The Best Marketing Books of All Time

If you hang out in marketing communities long enough, you’ll notice everyone has a “must-read” list. Truthfully, they are all great, but there are just so many out there. The trick is finding the few titles that actually change the way you think. We pulled together some of what we think are the best marketing books.

The Best Marketing Books

How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp

How Brands Grow still holds strong after years and divides marketers. Byron Sharp basically says: forget what you think you know, look at the evidence. He shares real data on brand loyalty, market penetration, and why reach matters way more than meltdowns over segmentation. 

This take does still divide marketers (in fact, we tend to take a different view, leaning more into loyalty and niche audiences.) But it’s really worth a read. People rave about it because it feels refreshingly grounded (“Finally, someone speaks marketing in math, not mythology”). 

It turns decades of scholarly research into simple “laws” that marketers (and even C-suite skeptics) can actually trust and take action on.

Obviously Awesome by April Dunford

This is your strategic business tool that shapes everything from messaging to pricing.

If you’ve ever been in a meeting where nobody can explain what your product really does… Dunford’s Obviously Awesome is going to help. 

She makes the idea of positioning much more approachable and practical. And readers love that April doesn’t cage you in branding jargon—she walks you through a friendly, step-by-step playbook to uncover your product’s secret sauce. 

April’s worked with so many startups and scale-ups that her examples feel painfully familiar—you’ll nod, laugh, and then probably rewrite your homepage.

Contagious by Jonah Berger

Contagious tackles the question we all secretly have: why does some random meme blow up while my campaign with a six-figure budget sinks?

It’s perfect when you're trying to figure out how to make your campaign or content actually stick in people’s minds—or their timelines. 

Berger lays out the “6 STEPPS” framework (Social currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical value, Stories) to guide ideas that “feel less engineered and more inevitable.” The book is a perfect blend of psychology and marketing, helping us to understand our audience and content marketing a little bit better.

Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath

Another great framework for making campaigns, copy, and content stick is the Heath brother’s SUCCESs, outlined in Made to Stick.

The framework (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories) makes you see your own messaging in a whole new light, usually with an “oh wow, we’ve been overcomplicating this.” Each chapter ends with a “Clinic” that applies the principle in a real-world example, helping guide you through future rewrites. The book turns storytelling into strategy and teaches you how to stick messages like Velcro.

Everybody Writes by Ann Handley

Reading Ann’s Everybody Writes is like sitting down with a friend who will roast your clunky copy but then hand you the fix. She’s your friendly, snarkily wise writing coach who’s lived through All The Bad Copy.

It’s for anyone writing emails, blog posts, in-app messaging, or even that overdue LinkedIn post (so yes, even you). Ann doesn’t shame bad writing; rather, she nudges us in the right direction to sound a bit more human. She reminds us that writing’s not an afterthought but the essential backbone of marketing.

For even more Ann insight, especially regarding podcasting, check out her session “Stand Out from the Crowd: Make Podcast Content That Matters” from the Brand Podcast Summit.

This Is Marketing by Seth Godin

Seth didn’t write This is Marketing to teach you the newest hack—it was more like reminding you why you signed up for this gig in the first place. 

It’s comforting to newbies and veterans alike, because Godin writes like he’s explaining marketing over coffee. He chats empathy, storytelling, and the idea that marketing isn’t about you, it’s about the smallest viable audience who actually cares. (A bit different from Byron Sharp’s thoughts.)

People keep coming back to it because Godin rethinks marketing as generous service—not persuasion. You’re here to offer your audience something valuable, not twist their arm into pure transaction. 

Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller

Building a StoryBrand is basically a brand messaging intervention. It’s ideal when your messaging feels tangled and your customers can’t tell what you do. People love the dead simple seven-part narrative framework. In the end the lesson is this: your customer is the hero, you’re the guide. Done.

What we really love is how it sneaks Hollywood screenwriting logic into your marketing deck, so suddenly your brand story has actual plot, not just bullet points.

Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown

Hacking Growth is the “let’s stop guessing and start testing” playbook. If you’re chasing scalable growth, pick up a copy asap (especially if you’re in SaaS or digital products). 

Fans like it because it feels tactical—full of data-driven experiments you can run with your team (maybe right after a quick coffee). 

And that team is really key, the book shows that growth is like a team sport, not a silo, so suddenly marketing, product, and analytics folks are all in the same room working together.

Make Noise by Eric Nuzum

You know we had to include one about podcasting here. Actually, if you want to read more about the best books for podcasts specifically, check out this blog.

Now back to Nuzum’s Make Noise. This one’s a gift if you’ve ever thought, “Cool, we launched a podcast… now how do we make it good?” 

Nuzum comes from the world of public radio, so he knows what keeps listeners coming back. It doesn’t drown you in mic specs—it focuses on audience, storytelling, and the vibe of your show. 

He frames podcasting less like “content marketing with audio” and more like building a relationship in someone’s earbuds.

But hey if you’re looking for the tech side, we’ve got you covered here. 

Summing it Up

That’s the stack we’ve got for you today. Whether you’re rethinking your brand, fixing your copy, or finally launching that brand podcast, these are the best marketing books to keep within reach. Got more you think we should add? Let me know.