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Action
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Bookstore
These
Marketing Books will help you attract more clients
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I've
read hundreds of marketing
books
but
people always ask me, "What are the best
ones? What should I read first?"
This
page is the answer to that
question.
This handfull of marketing books are
mostly geared to the small business owner
or Independent Professional. They range
from books about positioning to books on
selling and the Internet.
I
consider these not only good, but unique
classics in their field (some are very
old, some brand new). They are all written
by successful practitioners, so there's
very little theory and lots of hands-on,
how-to information.
Most
you can order directly from Amazon
(with the exception of the e-books,
InfoGuru Marketing Manual and Make Your
Site Sell).
For
deeper exploration, click on the links to
the left for even more excellent marketing
books.
Legend:
EB - Ebook, PB - Paperback, HC -
Hardcover
Click
on the book or the title to
order.
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 The
InfoGuru Marketing
Manual
-
Robert Middleton
-
EB $79, Bound $99 -
This
one comprehensive manual collects the very
best marketing ideas and strategies
exclusively for Independent
Professionals.
If there is just one book you should read
on marketing and attracting clients, this
would be the one. Robert Middleton has
spent over 20 years working with
Independent Professionals and has learned
first hand what works and what does not
work to attract clients. Includes detailed
sections on creating your marketing
message, packaging your services so that
prospects will be interested, promoting in
the most effective ways and ultimately
persuading prospects to work with you.
It's all here in one complete
volume.
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 Brag!
The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without
Blowing It
-
Peggy Klaus - PB - $11.16 -
What
I've noticed with most Independent
Professionals is that they have a hard
time talking about
themselves.
But if people don't know who you are, what
you stand for and what you have that could
help your clients, how are you ever going
to attract the clients you want? I love
this book because it gets right to the
heart of how to communicate about yourself
(Klaus calls it bragging) without being
inappropriate or obnoxious. She gets into
very nitty gritty details of what to say
and how to say it and puts a lot of
emphasis on how to prepare your
"bragalogue." This book is for every
Independent Professional who needs to get
out there and get the right kind of
attention.
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 Love
is the Killer
App
- Tim Sanders - BP - $10.40 -
This
is a unique book, very different than
anything you may have encountered
before.
After all where else will you read that
coming from a loving space is the key to
success in business? Sanders promotes all
the InfoGuru values and puts an emphasis
on sharing knowledge and ideas, networking
with the right people and coming from a
place of compassion and caring. Often
books like this have a high "fluff factor"
but not this one. Sanders sprinkles the
book liberally with examples, stories and
case studies and builds a very powerful
argument for doing business in a way that
enlivens you instead of burning you out.
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 Make
Your Site Sell
2002
-
Ken Evoy -
EB - $25.23 -
The
best book I've found on creating a great
web site that sells your service or
product. This
massive, incredible book is the undisputed
heavyweight champion of marketing your
business on the web. Ken Evoy has done
something monumental - put every little
web secret, tip, idea and selling and
marketing strategy known into one huge
volume. Over 200 pages alone on how to get
listed in search engines. Ideas on
designing better sites. Strategies for
selling more online. It goes on an on.
This book is currently in downloadable
eBook pdf format. Very well constructed
and easy to find what you need. This
book is available directly on the Make
Your Site Sell web site.
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 Cash
Copy
- Jeffrey
Lant -
PB - $35 - The
only book you'll ever need to write better
marketing materials.
An
incredible book on writing marketing copy
for small businesses. Once you've read
this book you'll know and never forget
what it takes to write copy that gets
attention and get sales. One of the most
valuable business books I have ever read.
It touches on every single aspect of
writing marketing copy from a letter or
brochure to your bio sheet. Lant's style
is irreverent but right on target. What he
hammers home more than anything else is
that you must constantly appeal to the
interest of your potential client instead
of talking about yourself or your
business. Seems simple, but why do so many
businesses break this rule? Read this book
and you'll really get it!
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 Get
Slightly
Famous
- Steven Van Yoder
-
PB - $16.95 -
An
excellent overview of all the things you
need to do to get
known.
