Marketing Books to Read - For the Small Business Owner or Non-Profit Director

Being either a small business owner or non-profit marketer have much of the same struggles... limited time, budget, resources, knowledge and did I mention TIME?  So if you are going at it alone as most times both the new business or one-man marketing machine (or even the lone-wolf CEO) of the non-profit world seem to be, where can you look for resources if you don't have any other marketing-minded folks to turn to at the office?

We have discussed webinars in the past, and will eventually get to other ideas such as hiring a consultant to help you lay the groundwork, but today we will focus on the good ol' book section of the world.  The general marketing world is littered with traditional books, e-books, books on tape and you name it.  But where on earth do you begin?  Here is a short list of books that I have had luck with thus far.  And as we go on, I will get more in-depth on each.

Before we get to the list... let me tell you where to find these gems.  You may think I'm crazy, but in a world where budget means everything, let's introduce you to a crazy concept... the library.  Yes, they are still around and kicking, and at a very reasonable price, you can read all of the books in the place, for FREE!  Unless you are me, in which case it's usually $0.25 per day they are late, so around a $1.  Oops.  But all joking aside, check your library's catalog for some of these books, chances are they have at least a couple.  If the library is not an option, you still have Half.com and Amazon to look at for reasonable prices, and you can usually re-sell them when you are finished.*

Non-Profit Marketing Guide - Yes, I would recommend this even to the non-non-profit marketers.  The struggles of a non-profit are similar to that of a start-up, and this book covers everything from setting up your website to how to handle your social media.  And did you know that non-profits were actually the leaders in social media?

Social Media for Social Good - This book does not just focus on the traditional sense of social media as we know it today, but rather it begins with the basics of websites, as they can Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.


Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (New Rules Social Media Series) - 


Millennials into Leadership - While not strictly related to marketing, this book is great for first time managers, especially those of the younger generations.  It is a great little overview on how to work with employees and co-workers of different age groups.


*Please note that although I love reading books on an iPad, financially, I do not recommend buying expensive digital books... you cannot sell them when you are done!