McLellan: Load up your bookshelf

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I’ve been working in marketing and advertising since the mid-’80s. When I started my career, I thought I had a lot to learn. It was nothing compared to what we all need to learn today. No matter how long we’ve been in the business, if we want to stay relevant and effective, we have to commit to continual learning and experimenting.

Technology is driving the rate of change, and even though it’s hard to believe, it’s going to get nothing but faster.

Given that we all have a long weekend coming up, I thought it might be a good time for me to make some reading suggestions so you can load up your nightstand, Kindle or Audible account, depending on how you like to read. No matter how loaded your calendar is this weekend, you can probably get a good jump on one or two of these.

Some of these suggestions are hot off the press, and others have earned their classic status over time. I’ve tried to give you a good blend of focus areas, points of view and authors.

“Location Is Still Everything” 
BY David Bell

This book is very research-based and looks at how location influences our buying decisions online and in our local market. It’s a much better read than it sounds because the data is demonstrated and explained through some wonderful storytelling.

“Permission Marketing” 
BY Seth Godin

This golden oldie is remarkably on point today, 20-plus years after it was published. Godin preaches the idea of adding and offering value to earn trust, as opposed to post-sale. The concepts are ridiculously simple to grasp, and yet very few businesses can get out of their own way enough to implement them consistently.

“Killing Marketing” 
BY Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose

This book was published about a year ago and suggests that marketing can actually be a source of revenue versus an expense. There’s a catch to that equation, of course, but this book creates a vision of what is possible and, if they’re right, what is the inevitable future of marketing.

“Crisis Ready” 
BY Melissa Agnes

Agnes draws from her experience in helping global brands, government organizations and world leaders prevent and overcome a range of real-world, high-impact crises. No matter the size, type or industry of your business, “Crisis Ready” will provide your team with insight into how to get prepped for a crisis and know how to handle it if/when it comes.

“Talk Triggers” 
BY Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin

This book is not out until Oct. 2, but you can pre-order it now. I had the good fortune of getting a review copy, and this is a not-to-be-missed read. Baer and Lemin have written a step-by-step tutorial on how to leverage word of mouth, ratings and reviews to earn new customers and secure the ones you already have.

“I Love You More Than My Dog” 
BY Jeanne Bliss

Bliss led the customer services teams at Land’s End, Allstate and Coldwell Banker. In this book, she defines the five decisions that drive extreme customer loyalty that transcends good times and bad. Bliss is a master storyteller, which makes this a fun and quick read.

If we want to be effective marketers, we can’t afford to stop learning. If reading isn’t your thing, then head to YouTube. Most of these authors also have their own YouTube channel and you can still benefit from their insights. But remember, just like Harry Potter, the movie can never cover everything that the book does. If you genuinely want to keep your saw sharp, crack open a book this weekend and work your way through this list.