The digital marketing space is a constantly evolving beast. From SEO to social media, it’s almost impossible for a marketer to stay on top of the trends and know what they need to do next.
To succeed in the digital marketing world, you need to read up. There are hundreds of books on digital marketing available for purchase, so it’s hard to figure out which books go into greater detail than others.
Let me help you find what you should be reading!
The best digital marketing books list below offers a wide variety of insights from some of the best marketers in the world, so you have access to all their knowledge without having to spend thousands on classes or seminars.
1.) Digital Marketing For Dummies
Digital Marketing For Dummies Book by Russ Henneberry and Ryan Deiss is an excellent introduction to digital marketing for anyone looking to learn or new to the field.
This book is readable and understandable, with many examples to illustrate concepts. It shows how you can use proven digital marketing strategies and tactics to grow your online presence.
It also offers context for why certain things are important to know about in digital marketing, which is helpful given the vastness of the field. Also, the 50+ blog category ideas given in this book are precious.
This book is beneficial for beginners to clear many concepts involved in SEO and SEM. If you are a beginner in Digital Marketing, I suggest you start with this book first. That’s why it’s first on the list.
2.) Social Media Marketing All-in-One For Dummies
Social is New Normal in Digital Marketing. Many businesses have already started working on their social presence.
With time marketers have divided social media marketing into two major ways to promote your businesses—organic and Paid marketing such as very popular Facebook Lead Ads and others.
The authors have explained all aspects of social media marketing very well in this book. You will know the great ways and strategies of both organic and paid social media marketing.
This is an all-in-one social media marketing book any marketer would ever need when starting their digital marketing journey.
If you are new to social media marketing, this is a good and best book to start with.
3.) Marketing 5.0: Technology for Humanity
If you know the difference between traditional marketing and digital marketing, you will know how advertising has changed over the last few years.
With these changes, customer behavior is also changing dramatically. How do they interact with businesses? How do they react to various advertisements?
In the book, Philip Kotler discusses how marketers struggle with the recent changes in marketing and the changing behavior of consumers. What strategies are being followed by major organizations worldwide, and how to address these issues with proper business models.
In the end, Philip Kotler also discusses the ever-changing digital marketing landscape, including Artificial Intelligence for marketing automation, voice tech for marketing, Internet of Things and blockchain for marketing, and many more things.
If you know about marketing and want to know how to incorporate human behaviors with your digital marketing, this book is for you.
4.) Epic Content Marketing (Joe Pulizzi)
You might not know Joe if you are new to digital marketing. So, let me tell you something about him.
Joe Pulizzi is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute and has been called the “world’s leading expert on content marketing.”
He has authored 7 books and hundreds of articles. His book, Epic Content Marketing, is based on the idea that “premium content marketing” can be used to “defy gravity” by creating communities for customers.
This book will help you create good content that can cut through the noise on social media.
You will find a structured road map from finding your niche to setting up a process to create amazing content.
5.) Social Media ROI (Olivier Blanchard)
This is a book for old guys to adapt to the new things in marketing.
Why am I saying this?
This book shows how you can integrate social media into your traditional business.
Many businesses are skeptical about using Social Media as their marketing channel. In this book, Olivier Blanchard(the author) discusses integrating social media into your business.
There are some models given in the book that you can use and some strategies to start working on from day one.
This book does not focus on any particular social media tool. It focuses on Social Media as a whole, no matter the tool.
If you think you are also not too dependent on tools that are prone to change and mutate as time goes on and want to create a strategy to integrate social media into your long-term strategy, then this book is a must-read for you.
6) Digital Marketing Strategy: An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing
As the name suggests, this book will explore creating a step-by-step digital marketing strategy from scratch.
This includes choosing the proper digital channels for your business, utilizing them, and tracking the performance.
The topics covered in this book are many important topics that are must-know for any digital marketer, such as SEO, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, and much more related to automation and user experience.
If you have some knowledge about digital marketing and want to know more or learn more about each area in digital marketing, then this book is perfect for you.
7) Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers
For any business starting their online journey, the most important and common hurdle is, getting traffic.
Creating a website is not all you need to grow or start your online business. But, you need to reach your potential customers.
That is generally measured with traffic. This book helps you identify your ideal customer and where they exist. So, you can attract them and add them into your funnel.
Russell Branson shares many techniques and tricks you can use to increase your traffic and reach your potential customers.
The strategies discussed in this book are not some short-term things that will stop working after some time, but they are long-term, which will help you create steady traffic over time.
8.) Permission Marketing (Seth Godin)
Seth Godin is a prominent figure in marketing. I don’t think there is any need to introduce him. He has written 18 books on marketing.
Permission Marketing is one of them, a classic marketing book. It’s all about how digital marketing has introduced new ways of marketing that are more effective than traditional marketing ways used by many brands before the internet.
Have you seen the TV ads or any cold calls while having a nice family dinner? It’s just like an unwelcomed guest. In this book, this method is called Interruption Marketing by Seth Godin.
The permission marketing concept introduced in this book is the complete opposite of Interruption Marketing.
The author has shared practical techniques and case studies on using permission marketing in your business to get clients and grow sales.
If you want to look into something new and explore new ways to look at how you market the products, this is a good read for any marketer.
9) Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
Story Telling. Have you ever heard this word anywhere?
I bet you did.
Often, businesses have complex ways to explain what they do and how they help their customers.
And not being able to explain or convey this message is a significant roadblock in sales.
Donald Miller has found a great way to solve this issue. In this book, he shares many strategies for business owners and marketing to convey their marketing messages through storytelling and to improve their business.
People connect with stories very well. If you somehow learn how to incorporate storytelling in your marketing, you can improve your marketing results tremendously. And this book is what you need to learn that.
This is best for those who know something about digital marketing. But, even if you are starting your digital marketing journey, it will be a fascinating read for you.
10.) The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand out From The Crowd
From the start or by reading a summary of this book, you might feel that this book is not for marketers but business owners.
In this book, the author explains what marketing is, not just digital marketing, to clueless business owners who are just starting their business and want to get clients or sell products.
For any digital marketer starting their journey, this book is a must-read cause even if this is for business owners; you are no different when you are just beginning.
You will get a general knowledge about marketing, plus how you can use digital media for marketing.
The ideas and ways shared are perfect for any new business. You can even use them for your next marketing strategy for your client.
You will know things from getting your customers’ attention to retaining them long-term and building relationships with them.
If you are just starting in digital marketing and stepping into the world of marketing, this is a must-read for you before you go ahead with anything.
11) Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World
I bet you have heard about Gary Vaynerchuk (aka Garyvee). Many people know him by his social media or videos online.
But, do you know he is a four-time New York Times bestselling author? Yup, he has published many books too.
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is also one of his best books. He is a believer in creating quality content for users. In this book, he also focuses on this part showing how some companies create low-quality content without understanding social media and what their users want.
He shares strategies for creating better hook and content to make your followers loyal customers. This is the best book to read if you want to learn how to create quality content and content that is perfect for any social media platform.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, there are many books for digital marketers to read and they each have their own unique values. It is important for digital marketers to remain knowledgeable and up-to-date in order to maintain a competitive edge.
These books are best and must-read if you ask me for any digital marketers who are beginners or experienced.
Don’t just read this article and forget about it. Pick any one book and start reading. Don’t look at the price label cause the things and value you will be getting is much higher than the price you will pay for any of these books.
Let me and other readers know your favorite digital marketing book in the comment below.