Read These Books to Master the Art of Marketing

If there is one thing that gets me the most excited,  is learning about how the brains of the best marketers work. I have always been curious to learn how the marketing strategies hit us that we end up purchasing what we don’t even require.

And it’s not just about the brands that utilize marketing strategies, it’s about every person around you who is trying to sell you-a strategy, a proposal, a story, a belief, or anything.

Although, before I completed my graduation, I thought that I don’t need to learn marketing as I can hire one if required. But after closely observing and spending about 2 years in the online world, I realized that if I don’t have knowledge about how to sell or how to market myself, I will soon vanish from the site of the market. Philip Cotler (The father of marketing) said, “The best advertising is done by satisfied customers.” and he is not wrong even in the case of self-marketing if you are able to deliver what you promise then you will automatically sell by word of mouth. 

You are betraying yourself if you believe that understanding marketing isn't vital to advance. Marketing is necessary and, to be honest, simple if done correctly.

Here are four books that helped me understand marketing and that you should read depending on your ambitions.

Top 4 Best Marketing Books of All Time 

1. All Marketers Tell Stories by Seth Godin

We, Humans, believe there is no one smarter than us, but in actuality, there is no one dumber than us. How?

Despite the fact that we have a brain, we are emotional beings. We find it far easier to connect with individuals and brands who appeal to our emotions.

You may not recall what you read in your textbook the day before, but you do recall all of the stories your grandparents used to tell you.

Why? Because we identify with those stories, we see ourselves in them, and remembering stories requires little effort on our part.

For years, George Riedel has been delivering a compelling story about wine glasses. He thinks that wine tastes better when it's served in his glasses, and guess what? He's right. People are willing to pay ten times more merely to sip wine from their glasses.

He claims that each wine has its own fascinating tale to tell and that the glass serves as a mediator, interpreting the directive for the person who drinks from it.

This is where the power of the story comes in. There is no one in the world who can stop you from being legendary if you can use the power of narrative to sell your products or establish your brand.

“We drink the can, not the beverage.”

Seth Godin's book All Marketers Tell Stories, will teach you how to tell a narrative, what types of stories to tell, and the dos and don'ts of storytelling. This is one of those books that I feel everyone, regardless of their field of work, should read.

2. Contagious

Humans are a peculiar species. We do things we don't even realize we're doing, and this is how we get marketers to win promotions and sales. Okay! Let's break things down into simple terms.

Have you ever wondered why some things become famous while others go unnoticed? Isn't it likely that it was just a stroke of luck? No way, no how! There is a reason why certain things become viral. Contagious is a book exploring why certain things succeed despite the fact that they are not unique. The distinction is in how you market it and how you treat your clients.

3. Full Circle Marketing(The best marketing book for beginners)

The book is divided into three sections by the author. Each segment discusses the golden marketing recipe that we have recently forgotten. Wayne's method in Full Circle Marketing is extremely simple to grasp and implement.

Part One: AIDA: Attention, Desire, Interest, and Action.

Although AIDA isn't a new concept, the author's explanation of its significance and how we can utilize it to advertise our product is well worth the read.

Part Two: Natural Development: You must recognize that people owe you nothing, hence they will not promote your product/service if they owe you nothing.

Wayne has demonstrated how to turn strangers into friends, friends into customers, and customers into personal advertisements.

Part three: This section summarises both the previous parts and teaches us how to develop a successful marketing campaign that encourages people to roll their eyes.

I would recommend this book to folks who have no prior knowledge of marketing and simply wish to learn the ABCs of marketing.

“Hope isn’t a marketing strategy”

4. Influence; The Psychology Of Persuasion

As the name implies, influence refers to a variety of human behaviors and choices that are subconsciously influenced by predetermined human psychology. Several psychological behaviors that force us to do things we don't want to do are discussed in the book. In fact, we may come to regret our decisions afterward. The book demonstrates how marketers use human behavior to sway our decisions and persuade us to buy anything they want.

Key Takeaways From This Book

1. Reciprocation: We humans have a tendency to return favors, whether it's a birthday gift, good behavior, or a polite request. This method is used by salespeople to treat you gently and then offer you things at a price they are willing to pay.

2. Authority: Research has shown that we are more likely to follow the guidelines of someone with a high position of authority. In fact, we mindlessly follow someone who simply wears good clothing that suggests some level of authority, not knowing whether or not the person is truly authorized.

Conclusion

These are the four books that I believe everyone should read if they want to learn how to utilize marketing to sell anything, anywhere, at any time.

You don't have to read all four of these; even one of them will suffice. I recommend that you choose one based on your objectives. Contagious, on the other hand, is one of my favorites. I'm sure you won't be disappointed if you give it a shot.