8 Marketing & Business Books that Changed the way I Think
Bonus: My favourite fantasy book series!
I will be honest, I read less nowadays.
I prefer gaming on the couch after a long day at work, which includes reading, writing, and communicating.
That’s why most books I “read” are Audiobooks - rarely physical, sometimes ebooks.
Audiobooks & podcasts are my preferred company while driving, walking, or cycling. Adding on the empty space, and reducing unwanted sounds with sometimes fun, sometimes educational vibes.
Today, I decided to share my favourite marketing & business books which I read over the past 10 years.
1. Alchemy — Rory Sutherland
I love Rory Sutherland, sometimes I feel like a fan boy listening to his interviews and while listening to this audiobook.
He comes from more traditional marketing, and truly thinks out of the box.
His book changed opened my mind to possibilities I never thought.
It’s about why logic is a terrible way to understand human behavior. It broke my strong belief in economics as a science, and my love for that kind of content.
Rory’s whole point: the opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea. Reducing the price of something can make people want it less. Adding friction to a process can make people trust it more.
The “right” answer and the answer that works are almost never the same thing.
If you need to break the patterns, Alchemy is the book I recommend.
2. This Is Marketing — Seth Godin
Marketing has been around forever. With AI disrupting everything, I strongly believe we should get back to the basics.
This is the book that brings you there.
Seth argues you don’t need everyone, you need the smallest viable audience. You don’t need attention and permission.
When you need to rethink the foundamentals, that’s your guide.
3. Purple Cow — Seth Godin
For some reason, I read Purple Cow last year.
Maybe I should have done it earlier.
Average products marketed to average people fail.
Today, every channel is saturated and you can’t out-spend the noise (ppc is so expensive nowadays).
You can only be remarkable, or invisible.
Purple cow is about how your differ as an act of marketing. (I think I need to re-listen to it after my current book)
4. Growth Hacker Marketing — Ryan Holiday
The growth hackers bible.
I can guarantee you, that every hack in this book has been saturated, overused, and utterly useless today.
But, from the point of view of those being “new”, this is an incredible look into how guerilla marketing strategies are born.
The mindset you get from this one, is gold.
Holiday’s framing of growth marketing is what got me to where I am today: it’s not a separate discipline. It’s just great marketing, executed by people willing to find opportunities where others don’t look.
That’s it. That’s the whole game.
5. Product-Led SEO — Eli Schwartz
Today, with 15 years of experience, I disagree with most of what Eli Schwartz says.
A few years back, his product-led SEO book was my bible, and is still a gold-mine for this kind of activity.
When you listen about programmatic SEO failures, it’s because of bad implementations. Product-led programmatic SEO is still a winner.
The best SEO strategies are built into the product itself.
6. From Connections to Conversions — Vasileios Mylonas
It took me a year to finish this book, because Vasilis doesn’t offer it as an audiobook. I finished it on my last trip to Greece, while on the airport going to visit him (he still owes me a signed copy) - and I gave the physical print to another friend.
LinkedIn is becoming the main way to market B2B, leaders are silently lurking there and connecting with peers.
Vasili’s book is a beginner’s book and I still got a lot of insights from it.
Easy read.
Good, evergreen tips.
You don’t always need the most complex strategy, simple things are pretty effective!
7. Buy Back Your Time — Dan Martell
I read this after a mentor recommended it while building own agency & consulting business 2 years ago (and then moved back to in-house).
Whether you are a manager or a business owner, you need to learn to delegate.
As a practitioner, I still find it hard.
But, that’s the skill you will find most useful as a leader.
Buying back my time was one of the most important advice I had, and the book actually gives you frameworks and rules to help do so.
WHEN to delegate and WHAT are the most important questions a founder should ask themselves.
8. Lost and Founder — Rand Fishkin (currently reading)
The one I’m reading right now (or listening).
Most founder books are sanitized reads, media perspectives.
Rand wrote took the honest approach.
It talks about the pain.
The difficulties.
The real decisions and mistakes.
You can feel.
It doesn’t give you “the answer” but rather the choice.
The best advice is not a catch-all answer, it’s the one that fits your needs.
Bonus Literature Series
This will be short of fluff, but it’s a long list, and I promise… I will forget a lot of great ones :)
Lord of the Rings - Tolkien is the king of high fantasy.
The Spellmonger - I am addicted, and we are on book 18 now (I think)
Dune - Praised may be our lord emperor Leto II
The HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Pure fun
World of Warcraft - Love lore tie-ins
A natural history of dragons - if you are looking for a female protagonist
Dragonlance (that’s probably my next one)
There are many other solo books, or series but it will take us all day to discuss. And, I want to throw a few solo that actually cover the socio-economic & geo-political climate of the day:
iRobot - Isaac Asimov
1984 - George Orwell
Brave New World - Orson Wells
Haven’t read but probably relevant: Fahrenheit 451.
Looking for the Next One(s)
I am nearing my end of the marketing & business books.
Rand’s is the last one I accidentally caught while scrolling on LinkedIn. I don’t really actively look for this kind of books, I get them by recommendations.
What do you think I should read next?