Ultimate Reading List for Marketers: 60+ Book Recommendations

Every year, the Content Marketing Institute asks the community to share their opinions on the best books in marketing (and for marketers). Often, the titles ring familiar. After all, many people have a favorite and don’t sway from it year after year.

That’s why this year’s list surprised me. It includes 17 books new to CMI lists (though most aren’t new releases).

Most books that received recommendations this year delve into marketing topics (writing, social media, storytelling, and content strategy). But several recommendations cover more general topics (like friction, the psychology of persuasion, Excel, and lost customers).

We’ve organized the list by topics, with the books recommended this year appearing first and picks from past years below them.

Thanks to all for helping create the ultimate book list for marketers and content pros. Maybe you’ll find a gift idea for someone on your team.

Content strategy and planning

Content Design: Research, Plan, and Deliver the Content Your Audience Wants and Needs by Sarah Winters and Rachel Edwards

Description: Using real-world and imagined examples, this practical guide supports you through the content design process one step at a time. This second edition includes updated case studies and a new chapter on journey mapping.

Recommended by Teresa Lee, content manager, Datos: It is the bible of content creation. It’s relevant not just for content writers but for everyone who deals with content (which is pretty much everyone) and practices what it preaches: The book has a unique, clear, and user-friendly design.

The Content Puzzle … and the Missing Piece by Andi Robinson

Description: The content itself is one part of content marketing, but in many respects, it is not the most important. Before you start thinking about what types of content you need to create, you need to lay the groundwork. Think of this as the edge of the puzzle that holds the whole picture together.

Recommended by Robbie Schneider, director of U.S. communications, Health Tech Without Borders: It’s an easy, actionable read.

High-Impact Content Marketing: Strategies To Make Your Content Intentional, Engaging and Effective by Purna Virji

Description: This book shows how to succeed by taking a simplified yet strategic approach to standing out and driving revenue impact. It covers time-proven strategies to create video, audio, social media, and longer-form content that audiences will actually want to consume and how to do so in a genuinely inclusive way.

Recommended by Dashnor Dosku, Realtor: It explains the ins and outs of the marketing industry. It is an excellent book to read.

Also recommended:

Marketing skills and business success tips

The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder by Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao

Description: Every organization is plagued by destructive friction. Yet some forms of friction are incredibly useful, and leaders who attempt to improve workplace efficiency often make things even worse. Drawing from seven years of hands-on research, bestselling authors Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao teach readers how to become “friction fixers.”

Recommended by Sarah Mitchell, founder, Typeset: The whole book is good, but I wish every marketer would read chapter seven on “jargon monoxide.” The authors call out the four types of jargon muddying our language (in mildly NSFW terms) and offer advice for making writing more constructive. I’m on a mission to make the world a better place for readers everywhere, and this book helps.

Hate Excel?: Learn To Love the Software That Can Transform Your Confidence and Career by Anne Walsh

Description: This book takes a different approach to learning Excel. It’s about bringing the detective mindset to it, of approaching with curiosity rather than terror. It offers a practical way to tackle Excel learning and to work on your mindset as you go through it.

Recommended by Carrie Eddins, owner, The Blondepreneur Ltd.: It’s funny (Anne’s Irish and has a sharp wit) and uses stories to share how to find a way through the cells. It’s genius.

The Mystery of the Lost Customer: Could High Customer Satisfaction Be Silently Killing Your Business? by Susannah Simmons

Description: It is not the high customer satisfaction itself that is the problem. It is what those metrics (that data) might not tell you that’s the issue. Discover how understanding the distinction between customers and users can reshape your business strategies.

Recommended by Carrie Eddins, owner, The Blondepreneur Ltd.: It shares perceptive and much-needed insights to help us all understand our customer journey on a whole other level. It’s so clever.

Social Media, Sanity & You: A Guide to Mental Wellness for the Digital Marketer by Roberta Schneider

Description: This book provides these professionals with a practical guide to managing their mental health and building resilience in the face of constant pressures and online negativity.

Recommended by Robbie Schneider, book’s author and director of U.S. communications, Health Tech Without Borders: Even if you don’t work in the social space full time, understanding the societal context we’re working in and taking steps to improve internal processes and communications is essential for marketing teams.

Stop the Credibility Crisis: 3 Profitable Strategies To Cultivate Trust & Desire in the Expertise Economy by Debbie Jenkins

Description: In a world where trust is scarce, and competition is rampant, this book emerges as the essential guide for expert business owners navigating the murky waters of the expertise economy. It offers not just hope but tangible strategies to transform your business from overlooked to overbooked.

