Are you looking for the best content marketing books to read?
Content marketing is an essential piece of the marketing puzzle, but it’s also a highly specialized field that’s constantly changing. That’s why informative guides like the best content marketing books are especially helpful for entrepreneurs and aspiring marketing professionals who want to stay abreast of industry changes and sharpen their skills with new and creative strategies.
Of course, since there’s a huge market for anything content marketing related, there’s going to be a lot of books on this subject. In today’s publishing climate, literally, anyone can publish a book through Amazon.
Because of this, you need to do your research and be more selective when choosing what book you’ll gain important information from.
But don’t worry — we did the research for you! This informative guide will break down seven of the best content marketing books you should check out in 2023.
1. They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan
They Ask, You Answer is a book written by Marcus Sheridan that’s meant to provide readers with a new approach to not just content marketing, but inbound sales. It focuses on what makes today’s digital consumer tick.
What makes Sheridan qualified to speak on this? He used the tactics outlined in this book to take his small pool installation business and blow it up until it was a powerhouse. He did this by showing off his experience and expertise through video content and blog posts. This exposed Sheridan to his target audience, allowing him to connect with more qualified buyers than ever before.
The main point of They Ask, You Answer is that content marketers need to focus more on answering questions and less on trying to hard sell products. According to Sheridan, when you provide helpful answers, you get more attention.
He even goes as far as to say that the traditional sales funnel is no longer effective. Answering the burning questions that relate to your audience’s pain points will help establish trust by proving your expertise.
The book has been revised and updated for 2023.
2. Practical Content Strategy & Marketing by Julia McCoy
Julia McCoy’s Practical Content Strategy & Marketing provides real-world marketing tips from a highly experienced individual. McCoy owns a content writing business that has grown exponentially over the years. It now has more than 5,000 clients located all over the globe.
In other words, she knows a thing or two about growing a brand from the ground up.
In the book, McCoy seeks to answer three fundamental questions about content marketing:
- Where?
- How?
- Why?
The exercises in each section will help you develop and sharpen the vital skills necessary to succeed in content marketing and ultimately grow your business.
Topics covered in the book include:
- Content mapping
- The sales funnel
- How to develop a content strategy focused on ROI
- The different content styles
- Finding your audience persona
There’s a lot of practical information about using keywords in order to optimize your content for SEO, with sections also focused on editorial budgeting, content promotion, and content creation itself.
Everything is broken down into a step-by-step process, making this book easy to follow and implement for the betterment of your business. Combining this book with project management tools will definitely help you with your content management strategy.
3. Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
Everybody Writes runs on a straightforward premise that makes sense when you stop to think about it. In a world where content drives success, every working professional is already a writer. We’re all forced to become writers in one way or another. This could be through a blog, website copy, or even just making regular posts on social media platforms.
In other words, if you’re tweeting, you’re a writer.
This is a book written by a highly reliable source. Handley is the world’s first chief content officer, with experience working with big-name companies like American Express and IBM. She’s shared her vast experience in more than 15 books.
The book expands on this basic premise and lays out strategies for attracting new customers and retaining the ones you already have. It’s a great book if you’re interested in high-end content creation designed to drive sales.
Handley walks readers through content creation, content production, and publishing processes, incorporating strategies to create a well-rounded educational reading experience. No matter how large or small your organization is, this book makes the point that you’ll be able to grow and thrive through the power of quality content.
Let’s look at more reviews of the best content marketing books.
4. Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi
Joe Pulizzi, the founder of the Content Marketing Institute, wrote Epic Content Marketing. In this guide, you’ll explore how to develop informative and relatable content while remaining entertaining for your target audience. Pulizzi breaks this down into a step-by-step process to make it easier for newbies to follow.
There are even practical case studies that explore the successes of major global powerhouse companies like LEGO and Coca-Cola. It covers a wealth of topics, like growing your audience, attracting new customers, managing your content budget, choosing your content niche, and measuring the performance of your content to judge its success or failure.
And we’re not the only ones telling you all this. Fortune Magazine named Epic Content Marketing one of its five must-read business books. Puluzzi has a wealth of content marketing knowledge and is hailed by many as a leading expert in the field. The term “content marketing” was actually coined by him all the way back in 2001.
His follow-up book Content Inc. is also excellent and deserves a mention on this list of the best content marketing books. That book explores how focusing on your audience and building loyalty through valuable information can improve your results.
5. Superfans by Pat Flynn
Pat Flynn’s book Superfans tries to get marketers to look at their audience as the individuals they truly are, rather than just disembodied numbers, clicks, leads, likes, shares, and whatever other metric your business tracks to determine success.
According to Flynn, you must remember that people are looking to you for support, reliable data, and sound advice to alleviate their pain points. That’s ultimately your job as a business — to care about them and help to resolve their issues.
Customer relationships are just that — relationships. And like any other relationship in your life, they’re built on trust and loyalty.
If you can prove that you’re a trustworthy business that actually cares, you’ll create loyal superfans that’ll continue supporting you and purchasing your products. Not only that, but your superfans will also recommend you to their friends and family.
In the book, you’ll find several real-world examples and practical exercises you can complete to improve your content marketing.Â
“You don’t need to change the entire world to build a successful business,” Flynn says in the book. “You just need to change someone’s world.”
6. Marketing Rebellion by Mark Shaefer
Marketing Rebellion breaks the mold of marketing books. Instead of introducing a general concept early on and spending the rest of the books fleshing out those ideas with examples and case studies, Mark Shaefer throws out a wealth of ideas, all of which could’ve had their own book.
Essentially, the message conveyed throughout this book is that companies ‌can’t be cold and uncaring. That means the most human company will ultimately come out on top. Shaefer notes that since most marketing communications are out of your control, your customers become a part of your marketing department.
How your customers are seeing you is definitely an important factor for your success, but internally, knowing how to correctly manage your employees for them to provide the best work for your customers is essential. Using a company like Bambee can definitely help you succeed both internally and externally.
You’re essentially breathing peak moments and experiences that’ll appeal to your customers and ultimately get them to spread the word about you.
7. Master Content Strategy by Pamela Wilson
In her book, Master Content Strategy: How to Maximize Your Reach & Boost Your Bottom Line Every Time You Hit Publish, Pamela Wilson seeks to fight against haphazard content and suggests a strategic content marketing approach.
By creating a more effective strategy, marketers can strike while the proverbial iron is hot, generating the right content and putting it out at exactly the right time. Wilson explores the content creation lifecycle while also explaining the components that make up the best content with the greatest impact.
Readers will also get a crash course in mapping out content plans and repurposing content for use in other mediums. For example, turning a blog post into a video or a podcast.
Best Content Marketing Books: FAQ
What are content marketing books?
Content marketing books offer you strategies for successfully marketing your products or services. The best content marketing books explain how you can create and promote content in order to meet your marketing goals.
Conclusion: Best Content Marketing Books
Content Marketing is a complicated and highly specialized field that’s constantly changing. If you’re looking to start out in the world of content marketing or you’re an experienced content marketer looking to stay on top of industry shifts, the seven books outlined above will sharpen your knowledge, helping you to become the very best content marketing expert you can be.
Don’t just limit yourself to one of these books. They all have something unique to say and come from the minds of experienced and successful marketing pioneers. That’s what makes these books stand out in order to qualify as the best content marketing books of 2023.
Readers, please share so content marketers discover this guide to the best content marketing books.
I look forward to your views in the comments section. Are there more books you would add to a list of the best content marketing books?
This post was contributed.
