Have you ever wondered why some products seem to go viral while others fade away? The secret often lies in smart product marketing.
With over 30,000 new consumer products launched yearly, the competition is fierce. Shockingly, only 40% of developed products even make it to market, and among those that do, just 60% generate any revenue.
But you can break down these challenges into actionable steps to follow, no matter where you’re starting from.
Today, I’m sharing 15 game-changing books that helped me understand what works in product marketing.
These reads are packed with practical tips to help you connect with customers and turn your product into a must-have
So let’s get started,
What is Product Marketing?
Product marketing is the process of understanding customer needs, positioning a product to meet those needs, and promoting it effectively from development to launch and beyond.
For example, if you’re launching a fitness app, product marketing involves identifying features like step tracking or meal planning that users value and showing how the app simplifies their fitness journey.
What are the 4 types of products in marketing?
To help you understand the different categories, let’s take a look at the four types of products in marketing:
- Consumer Products: These are the items you buy for personal use, like your favorite clothes or electronics.
- Industrial Products: These products help businesses run smoothly, such as machinery or raw materials.
- Convenience Products: Low-cost and easy-to-grab items, like snacks or toiletries, that you don’t think much about when buying.
- Specialty Products: Unique, high-end items like luxury cars or designer goods, made for people who want something special.
Importance of Reading Product Marketing Books
Reading books on product marketing can really boost your skills. Here’s how:
- Gain expert insights: You learn from top marketers and their experiences, which can save you a lot of time and mistakes.
- Understand your customers better: These books teach you how to get into your customers’ heads and really understand what they want from your product.
- Stay updated: The best books will keep you on top of current trends and tools, so you’re always using the latest and most effective strategies.
- Learn at your own pace: You can take your time with a product marketing book, going back over complex ideas until you really understand them.
- Get inspired: Sometimes, seeing how others solved a problem or seized an opportunity can spark ideas that are perfect for your own products.
By turning to these books on product marketing, you can sharpen your product marketing skills in a practical & straightforward way.
It makes it easier for you to connect with your customers and give your products the best chance of success.
15 Must-Read Product Marketing Books
Here are 15 must-read books on product marketing covering a wide range of strategies and insights. These books will boost your product marketing skills.
Each offers a unique perspective and practical tips. Get ready to grow your knowledge and hone your abilities with these essential reads.
1. Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres
In Continuous Discovery Habits, Teresa Torres reveals how to keep your product strategy evolving through continuous discovery.
She shares practical habits that help you stay on top of user feedback and make informed decisions.
Torres walks you through building a strong discovery process. She also ensures your product stays successful over time.
This product marketing book offers frameworks for turning insights into action, helping you deliver ongoing value.
By focusing on experimentation and learning, you can embed these practices into your product culture.
If you’re serious about innovation, this is one of the best books for product marketing to guide your journey.
2. Obviously Awesome by April Dunford
In Obviously Awesome, April Dunford shares her expertise in positioning products for success.
She teaches you how to craft a compelling value proposition that highlights what makes your product uniquely valuable.
Dunford provides a clear framework for developing positioning that speaks directly to your target audience.
She covers how to research your market, define your differentiation, and write effective positioning statements.
With her guidance, you’ll learn how to position your product in an “obviously awesome” way that encourages adoption.
This book on product launch strategy is one of the best books on product marketing, giving you the tools to stand out from the competition and succeed.
3. Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan
In “Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love” Marty Cagan shares practical advice on building technology products that truly connect with users.
He focuses on encouraging collaboration between product managers and designers to create something exceptional.
Cagan offers a clear roadmap filled with actionable tips and real-world examples.
You’ll learn how to understand customer needs, design engaging user experiences, and continuously improve through feedback.
If you’re looking to create products that stand out, this is one of the best product marketing books to guide your journey.
It’s packed with insights to help you turn ideas into products customers love.
4. UX Strategy – Product Strategy Techniques by Jaime Levy
In UX Strategy – Product Strategy Techniques, Jaime Levy provides a practical guide to creating user experiences that truly connect with people.
She shares actionable insights to help you craft products that meet user needs and deliver delightful experiences.
Levy emphasizes aligning business goals with user goals to ensure long-term success. You’ll learn how to conduct research, map user flows, design intuitive interfaces, and prototype interactions with ease.
If you’re looking to build engaging and cohesive product experiences, this is an essential marketing textbook that blends big-picture strategy with hands-on tactics to drive growth and user satisfaction.
5. Launch (Product Launch Formula) by Jeff Walker
In Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Jeff Walker shares a step-by-step formula for launching products with maximum impact.
His approach helps you create buzz, build anticipation, and drive impressive sales. Whether you’re launching something new or relaunching an existing product, Walker’s strategies are easy to follow.
