We’re so lucky to be alive in an era where knowledge is endless. Nowadays, anybody who wants to learn anything can have multiple mentors in the form of books. Exponential growth and improvement are within reach. The following books contain the secret sauce that can change mindsets and help you approach marketing challenges with a wiser vision.
Anything You Want by Derek SiversThe success story of CD BABY provides insights on how to create an entire movement around a product.
Here are a few quotes that resonated with me:
“It’s a big world, you can loudly leave out 99% of it. Have the confidence to know that when you target 1%, that 1% will come to you because you’ve shown them how much you value them.”
“No business goes as planned so make 10 radically different plans.”
“Any business that’s in business to sell you a cure, is motivated not to focus on prevention.”
“The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.”
“No business plan survives first contact with customers.”
Trust Me, I’m Lying : Confessions of a media manipulator by Ryan Holiday
This eye-opening book was written before the Trump era and yet becomes even more relevant in light of it. The book, written by media strategist and former director of marketing for American Apparel provides an uncensored version of how the media “really” works. The ability to create spins and manipulate information is actually easier than one might imagine.
Quotes that resonated with me:
“The link economy encourages bloggers to repeat what “other people are saying” and link to it instead of doing their own reporting and standing behind it. This changes the news from what has happened into what someone said the news is.”
“Get the most of the story inside the headline but leave just enough so people will want to click.”
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Professor Jonah Berger
This great book practically walks the reader through what makes things become popular, why people talk about certain ideas more than others, why certain stories are more “contagious” than others, and what makes online content become viral. The writer talks about the following contagious STEPS:
1. Social currency – if something makes us look good we are more likely to share.
2. Triggers – one thing can remind us of something else. A
3. Emotion – the more we care about something the more likely we are to pass it on.
4. Public – easier to see, easier to imitate. “Monkey
5. Story – wrap up your narrative in a story.
Quotes that resonated with me:
“Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions. Consequently, social influence has a huge impact on whether products idea and behaviors catch on. A word of mouth conversation by a new customer leads to an almost $200 increase in restaurant sales. A
“People like to help others. If we can show people how our product or idea will save time, improve health or save money they’ll spread the word. We need to make our message stand out. We need to do more than just tell a great story, we need to make vitality valuable. We need to make our message so integral to the narrative that people can’t tell the story without it.”
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
I truly believe no startup can afford not to read this book.
This book instills a mindset of figuring out the MVP – most viable product by utilizing feedback loops. Instead of building products and then rolling them out to the market’s mercy, only to then find out if the market responds well to them or not - this book teaches an approach
Quotes that resonated with me:
“Vanity metric are things like registered users, downloads
“Numbers or stats that look good on paper but don’t really mean anything important are dangerous.”
“Actionable metrics: stats that tie to specific and repeatable tasks you can improve and to the goals of your business.”
“At the root of every similarly technical problem is a human problem.”
Wrapping up
I think a book that alters your mindset for the better is a great gift. During the past two
