Fans pick 100 books like No B.S. Direct Marketing

By Dan S. Kennedy,

Here are 100 books that No B.S. Direct Marketing fans have personally recommended if you like No B.S. Direct Marketing. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

Ray Edwards Author Of How to Write Copy That Sells: The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often

From my list on marketing your business or brand.

Why am I passionate about this?

I know it's kind of weird, but I have been fascinated by the world of direct-response marketing ever since I first saw the full-page ads in the "newspapers" my grandmother loved to read (The National Inquirer and the Weekly World News). Those ads fascinated me because, at first, I thought they were stories in the newspaper. That was my first exposure to the work of the brilliant Eugene Schwartz. I used to check our mail so I could grab all the "junk mail" that everyone else threw away because that's the only mail I wanted to read. That's why I became a direct-response copywriter.

Ray's book list on marketing your business or brand

Ray Edwards Why did Ray love this book?

The first time I read this book, it hit me like a bolt of lightning. This simple book about how to state your marketing message clearly in a way that makes people decide they must buy your product or service is revolutionary.

Lots of people talk about "telling stories" as a powerful form of communication and persuasion. But Don is the only person I know who does a great job giving you the practical, hands-on, how-to approach so that you can actually do this for yourself. This is a book I reread at least once a year.

By Donald Miller,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Building a Storybrand as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

More than half-a-million business leaders have discovered the power of the StoryBrand Framework, created by New York Times bestselling author and marketing expert Donald Miller. And they are making millions.

If you use the wrong words to talk about your product, nobody will buy it. Marketers and business owners struggle to effectively connect with their customers, costing them and their companies millions in lost revenue.

In a world filled with constant, on-demand distractions, it has become near-impossible for business owners to effectively cut through the noise to reach their customers, something Donald Miller knows first-hand. In this book, he shares…


Book cover of Launch: How to Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love, and Live the Life of Your Dreams

Ray Edwards Author Of How to Write Copy That Sells: The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often

From my list on marketing your business or brand.

Why am I passionate about this?

I know it's kind of weird, but I have been fascinated by the world of direct-response marketing ever since I first saw the full-page ads in the "newspapers" my grandmother loved to read (The National Inquirer and the Weekly World News). Those ads fascinated me because, at first, I thought they were stories in the newspaper. That was my first exposure to the work of the brilliant Eugene Schwartz. I used to check our mail so I could grab all the "junk mail" that everyone else threw away because that's the only mail I wanted to read. That's why I became a direct-response copywriter.

Ray's book list on marketing your business or brand

Ray Edwards Why did Ray love this book?

I have read this book five times, and every time, I feel as if I picked up a new epiphany or distinction about how to launch (or relaunch) a business online. Over the years, I have paid the author, Jeff Walker, tens of thousands of dollars to attend his in-person training and seminars.

I can hardly believe how many of his "secrets" he reveals so openly inside a $27 book. It really does teach how to sell almost anything online, how to create huge “profit events”, and how to do it with excellence and integrity.

By Jeff Walker,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Launch as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The only guide you'll ever need to achieve online marketing success. With new chapters offering fresh information, you'll find all the insider tips in one place.

The revised and updated edition of the #1 New York Times bestseller Launch will build your business - fast. Whether you've already got an online business or you're itching to start one, this is a recipe for getting more traction and a fast start.

Think about it: What if you could launch like Apple or the big Hollywood studios? What if your prospects eagerly counted down the days until they could buy your product?…


Book cover of The Purpose Driven Church: Every Church Is Big in God's Eyes

Ray Edwards Author Of How to Write Copy That Sells: The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often

From my list on marketing your business or brand.

Why am I passionate about this?

I know it's kind of weird, but I have been fascinated by the world of direct-response marketing ever since I first saw the full-page ads in the "newspapers" my grandmother loved to read (The National Inquirer and the Weekly World News). Those ads fascinated me because, at first, I thought they were stories in the newspaper. That was my first exposure to the work of the brilliant Eugene Schwartz. I used to check our mail so I could grab all the "junk mail" that everyone else threw away because that's the only mail I wanted to read. That's why I became a direct-response copywriter.

Ray's book list on marketing your business or brand

Ray Edwards Why did Ray love this book?

This book is perhaps the greatest marketing book I have ever read (and I have read many). I came to it reluctantly because I was running a business and not building a church. But from the very first page, I knew this was something special.

Regardless of whether you're religious or not, Rick Warren's insight into what it takes to market a business (or even a church)  is at the level of genius. Some will criticize the book for not being more "spiritual," but this makes it even easier to translate its principles to business and marketing.

By Rick Warren,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Purpose Driven Church as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every church is driven by something. Tradition, finances, programs, personalities, events, seekers, and even buildings can each be the controlling force in a church. But Rick Warren believers that in order for a church to be healthy if must become a purpose driven church by Jesus. Now the founding pastor of Saddleback Church shares a proven five-part strategy that will enable your church to grow. . .- Warmer through fellowship - Deeper through discipleship - Stronger through worship - Broader through ministry - Larger through evangelism. Discover the same practical insights and principles for growing a healthy church that Rick…


Book cover of Getting Everything You Can out of All You'Ve Got: 21 Ways You Can out-Think, out-Perform, and out-Earn the Competition

Ray Edwards Author Of How to Write Copy That Sells: The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often

From my list on marketing your business or brand.

Why am I passionate about this?

I know it's kind of weird, but I have been fascinated by the world of direct-response marketing ever since I first saw the full-page ads in the "newspapers" my grandmother loved to read (The National Inquirer and the Weekly World News). Those ads fascinated me because, at first, I thought they were stories in the newspaper. That was my first exposure to the work of the brilliant Eugene Schwartz. I used to check our mail so I could grab all the "junk mail" that everyone else threw away because that's the only mail I wanted to read. That's why I became a direct-response copywriter.

Ray's book list on marketing your business or brand

Ray Edwards Why did Ray love this book?

If ever I have read a book that made a bold promise on the cover and then fully delivered on that promise in the pages of the book itself, it's this one. Reading this book (more than once) has literally helped me outthink, outperform, and outearn my competition.

Jay Abraham is truly the "guru to the gurus" in business growth. I found this book to be the best distillation of Jay's teachings I have ever encountered. It’s been worth more than 100 times the $30 I paid for it. 

By Jay Abraham,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Getting Everything You Can out of All You'Ve Got as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A trusted advisor to America's top corporations and recognized as one of today's preeminent marketing experts, Jay Abraham has created a program of proven strategies to help you realize undreamed-of success!

Unseen opportunities face each of us every day. Using clear examples from his own experience, Jay explains just how easy it can be to find and/or create new opportunities for wealth-building in any existing business, enterprise, or venture.

And just how easy can it be? One entrepreneur took the concept of the ballpoint pen and refined it into a multimillion-dollar idea: roll-on deodorant. Fred Smith of Federal Express took…


Book cover of How to Write Sales Letters That Sell

Ian Brodie Author Of Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

From my list on small business marketing.

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.

Ian's book list on small business marketing

Ian Brodie Why did Ian 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 Gap Selling: Getting the Customer to Yes: How Problem-Centric Selling Increases Sales by Changing Everything You Know About Relationships, Overcoming Objections, Closing and Price

Dave Kurlan Author Of Baseline Selling: How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball

From my list on to become a sales superstar.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been selling professionally since 1973, and in the sales training and development business for more than 36 years. I founded Objective Management Group, the world’s leading provider of sales force evaluations and sales candidate assessments, and we have data on 2.2 million salespeople. OMG measures 21 Sales Core Competencies, so that’s around 250 findings on 2.2 million salespeople or close to 500 million data points! I've personally trained and coached tens of thousands of salespeople, sales managers, and sales leaders and I have published nearly 2,000 articles on my multi-award-winning blog, Understanding the Sales Force. I was installed in the Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame in 2013. 

Dave's book list on to become a sales superstar

Dave Kurlan Why did Dave love this book?

Gap Selling is the best book written about selling in the past ten years. Keenan comes out swinging, keeps swinging, and swings hard. He pulls no punches, hits you with the truth, and you’d better be strong enough to handle what he dishes out. Keenan’s approach is modern, consultative, and it is the right book for these challenging times.

By Keenan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

People don't buy from people they like. No! Your buyer doesn't care about you or your product or service. It's not your job to overcome objections, it's your buyer's. Closing isn't a skill of good salespeople; it's the skill of weak salespeople. Price isn't the main reason salespeople lose the sale. Gap Selling shreds traditional and closely held sales beliefs that have been hurting salespeople for decades.

For years, salespeople have embraced a myriad of sales tactics and belief systems that have unknowingly created many of the issues they have been trying to avoid such as: long sales cycles, price…


Book cover of Land of the South

John Shelton Reed Author Of Mixing It Up: A South-Watcher's Miscellany

From my list on on the South that you’ve probably never heard of.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve written a couple of books about other subjects, but most of my professional life has been devoted to writing, speaking, and teaching about the South. I’ve been doing it ever since I went north to college and graduate school in the 1960s. My early books and articles were written as a sociologist, mostly for other sociologists, but in the 1970s I started writing what I learned to call “familiar essays” for a more general readership, and lately I’ve been writing about Southern foodways—three books about barbecue (so far), one of them a cookbook. I’ve also written several country songs (only one of them recorded).

John's book list on on the South that you’ve probably never heard of

John Shelton Reed Why did John love this book?

This atlas, a beautiful but money-losing coffee table book from the book-publishing arm of Southern Living, appeared just as a new CEO ordered the company’s book people to think of themselves “more in the direct-marketing business, as opposed to being a book publisher.” (This strategy led eventually to How to Cook for Your Man and Still Want to Look at Him Naked.) It was probably treated as a write-off from the beginning and not marketed at all, which is a shame, because it is much more than a handsome ornament for your living room. Three geographers and a historian, all from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, produced a solidly-researched and profoundly informative work of cartographic excellence, one that repays both casual browsing and close study. (Some used book sites incorrectly show a different cover, but don’t worry about that.)

By James W. Clay, Paul D. Escott, Douglas M. Orr Jr. , Alfred W. Stuart

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Book by Clay, James W.


Book cover of The Right Story

Elena Mutonono Author Of Grounded Growth: Sustainable and Profitable Online Teaching Business On Your Own Terms

From my list on online language teachers building their own businesses.

Why am I passionate about this?

The start of my own online teaching business in 2010 felt both liberating and frustrating. I enjoyed working for myself but struggled to make my offers unique, attractive, sustainable, and successful. I had no idea how to make my voice heard in the highly-saturated and fast-growing online teaching industry. Following the advice of famous online business gurus, I lost track of what I wanted my business to accomplish and burned out following every online teaching trend there was. The books I’ve selected helped me align with my own vision and values, inspired me to overcome my limitations and succeed on my own terms.

Elena's book list on online language teachers building their own businesses

Elena Mutonono Why did Elena love this book?

Most online teachers I’ve worked with detest the idea of marketing, and yet this is something we cannot avoid especially when running our own business. Bernadette Jiwa defines marketing as a story you tell that has the capacity to change the world. In the book she shares multiple purposeful stories of people who shared their message in the most authentic way and how their courage moved others to action and brought about change. This is a guide into marketing that will make you excited about the change you seek to make and how your small online teaching business can transform the world. 

By Bernadette Jiwa,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Every Jiwa book is a special event, and this one is no exception. Memorable stories about stories, practical, hard-won insights about how people change and why. Short and powerful.—"SETH GODIN

What makes some bad ideas successful, and why do many good ideas fail?

It turns out that there’s no such thing as a bad idea or a good idea. There is only the wrong story or the right story. The right story is one that is trusted. It is believed because it is told by the right person, for the right reasons, in the right way, at the right time,…


Book cover of Selling The Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing

Monroe Mann Author Of The Theatrical Juggernaut: The Psyche of the Star

From my list on marketing books for aspiring professional actors, artists, and performers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have done some pretty cool things in the arts. To share a few, I’ve given TEDx talks, I have produced and co-starred in a film that made it to Cannes, I have written 11+ books (one of which was a Barnes & Noble # 1 best seller), I have spoken at SAG/AFTRA and Writer’s Guild, I am an entertainment attorney, and I have an album up on iTunes/Apple Music/Spotify, etc. I really love inspiring people, and helping them to achieve life dreams. I hope this list will help inspire some of you to go after your dreams, too, and with a passion!

Monroe's book list on marketing books for aspiring professional actors, artists, and performers

Monroe Mann Why did Monroe love this book?

Too many books on how to succeed in the arts talk about how you are a "product." These people are idiots who know nothing about business. If you are an actor, singer, or painter, you are not a product. That implies you are able to be sold to multiple people at the same time. And re-used. And replaced when you break. Sorry, you’re not a product.

You are an entrepreneur, and you are selling…a service. And that service is…invisible. That’s what this book taught me. I am not a product. I am a salesman, and I am selling the invisible.

The techniques required to sell a service are far different from selling a product, and heck, I just didn’t like thinking of myself as a product anyway! I am a unique human being with incredibly unique talents. Aren’t you?

By Harry Beckwith,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

SELLING THE INVISIBLE is a succinct and often entertaining look at the unique characteristics of services and their prospects, and how any service, from a home-based consultancy to a multinational brokerage, can turn more prospects into clients and keep them. SELLING THE INVISIBLE covers service marketing from start to finish. Filled with wonderful insights and written in a roll-up-your-sleeves, jargon-free, accessible style, such as:

Greatness May Get You Nowhere; Focus Groups Don'ts; The More You Say, the Less People Hear; Seeing the Forest Around the Falling Trees


Book cover of Online Marketing for Busy Authors: A Step-By-Step Guide

Joel Stafford Author Of The First 100 Days of Your Book: Book Marketing for Self-Published Authors

From my list on marketing for self-publishing authors.

Why am I passionate about this?

A very good friend of mine wrote a great non-fiction book – I know it’s great because I read it –, and he sincerely asked for help saying “Joel you learned a bit about marketing, how can I get some traffic?”. I checked several “book promotion” websites and I was shocked how awful they were that day. I learned UI design so I decided that I can start my own book recommendation website, which will be at least user/reader friendly. Continuing my friend's story, I helped him trying the most popular promotion methods and I was surprised that there were a lot that simply don’t work and of course we found some that were nearly unknown. 

Joel's book list on marketing for self-publishing authors

Joel Stafford Why did Joel love this book?

Whether you are busy or inexperienced, this book will teach you how to make as much as possible out of it. This is an exciting time to be an author because you have direct access to your audience – the Internet will certainly help.

This book is a step-by-step guide with direct instructions on how to identify your brand, define your audience, and set priorities. Find out how to come up with your own website, develop a strategy, or even blog as a marketing tool.

By Fauzia Burke,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Online Marketing for Busy Authors as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If You Want People to Read Your Book,
Writing It Is Only the Beginning

There has truly never been a better time to be an author. For the first time, authors have direct access to the public via the Internet—and can create a community eagerly awaiting their book. But where do new authors start? How do they sort through the dizzying range of online options? Where should they spend their time online and what should they be doing?

Enter Fauzia Burke, a digital book marketing pioneer and friend of overwhelmed writers everywhere. She takes authors step-by-step through the process of…


Book cover of Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
Book cover of Launch: How to Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love, and Live the Life of Your Dreams
Book cover of The Purpose Driven Church: Every Church Is Big in God's Eyes

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,593

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in marketing, presidential biography, and advertising?

Marketing 208 books
Advertising 53 books