This is a fantastic book on getting known
by using the power of PR and the written
word. I'm especially happy about this book
because Steven was a client of mine for
some time and has worked hard to grow his
business. The book covers dozens and
dozens of ideas on how to become credible
and "slightly famous" by distinguishing
yourself as the preeminent source of
solutions by refining your expertise and
conveying it to your target audience. One
thing I love about the book is that it has
scores of case studies by InfoGurus who
show how they market themselves. Get
it!
Other
books that cover similar territory,
each from a slightly different angle are
the following. All of these are good
"InfoGuru Marketing" type
books.
The
Obvious Expert by Elsom
Eldridge
- PB - $24.95
Become
a Recognized Authority in Your
Fileld
- Robert Bly - BP - $12.89
Rain
Making
- Ford Harding - PB - $10.17
Marketing
Your
Services
- Anthony Putman - HC - $31.50
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 Nonstop
Networking - Andrea
Nierenberg
- HC - $19.95.
This
is THE networking book. The best I've ever
read and full of practical, hands-on ideas
about building your web of
contacts.
If you're an Independent Professional
there's perhaps no better marketing
strategy than networking. And as Andrea
points out with great stories and
examples, networking is much more that
going to a few mixers at the chamber of
commerce. It's a way to build long term
business relationships that connect you to
new associates and clients. Those who
build a strong network and practice the
skills outlined in this book will rarely
lack a steady stream of new clients. One
of the best things about this book is how
it's designed. The formatting and layout,
with the sidebars that contain extra
information, make it easy to read and
absorb. All thumbs up!
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 Permission
Marketing
- Seth
Godin
- PB - $17.50
-Keep
in Touch Marketing - especially by email
is one of the best ways to
market.
This book tells you the dos and don'ts.
This wonderful little book pushes an
approach I've used for years. You need to
build your database with prospects who
give you permission to keep marketing to
them. Seth includes tons of great examples
and has a great chapter on Web and
Internet marketing you shouldn't miss.
Appropriate for marketers large or small.
His follow-up book "Unleashing
The Idea
Virus"
is also highly recommended. Really gets
you thinking about how to launch services
that catch on like a virus.
Compelling.
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 Million
Dollar
Consulting
- Alan
Weiss
- PB
- $11.96
-A wonderful book on how to make lots more
money as a consultant.
This
is a breakthrough book - primarily for
consultants - on how to value-price your
services and make a whole lot more money
that you think is possible in the
consulting business. This book changed my
consulting business forever. Value
pricing, I've discovered is a difficult
concept for people to get. We usually
default to an hourly rate and forget to
think how much our services are really
worth to our clients. Then, if you do
something really well and really fast and
produce remarkable results, why should you
be penalized by being paid by the hour or
the day? People that read this book
usually start getting paid what they're
worth the very next client they
get.
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 The
Story Factor
-
Annette
Simmons
- PB - $11.87
-
This book makes a compelling argument that
stories are the most useful tool available
for influencing
behavior.
Marketing is all about Influence.
Unfortunately many marketers try to
influence too much with concepts. The
problem with concepts is that they are not
emotional and people make decisions
emotionally. Stories touch the emotions
and therefore have much more power to
influence. The book is full of great
stories and examples of how story telling
can be used to influence people to take
action. I liked this book so much that I
gave 50 out as Christmas presents. If you
are an Independent Professional who want
to have influence, this is the book to
pick up!
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 Selling
the
Invisible
- Harry
Beckwith
- HC - $15.37
-
A brilliant and fun little book on
marketing for service
businesses.
Beckwith is a seasoned advertising pro and
he strings together a series of tips,
anecdotes and marketing wisdom that will
grab you from the first page. Very
enjoyable and very valuable. Every
principle is highlighted with examples
everyone can relate to and each section is
short and pithy. Don't be fooled that
there's little substance here because each
section is such a quick read. Just the
opposite. There's a lot to mull about on
every single page. Worth reading,
re-reading, taking notes and working at
implementing these ideas into your
business - no matter what kind of business
you have. Also available - his second
book: The
Invisible
Touch.
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 Let's
Get
Real
- Mahan
Khalsa -
PB - $13.97 -
Wonderful
book on consultative selling - helping
clients reach their objectives.
