Recommended Books

Marketing Writing

Merry Aronson and Don Spetner: The Public Relations Writer's Handbook. A broad overview of all public relations writing projects. Includes guidelines and examples from a range of industries, although primarily focused on consumer products.

Richard Bayan: Words That Sell: The Thesaurus to Help You Promote Your Products, Services, and Ideas. The most-used reference on my bookshelf. Presents word lists to describe product characteristics and phrases for openers, closers, and other types of promotional text.

William E. Blundell: The Art and Craft of Feature Writing. A bit dated, but filled with ideas and techniques for telling a good story and working effectively with different elements of an article. Written by former reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Robert W. Bly: The White Paper Marketing Handbook. A good reference book that will help you understand the activities and resources necessary for developing, writing, publishing, and promoting white papers in any industry.

Theodore A. Rees Cheney: Writing Creative Nonfiction: Fiction Techniques for Crafting Great Nonfiction. Full of techniques for writing feature articles for general-interest publications, but also useful for corporate magazines.

Bert Esselink: A Practical Guide to Localization. Geared to software companies, but provides a good overview of localization issues, practices, and resources.

Stephen Glazier: Random House Word Menu. A cross between a thesaurus and a dictionary, with words arranged by topic. Very useful for text that incorporates a metaphor or imagery, because you can easily find all related words in one place.

Norm Goldstein, editor: The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. A standard reference for writing style used by many journalists and corporate writers.

Sandra W. Harner and Tom G. Zimmerman: Technical Marketing Communication. Primarily a college-level text for technical writing students, Chapter 11 presents a useful discussion of marcom planning, strategies, and tactics.

Nancy L. Hoft: International Technical Communication. Out of print, but worth requesting from the library or finding a used copy. A comprehensive book on the issues of localizing print and electronic materials for international markets.

Robert Johnson-Sheehan: Writing Proposals. Designed as a college textbook, but a comprehensive guide to writing proposals, with examples for high-tech.

Russell M. Kern: S.U.R.E.-Fire Direct Response Marketing. A good general book for planning and writing direct mail, both print and online.

Robert V. Levine: The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold. Engaging insights into the psychology of persuasion that is applied in many marketing and sales activities.

Michael Schumacher: Writer's Complete Guide to Conducting Interviews. Covers interview techniques for book authors and writers of general-interest magazine articles. Contains useful information on structuring interviews, working with quotes, and legal and ethical considerations for using information.

Michael C. Smith and Suzanne Greenberg: Everyday Creative Writing: Panning for Gold in the Kitchen Sink. Another fun source of exercises and ideas for re-charging your writing creativity.

Donna Baier Stein and Floyd Kemske: Write on Target: The Direct Marketer's Copywriting Handbook. A very good resource for the specialty of direct mail copywriting.

Michael A. Stelzner: Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged. A complete and in-depth guide to writing white papers, the documents that are vital to successful marketing of technology and other business products.

Michael A. Stelzner: 2005 White Paper Writer Industry Survey. A unique and insightful report that defines factors for successfully writing and promoting white papers. Provides useful information for both writers and corporate marketers who face the challenges of selling complex products.

Dennis L. Wilcox: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques. A college textbook, but useful guide for writing public relations materials.

Web Marketing

Kim M. Bayne: Marketing Without Wires: Targeting Promotions and Advertising to Mobile Device Users. A good primer for the concepts of presenting email and Web content on wireless devices. However, supplement this book with more current readings on wireless technologies, presentation techniques, and promotion types.

Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis: Designing Web Sites That Sell. A clear discussion of what goes into an effective, large-scale e-commerce site, with many example screen shots.

J. Dianne Brinson and Mark F. Radcliffe: Internet Law and Business Handbook. A useful guide for legal issues around marketing, both offline and on the Web.

Robert W. Bly: The Online Copywriter's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Write Electronic Copy That Sells. Although geared for more hard-sell, small business Web sites, provides useful guidelines and examples.

Bill Carmody: Online Promotions: Winning Strategies and Tactics. Wiley, 2004. Detailed guidance for contests, special offers, and other promotional activities conducted on the Web or via email.

Barbara K. Kaye and Norman J. Medoff: Just a Click Away. A complete guide to online advertising.

Jonathan Price and Lisa Price: Hot Text: Web Writing That Works. An excellent and detailed (if opinionated) guide to writing Web content and email messages. Includes many before-and-after examples of Web text.

