When it comes to marketing, sometimes your magic intuition just isn’t enough. Every now and then, you have to school yourself. Reading as much as you can is probably one of the best ways to sharpen your tools as a marketer. It’s just like your diet: you are what you read. Here are a few recommendations to get you started on the journey.
The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin
Most of us know the story of Icarus. Icarus’s fatal flaw involved his refusal to heed the advice of his father: never fly too close to the sun. Needless to say, Icarus was incinerated.
Seth Godin taps into the concept of our inherent yearning as humans in order to explain the reasons why we may feel stifled or uncreative in our current jobs. He encourages us to think radically, move outside the box, and to not be afraid of going somewhere without a map. Most importantly, he highlights the other part of the warning Icarus’s father gave him: “Don’t fly too low to the sea.” Because seawater would ruin the lift of his wings, flying too low is just as dangerous as flying too high for Icarus. It feels deceptively safe. Flying too low is something every marketer should be striving to avoid.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Robert Grant
In parallel to the thinking of “The Icarus Deception,” author Robert Grant offers a different view on riskiness. He seeks to identify just how easy and beneficial it is to conform. We all conform for a reason - doing things differently is risky. But Robert Grant aims to illustrate how possible it is to not conform without risking everything in the process.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
Whatever you’re marketing, it’s important to realize the significance of habits for a consumer. Identifying the patterns, products, and services that keep a customer coming back for more is the key to a business’s success. Using years of behavioral design research, Nir Eyal brings us a book that illustrates exactly how to do that. This is an ideal book for anyone looking to innovate new products and business.
Contagious, Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
Perhaps for the first time in human history, becoming viral is now a good thing. In this book, Jonah Berger explores the reasons why certain information and content goes viral. This book and the understandings it brings is essential reading for any marketer looking to get ahead in the game.
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay
This blast from the past (1841) is more relevant than ever. MacKay seeks to explain how the delusion of crowds manifests into the trends of popular culture. Just like with any subject, studying the history of marketing allows us to understand the present and, most importantly, the future.
Not big on reading? We’ve still got you covered. Contact us at Content-1 for all of your digital marketing needs! We’ll get our noses out of books for a bit to respond.