The Best Content Marketing Books to Read in 2020!

The content Marketing industry is amazingly growing through digital transformations! And reading books over content marketing also growing! Books are unusually deep for such an entertaining read. If you see those books as simply a business book, you take life much too literally, which is proof of just how much you need to read those books. This blog is about to let you know about the best books around the content marketing sector! Here’s to see!

1) Content Inc. by Joe Pulizzi!

Joe Pulizzi is the Amazon bestselling author of Killing Marketing, Content Inc. and Epic Content Marketing, which was named a “Must-Read Business Book” by Fortune Magazine. His latest book is The Will to Die, his debut novel. He has founded three companies, including the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), and has launched dozens of events, including Content Marketing World. In 2014, he received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Content Council. His podcast series, This Old Marketing with CMI’s Robert Rose, has generated millions of downloads from over 150 countries. He is also the author of The Random Newsletter, delivered to thousands every two weeks. His Foundation, The Orange Effect, delivers speech therapy and technology services to children in over 25 states.

What readers (Julie Graff) say about this book-

The concept behind Content, Inc., is using content to build an audience BEFORE you have anything to sell them. You can then learn about your audience, their pain points, and the solutions that they would really pay money for. I’m not an entrepreneur and don’t play one on TV ? Nonetheless, this is one of the best books on content I have ever read, and I feel it should be required reading for anyone trying to build a content strategy. Content, Inc., is blueprint for building a business from content, but more than that, it’s an extensive guide for creating content that rises up above all the noise. That means creating great content isn’t enough. You must write from the intersection of your skill and passion (your “sweet spot”), target a narrowly defined audience that will find your content indispensable, and then find a”tilt”–that content hole that no one else online is filling. By following this formula, you have a story to tell that will stand out from the clutter. In a way, it’s so simple that it’s hard to believe that this isn’t the way it’s always done. But so often, brands go into content without any real plan, or if there is a plan, it looks virtually everyone else’s. The strategy recommended here takes you from being a nobody to being a Joe Pulizzi, Michael Stelzner, or Ian Cleary (all whose stories are told in the book). That is the heart of the book, but there is so much more: Leveraging influencers, repurposing, speaking, book writing, monetizing, etc. You’ll find numerous examples of platforms you can use as your content hub or to promote your content. For non-entrepreneurs like myself, there are some things that don’t apply–but not much. I was asked to read this book by our CEO and borrowed it from our company library, but within the first chapter, I wanted my own copy so I could highlight and bookmark key areas. There are so many ideas and actionables in this book, it is going to serve as a constant resource I’ll be referring back to often.

2) Content Marketing by Joe Wilson Schaefer!

Gerry T. Warner is a Social Media Marketing Director and author of books on social media strategies. As the head of his company’s Digital Marketing department, he got interested in Social Media when it started gaining traction, but got frustrated learning how to best leverage the power of Social Media for business success. Gerry however, was hooked on figuring out how to best use his company’s Social Media channels with the goal of helping spread their corporate brand and eventually getting sales from his company’s products and services. After many failures testing out various Social Media Strategies on his campaigns, Gerry soon began seeing actual results. One Social Media campaign for a newly launched product last year helped increase both brand awareness and sales. With the books that he writes on Social Media Marketing Strategies, Gerry hopes to provide great value and to help readers interested in learning Social Media Marketing get effective results. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys reading books on Digital Marketing.

What readers (Sandra Cox) say about this book-

It’s a great book. it is an essential guide to learn step by step. There is a lot of information out there, but unfortunately, a lot of the guides present vague information or confusing ideas. The purpose of this “how-to” manual is to cut through all the fog and give you tools, tips, and resources to learn and implement content marketing at your company. Get ready to uncover the mystery of how to succeed in content marketing, and walk away with your own content marketing plan (or two!), while also feeling empowered to take the step into one of the most powerful marketing strategies available to you today. overall this book is a highly informative guide for content marketing.

