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22 Must-Read Books for Content Marketers

Looking for some good books to help with content marketing? Roger Parker recently suggested seven productivity books for content marketers that our readers appreciated. Here, we ask our Content Marketing Institute consultants — many who are authors themselves — to share their favorite books for content marketers. 

I have two absolutely MUST READS for every digital marketer today. The first is Theodore Levitt’s Marketing Myopia paper from the 1960s, and the second is Youngme Moon’s book Different. From a storytelling perspective, I think all content marketers should be familiar with Joseph Campbell’s Hero With A Thousand Faces. From a more tactical content marketing perspective, Content Rules by C.C. Chapman and Ann Handley is a great one – and I loved Jay Baer’s Now Revolution. Also, from an SEO and Content Marketing perspective, Lee Odden’s book Optimize is an excellent one.– Robert Rose | Co-Author of Managing Content Marketing | @Robert_Rose
Content Rules by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman.– Marcus Sheridan | Author of Inbound and Content Marketing Made Easy | @TheSalesLion

 
Managing Content Marketing by Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi.– Michael Weiss | Author of Pitch Elevation | (@mikepweiss)

 

– Ardath Albee | Author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale | (@ardath421)

– Jay Baer | Co-Author of The NOW Revolution | @jaybaer
The one book I always suggest above all others is Made to Stick. That one book explains everything about the mindset you must possess if you want to be successful in today’s online social world. People always give me a weird look when it is the only book I tell them to read, but if you don’t understand what is in these pages, the rest won’t matter.– C.C. Chapman | Co-Author of Content Rules | @cc chapman

 
I love Brand Hijack by Alex Wipperfurth, Blink and Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and The Referral Engine by John Jantsch.- Jason Falls | Co-Author of No Bullshit Social Media | @JasonFalls

 

What are your favorites? What else would you add to the list?

Want to learn from our CMI Consultants? You can learn more about our workshops, planning engagements and other services, or you can attend Content Marketing World on September 4 – 6 in Columbus, Ohio, where you can listen to and meet many of our consultants. 

If you are an aspiring business book author, learn more about CMI Books or submit your idea.

Michele Linn

Michele Linn

Michele Linn is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of Mantis Research, a consultancy focused on helping brands create and amplify original research they can use in their marketing. Before starting Mantis, Michele was head of editorial at Content Marketing Institute, where she led the company's strategic editorial direction, co-developed its annual research studies, wrote hundreds of articles, spoke at industry events and was instrumental in building the platform to 200,000 subscribers. In 2015, she was named one of Folio's Top Women in Media (Corporate Visionary). You can follow her on Twitter at @michelelinn.