Just ended a pretty impressive Content Marketing Institute webinar hosted by Joe Chernov, VP of Content Marketing for Eloqua and Rebecca Lieb, Analyst for Altimeter. During the Q&A session, Joe talked about how to sell content marketing to the C-level through some amazing books. Below are some recommendations from Joe (and some that I would recommend as well) for the marketing pro that needs more content marketing budget.
I consider this David Meerman Scott book mandatory reading for all marketers. This best seller, now published in over 25 languages, clearly states the case for why we need to think about marketing differently. A big part of that…the creation of valuable, relevant and compelling content that positions you as the expert in your industry.
Yes, forgive me…this is my book written with my co-author Newt Barrett. This was the first book that really talked about the content marketing industry as we know it today and how to actually handle the changing rules (as DM Scott describes above). The first half of the book tells you the why of content marketing…the second half is chock full of online, print and integrated case studies.
Where Get Content Get Customers leaves off, Content Rules ramps it up a notch, with clear instruction and motivation on everything from content strategy to newsletter creation to blogs and social media…with some amazing case studies along the way. Really like the practical tips in this book, like how to develop a publishing schedule and ideas on “reimagining” your content across different platforms.
And, it couldn’t have been written by two better people: Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman.
This incredible resource from Ardath Albee is one I recommend to marketers very focused on the B2B industry. Ardath details the complex sales cycle that most B2B marketing executives deal with and the important the role that content serves in each of those stages. Do you have a long sales cycle with multiple client touch points? If so, this book can’t lose.
Sorry, guilty as charged…mine again. This time, Robert Rose leads the charge. Simply put, if you are a marketer trying to actually develop a content marketing practice within your organization, this book will help you with the structure and process. This is not a book for the beginner, but for the believer that wants to take the next step.
I love Rebecca Lieb’s writing style…and on my favorite topic no less. The best part about this book is the amount of real-world examples that will show you the true impact of content marketing on the organization, and on customers themselves (PS: I wrote the foreword).
The Best Books for Specific Content Needs
For agencies trying to sell services in this new content marketing world: The Marketing Agency Blueprint by Paul Roetzer
For content marketing on a small business budget: Launch by Mike Stelzner
For selling social media into the organization: The NOW Revolution by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund and The End of Business as Usual from Brian Solis.
It’s amazing that just a few years ago, there were NO books on this topic, and now we have 10 amazing books. Did I miss any that you would recommend?
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