Web Marketing Book Reviews
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Web Design for ROI, Loveday & Niehaus
Building on the foundation provided by the likes of Steve Krug, Loveday and Niehaus do a nice job of explaining various graphic design elements for websites that will either detract from, or contribute to conversion.
As well as illustrating some general concepts like using sub-heads, the design of buttons, the authors do a fairly detailed break down of different page types: home pages, category pages, product detail pages, etc. Some of these will be of particular interest to the e-commerce web marketer.
With a great number of full color screenshot examples from all over the web, Web Design for ROI should be required reading for any graphic designer.
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Winning Results with Google AdWords, Andrew Goodman
While this isn't the only 'Google AdWords 101' guide out there, I think it's the best.
Winning Results with Google AdWords suffers from some of the same problems as other similar books - full chapters on Google's history, etc. It also is probably not enough of a step-by-step guide for most AdWords newbies, but even with those flaws it's a great resource.
If you're commited to not using an agency, then this is perhaps the best Google AdWords How-To guide published to date.
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Submit Now: Designing Persuasive Websites, Andrew Chak
I don't know Andrew Chak, but I'd like to. Submit Now is exactly the sort
of book that is needed by many web developers, designers, and e-entrepreneurs.
Chak's advice is accessible and practical, and also thought provoking.
Dividing web visitors into four types - Browsers, Evaluators, Transactors,
and Customers, Chak provides simple, effective advice to enhance your website
for each of these visitor types. I'm not sure that I entirely agree with this
division of visitor types, but I heartily agree that this sort of thinking
is what is required to make websites more effective.
Submit Now is the sort of book that you'll instantly want to read a second
time, with a high-lighter and a note-pad on hand.
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Permission Marketing, Seth Godin
Permission Marketing was for me the snowball that started the avalanche.
In an extremely engaging way, Godin breaks paradigms and describes how and
why 'interruption marketing' is dead, and what it means to be in the era
of 'permission'.
First published in 1999, Permission Marketing isn't a 'how-to' book, and is
not specifically directed at the web, it's more of a book about mind-set? paradigm?
philosophy, but it provides an excellent foundation of understanding of 'why'
things work (or don't work) in marketing. Godin's explanation of why marketing
is like dating is probably worth the cost of the book alone.
Extremely well written, and even entertaining, Permission Marketing will certainly
increase your marketing IQ.
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Your Marketing Sucks, Mark Stevens
If the title of Mark Stevens's book doesn't catch your attention, the contents
certainly will. In a compelling and relevant way, Stevens contrasts "Lazy
Marketing" traditional, expensive, with what he calls "Extreme Marketing" (which
he could have just called 'essential', 'ROI', or even 'common sense' marketing).
Extreme Marketing is the highly coordinated, pre-meditated, results-driven
marketing that is the ONLY marketing that makes sense for today. With numerous
examples and case studies, Stevens shows how Lazy vs. Extreme isn't just about
medium (web, email, PR, direct mail, etc), it's about execution (pre-planned,
based on a solid value proposition, tested, etc).
Whilst 'Your Marketing Sucks' leaves a few gaps in terms of precisely how to
move from Lazy to Extreme Marketing, IMHO it is still one of the best marketing
books of the last few years.
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Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug
This book has become a bible for a generation of web developers and graphic
designers that are looking for the right way to build websites.
Whilst I don't agree with everything in the book, it is a highly educational
(and quick) read, which provides a number of best practices for effective design.
Specifically addressing issues such as navigation systems, page layout, visual
hierarchy, and text length, Krug provides a series of though-provoking ideas
and concepts.
Highly readable and well illustrated, with numerous screenshots and diagrams,
Don't Make Me Think is an essential read for anyone that hopes to create a
more effective web experience.
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