As anyone (especially me) can tell you, digital marketing can get quite complicated. What worked five, three, or even one year ago might not be working now.
And there’s nothing more heartbreaking to a digital marketer than seeing their rankings and traffic drop.
If you’re getting frustrated with or about to throw in the towel on digital marketing, maybe it’s time for a little re-education from some of the best digital marketing books.
The picks you’re about to see are some of the best-selling marketing books of all-time. They’re also packed with information and actionable strategies you can start using right now.
Table of Contents
The Best Digital Marketing Books of 2023
I’m a firm believer that there’s nothing you can’t learn. I’m also a big supporter that it’s a good idea to learn from people who have already accomplished what you’re trying to do.
If you need help succeeding as a marketer, I highly recommend checking out this list below of some of the best marketing books.
Let’s get right into this list of the best digital marketing books.
1. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
An essential part of any digital marketing strategy is having content. If you’re like me when I first got started in digital marketing, you might be thinking: “I’m not a writer!” or “I don’t write books, what am I doing trying to create content?”
I’ve had those questions run through my mind in the early days of my marketing career. I didn’t have a writing degree from a prestigious university. I was never on any New York Times bestseller list.
The good news is that, as the title of this book implies, everyone writes! This is a lesson you’ll soon learn in Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content, the mind-blowing book from marketing veteran Ann Handley. She breaks down content marketing-related topics into something that’s easy to understand.
Best of all, this book is like having something that encourages you to start taking ideas from your mind and turning them into content that converts. I wish I had this book in my life when I started writing! It’s definitely one of the best digital marketing books in existence.
Your digital marketing strategy will involve some degree of writing. Check out this digital marketing book and you’ll jump ahead in the game of creating excellent content.
2. What Customers Crave
As you work on your digital marketing ventures, you’ll find countless sources that speak to the importance of knowing your customers. Understanding your customers is something that most companies think they know how to do.
The truth is that few businesses truly know what their customers want. If you don’t want to be one of those companies, check out What Customers Crave by Nicholas J. Webb.
This is one of the best marketing books because it’s not hundreds of pages on theory and fluff. Instead, it’s one of the top marketing books because it’s jam-packed with actionable steps and in-depth explanations of marketing tools you can use to learn what your customers want.
I specifically loved the part in this marketing strategy book about learning what your customers hate. Trust me, this section of What Customers Want is worth the price of admission. You might be amazed at how many content marketing mistakes you’re making, I know I was.
3. The 1-Page Marketing Plan
Do you think that learning about marketing can be a little… complicated? I agree, which is why I enjoyed The 1-Page Marketing Plan so much. This book by Allan Dib effectively simplifies how companies can get new customers, stand out from the competition, and make more money. It’s also one of the best digital marketing books of all-time.
The goal of this book on marketing is for readers to stop doing what the author refers to as “random action marketing.” I think we’re all guilty of random action marketing from time to time. This is otherwise referred to as throwing lots of “stuff” at a wall in the hopes that something will stick.
No matter whether you’re trying to grow as a digital marketer or business owner in general, The 1-Page Marketing Plan gives you the blueprint to achieve success.
If you want to save time as a business owner, especially when it comes to digital marketing, do yourself a favor and pick up this book.
4. Digital Marketing for Dummies
Another great online marketing book to check out is Digital Marketing for Dummies. This isn’t the author trying to be mean, the for Dummies series of books have been around for decades. And, no, you don’t have to be completely new to digital marketing to gain lots of usable information from this book.
I gave this book a read a few months ago and was blown away from everything I learned. What I’ve always loved about this series of books is how well they categorize everything. If you don’t have time to read this book’s 368 pages, it’s easy to find a section and learn what you need without spending lots of time.
This book also comes with downloadable tools, tactics, and everything else you need from one of the best digital marketing books.
5. Building a Story Brand
Can you clearly tell me, in one sentence, what your company does for its customers? Not an easy question to answer. If you want to start making real connections with your customers, check out one of the best digital marketing books: Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller.
This book will teach you how to reach your target audience in the best possible way, by making your customer the center of your company’s story. To put it another way, let me tell you a secret… The average customer doesn’t care what your business does. They care how your company can make their lives easier.
Building a Story Brand teachers your company how to create and execute a marketing strategy that makes your customers the heroes of their own story. This might sound like a strange concept, but it’s one that every online business needs to start using.
If you want to stand out in today’s digital marketing landscape, don’t miss Building a Story Brand. Whether you’re a digital marketing manager, owner of a small company, or work for a large corporation, there’s plenty of great information in this book.
