Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a writer and consultant on marketing and creating online courses. I’m obsessed with “cracking the marketing code.” Ever since I saw firsthand what a huge impact even small marketing changes could have on a business's success I’ve been determined to figure out what the really big impact but low workload changes are. I’ve written about some of them in my book Email Persuasion and I share others in my blogs and videos.


I wrote

Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

By Ian Brodie,

Book cover of Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

What is my book about?

Email Persuasion is the definitive guide to engaging your audience, building authority, and getting more sales with email marketing. Described…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Duct Tape Marketing  The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide

Ian Brodie Why did I love this book?

Duct Tape Marketing is probably the best “if you could only have one book” guide to marketing for small businesses. Written by a guy who’s been “in the trenches” working with small businesses on their marketing for over two decades, it’s practical and actionable and keeps you firmly focused on what’s really important to succeed, not on “flavor of the month” tactics.

It’s a great book for non-marketing people. And it very much focuses on setting up systems and processes so we get consistent results from our marketing. In other words, the boring stuff we tend to avoid but that actually makes the most difference!

By John Jantsch,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Duct Tape Marketing The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In his trusted book for small businesses, John Jantsch challenges you to craft a marketing strategy that is as reliable as the go-to household item we all know, love, and turn to in a pinch: duct tape.

As a renowned marketing guru and small business coach, John Jantsch has become a leading advisor on how to build and grow a thriving business. Duct Tape Marketing shows you how to develop and execute a marketing plan that yields more revenue and ensures the longevity of small businesses.

Taking a strategic, systemic approach to marketing rather than being constantly won over to…


Book cover of Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

Ian Brodie Why did I love this book?

This is the story of how P&G does marketing, written by their most successful CEO. Now, of course, P&G is hardly a small business. But they’re one of the most successful marketing businesses of all time, and their rigorous, analytical approach is something that all small businesses can learn from.

It’s based around the simple idea of deciding “where to play” and “how to win”. But that simple idea enabled Lafley to double P&G’s sales, quadruple its profits, and increase its market value by more than $100 billion in just ten years. If we can achieve a tiny fraction of what he achieved we’ll have done well.

By A.G. Lafley, Roger L. Martin,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Playing to Win as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Are you just playing--or playing to win? Strategy is not complex. But it is hard. It's hard because it forces people and organizations to make specific choices about their future--something that doesn't happen in most companies. Now two of today's best-known business thinkers get to the heart of strategy--explaining what it's for, how to think about it, why you need it, and how to get it done. And they use one of the most successful corporate turnarounds of the past century, which they achieved together, to prove their point. A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble, in close partnership…


Book cover of Confessions of an Advertising Man

Ian Brodie Why did I love this book?

Ogilvy was a true force of nature and perhaps the original “mad men” prototype. This book is part autobiography and part guide to his philosophy of advertising. Reading it, you’ll laugh, you learn a lot, and you’ll wonder how on earth he got away with half the things he did.

I’ve included this book in the list as a kind of “light interlude” to the other, denser books. But nonetheless it contains great insights that are as true today as when Ogilvy penned this 50 years ago.

By David Ogilvy,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Confessions of an Advertising Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?



A new edition of the timeless business classic featured on Mad Men—as fresh and relevant now as the day it was written

 

"We admire people who work hard, who are objective and thorough. We detest office politicians, toadies, bullies, and pompous asses. We abhor ruthlessness. The way up our ladder is open to everybody. In promoting people to top jobs, we are influenced as much by their character as anything else."  —David Ogilvy

 

David Ogilvy was considered the "father of advertising" and a creative genius by many of the biggest global brands. First published in 1963, this seminal book revolutionized…


Book cover of How to Write Sales Letters That Sell

Ian Brodie Why did I love this book?

David Ogilvy said, “Drayton Bird knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world,” and you can see why he said it in this book.

At some point in your marketing you need to get your potential customers to become paying customers. To actually part with their hard-earned cash. This book is a masterclass on how to do that in print – either on your website or in letters, adverts, brochures, or flyers. Bird’s writing has that amazing quality of charm, of being able to get you to buy without feeling you’ve been sold to. The book shows you how to get something similar yourself and is chock full of examples to learn from.

By Drayton Bird,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Write Sales Letters That Sell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The right piece of direct mail can produce excellent response rates and have an extraordinary effect on business. But why do some sale letters achieve spectacular results whilst others are instantly consigned to the bin? This book reveals the secrets of creating successful sales letters. Containing examples of real sales letters, it includes plenty of advice on what to avoid as well as what to include. Key topics are covered such as: the secrets of persuasion; planning a letter which will get replies; creating offers that get responses and timing mailings for maximum effect.


Book cover of Captivology: The Science of Capturing People's Attention

Ian Brodie Why did I love this book?

Of all the marketing challenges facing us today, the biggest by far is the immensely difficult task of getting and keeping the attention of our target customers in a ridiculously noisy world.

Captivology isn’t necessarily a marketing book per se. But it’s the best guide to the art and the science of capturing attention. It shows you what gets people to take notice of something, to pay it deeper attention, and then to keep coming back and devoting time to it. You can apply these lessons across all your marketing and of all the marketing ideas and concepts I’ve come across in the last decade, this one has had the deepest and most positive impact on me and the results in my business.

By Ben Parr,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Captivology as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


Why are we captivated by sites like Facebook and Instagram, but couldn't care less about MySpace Why do some musicians grow as popular as Beyonce, while others never make the charts Why do some nonprofits, such as Charity: Water, succeed in getting our donations, while other charities are ineffective And why can't anyone seem to ever get the attention of their kids

In Captivology, Ben Parr, former editor of Mashable and cofounder of DominateFund, reveals how and why our mind pays attention to some events, ideas, or people and not others. Vividly bringing to life the stories of entrepreneurs, musicians,…


Explore my book 😀

Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

By Ian Brodie,

Book cover of Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

What is my book about?

Email Persuasion is the definitive guide to engaging your audience, building authority, and getting more sales with email marketing. Described as a “results getting tour de force” and “inspiring but practical” it will take you step by step from getting subscribers to nurturing relationships to winning new clients.

Email Persuasion was created for small businesses and sole practitioners. It’s written in clear and straightforward language and includes real-world tips that will elevate your results from email marketing whether you’re a beginner or an advanced-level marketer.

Book cover of Duct Tape Marketing  The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide
Book cover of Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works
Book cover of Confessions of an Advertising Man

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Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

By Margot Machol Bisnow,

Book cover of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

Margot Machol Bisnow Author Of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve become passionate about telling parents how to raise happy, resilient, creative, confident, entrepreneurial children who are doing something that gives them joy. So many young people are unhappy; parents don’t understand how to help. They think their children should follow their path, but that no longer works for many. For the last 10 years, I’ve been speaking to parent groups; I was an Advisor to EQ Generation, an after-school program that gives children the skills to succeed; on the Advisory Board of MUSE School, preparing young people with passion-based learning; and on the Board of Spark the Journey, mentoring low-income high school students to achieve college and career success. 

Margot's book list on learn how to raise confident children

What is my book about?

This book shakes longstanding assumptions of parenting.

Through 99 stories of people who are now changing the world, it shows how to raise creative, confident, resilient children who are filled with joy and purpose. Based on interviews with top entrepreneurs and their parents, it guides you to help your children identify their passion and figure out how they can spend their professional lives doing something they love. 

Parents' well-intentioned efforts often boomerang. By ignoring their children’s skills and interests, parents can inadvertently create pressure and anxiety, thwarting their children's ability to excel and find happiness. Too often, following your heart…

Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

By Margot Machol Bisnow,

What is this book about?

Learn how successful entrepreneurs were raised! Could your children start a company that disrupts existing industries? Or a non-profit that helps people around the world? Or follow their passion as an artist or activist? And most important, lead a life of joy and purpose, to be happy and fulfilled? Margot Machol Bisnow, mother of two thriving entrepreneurs, reveals how to raise creative, confident, resilient, fearless kids who achieve their dreams, through 99 stories of families who did it.

Read stories from 70 families who raised true game changers. See family photos of these thriving entrepreneurs, both when they were young…


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