3) Words That Change Minds by Shelle Rose Charvet! 

Shelle Rose Charvet is a bestselling author and an international expert on Influencing Language. The earlier editions of, “Words That Change Minds” are international bestsellers, available in 15 languages. Shelle has been researching and teaching for over 35 years and is known for her advanced techniques used to enhance rapport, trust, credibility, and influence.

What readers (Joe Soto) say about this book-

There really are very few books that should be read by almost “everyone,” yet this is one of those books. Especially if you want to not only improve your communication and understanding of influence but also if you want to avoid difficult conversations and ever have to worry about how to motivate someone again. When you read the book you feel like you’ve been in a training room with someone who knows exactly how to teach the material to you with real-world examples and application of the material that you can test out immediately. Shelle brilliantly lays out the LAB profile in this book so everyone can learn it and apply the strategies in their everyday lives or jobs. Want to learn how people make decisions and how you can influence this in the future? It’s in the book. Want to learn how to motivate your staff, your children, your spouse? It’s in the book. Want to learn how to avoid difficult conversations? It’s in the book. Want to learn how to persuade even the most difficult sales prospect or employee? It’s in the book. The field of NLP is better because of Shelle’s masterful contribution to bringing the LAB Profile® to life in this book in an easy-to-read and easy-to-apply format. I’m an NLP Master Practitioner and NLP trainer, and I’ve consumed a lot of books, material, and courses on communication and influence. Words that Change Minds is at the TOP of my list of recommendations. I’m also an entrepreneur and I can’t think of a better book to recommend to my colleagues who want to know how they can have more influence and impact in their daily communication with their team and clients. My advice? Don’t read this book. Study it. Give it out as a gift to those you care about.

4) Stories That Stick by Kindra Hall!  

Kindra Hall is President and Chief Storytelling Officer at Steller Collective, a consulting firm focused on the strategic application of storytelling to today’s communication challenges. Kindra is one of the most sought after keynote speakers trusted by global brands to deliver presentations and training that inspire teams and individuals to better communicate the value of their company, their products, and their individuality through strategic storytelling. What began as a chance encounter at age 13 with a storytelling cassette tape grew into a passion for not only telling stories but a mastery for teaching others the methods and science of storytelling so they can better tell their own. She was a National Champion storyteller (yes, they have those), a member of the Board of Directors of the National Storytelling Network and has her master’s degree in communications where she conducted original research studying the role of storytelling in defining and revealing organizational culture. Kindra is a former Director of Marketing and VP of Sales. Today, Kindra’s work can be seen at Inc.com, Entrepreneur.com and as a contributing editor for SUCCESS Magazine. Kindra’s message spans all industries and her clients include Facebook, Hilton Hotels, Tyson Foods, Target, Berkshire Hathaway and the Harvard Medical School. Her much-anticipated book will be released by Harper Leadership in the fall of 2019.

What readers (Becky Willis) say about this book-

Kindra’s words are absolutely captivating. Within just the INTRODUCTION I knew this was a book that was going to change the way I work my business and blog. Yes, I’m a “professional storyteller”, but ‘Stories That Stick’ made me realize that I’m not telling them in a captivating, influencing, and transforming way. Now that I’ve read her examples of ways that good storytelling has transformed businesses, I’m ready to take on the challenge of using stories to grow my audience and connect with my customers in a whole new way. If you read nothing else, check out chapter one to see what happened when Extra changed the way they told their story about gum…then you’ll be sucked in and want to read more! This is a MUST-READ for anyone doing any kind of business – from selling a product that works for financial geeks (yeah, I’ve done that and REALLY connected with chapter four’s introduction – this was basically my company’s style!), ladies who sell bags or hair care (hey, that’s me, too!), bloggers (yup, we’re not doing it *quite* right but will be), or marketing gurus – there is something for all of us to learn. Once you read this one, you’ll be sharing and writing stories of your own – stories that stick!

5) Become A Content Brand by Chris Carter!

