With content marketing on the lips of every marketer worth their salt, 2015 has been a bumper year for content marketing books. Whether you’re looking for the perfect present for the marketer in your life, or have early resolutions to improve your content marketing strategy, there’s a book out there that’s perfect for you. Here’s my pick of the crop:

The Practical One:

Arnie Kuenn and Brad Kuenn, Content  Marketing Works: 8 Steps to Transform your Business

Who is it for? 

Someone who needs a solid all-rounder which covers a lot of basics. There are also plenty of ideas in here for current practitioners. The language is clear and accessible.

Selected quotation: 

‘Content marketing allows you to establish your brand as the expert in the industry, build trust with an audience, and turn that trust into business’

The Good Looking One:

Gary Vaynerchuck, Jab,  Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World

Who is it for? 

Someone who likes to see one idea carried through with panache. It’s also gorgeously designed. This is the closest to Broadway a book about content marketing is going to get. This book is going to be marmite: you’ll either love it or hate it.  

Selected quotation: 

‘Content is king, but context is God’

The Personal Take:  

Dan Norris, Content  Machine: Use Content Marketing to Build a 7-figure Business with Zero  Advertising

Who is it for? 

Anyone who feels uncomfortable with the ‘sales’ label, who wants to hear about someone who’s excelled without being a salesperson, through content.

Selected quotation: 

‘I’ve noticed one common trait in every successful entrepreneur I know. It’s something I don’t see in the rest of the population, and it’s what makes them entrepreneurs. It’s their relentless focus on delivering something. Getting shit done.’

The Actionable One: 

Joe Pulizzi, Content Inc

Who is it for? 

This book is perfect for anyone who thinks passion and marketing aren’t contradictory terms. It’s also full of examples and his 6 step content inc. model feels deliverable.

Selected quotation: The Grand Budapest Hotel, the job of the lobby boy was to know the clientele so well that he could anticipate their needs. That is your role now.’

‘In the movie

The Academic One:  

Gary Graham, Anita Greenhill, Donald Shaw, and Chris J. Vargo, Content  is King: News Media Management in the Digital Age

Who is it for? 

Written by academics, this is perfect for the marketer or journalist who wants to intellectualize their news strategy. 

Selected quotation: 

‘Disruptive innovation boldly claims that investment in technologies should come because of future promise, not initial return’

Special Commendations

• Mark W. Schaefer, The  Content Code: Six Essential Strategies for Igniting your Content, your  Marketing, and your Business
• Bryan Adams and Dave Hazlehurst, Getting  Goosebumps: a Pragmatic Guide to Effective Inbound Marketing
• Carlos Hidalgo, Driving  Demand: Transforming B2B Marketing to Meet the Needs of the Modern Buyer

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