Ann Rockley: Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy. A good overview guide to content management systems and implementations; also includes guidelines for writers working these systems.

Donna Baier Stein and Alexandra MacAaron: The New Marketing Conversation: Creating and Strengthening Relationships Between Buyers and Sellers. A creative strategy guide for both print and online media.

Jim Sterne: World Wide Web Marketing: Integrating the Web into Your Marketing Strategy, 3rd Edition. A bit dated, but a good reference to support planning for a Web site.

Jim Sterne: Email Marketing. Email messages, Enewsletters, and news group posts are new project types for copywriters. This book presents helpful guidelines and examples for writing and formatting these email forms, as well as activities for managing email campaigns.

High-Tech Marketing

Donald A. DePalma: Business Without Borders: A Strategic Guide to Global Marketing. A general book about international marketing.

Catherine Kitcho: High-Tech Product Launch. Describes the activities involved in launching a high-tech product, including marketing communications and PR. A good overview for students or newcomers to marketing.

F. Joseph Lepla and Lynn M. Parker: Integrated Branding: Becoming Brand-Driven Through Companywide Action. A good overview of branding issues, written by PR agency leaders who have extensive experience in high-tech.

Michael E. McGrath: Product Strategy for High Technology Companies. A good general book on marketing for high-tech products.

Jakki Mohr: Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations. A good overview of marketing issues in a variety of high-tech industries.

Geoffrey A. Moore: Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Products to Mainstream Customers, 2nd Edition. Describes the struggles and strategies of start-up companies in launching a new product, especially one in a new market category.

Geoffrey A. Moore: Inside the Tornado: Marketing Strategies from Silicon Valley's Cutting Edge. Analyzes the factors behind the explosive growth and marketing success of high-tech companies such as Microsoft and Netscape.

Chuck Pettis: TechnoBrands. Describes how to apply the principles of brand marketing to the strategies required for technical products.

Graphics and Media

Graphic Artists Guild: Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, 11th Edition. Useful for understanding contracts and rights issues from the perspective of an artist or other media professional. Regularly updated, so check for a newer edition.

William Horton: Illustrating Computer Documentation: The Art of Presenting Information Graphically on Paper and Online. Although focused on technical manuals and user interfaces, provides a good primer on visual communications.

Eric K. Meyer: Designing Infographics: Theory, creative techniques & practical solutions. Written for journalists, this book can give you good ideas for graphics in newsletter articles, white papers, and reports.

Richard Stim: Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off. Detailed guidelines for licensing and obtaining usage permissions for a variety of content and media types.

Edward R. Tufte: Author of a number of beautifully produced books on visual information. While most of the examples aren't directly related to marketing communication, you may find exciting ideas for presenting your content. Check any of his three classic books: Envisioning Information; The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd Edition; and Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative.

Lee Wilson: The Copyright Guide: A Friendly Guide to Protecting and Profiting from Copyrights and The Advertising Law Guide. Both are useful books for understanding content rights and marketing law.

For Freelancers

If you're exploring the idea of going freelance, or you need some encouragement and ideas as you build your business, choose one the many books about self-employment by Paul & Sarah Edwards. My favorites include: Working from Home, Getting Business to Come to You, Secrets of Self-Employment, Teaming Up, Why Aren't You Your Own Boss, and The Practical Dreamer's Handbook. You can also visit their Web site for more resources: workingfromhome.com.

Although geared toward a wide range of small businesses, Jay Conrad Levinson's series of marketing books may give you some ideas, in particular, Guerilla Marketing for Consultants.

A number of books are targeted to freelance writers, although most address writing for magazines. Among the books that address writers who serve corporate clients: Bob Bly's Guide to Freelance Writing Success, The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman, The Wealthy Writer by Michael Meanwell, and Steve Slaunwhite's Start and Run a Copywriting Business.

I also learn from the marketing and business tactics used by graphic designers and other creative agencies. A good resource book for this is Cameron Foote's The Creative Business Guide to Running a Graphic Design Business. I also find inspiration in the annual business and self-promotion issues of HOW magazine.

Janice King is a freelance copywriter and author of the book Copywriting That Sells High Tech. Visit WritingHighTech.com for other valuable resources for marketing communication, public relations, and technical writing professionals.