
- data analytics
Digital Marketing for Dummies will show you critical digital tools to expand your brand reach and acquire new customers. You will also learn proven strategies to keep your audience coming back consistently. Digital Marketing for Dummies lessons will minimize unnecessary costs for social media campaigns.
The knowledge from this book will help you draw traffic to your website and convert your visitors into repeat customers. You will learn how to run a data-driven business and optimize your campaigns for maximum ROI. Deiss and Henneberry walk you through companies’ common digital mistakes and how to ensure marketing success.
Notable quote: “The customer avatar creation process begins with identifying the goals and values of one of your ideal customers. Make a note of the goals and values that are relevant to the products and services you offer.”
Buy Digital Marketing for Dummies.
5. Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster by Benjamin Yoskovitz and Alistair Croll
Lean Analytics deals with the processes entrepreneurs require to take a product from the initial stage to the market phases. In this book, you will learn how to measure and analyze your business growth and how to find your perfect customers.
You should understand what product or service your customers need. Yoskovitz and Croll stress that an entrepreneur’s biggest risk is to build something nobody wants. Such a mistake could be bad for the team’s marketing efforts and potentially the company’s future.
Consistent measuring and analysis will help you authenticate the problem you are trying to solve. You will also get clarity on how to monetize and promote your solution. Lean Analytics contains over 30 case studies of real products and interviews with over a hundred founders and investors.
Yoskovitz is a serial entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the web business, while Croll has over ten years of experience in web performance, analytics, and business strategy. Croll is a co-founder of Coradiant and has helped launch several other companies.
Notable quote: “Don’t sell what you can make; instead, make what you can sell.”
Buy Lean Analytics.
6. Digital Marketing Strategy: An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing by Simon Kingsnorth
Digital Marketing Strategy comes highly recommended by the Chartered Institute of Marketing because of its accessible, step-by-step framework.
In this book, you will learn practical principles on:
- SEO
- social media
- content marketing
- marketing automation
- messaging and email
- online and offline integration
- data protection and privacy strategies
Digital Marketing Strategy is an enjoyable read with implementable steps. You will also get downloadable practical implementation guides. Kingsnorth shows how to select, align, and manage digital channels and operations to facilitate measurable optimized results.
Notable quote: “In the 21st century, consumers expect sites that are available on any device with cross-device functionality and personalized experiences, and they expect to be able to directly contact businesses and get a response within minutes.”
Buy Digital Marketing Strategy.
7. Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is About Help Not Hype by Jay Baer
Youtility revolves around the simple principle that there is a better way to sell your product than hype marketing. The Youtility approach uses quality information and helpfulness to transform the relationship between your company and its customers.
Baer’s approach insists that if you sell something, you make a customer today, but if you genuinely help someone, you create a customer for life. Baer draws from the real experiences of companies who have worked with this principle to improve their marketing strategy.
Jay Baer is a digital pioneer and host of the Social Pros podcast. With almost three decades of consulting for over 700 brands, including Fortune 500 companies, Baer brings expert perspectives to your digital concerns. Several companies, business schools, and colleges have incorporated the Youtility framework.
Notable quote: “What if instead of trying to be amazing, you just focused on being useful? What if you decided to inform rather than promote?”
Buy Youtility.
8. Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
Originally published in 1985, this classic digital marketing book shows the approach and secrets of a marketing master. In Ogilvy on Advertising, you will learn the fundamental pillars of advertising, which include:
- maintaining professional discipline
- performing intense research
- being creatively brilliant
- producing results for clients
These form the framework for what a marketing executive should be and how to structure your marketing approach. Ogilvy on Advertising is suitable for professionals at different stages in digital marketing. You will learn how to get a job in the field, how to choose an agency for your product, and the secrets behind advertising that works. Ogilvy will teach your team how to write a successful copy that people will read, while his 18 research miracles will show you the importance of quality research.
Ogilvy on Advertising is a masterclass that shows the core concepts that define marketing. A thorough understanding of these principles will impact the structure and outcomes of your digital campaigns.
Notable quote: “When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product.”
9. Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers by Russell Brunson
Traffic Secrets is a strategic book on identifying your customers and channeling them effectively into your sales funnel. This book will give you a new perspective on business principles and how to cause changes that consistently drive traffic.
Traffic Secrets will help you get your brand message out to the people that need to hear it. Waiting for people to come to you is not a business strategy. Discovering where your target customers are and throwing hooks that grab their attention to pull them into your funnel is a better and more sustainable strategy.
Notable quote: “Pay attention the next time you’re scrolling to what hooks grab your attention.”
Buy Traffic Secrets.
10. Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers by Seth Godin
Permission Marketing is how marketers shape their message to influence customer behavior. The book states that the approach of creating marketing campaigns to grab your customer’s attention is outdated and no longer works. Customers have grown tired of interruption marketing, hence the need for a new approach.
