Good texts speak for themselves. They sale, they engage, they make people share them with their friends and families. Writing is a craft and it requires constant work. Fortunately, some authors are generous enough to share their best practices with us. So without further ado, here are the four must-read books for every content creator:
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Yes, it was published 11 years ago but is still relevant than ever. Why? Because the authors focus primarily on how people interact with each other, what touches their emotions, how human desires lead to actions. And believe me, these things barely change that fast. The Heath brothers back all their theories and tips for successful writing with psychology and psychosocial studies. In an easy and fun manner, they manage to convey otherwise hardly chewable information about how humans memorize events, what motivates us and how emotions can actually define our actions. Chip and Dan will introduce you to their SUCCES method, or the key factors for a compelling story – simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions and stories.
Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing by Lee Oden
Some of you may not find optimization as funny but it plays a crucial role in content creation. Believe it or not, this book might really help you improve your online presence. And without a proper online presence, your content is just not gonna make it. Lee Oden keeps it simple in this book. It is unlikely you stumble upon jargon; everything is explicit and sits on solid real-life examples. However, reading between the lines will help you discover the most appropriate way to implement the useful tips to your business, blog, website, organization… you name it. This book is aimed at content creators, SEO fanatics, bloggers, podcasters and even e-commerce entrepreneurs. No matter your walk of life, if your job depends on the web you should definitely check Optimize.
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
If you haven’t read it yet, you should. Ogilvy’s masterpiece was first published back in 1983 but even now Ogilvy’s main principles still work. “The Father of Advertising” digs in details in business and advertising psychology. No matter if you’re are writing copies for TV or radio commercial, email campaigns or ad banners you can find the essentials of advertising here. And if ad creation is a form of art David Ogilvy is Leonardo Da Vinci. The way that fundamentals are presented is entertaining, informative and quite picturesque. At times, the tone gets tense and painfully frank but still the reader can relate to the author’s words. Despite the fact that the internet was not a thing in Ogilvy’s prime his honest revelations and key principals can be successfully applied in the web. Check it out and thank me later 🙂
Blogging the Smart Way by Jeff Bullas
I guess many of you have something to say. In fact, you have a lot to say. You are passionate about writing about traveling, fishing, hiking, software…it doesn’t really matter what exactly. You want to share your knowledge and thoughts with the world and a blog seems like a good idea but you don’t know where to start from. Then this is just the perfect book for you. Jeff Bullas is a professional blogger who speaks mainly about, well, blogging. The guy is in the business almost ten years now and his book Blogging The Smart Way is available on his website. You will learn not only how to write engaging articles but also how to understand your audience, how to promote yourself on social media without being a drag. Not familiar with search engine optimization? No problem. Jeff Bullas has your back covered.
And don’t forget that you can learn something new in different aspects – Master in management, Masters in Bulgaria. The Specialized Administration and Management Institute of La Francophonie offer just that.
thanks for sharing such a useful information i like your article to much i will suggest it. i most like blogging the smart way… thank again
Many thanks for your comment, Rob. And thanks for sharing your experience.