
Ask HN: Are there any good Internet marketing books? - kuvkir
Just wondering if you guys can recommend any fundamental reading on internet marketing, advertising and related subjects (probably with more emphasis on theory such as knuth or cormen for programming).<p>Thanks.
======
sivers
To get fundamentals and theory foundation, drop the "internet" part of your
requirement. The internet is just another way to connect people.

All successful marketing comes down to a fundamental understanding of people,
how we like to be spoken to, what captures our attention, and what messages
stick.

Read my notes and excerpts on some of these books to get an idea if they're
what you're looking for:

==

Small is the New Big - by Seth Godin

A "best-of" collection of small essays about marketing. Seth writes in general
terms meant to give you perspective, change the way you think about marketing,
and inspire you to actions, no matter how small, that make all the difference.
Read anything by Seth Godin (as others here have said), but this is his best
overview.

<http://sivers.org/book/SmallIsTheNewBig>

==

Made to Stick - by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

A deep analysis of what makes certain ideas or stories memorable.

<http://sivers.org/book/MadeToStick>

==

You, Inc - The Art of Selling Yourself - by Harry Beckwith

Harry Beckwith is amazing. Read everything by him. This is just his newest.
He's the best at reminding you how basic human consideration translates into
marketing.

<http://sivers.org/book/YouInc>

==

Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got - by Jay Abraham

Jay Abraham is an absolute marketing genius from an angle the others here
don't cover. This gets you into his mindset, seeing profitable aspects in your
business you never noticed before, and how to communicate them to your
audience. Sorry I don't have notes on this one:

<http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312284543>

------
wallflower
1) "Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer" (A/B
Testing)

2) Aaron Wall's SEO Book - excellent primer for internet marketing and SEO -
theory but with practice applied

3) The original Backrub/Pagerank paper

> probably with more emphasis on theory

Are you doing research for school? I know you asked for theory but you did say
'fundamental'. Just to throw it out there, _fundamentally_ , I believe the
independent people (not large companies - that is different) making more money
than we'd like to know through Internet marketing don't think in terms of
theory - theory is easy - they try and try many different ways until something
works. For example, Shoemoney:

"So with this Cornhusker quiz, it’s a needed service because all these guys
want to see where they are. It spreads virally, because they want to challenge
their friends and see if they could do better than their friends. And the way
to make money is, when they finish, if they score high enough, they’re
presented with a free trial to Netflix. [with his referral ID of course]"

<http://blog.mixergy.com/shoemoney-ads/>

------
dmix
Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve Blank

[http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-
Blank/dp/09...](http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-
Blank/dp/0976470705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245936971&sr=8-1)

I've read tons of marketing books and went to school for business, but this
one is the best for tech startups hands down.

~~~
mattjung
Does anybody know how to get that book ("Four steps to Epiphany") in Europe -
either as paperback or E-Book?

------
skmurphy
I would recommend these books for a good grounding in marketing and fostering
innovation:

    
    
       The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen
       Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado by Geoffrey Moore
       Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker
       Marketing High Technology by William Davidow
       Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
       Jumpstart Your Business Brain by Doug Hall
       E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
       Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim & R. Mauborgne
       Influence The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
       The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
       Secrets of Consulting by Gerald Weinberg
    

For an article that summarizes key concepts see [http://skmurphy.com/wp-
content/uploads/2007/04/Crucial%20Mar...](http://skmurphy.com/wp-
content/uploads/2007/04/Crucial%20Marketing%20Concepts.pdf)

There is a companion slide deck here
<http://www.skmurphy.com/f/SDForum061211.pdf>

------
craigbellot
Breakthrough Advertising - Eugene Shwartz

Advertising Secrets of the Written Word - Claude Hopkins

Anything by Seth Godin

------
jncraton
Permission Marketing (Seth Godin)

[http://www.amazon.com/Permission-Marketing-Turning-
Strangers...](http://www.amazon.com/Permission-Marketing-Turning-Strangers-
Customers/dp/0684856360)

------
showerst
I'm not sure that it exactly qualifies as marketing, but Avinash Kaushik's
"Web Analytics: An Hour A Day" is really great on how to design for and think
about project metrics on the net, which in my experience is one of the biggest
advantages that the great guys are holding.

------
jamiequint
For the marketing process I also recommend 4 Steps to the Epiphany. For more
depth on the online advertising industry itself I don't think you'll find much
print material that is good (Its still changing too fast). One of the best in-
depth blogs on the subject that I have found is <http://www.jayweintraub.com/>

------
kuvkir
Thanks everyone for suggestions.

Just for the reference, here is another related topic:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=193308>

------
tortilla
Call To Action: Secret Formulas To Improve Online Results

<http://www.calltoactionbook.com/>

------
nuzhack
Suggested reading list for a college level class:

<http://bit.ly/P2c5H>

