Do you really want to understand how and why your customers buy your products or services? What about what really matters when it comes to Internet marketing? You won’t find out without doing your research. Luckily, there are a few marketing books out there that are just as entertaining as they are informative. Check out my top picks for marketing books. Enjoy!
1. Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing Out of Sync?
By Seth Godin
Synopsis: According to bestselling author and entrepreneur Seth Godin, blogs, email marketing, social media and other new marketing tools are like toppings on a sundae. If you start with ice cream as your base, adding these toppings make it taste great. But, if you start with a bowl of meatballs, you’re not going to like what you end up with.
My Thoughts: This short book did a fantastic job of refocusing the industry on what really matters and no longer matters. The book explains why stories — not facts — make or break a marketing campaign, and why you need to focus your marketing messages on your target audience and ignore the people who don’t care or won’t respond to what you’re selling.
2. Positioning: The Battle for the Mind 
By Al Ries & Jack Trout
Synopsis: This is one of the first books to deal with communication in the way people advertise. This book explains how to position your company so your messages get into the minds of your audience — and stay there.
My thoughts: This book takes a good, hard look at human capacity to remember and recall brands and brand identities. It also addresses the role of positioning your business into a mind slot that gives you uniqueness.
3. Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing
By Harry Beckwith
Synopsis: “Selling the Invisible” covers service marketing from start to finish, offering an entertaining look at how any service can turn more prospects into clients. Topics include “The More You Say, The Less People Hear” and “How to Save Half a Million.”
My Thoughts: When it comes to marketing services, this little book is a true gem loaded with valuable insights. I highly recommend it to anyone involved in marketing or sales as it forces you to think differently about the nature of your products and how you market them.
4. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In 
By Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton
Synopsis: This top-seller offers a straight-forward, step-by-step strategy for negotiating personal and professional disputes. The authors’ win-win solutions help business professionals meet their goals while maintaining relationships with clients, friends and co-workers.
My Thoughts: This is a fantastic book on the importance and value of good negotiating skills. It offers real-life scenarios and solutions that are easy to use and easy to understand.
5. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
By Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Synopsis: Through success and not-so-succes stories, Chip & Dan explain ways to make ideas “stickier,” like creating curiosity gaps. Tangible and practical, “Made to Stick” challenges readers to get to the core principles of “sticky” ideas and revamp their own messages.
My Thoughts: Just like the title suggests, this book did a masterful job of explaining why some ideas survive and even thrive, and why others simply die out.
If you were stranded on a desert island with only marketing books to read, which ones would you choose and why? Share in the comments below or on our Facebook page.