Recommended by Carrie Eddins, owner, The Blondepreneur Ltd.: It shares how to remain relevant and become a highly sought-after and trusted expert. And who doesn’t want that with what’s happening now?

Take the Stairs: 7 Steps To Achieving True Success by Rory Vaden

Description: The popular speaker and strategist presents a simple program for “taking the stairs” — resisting the temptations of “quick fixes,” eliminating distractions, and transcending personal setbacks to reach your goals.

Recommended by Hannah Szabo, marketing director, Digital Brand Kit: One that surprised me. It’s a New York Times bestseller from 2012. While it doesn’t speak exclusively to marketing, it challenged my rushed, overly anxious approach to marketing.

Also recommended:

Psychology and behavioral science

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

Description: The seminal expert in the field of influence and persuasion explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these principles ethically in business and everyday situations.

Recommended by Hannah Szabo, marketing director, Digital Brand Kit: There’s a reason this book is a marketing staple. If you haven’t read it yet (or twice), *hint, hint, nudge, nudge.*

Using Behavioral Science in Marketing: Drive Customer Action and Loyalty by Prompting Instinctive Responses by Nancy Harhut

Description: This book shows how to apply behavioral science principles in key areas of marketing, including marketing communications, email, direct mail, ad campaigns, social media marketing, and sales funnel conversion strategies. Highly practical and accessible, it includes case studies and examples from AT&T, Apple, Spotify, and The Wall Street Journal, showing how these approaches have been used in practice.

Recommended by Daniel Paulling, director of communications and publications, U.S. Masters Swimming: The book is brilliant.

Also recommended:

Public relations and communications

B2B PR That Gets Results: A Guide To Simple and Targeted Public Relations Practices by Michelle Garrett

Description: This book is a succinct distillation of wisdom gained from over two decades of boots-on-the-ground work in public relations and marketing. Using her signature no-nonsense style, Garrett crafts her own experience and stories from experts in the field into down-to-earth takeaways you can apply instantly. By following her smart blueprints, you’ll be able to smoothly navigate frustrations working with reporters, ethical dilemmas, and budgetary constraints, all while rocketing toward success.

Recommended by Ann Gynn, editorial consultant, Content Marketing Institute: B2B brands aren’t always as into PR as their B2C counterparts. And yet, it’s an invaluable tool, particularly for B2B content. This easy-to-read book walks you through the path from the why to the how and what now.

CALM not BUSY: How To Manage Your Nonprofit’s Communications for Great Results by Kivi Leroux Miller

Description: Kivi Leroux Miller reveals what she’s learned from coaching hundreds of nonprofit communications directors and teams. Effective nonprofit communication is about much more than list targeting, relevant messaging, email open rates, and social media scheduling. The most successful communications directors and teams are those who are CALM — collaborative, agile, logical, and methodical.

Recommended by Rhea Landholm, communications manager, Center for Rural Affairs: Whenever I need to check myself, I pick this one up. Nonprofit marketers (and probably for-profit marketers) tend to work long hours and say “yes” because they believe in the mission and want to drive it forward. When I find myself working at 10 p.m. or even telling people I’m too busy for this, too busy for that, I think of what Kivi says in this book: Don’t make yourself a martyr. Be CALM.

Storytelling and writing

The Best Story Wins: How To Leverage Hollywood Storytelling in Business & Beyond by Matthew Luhn

Description: Pixar movies have transfixed viewers around the world and stirred a hunger in creative and corporate realms to adopt new and more impactful ways of telling stories. A former Pixar and The Simpsons animator and story artist translates his two-and-a-half decades of storytelling techniques and concepts to the CEOs, advertisers, marketers, and creatives in the business world and beyond.

Recommended by Emma Lieberman, director of content marketing, Impact Networking: The author worked as a creative at Pixar, is deeply familiar with the craft, and does a great job clearly and concisely showing how to use story techniques from filmmaking in business. Plus, it’s filled with fun stories from his career that are, unsurprisingly, beautifully structured and told.

Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Description: For a quarter century, more than a million readers — scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities — have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father — also a writer — in the iconic passage that gives the book its title.

Recommended by Adam P. Newton, copywriter and content manager, NRG Energy: A classic recommendation for writers, this book should be pored over by marketers looking to re-examine how and why they tell stories, especially when it comes to drafting, revisions, clarity, and purpose.

Brand Bewitchery: How to Wield the Story Cycle System to Craft Spellbinding Stories for Your Brand by Park Howell

Description: The book guides readers through the Story Cycle System to craft their overarching brand narrative, a process that has grown business by as much as 600%. Recommended by Chris Inman, president, I.D.E.A. Cleveland: What got me was the whole hook of what he discusses and how creating that brand storytelling can guide you through some of your marketing content — particularly video/podcasting, which I help businesses create.