An
exceptional book that puts selling in the
right context - win/win. It's a great book
for consulting and other service
professionals because it's primarily about
complex, consultative sales. No gimmicky
closing techniques, but approaches for
building solid relationships. A good read
and also very well designed. If you just
don't think of yourself as a salesperson
and even hate the idea of selling, this
book is for you. You'll never view selling
quite the same way again. You'll see it as
a process of "helping clients succeed."
Highly recommended.
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 Getting
Everything You Can Out of All You've
Got
- Jay
Abraham -
BP - $11.96 -
The
essential book on leading-edge marketing
thinking. Jay
is the Marketing Guru for Marketing Gurus
and has made a fortune both helping
companies and training small businesses in
the ins and out of leveraging their
"hidden assets." He's sold books that cost
as much as $750! Now he finally has
published a book outlining all his most
important concepts in a form that anyone
can afford. If you are not familiar with
Jay's ideas, or even if you are, this book
is full of excellent ideas. I found myself
updating the guarantees on this site
immediately after reading his excellent
chapter on Risk Reversal! Definitely worth
the read and the lowest price Jay Abraham
materials you'll find anywhere.
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 My
Life in Advertising - Tested Advertising
Methods
- Claude
Hopkins
- PB - $11.96 -
One
of the time great books on marketing. It's
concepts are valid 80 years
later.
This is the book that Jay Abraham (above)
credits for helping him make an additional
$3 Million dollars as a marketer. It's the
book that David Ogilvy says you should
read eight times before you have anything
to do with advertising. Why should you as
an Independent Professional want to read
this book? Because literally every single
page is dripping with marketing and sales
wisdom. Perhaps the key point that Hopkins
makes over and over again is that you need
to have prospective clients test out your
product or service for themselves. This
lead to my principle of giving away what
you know which my readers and clients have
used to revolutionize their
practices.
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|
 Raving
Fans
-
Ken Blanchard
-
HC - $14.00 -
A
simple, yet profound marketing book on
customer/client service.
Once
again, in his very simple storytelling
style, Blanchard gives us a picture of
companies were like if they really took
care of their customers. Eye-opening and
inspiring, Raving Fans gives us a whole
new level to aspire to in customer
service. What's good about this and all
Blanchard books is that he gives many many
examples that drive home the point. Your
left with both solid principles and
techniques to implement them. This will
show you why going beyond good service may
be your most powerful marketing
tool.
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 The
War of
Art
- Stephen
Pressfield
- PB - $9.71 -
Are
you creative, yet are facing writer's
block? Read this book and it'll shake your
block loose and help set you
free!
In
this slim volume Stephen Pressfield
discusses the inner naysayer we all have
within us, also referred to as an inner
critic by most writers.This book helps you
identify and defeat the negative self talk
any creative person must deal with. It
does so in a serious tone, sprinkled with
lots of humor. For example, the heading of
one of his essays is "How To Be Miserable"
- it was an essay that had me chuckling.
It also had me nodding my head as I
recognized myself in what he
wrote.
Written
using a variety of short essays, this book
is easy to pick up and read at any point.
I read it from the first page to the last,
in order. You don't necessarily need to do
that to benefit from Stephen Pressfield's
wisdom about the inner struggle creative
people face from day to day. Read from
beginning to end does have it's advantages
though -- the author takes aim at
resistance, procrastination,
rationalization, and finally at the end
winning the war. When we win the war of
art we are free to create, free to be
truly happy.
This
is one of the best books I've read on the
subject. It helped me identify my own
foibles then smash the blocks holding me
back. I saw myself in each page and
triumphed along with the author. This is
an excellent book for any creative person.
I highly recommend it. - From an Amazon
review. I couldn't have said it
better!
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 Loving
What is
-
Byron
Katie -
BP - $10.50 -
When
it comes to marketing your business, you
may experience resistance, fear, even
shame. The
techniques taught in this book can be a
way through the tangle of negative
thoughts that are holding you back. The
thing about our thoughts is that we
believe they are true. "Marketing is
hard." "People don't understand me."
"Nobody is interested." "I'm not
creative." These are all thoughts that
completely stop your ability to
successfully market yourself. And the
thing is, they're not even true. Get this
amazing book and do the exercises outlined
and you will get to the bottom of those
thoughts (and many others) and start
seeing new possibilities for success and
fulfillment in marketing and in your life.
Perhaps the most powerful personal growth
book ever written.
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