Chris Carter | CEO of VideoFort | Partner and Former CMO @ REP Interactive | Adjunct Professor @ Pepperdine University. Chris Carter is the CEO at VideoFort and former Chief Marketing Officer of REP Interactive. Chris has been published more than 150 times in national publications such as Forbes, Adweek, Entrepreneur, INC, CMO.com, Gosmallbiz.com, and Adage. As an award-winning producer, Chris Co-Founded VideoFort with his partners at REP Interactive. VideoFort has grown into a community of over 150,000 video creators around the globe. You’ve seen VideoFort’s footage in major motion pictures, online and in televisions shows like BBC’s Planet Earth. As the CMO of REP Interactive, his agency became one of the fastest-growing Video Production Agencies in the United States (according to INC.com). During this time Chris and his team collected 172 awards for their work with REP Interactive’s biggest clientele, growing the organization from a startup to working with over 180 brands including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Zappos.com, Amazon, Red Bull, Coldwell Banker, Century 21 and Sotheby’s International.

What readers (SomeGuy1) say about this book-

Chris Carter’s book is truly a masterpiece. As an entrepreneur, the shift in content creation cannot be ignored. Think of a time in history when humans ever consumed this much content — never. So if you’re a brand, service, product, or content creator trying to compete in today’s market, Chris’s book will get you there. It breaks down how to capture compelling content and teaches you various skills along the way. This book modernizes my old favorites like Words That Sell and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s an easy read because the great stories and metaphors keep you engaged. 5 stars!

6) Content- The Atomic Particle of Marketing by Rebecca Lieb!

Rebecca Lieb is a strategic advisor, research analyst, keynote speaker, author, and columnist. Her areas of specialization are digital marketing and media, with a concentration in content strategy, content marketing and converged media. She works with many of the world’s leading brands on digital marketing innovation. Rebecca’s clients range from start-up to non-profits to Fortune 100 brands and regulated industries, including Facebook, Home Depot, Nestlé, Anthem, Adobe, Honeywell, DuPont, Fidelity, Gannett, IBM, Save the Children, Pinterest, Cisco, ad and PR agencies, and The Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Earlier, she was Altimeter Group’s digital advertising and media analyst, where she published what remains the largest extant body of research on content marketing, content strategy, and content’s role in paid, owned and earned media. Prior to that, she was vice president at Econsultancy, where she launched the company’s U.S. operations and grew the business to profitability in one year. Rebecca was VP and editor-in-chief of The ClickZ Network for over seven years, and for part of that time also ran the redoubtable SearchEngineWatch.com. She’s a frequent public speaker on topics related to digital marketing, advertising, and media.

What readers (Discriminatrix) say about this book-

What a relief to read Lieb’s clear take on this unruly field! She lays out the thinking behind content marketing and content strategy, then goes deeper to discuss how to organize to promote optimal content creation, measure success, and manage IT. Supporting her ideas with examples, graphs, and current case studies, she identifies the methods for unifying content expression across all channels into a coherent approach. As I write for an organization that is currently struggling through a content audit, I am thrilled to see a step-by-step analysis of this complex topic. I will definitely be sharing the book with my team

7) Superfans by PatFlynn!

Pat Flynn is a popular podcaster, author, and founder of several successful websites, including SmartPassiveIncome.com, where he helps people build thriving online businesses. He has been featured in Forbes and in The New York Times for his work. He calls himself “The Crash Test Dummy of Online Business” because he loves to put himself on the line and experiment with various business strategies so that he can report his findings publicly to his audience. He is also the author of Let Go and Wall Street Journal bestseller Will It Fly?. Pat lives in San Diego.

What readers (Zack Guido) say about this book-

If the premise of this book seems at all relevant to what you’re trying to achieve, buy it now without even reading any other reviews – it’s worth it. The book is concise and punchy and provides actionable value immediately. I flew through the book in one sitting without taking notes, and now I’m going back through with my notepad and breaking the book down even further to eventually develop a “checklist” molded to my specific business that I will revisit weekly, making sure I’m staying on top of things. The book provides a good mix of real-world examples of the principles in action along with many exercises for you to implement right away. It’s a good book to “brainstorm” with, starting with some of the ideas and challenges presented in the book and eventually finding unique ways to serve your customers in an “on-brand” way.

