We hear you thinking: marketing books? Boring! And yes, most of them are. That’s why we did some research to find books that appeal to creative minds. We stumbled upon some pretty amazing books: not written for big businesses with even bigger marketing budgets but for small entrepreneurs like you. Easy to read and full of practical tips that you can already apply today. What are you waiting for?
Show your work!
10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered
Artist and writer Austin Kleon wanted to create a kind of beginner’s manual for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion. So, he wrote an alternative. Show Your Work learns you how to share your process in a way that attracts people who might be interested at what you do, and how to deal with the ups and downs of putting yourself and your work out in the world.
The book consists of ten chapters (or mantra’s):
- You don’t have to be a genius
- Think process, not product
- Share something small everyday
- Open up your cabinet of curiosities
- Tell good stories
- Teach what you know
- Don’t turn into human spam
- Learn to take a punch
- Sell out
- Stick around
This book really works as a motivational speech, so if you’re stuck or don’t know where to start, just grab this book and you’ll be back on track before you know it.
Creative business map
Design your business!
Most business books have in common that they take the product or service as a starting point. They study the market first, then the supply. For many creative people this is the wrong way around as they already have made something and only then analyse the creative process. The great thing about The Business Map is that it’s also working in this order:
- What do you find important? What is your drive, fascination and passion? It’s essential to put this in words, because this provides direction
- What do you make? What are your products and services?
- Who matches your drive? Who is your client, target group, or market?
- How are you going to reach your target group? Which means of communication are you going to use? What promotions, partnerships and sales methods are suitable?
- Revenue model. What is your turnover each month? Which models suit your services and products?
- Is your plan achievable and strong enough? How are you going to start? The drive and ultimate dream or long-term goal from step 1 is set out in achievable objectives. Step 2 and 5 are carried out for each objective and phase.
Another great advantage is the visual design, it’s filled with colours, infographics and short texts. Ideal for visual thinkers.
The road to recognition
The A-to-Z guide to personal branding for accelerating your professional success in the age of digital media
When it comes to building your brand it’s a jungle out there. There is so much to manage these days: blogging, social media, networking, website, content marketing, email and PR. Where to begin? This book is written to help you cut through the noise by guiding you with organized tips and tactics (hence the A-to-Z). Almost everything regarding branding is mentioned: from Content to Keywords to Target audience.
Each chapter (or letter) starts with a tip or personal experience from an expert in the field. For example, the E of Email starts with a tip from Joanna Wiebe (Content Hackers):
“You must be a friend in the inbox. Maybe you’re the funny friend, or the trendy friend. Whatever you are, you must be a friend. People don’t open emails from brands that aren’t going to use their time and improve their day like a friend would”.
Do you have a mailinglist? How are you using it? No clue? After Joanna’s tip they explain in detail how to begin, how to increase value and start with a strategy. The Road to Recognition did an amazing job in simplifying complicated concepts by removing the fluff and jargon that is often being used.
Louder than words
Harness the power of your authentic voice
Social media, free webshops and marketing tools within reach it seems there is no better time to build an audience for your creative brand. But with so many people screaming for attention, it is also more difficult and challenging. How do you set yourself apart in a noisy world? The key is to develop your authentic voice. If you develop your authentic voice well, your work will resonate deeply with people and will make a lasting impact. Louder Than Words guides you through this process making use of the Voice Engine.
According to the Voice Engine you must cultivate three elements: a strong sense of identity, a vision for your work, and mastery of your skills and platform. So a strong authentic voice is the expression of identity, guided by vision and achieved through mastery. You can also translate the three elements into the following questions: who are you? Where are you going? And how will you get there? Do you have trouble answering one of these questions? Then it is likely there will be an outage in your ability to resonate with your audience. This book is for you!
