It feels kind of odd doing a list post. It’s not usually my bag, but it’s refreshing. A few days ago, as I unpacked a box of books I mailed to my Parents, I came across my marketing library. I ran to my computer and immediately pumped out this article. It’s that important.
Learning about marketing is essential no matter what you want to do in life. Whether marketing yourself to prospective employers, marketing a product to the public, or marketing your blog online, you can learn a lot from old school marketers like the ones in this list.
Marketing isn’t about being sleezy. It’s about understand people. It’s about understanding yourself. It’s about doing a great job at giving people what they want. Which, in turn, will get you what you want.
As always, all of the links are Amazon affiliate links. Click on them or don’t. No worries.
1) Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
by Robert B. Cialdini, Phd
I’ve read this book and listened to the audio so many times I can’t even count. (OK, that’s a lie, I’m sure I can count to 1 million!) If you haven’t read it yet go buy it, borrow it, or steal it now.
2) Breakthrough Advertising
by Eugene M. Schwartz
First published in 1966 and if you ask anybody who knows anything about copy writing they’ve read this book.
Fortunately, it’s $95, so that keeps it out of too many hands. :)
Yes, these books are listed in order of how I think you should read them. Get The Psychology of Persuasion first, then get Breakthrough Advertising.
When your world view has been sufficiently rocked move on to…
3) My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising
by Claude C. Hopkins
This one’s from the 1920s.
The quote on the cover is from David Ogilvy
Enough said.
4) Method Marketing
by Denny Hatch
This book dissects how 8 successful multi-million dollar businesses were built. Companies you’ve heard of and companies you haven’t.
Getting into an abundance mindset is critical if you want to have Ridiculously Extraordinary Freedom. Not much else puts you in that frame of mind like reading how other people built successful companies.
5) The Boron Letters
by Gary Halbert
I paid $100 for my copy. (It’s the big book with no cover in the picture above.) You can have it free at the late Gary Halbert’s Web site: http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletter-archives.htm
The actual letters are linked in the middle of the page there. Scroll down or do a search. 25 chapters of gold. Enjoy. (Then read every other letter at Gary Halbert’s Web site.)
6) Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got: 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition
by Jay Abraham
I love this book and I will review it in only 2 words: “host beneficiary.” Learn about it. Use it.
Host beneficiary helped me pocket 5 figure days a couple of times. I’m using it on a top secret Freedom project at this very moment. I’ll probably write about that project some time in the future.
7) The Robert Collier Letter Book
by…uhh…Robert Collier! :)
Written in 1937, another old time classic. ~500 pages. Read every word.
8) The Ultimate Sales Letter
by Dan S. Kennedy
I hate to list this book here. Why? About 5 years ago Dan ran a seminar that was promoted as an “absolutely no pitch all content” event. That meant the speakers would be providing massive value and not just standing up and selling us their garbage.
The cost was over $2,000. Add in a flight to Cleveland, a hotel for a few nights, and food and the total was over $3,000.
And guess what? It was a non-stop pitch fest with almost no content. There were a lot of big name marketers there (I won’t name names) who all agree with this statement, but not one of them would state it in public for fear of retribution. Me? I’m proud to commit commercial suicide.
So it’s bittersweet that I’m listing The Ultimate Sales Letter here. It’s an absolutely phenomenal book about copy writing and you should read it. But don’t pay the $3,000 idiot tax that I paid. ;)
9) Tested Advertising Methods
by John Caples
Proven headlines. Proven ads. Proven techniques. Tested Advertising Methods.
There you have it. Want to save $50,000 on an MBA? Read those books and go fail in a business or two. ;)
If you follow my Twitter you may have already read this but:
“Success can be built upon repeated failures when failures aren’t taken personally.” – Brendan Moynihan in What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars
(read that one too)
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Did you participate in Ridiculously Extraordinary Challenge #1: Quit Drinking Alcohol For 30 Days? If you made it until today, congrats! You can drink again if you so desire. If you didn’t make it, are you going to start over? As we just learned, don’t take failures personally. I know you can do it.