Thanks Pat!

8) Alchemy by Rory Sutherland! 

Rory Sutherland is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, where he has worked since 1988. This attractively vague job title has allowed him to form a behavioral science practice within the agency whose job is to uncover the hidden business and social possibilities that emerge when you apply creative minds to the latest thinking in psychology and behavioral science.

What readers (Paul Schwartzmeyer) say about this book-

It’s hard to describe the enormity of this book or Sutherland’s mind for that matter. The first thing that grabs you is the author has a mountain of experience in hundreds, perhaps thousands of ad campaigns. He also has that singular British quality of being odd. (His wife sent him to the store to buy a new toaster because the slots in there’s were too narrow. He came home with a bread slicer. I think he’s still married). I suspect that most readers will want to read this several times, both for pleasure (it’s really a fun read) but also because it will be hard to wrap your head around the information. An entrepreneur will want to think through the cases (there are dozens) and see how they apply to their business. I would rank this book up there with Taleb’s Incerto series. Important information from a man with a lifetime of frontline experience.

9) Storytelling by Daniel Anderson! 

Daniel Anderson hails from Madison, Alabama. In his spare time, he enjoys writing fiction while hoping for a better tomorrow.

What readers (Suzanne) say about this book-

This is a generally excellent book that will show you how to do storying of the Bible. It is an incredible follow-up to any book that gets you keen on imparting the Bible through the ground-breaking method for storying. An extraordinary update for veteran storytellers of the considerable number of things we have to focus on so our accounts are as well as can be expected be.

10) Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport!

Cal Newport is an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University. He’s also a writer who focuses on the impact of technology on society. He’s the author of six books, including Digital Minimalism and Deep Work, and writes regular essays for his popular website, calnewport.com.

What readers (Brian Johnson) say about this book-

Cal Newport is one of my favorite thinkers. He got his Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT and is now a Professor at Georgetown. He’s also a bestselling author of a number of books including one of my top all-time favorites: Deep Work. Given the fact that the fastest way to Optimize your life is to STOP doing things that are sub-optimal AND the fact that (for nearly all of us) our use of technology is the #1 thing that “Needs work!,” I think it’s SUPER important for us to figure out how to best use all the technology available to us WITHOUT becoming lost in a tsunami of inputs. Enter: Our new philosophy of technology use: Digital Minimalism. Enter: My strong recommendation of the book. If you’ve been looking for a coherent approach on how to, as per the sub-title of the book, Choose a Focused Life in a Noisy World, I think you’ll love Digital Minimalism as much as I did.

11) Killing Marketing by Joe Pulizzi & Robert Rose!

Joe Pulizzi is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute, which Inc. magazine named the fastest-growing business media company in 2012, 2013, and 2014. He is the recipient of the Content Council’s John Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award for Content Marketing.

Robert Rose is Chief Strategy Advisor for the Content Marketing Institute. He has provided strategic marketing advice to some of the world’s most innovative companies, including Capital One, Dell, Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and UPS.

What readers (Carlos Dieter) say about this book-

One of the main things I agree with os the fact that we, as companies cannot be at the mercy of the media gatekeepers. It always boils down to the media provider agenda and not truly to the advertisers objective. We have seen it with it this last year with the scandals of FB and the US elections. I recently wrote an article about how Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, influence consumer behavior to pursue their own agenda. If you want to tell the truth about your brand, you got to be honest and do it yourself. Your audience will keep you honest. Why because you can say whatever you want about your brand, it does not matter. You do not control the narrative over your brand, your audience does. So the best thing you can do is join their conversations and built your brand by being truly engaged with both, the audience that hates you and the audience that loves you.

12) Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi!