Permission Marketing offers the customer incentives to accept your offer voluntarily without the annoyance of interruption marketing. You can do this by reaching out to only individuals who indicate interest in learning more about the product. As a result, the chances of forming a long-term relationship with your customer will grow. You will also gain their trust and build brand awareness that will impact your sales.
Notable quote: “Creating value through interaction is far more important than solving a consumer’s problem in thirty seconds.”
Buy Permission Marketing.
11. The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization by Eric Enge, Stephen Spence & Jessie Stricchiol
SEO has become the bedrock of intelligent digital marketing campaigns. The Art of SEO is a social media digital marketing book by dynamic experts in SEO. You will learn the guidelines and innovative techniques that will impact your SEO planning and execution. The authors offer a range of effective tactics, from basic to advanced, making this a great digital marketing book for beginners and experts.
The Art of SEO educates readers on how SEO works for different platforms and shows its intricacies and complexities. You will also learn the role of social media, user data, and links in a successful digital campaign. The book will expose you to essential tools that will help you track results and measure the success of your campaign across different platforms.
Notable quote: “Users tend to use shorter search phrases, but these are gradually getting longer, especially for non-navigational queries.”
Buy The Art of SEO.
12. Marketing 5.0: Technology for Humanity by Philip Kotler
In Marketing 5.0, Philip Kotler shows how you can use technology to address your customers’ needs and make a difference in the world. You will learn how to harness technology for a dramatic shift in customer behavior and profitability.
Marketing 5.0 helps you to navigate pivotal modern marketing technologies such as:
- artificial intelligence for marketing automation
- agile marketing
- facial recognition and voice tech for marketing
- transmedia storytelling
- everything-as-a-service business model
- Internet of Things and blockchain for marketing
- virtual and augmented reality marketing
- corporate activism
The concepts listed above continue to shape the digital space and customer behavior. Marketing 5.0 ensures the sustainability of your business by showing you how to integrate these concepts into your business model.
Notable quote: “Marketing 5.0, by definition, is the application of human-mimicking technologies to create, communicate, deliver, and enhance value across the customer journey.”
Buy Marketing 5.0.
13. The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, & Strategies for Business Success by Lon Safko
Lon Safko presents a comprehensive social media digital marketing book that guides corporate organizations, small businesses, and nonprofits. Reading The Social Media Bible will expose you to tested strategies for using social media effectively. You will also see practical examples of implementing these strategies from numerous case studies and company profiles.
You will also learn significant updates to Google’s SEO algorithms, how to use plug-ins, and how you can integrate apps into your marketing needs.
The Social Media Bible also covers the following:
- photo sharing
- creating audio content
- the importance of Vlogs
- microblogging
- virtual worlds
- gaming
You will also learn the four pillars of social media strategy and how to do a social media SWOT Analysis. The insights in The Social Media Bible will give your team an in-depth understanding of social media business tools and which tools they need for success.
Notable quote: “Social media is a disruptive factor for many organizations. It will remain a mystery to many until it becomes commonplace, in the same way, a toaster and microwave are common to your kitchen.”
14. Hacking Growth: How Today’s Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown
Growth hacking is the process through which emerging companies develop and dominate their industries. Hacking Growth will show you how companies like Airbnb grew from an insider secret of travel hackers and how Uber developed from a startup to become a global brand. Legacy companies like IBM and Walmart have used growth hacking and Microsoft to scale their operations.
Ellis and Brown show that this growth goes beyond having great products and hoping the world would recognize them. Growth hacking involves cross-functional teams, rapid-tempo testing, and iterations focused on the customer. The authors outline the methodology of attaining, retaining, and motivating customers to keep coming back.
Hacking Growth walks you through creating sustainable growth using a hacking strategy that works. You will also learn how to steadily increase your customer base and market share with practical toolkits. Hacking Growth is essential for marketers, entrepreneurs, and innovators who wish to build consistent, replicable, and cost-effective data-driven results.
Notable quote: “So as you plan your first hacks to test, start with language, and then go from there.”
Buy Hacking Growth.
15. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
Influence explains the psychology behind people agreeing to your offers and how to use these principles ethically. New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Cialdini, breaks down the six universal principles of influence, showing how to harness them to influence people and protect yourself from negative influences.
The universal principles in Influence include:
- reciprocation
- commitment and consistency
- social proof
- liking
- authority
- scarcity
Knowing these factors will enable you to run easy and cost-effective campaigns on all digital platforms. Cialdini’s 35 years of scientific study in psychology back the content of this book.
Notable quote: “Often we don’t realize that our attitude toward something has been influenced by the number of times we have been exposed to it in the past.”
Buy Influence.
Conclusion
Digital marketing books cover a wide range of topics, from your customer’s psychology to the context and choice of words of the social media platform. Reading one of these books will make you more productive and strategic with your digital campaigns. In a few pages, you will gain insight into the minds with industry experts and learn to produce digital campaigns of the highest standards. The authors wrote these books from knowledge gained from years of experimentation, success, and failure. Reading digital marketing books will ensure you get great results from the author’s experience without excessive trial and error.
Next, check out marketing books and marketing conferences.