6. Becoming a Digital Marketer: Gaining the Hard & Soft Skills for a Tech-Driven Marketing Career
While I might not put Gil & Anya Gildner in charge of creating short book titles (kidding!), they’re amazing at writing some of the best digital marketing books. Not everyone who is interested in digital marketing has experience with this type of work.
If you consider yourself a beginner in the world of digital marketing, that’s okay! Check out Becoming a Digital Marketer to get the help you need.
This book gives you an inside look at all of the popular digital marketing strategies, including:
- Marketing data analysis
- Mastering digital branding
- Understanding marketing automation
- Creating an email marketing strategy
- Using digital marketing tools like Google Analytics and others
- Social media marketing
Even if you’re not a total beginner, this book has tons of valuable information to help you build successful marketing campaigns. There’s also a lot of valuable content about how to work remotely that’s great for anyone hoping for business success while working from home.
7. Online Influence: Boost Your Results With Proven Behavioral Science
Unlike some of my other top picks, you might not see Online Influence appear in many digital marketing book lists… yet.
This nearly brand-new book (at the time of this writing) avoids lots of jargon in favor of the cold, hard facts.
You’ll learn proven behavioral science tricks you can start using right now in the digital world. With a better understanding of how the human mind works, you can use these skills to start hacking growth right away.
If you’re a fan of pictures (aren’t we all?), you’ll love the many illustrations in this book, all detailing what you should and shouldn’t do in the world of digital marketing.
This selection is a pick for the best digital marketing books because of its interactive, workshop content.
8. InstaBrain: The New Rules for Marketing to Generation Z
I have to admit something: I reached the age where some of the latest slang sounds like a new language. Sadly, I’m not that much older. That’s just how fast the world moves.
If you, like me, aren’t up on the latest generation of young adults, I’d recommend checking one of the best digital marketing books for reaching Gen Z: InstaBrain: The New Rules for Marketing to Generation Z.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this younger generation won’t be valuable to your company. According to Instabrain, Generation Z influences $655 billion in purchases per year.
This practical guide will teach you innovative techniques that help your company reach Generation Z.
As many companies are and will soon learn, marketing to a new generation isn’t a copy-and-paste strategy. Instead, you need to learn what types of marketing communications appeal to these individuals.
You’ll learn what digital platforms these young adults are using. This book also teaches you how to create marketing messages that appeal to this generation of consumers.
9. Digital Marketing Analytics
This book is for digital marketers with a little experience or those wanting to dive into the deep end of how to learn about digital marketing.
Digital Marketing Analytics teaches you how to use data to your company’s advantage. Evaluating data analysis will become much easier by reading this book.
Whether it’s marketing campaigns, sales, leads, or other metrics, this book will teach you how to measure and track them.
If you want a deeper understanding of how to measure the success (or lack thereof) of online advertising campaigns, check out one of my picks for the best digital marketing books.
10. Digital Marketing Strategy: An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing
Need a digital marketing strategy? If so, don’t miss this book. Digital Marketing Strategy: An Integrated Approach on Online Marketing covers everything you need to know about reaching an online audience.
Need to improve your social media strategy? This book can help. What about how to achieve top rankings in search engines? You can learn that, too.
You’ll find answers to questions about a wide range of digital marketing topics in this book. It also covers marketing automation, online and offline integration, keeping data private, and MUCH more.
11. Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media
One of the fastest-growing yet hard to understand concepts today is influencer marketing. What’s an influencer? How do I get these people to partner with my business? This book has the answers.
Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media, written by Brittany Hennessy, is primarily about how to become an influencer. But the vast amount of tips makes this book a must for anyone wanting to do more with their influencer marketing campaigns.
I’d also recommend this book if you want to learn about mobile marketing and how to create clearer marketing communications.
12. Email Marketing Rules
It’s not easy to form your own growth hacking strategy without sending emails. If you need a better grasp on email marketing, you won’t want to miss this book.
Whether you’re a small business owner, one-person team, or owner of a large corporation, Email Marketing Rules can help you create and maintain amazing campaigns.
This book is full of real-world examples and actionable insights you can use to become a great email marketer. Even after reading the first few chapters of this book, I felt much more confident regarding my many newfound email marketing tactics.
There you have it, the best digital marketing books. You don’t have to check out all of these top digital marketing books, but adding one or two to your arsenal should bring you excellent results. For more information on how to become a better digital marketer, check out the wealth of topics I publish at Content Marketing Life.
Alex Eagleton is a copywriter and digital marketer passionate about helping companies connect with customers. Throughout the past decade, he’s worked with companies including Referral Rock, Connecteam, and Ramsey Solutions. He’s a versatile writer who understands how to align with companies, truly matching their voices and tones.
When he’s not writing, he enjoys spending time with his dogs, reading, and playing guitar.
You can reach him by emailing alex@contentmarketinglife.com.