Books on Promoting Your Services   Promotion - Getting the Word Out   Service Business Marketing Marketing Your Services - Tony Putman - HC - $31.50 - One of the best overall books on marketing all kinds of services. Of all the books I've read on "Marketing Your Services" this has to be the best overall. The reason is that Putman gives the most comprehensive, in-depth and holistic view of marketing I've ever seen in print. He looks at marketing your services not as a chore you need to get through but as a fun and challenging activity to improve the success of your business. Everything is covered here, from finding your niche to taking care of clients. The style is fun and informal and includes many stories and real life examples. This is a "must have" book if you want to attract new clients. P.S. You've got to hand it to the publisher, John Wiley, when a book sells, they keep it in print for a long time. Out since 1990, this is bad need of a revised edition, but it's a great book, anyway. The Invisible Touch - Harry Beckwith - Beckwith's second book is just as good or better than the first (below). It's fun to read. Every principle is highlighted with examples everyone can relate to and each section is short and pithy. Don't be fooled that there's little substance here because each section is such a quick read. Just the opposite. There's a lot to mull about on every single page. Worth reading, re-reading, taking notes and working at implementing these ideas into your business - no matter what kind of business you have. Selling the Invisible - Harry Beckwith - A brilliant and fun little book on marketing for service businesses. Beckwith is a seasoned advertising pro and he strings together a series of tips, anecdotes and marketing wisdom that will grab you from the first page. Very enjoyable and very valuable. How to Get Clients - Jeff Slutsky - Jeff is a brilliant "Streetsmart Marketer" who understands the secrets of getting attention and getting response. I especially like his very detailed descriptions of what to do and how to do it. Reading any of Slutsky's books will reward you many times over. I also recommend Streetsmart Marketing. They've published several others that are out of print but worth looking for. Selling Your Services - Robert Bly - An excellent how-to for anyone selling services, especially business-to-business services. Lots of good examples, and details on what works and what doesn't. He has written other excellent marketing books including The Copywriter's Handbook and Business to Business Direct Marketing. Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services - Connor and Davidson - This revision (14 new chapters plus extensive new material) of a very successful book details the authors' proven "Client-Centered Marketing" approach to penetrating new markets. Timely and action-oriented, it explains how to find and capitalize on a consulting niche. Focuses strongly on continuing to acquire new clients. Includes worksheets and checklists to help readers implement ideas. Rain Making - Ford Harding - An excellent book on marketing for professionals. Full of very practical advice and strategies on networking, speaking, the media, writing and publishing. Unlike many books like this that are very dry and academic, Mr. Harding speaks with the voice of 20 years of experience. How to Become a Successful Consultant in Your Own Field - Hubert Bermont - PB - $11.96 - A great overview on running and marketing a consulting practice. This book has been around for a long time and with good reason - it's an excellent guide for both the consultant or would-be consultant on everything from setting up a practice to marketing to doing proposals and reports. One of my favorite sections is about the psychological aspects of consulting. There is a lot packed into a simple-easy-to-read book. Highly recommended. Pay close attention tot he section on marketing. He talks about what really works. Networking Endless Referrals - Bob Berg - My favorite book on networking. Bob's been in the trenches and know what networking is all about. He gives lots of great tips and techniques that anyone can use. He proves fairly conclusively that networking can be your most powerful marketing tool. Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty - Harvey Mackay - Mackay's latest book's subhead is "The Only Networking Book You'll Ever Need." Perhaps so! Mackay is a master networker and he drives the point home with story after story of how networking by himself an others has resulted in huge business success. Don't miss this one! Power Networking - Donna Fisher and Sandy Vilas - An exceptionally good book on networking with 55 strategies on getting known and building referrals. Also good because it goes deeper into the service and relationship aspect of building your business by word-of-mouth. A lot to think about and tons of great tips you can use. Secrets of Savvy Networking - Susan RoAne - Also the Author of "How to Work a Room," RoAne is an expert networker with a deep understanding of what it takes to develop, cultivate and reap the rewards of networking. Lots of how-to's and tips on getting an edge in business by developing long-term relationships. The World's Best Known Marketing Secret - Ivan Misner - Ivan R. Misner shows how to build a dynamic, thriving business using the oldest and most effective marketing strategy ever devised--word-of-mouth advertising. Misner presents a proven model for developing your own W-O-M marketing plan, revealing key techniques for turning positive word-of-mouth into hot sales. Endless Prospects - Richard Weylman - Here's another of those books I wish I'd written. The format is int he form of practical how to tips - 301 of them on how to effectively market yourself and your services. Great information and a great easy-to-read format. Highly recommended. Direct Marketing/Advertising Tested Advertising Methods - John Caples and Fred Hahn - PB $11.76 - A great classic on copywriting - now newly updated. This is the first book that taught me how to write headlines and copy that was persuasive. There are five chapters alone on headlines! And as you'll learn, headlines are the key not only to advertising but to any written marketing materials, from brochures to web sites. Marketing your professional services means writing of a certain kind - writing that both educates and persuades. This is the book to start with if you want your prospects to pay attention to your services. A great feature of this new edition is that all the sample ads have been completely updated. Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads - Roy H. Williams - Roy H. Williams has outdone himself with this one. His previous work (below) was good but this one is a classic. Every chapter has one or two pearls of wisdom about what it takes to persuade people to do business with you. The writing is brilliant, moving, surprising and fun. He uses the power of stories and an uncommon knowledge of history to hit home ideas that stick in your mind forever. For instance, the story of how Benjamin Franklin rased money from France for the American revolution is an example of selling to "insiders." A must read for anyone serious about growing their business even if you never do any "traditional" advertising. The Wizard of Ads - Roy H. Williams - This is an unusual and fun book. The format is a series of short letters written to his clients on all aspects of marketing, advertising and selling. Fun and insightful. Each chapter drives home a single principle using analogies, stories and metaphors. A fun read and wonderfully illustrated. My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising - Claude Hopkins - Originally written in the twenties (!) this book has remained in print ever since. A classic of modern advertising, Hopkins explains what advertising, promotion and selling are all about - meeting the needs of clients with tangible benefits. This is a must-read book for everyone in business. And it reads like a thriller. Being Direct - Lester Wunderman - This is a very, very, very god book about the direct marketing industry. Autobiographical, it relates the fascinating story of Wunderman's life in direct marketing from the '30's to the present day. Responsible for direct marketing success stories such as the Columbia Record Club, American Express and Ford, this book reads like a thriller. Do not miss this if you do any direct marketing. Ogilvy on Advertising - David Ogilvy - A classic on advertising, David Ogilvy shares his secrets of advertising success. Chock full of illustrations and examples this will give anyone interested in advertising lots of valuable ideas. Another very entertaining ad valuable book is his Confessions of an Advertising Man, a biography. (currently out of print - worth searching for.) Advertising Secrets of the written Word - Joseph Sugarman - This might be considered an updated version of Schwab and Caples. Sugarman hit it big selling gadgets through direct mail. He wrote all the copy and shares his secrets here. He's an entertaining writer with one great idea after another. Definitely worth digging into, especially for direct mail copy. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This - a Guide to Creating Great Ads - Luke Sullivan - This irreverent and fun book on writing advertising is about as entertaining as it gets. And on the way you learn a lot about what makes advertising work. Not exactly a book for small businesses, it still will give you some valuable insight into what attracts and what doesn't. Publicity The Consultant's Guide to Publicity - Reece Franklin - A very user friendly guide to getting media attention. Lots of how tos from how to do a press release to developing ongoing media contacts. Explains what a good story is and when to approach the media and when you shouldn't bother.   General Marketing Strategy Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got - Jay Abraham - Jay is the Marketing Guru for Marketing Gurus and has made a fortune both helping companies and training small businesses in the ins and out of leveraging their "hidden assets." He's sold books that cost as much as $750! Now he finally has published a book outlining all his most important concepts in a form that anyone can afford. If you are not familiar with Jay's ideas, or even if you are, this book is full of excellent ideas. I found myself updating the guarantees on this site immediately after reading his excellent chapter on Risk Reversal! Definitely worth the read and the lowest price Jay Abraham materials you'll find anywhere. Permission Marketing - Seth Godin - This wonderful little books pushes an approach I've used for years. You need to build your database with prospects who give you permission to keep marketing to them. Seth includes tons of great examples and has a great chapter on Web and Internet marketing you shouldn't miss. Appropriate for marketers large or small. The New Magnet Marketing - John Graham - A very good overall book on marketing for small to medium-sized businesses. John emphasizes the necessity of building a long-term relationship with the client that results in sales and referrals for the long haul. Well worth reading. No More Cold Calls - Jeffrey Lant - Lant may be the only certifiable marketing genius for small businesses. His books are packed full of practical, hands-on details on how to market and sell your services successfully. Exhaustive and sometimes exhausting, this is a massive (675 pgs.) book with more ideas than you'll be able to implement in years. Marketing Without Advertising - Michael Phillips & Salli Rasberry - Originally published in 1986 this classic on small business marketing has just been released in a new edition. Authors Phillips and Rasberry explore the principles of marketing, not just the techniques, with the aim of demonstrating how to generate a constant stream of referrals without spending any money on advertising. The New Maxi-Marketing - Stan Rapp and Thomas Collins - One of the best books on corporate marketing. But I've included it here because most of the principals relate well to small