Build a Better Business Book: How to Plan, Write, and Promote a Book That Matters by Josh Bernoff

Description: Your brain burns with a powerful idea worth sharing. Could writing a business book spread that idea, create real change, and launch your career on the path to visibility and influence? Definitely. But don’t start by piling up words. Instead, focus on the story. What urgent problem does your reader face? How can they solve it? And what journey must your readers take as you guide them from confusion to understanding, action, and success?

Recommended by Michelle Garrett, founder, Garrett Public Relations: If you’re writing a business book, this is a good read.

Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

Description: The StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their companies. If you don’t have a clear, distinct message, customers will not understand what you can do for them and are unwilling to engage, causing you to lose potential sales, opportunities for customer engagement, and much more.

Recommended by Ali Orlando Wert, senior director of content strategy, Appfire: Your customers don’t want to hear about your features and functions; they want to be invited into a story where they are the hero! If you nail this story (your positioning and messaging), it will dramatically improve your content marketing strategy and efforts.

The DNA of Engagement: A Story-Based Approach To Building Trust and Influencing Change by David Pullan and Sarah Jane McKechnie 

Description: This practical guide combines the science and art of story to help you influence the change you need to see. It’s a proven framework that makes ideas sustainable, adaptable, and unforgettable.

Recommended by Carrie Eddins, owner, The Blondepreneur Ltd.: It offers practical ways to make your ideas and you unforgettable; truly worth its weight in gold right now and heading into 2025.

DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story by Nancy Duarte

Description: DataStory teaches you the most effective ways to turn your data into narratives that blend the power of language, numbers, and graphics. This book is not about visualizing data. Instead, you’ll learn how to transform numbers into narratives to drive action.

Recommended by Penny Gralewski, vice president of marketing, Rimo3: Whether you’re explaining data to a large customer base or a small leadership team, this book helps you develop a story that moves your audience. Agency contacts always hear me ask, “How can this be more Duarte-like?”

Everybody Writes: Your New and Improved Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

Description: A hands-on field guide to consistently creating page-turning content your audience loves (and that delivers real results). The updated edition of Everybody Writes delivers all the practical, how-to advice and insight you need for the process and strategy of content creation, production, and publishing.

Recommended by Michelle Garrett, founder, Garrett Public Relations: I always recommend Ann Handley’s Everybody Writes, which is so helpful no matter where you find yourself in your business writing journey.

Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Alison

Description: A singular and brilliant elucidation of literary strategies, it also brings high spirits and wit to its original conclusions. It is a liberating manifesto that says, Let’s leave the outdated modes behind and, in thinking of new modes, bring feeling back to experimentation. It will appeal to serious readers and writers alike.

Recommended by Adam P. Newton: This remarkable and clear-eyed book provides exquisite tips and fresh perspectives for authentic creative work. It’s an essential resource for marketers, whether you think of yourself as a writer or simply want to improve how you use language to improve your communication.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Description: Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have.

Recommended by Michelle Garrett, founder, Garrett Public Relations: I recommend it for anyone who writes as part of their role. The stories told in the book are enough reason to read it, but the practical advice he provides to spice up your writing is also something I think of often.

Also recommended by: Robbie Schneider, director of U.S. communications, Health Tech Without Borders: My oldest stole my copy of it.

Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg

Description: Verlyn sets out to help us unlearn that “wisdom”  — about genius, about creativity, about writer’s block, topic sentences, and outline — and understand that writing is just as much about thinking, noticing, and learning what it means to be involved in the act of writing.

Recommended by Ian Faison, CEO, Caspian Studios: It completely changed how I view writing. Hint: How we were taught in high school/college was wrong.

Also recommended:

Video and visual communication

Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder

Description: A bestseller for over 15 years, Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny, and candid look inside the movie business. “Save the cat” is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying.

Recommended by Emma Lieberman, director of content marketing, Impact Networking: It offers wisdom on everything from process and story structure to straight-up and down tips to make your writing more exciting and compelling. And it opens the door to a more insightful way to watch movies for film buffs.

Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee

Description: This book provides readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the “magic” of story construction and the relationship between structure and character.

Recommended by Ian Faison, CEO, Caspian Studios: Marketing needs more stories that are actually written like stories. This book is how you do it.

Also recommended:

What do you think?

Did your favorite book make the list? If you’d like to add a recommendation, share it with us on social. Tag Content Marketing Institute or use #CMWorld so others in the community can see it. We’ll consider your recommendation for the 2025 list.

Updated from a November 2023 article.

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute