10 recommended marketing books for super busy freelancers

Aside from following our recommended marketing techniques, allow us to suggest the following excellent books to inspire you to supercharge your marketing without taking up too much of your time. Because every day you should be hustling. And boosting your entrepreneurial skills is only great for business.

1. How To Be F**cking Awesome by Dan Meredith

Need a kick up the backside to improve your business and find time for marketing? This book shares 11 powerful principles you can apply immediately to start getting more of what you want, and less of what you don't want. It helps you to push forward and get sh*t done — a high starting point to motivate and inspire.

2. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington

Free up your time to make room for other things, that's what I say. The 12 Week Year is a book that helps you to avoid low productivity and supercharge each day, so you can find the time to work on your marketing.

3. How to Write Seductive Web Copy An Easy Guide to Picking Up More Customers by Henneke Duistermaat

Are you wondering what to write on your home page? Or struggling to decide what should go on your about page? How to Write Seductive Web Copy takes the stress out of your copywriting. This practical book takes you through a step-by-step process to write your own website texts. But it doesn't just tell you how to write, it also helps you decide what to write — an essential read.

4. Content Machine: Use Content Marketing to Build a 7-figure Business With Zero Advertising by Dan Norris

Instead of investing in advertising, spend time creating your content. That's what Content Machine encourages, even promising serious profits if you can get your head around content marketing and all the goodness it delivers.

5. Give: The Ultimate Guide to Using Facebook Advertising to Generation More Leads, More Clients and Massive ROI by Nicholas Kusmich

You've got to hold and give. But do it at the right time. Said John Barnes once. It's kind of the same sentiment with Give, a book that claims most marketers concentrate on what they're trying to get... but the best marketers focus on what they have to give. It's all about how our media consumption is changing, and how Facebook has become the "single most effective platform for marketing". Give it a whirl.

6. All Marketers Are Liars: The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works – and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All by Seth Godin

As legendary business write Seth Godin has taught hundreds of thousands of marketers and students around the world, great marketers don't talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a story – a story we want to believe, whether it's factual or not. In a world where most people have an infinite number of choices and no time to make them, every organisation is a marketer, and all marketing is about telling stories. Are you ready to share yours?

7. 90 Days to Profit: A Proven System to Transform Your Business by Erlend Bakke

In a modern-day rendition of The Goal, you’ll follow the journey of Ralph Hill as he learns how to positively transform any business from loss to profit in 90 days. Along the way, he learns that it’s more than just business. It’s also a journey of personal transformation. A must-read for marketing wannabes.

8. Sparks: Ideas to Ignite Your Business Growth by Shweta Jhajharia

A lot of business owners want to make it big, but only a few do. Shweta Jhajharia is brutally honest about what it takes to make it big. In Sparks, she draws on tested and proven strategies and stories to offer powerful ideas for sustainable double-digit growth. Practical advice with a healthy dose of marketing insights.

9. Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age by Jonah Berger

Why are some products and ideas talked about more than others? Why do some articles make the most emailed list? Why do some YouTube videos go viral? Word-of-mouth. Whether you're a freelancer trying to win new clients or an agency trying to raise awareness, word-of-mouth can help you succeed. And you don't have to have millions of pounds to spend on an advertising budget. You have to get people to talk. The challenge, though, is how to do that. This book will show you how.

10. Starting up on your own: How to succeed as an independent consultant or freelance (Financial Times Series) by Mike Johnson

Although this comprehensive book is predominantly for those thinking about going freelance, it'll still prove valuable to established business owners. With a sh*t load of tips and advice on winning repeat business, attracting new clients and knowing how much to charge, this book is absolutely essential for your reading list.