businesses. A very good read. Well researched with lots of excellent information on how to combine all your marketing techniques for maximum impact. Their other books are also worth checking out: Maxi Marketing, Beyond Maxi Marketing and Send 'Em One White Sock. The One to One Future - Peppers and Rogers - A ground breaking book about using information technology to customize marketing campaigns so that you are literally marketing to individuals but on a mass basis. Lots of theory, too long, but quite compelling. Marketing "Tips" Books Getting Business to Come to You - Edwards, Edwards & Clampitt Douglas - PB - $13.27 - An almost encyclopedic collection of ideas for marketing services. The Edwards have build quite a reputation on writing books on small and home-based businesses. This is one of their best, with very specific ideas on how to market your services. Good breakdown of all the various marketing vehicles and how they fit best with your kind of business. Now revised with added material, at 686 pages this has got more ideas and marketing strategies that you'll be able to implement in years! Highly recommended, with exceptional, detailed information on every aspect of marketing. Other excellent books include: Secrets of Self Employment and Teaming Up. 1001 Ways to Market Your Service - Rick Crandall - This is a virtual encyclopedia of small business marketing ideas. Comprehensive both in it's scope and in the creativity of the techniques. You can start anywhere and get value on every single page. It covers everything plus the kitchen sink! Marketing Your Services - for people who HATE to sell - Rick Crandall - An excellent book with how-to's for small business marketing. This covers the complete range of strategies for marketing your services. Excellent design. Engaging style. Potent content. There is something in this book for every small business marketer. Another good marketing book is: Marketing for People Not in Marketing. Celebrate Marketing Celebrate Selling Guerrilla Marketing - Jay Conrad Levinson - PB - $10.40 - This classic book on marketing for small businesses demonstrates that marketing doesn't have to cost a lot to be effective. Jay has carved out quite a niche for himself. His Guerrilla Marketing series numbers ten or more books. This is the original book in its third edition. He emphasizes low-cost, close-to-the customer tactics for getting attention and getting sales. I believe this was the very first marketing book I read! It had so many ideas and strategies for small business marketing that I eagerly devoured it and worked at putting as many of its ideas into action as I could. Its ideas are just as applicable today. His other books are also worthwhile and are all available online. They include: GM Attack, GM Weapons, GM Excellence, The GM Handbook, Guerrilla Trade Show Selling, GM Advertising, Guerrilla Marketing Online , Guerrilla Selling, GM for the Home-Based Businesses GM Online Weapons GM with Technology 301 Do-It-Yourself Marketing Ideas - Sam Decker - This is a kind of condensed version of the book above. I like it because with every tip is an actual story of how that tip was implemented. So it goes beyond theory. Many of the ideas are quite innovative. An excellent buy. 101 Ways to Promote Yourself - Raleigh Pinskey - Here's an inexpensive paperback with loads of good, solid ideas on marketing for small businesses. I like the way it's organized with Resources listed after each technique for more in-depth information. The writing is upbeat and the information is solid. An excellent primer for anyone who's self-employed. Web Marketing Make Your Site Sell by Ken Evoy - This massive, incredible book is the undisputed heavyweight campaign of marketing your business on the web. The others below are only "OK" compared to this one. Ken Evoy has done something monumental - put every little web secret, tip, idea and selling and marketing strategy known into one huge volume. Over 200 pages alone on how to get listed in search engines. Ideas on designing better sites. What content will help you sell more, etc. etc. This link won't take you to Amazon but to Ken's site. Check it out and order the book either online or in hard-copy version. Not only that, this book, unlike so many of the other "web guru" books is actually affordable. It's about $32 for the book and even less for the download version. Buy them both for about $42. I promise you won't be disappointed. You can click here to order directly. The Consultant's Guide to Getting Business on the Internet - Herman Holtz - This gentleman has written more books about consulting than anyone alive! Now he has a very good book on Internet Marketing. Unlike most web-oriented books he zeros in on useful marketing techniques specific to consultants. World Wide Web Marketing - Jim Sterne - This is a good overall book on marketing on the web. This is the book to buy if you are exploring a web marketing strategy. What should be on your page, interactivity, getting feedback and other important topics. This book is written non-technically so it's very approachable. Marketing through Speaking Marketing with Speeches and Seminars - Miriam Otte - One of the very best ways to market professional services is through speaking. And this book is the perfect place to start. From developing topics to locating venues, from presenting with impact to following up with prospective clients, this book has it all. With extensive how-tos, well-organized chapters and a thorough appendix, this book is a must have if you want to succeed at attracting new clients with speeches and seminars. Marketing With Letters The Ultimate Sales Letter - Daniel Kennedy - An excellent book for businesses owners who want to reach their clients by mail. It covers everything about what to put in sales letters, how to write them and how to design an effective mailing campaign. Have a marketing or selling book that you'd like to recommend? Please let us know, and if we like it, we'll list it here. Just send me an email with your recommendation and books in the subject line.