Joe Pulizzi is the Amazon bestselling author of Killing Marketing, Content Inc. and Epic Content Marketing, which was named a “Must-Read Business Book” by Fortune Magazine. His latest book is The Will to Die, his debut novel. He has founded three companies, including the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), and has launched dozens of events, including Content Marketing World. In 2014, he received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Content Council. His podcast series, This Old Marketing with CMI’s Robert Rose, has generated millions of downloads from over 150 countries. He is also the author of The Random Newsletter, delivered to thousands every two weeks. His Foundation, The Orange Effect, delivers speech therapy and technology services to children in over 25 states.

What readers (Carlos Dieter) say about this book-

Joe Pulizzi’s Epic Content Marketing is a primary text read for NSU’s MKT 3605 class in content marketing. Believed by many as THE expert in content marketing, Joe provides a comprehensive instructional guide on how to adopt an effective content-driven marketing organization in a growing world of infobesity. The book, in my opinion, qualifies academically as a primary reading for undergraduate-level courses and supplementary reading for MBA level courses. The recommendation is based on the following:

1) Joe has extensive experience as a marketer and social media influencer for major brands. His company, Content Marketing Institute, is heralded for its leading-edge podcasts, blogs and world-renown conferences devoted to the subject of content marketing.

2) The book provides a solid case for how content should drive our sales funnel efforts.

3) Using content marketing as the center of a new wave of marketing, Joe effectively captures why storytelling, influence and the development of subscription-based audiences are redefining the way we market ourselves.

4) The book is perfectly organized for a course on content marketing adoption. Starting with the rationale for adopting a content-intensive strategy, the book progresses through the content creation process, descriptions of what content works well and how to leverage social media for content exposure. It concludes with the highly demanded subjects of measurement, staffing and content planning.

5) The book has an exhaustive list of examples on the effective use of content by well-known brands.

6) Joe’s humorous style turns a dry and detail-oriented subject into a fun read. It fits his orange suit persona that can pack an audience at key conferences.

13) F#ck Content Marketing by Randy Frisch!

Randy Frisch has defined and led the content experience movement, prompting marketers to think beyond content creation and focus on the experience. This movement has fuelled an annual conference, Conex: The Content Experience, that brings together 750+ passionate marketers, and a North American-wide Tour. Randy is the CMO and Co-Founder at Uberflip, a content experience platform that empowers marketers to create content experiences at every stage of the buyer journey. He is also a host of the Conex: The Content Experience Show podcast, a keynote speaker, and was named one of the Top 50 Fearless Marketers in the world by Marketo, and as you can tell by the title of this book, he’s been known to swear sometimes.

What readers (Carlos Dieter) say about this book-

This book starts out with the premise that it is not for content marketers. It is for others in the organization, but it is primarily for marketers. This is one hundred percent true. I am a content marketer and I wish my marketing colleagues at previous companies had the chance the read this book while I was there. It really explains how content marketing works across a company and how results happen when everyone knows their role with regard to content. It helps that the book is grounded in the most common go-to-market strategies: inbound marketing, demand generation, account-based marketing and sales enablement. It makes the case that the content experience is just as important as the content itself. Great content that provides value is table stakes for any B2B organization, and that is not under discussion. The core of the book is the content experience framework, which supports how to personalize content experiences at scale. The five parts of the framework are centralize content, organize content, personalize experiences, distribute content, and generate results. Each element is covered in its own chapter. While the book is based on the author’s conversations with marketers and examples from his own company’s software customers, it is not a pitch for Uberflip as a content experience platform. It is based on the ideas that led to the development of the tool in the first place and how they have been refined over the years. Randy’s crisp and clear tone, as well as personal stories and hockey analogies (relatable for non-Canadians), make this a book that all B2B marketers should read in 2019, especially if they really want to understand how to use content to connect with customers and prospects. Disclosure: Randy and I co-hosted Season 3 of the Content Pros podcast together (now the Content Experience Show) and I have been a customer of his company.

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