He teaches you how to craft irresistible offers, automate sales, and coordinate seamless launch sequences.
Packed with actionable insights and real-world examples, this is one of the best product marketing books to guide your product launches.
With Walker’s proven techniques, you’ll attract engaged audiences and turn your launches into big successes.
6. Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change
In Start At The End, Matt Wallaert flips standard product development on its head, teaching you to design with the end goal in mind.
Using behavioral science, he shows how to understand what truly motivates your users and meets their needs.
Wallaert’s approach helps you apply tactics like personalization, habit formation, and social proof to create products that resonate.
His framework for backward mapping from the ideal outcome makes your product development process more focused and effective.
If you want fresh, science-based insights, this is one of the best books on product marketing to guide your thinking. It’s perfect for creating meaningful, user-centered products.
7. Product-Led Growth by Wes Bush
In Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself, Wes Bush shows you how to let your product do the heavy lifting in driving growth.
By focusing on usability and customer satisfaction, he teaches you how to create a product experience that users love to share.
Bush provides clear frameworks for making your product more viral, sticky, and scalable. You’ll learn how to gather data, highlight your best features, and turn happy users into your biggest advocates.
This guide is perfect if you’re looking for practical ways to grow organically. It’s all about using your product as the ultimate marketing tool to acquire, retain, and expand your customer base.
8. “The Lean Product Playbook” a Product Marketing Book by Dan Olsen
In The Lean Product Playbook, Dan Olsen gives you a practical guide to building products that truly work using lean methodology.
His step-by-step approach helps you streamline development and focus on what matters most to your customers.
Olsen’s frameworks teach you how to identify real customer needs, design solutions, and test ideas through feedback and iteration.
You’ll discover tools like user personas, MVPs, and opportunity assessments to guide your process.
This book is perfect if you want a clear, proven playbook to launch products that resonate with your target market. It’s all about solving the right problems and learning as you go.
9. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
In Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal dives into the psychology of what keeps users coming back. He introduces the Hook Model, a simple yet powerful framework to create products that stick.
Eyal’s approach focuses on triggers, variable rewards, and user investment to build lasting habits. He offers actionable steps to make your product more engaging and irresistible.
If you want practical, research-backed techniques to design habit-forming experiences, this book is a game-changer.
It’s all about understanding human psychology to craft products that users love and keep returning to.
10. Loved: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products by Martina Lauchengco
In Loved: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products, Martina Lauchengco offers a fresh take on marketing that helps you build strong connections between your tech product and its users.
She focuses on creating loyalty through trust, transparency, and a sense of community.
Lauchengco shares practical strategies for humanizing your product, telling compelling stories, and using influencers to amplify your message.
Her insights help you go beyond functionality to make people truly love what you offer.
This book is perfect for anyone looking to craft meaningful relationships with customers and turn tech products into something people can’t live without.
11. Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
In Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore provides you with strategies to bring your innovative product from niche to mainstream success.
He introduces the Technology Adoption Life Cycle and shows you how to bridge the gap between early adopters and the early majority.
Moore’s insights help you navigate the hurdles of broader market acceptance. It offers a clear framework to overcome the challenges faced by pioneering products.
If you’re looking for a proven approach to scaling your product, this is one of the best product marketing books you can read.
It’s all about understanding market dynamics and positioning your product for greater success.
12. Monetizing Innovation by Madhavan Ramanujam and Georg Tacke
In Monetizing Innovation, Madhavan Ramanujam and Georg Tacke offer you a clear framework to optimize pricing and packaging for your innovative products.
They guide you through assessing value, quantifying improvements, and capturing that value to maximize profitability.
The authors provide actionable strategies for pricing innovations and creating profitable business models. It helps you take your products to the next level.
If you’re looking to refine your approach to monetizing breakthrough products, this is one of the best books for product marketing.
It’s packed with practical advice to make sure you’re pricing your innovations right and capturing their full potential.
13. Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath share how to craft ideas and messages that truly resonate with your audience. They explore why some concepts stay in people’s minds while others fade away.
The book introduces the SUCCES framework—simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories—to help you create memorable messages.
You’ll gain practical tips on making your ideas stick and connect with your audience on a deeper level.
If you want to make your product marketing messages unforgettable, this book will equip you with the tools to do just that. It’s all about keeping things simple, emotional, and compelling.
14. Product Marketing Misunderstood by Richard King and Bryony Pearce
In Product Marketing Misunderstood, Richard King and Bryony Pearce debunk common product marketing myths that can hold you back.
They provide clear, actionable strategies for rethinking your approach to positioning, branding, messaging, and more.
This book helps you navigate the complexities of product marketing, offering proven methods to refine your strategy and avoid common pitfalls.
If you’re looking for a product launch book that clears up misconceptions and gives you a solid foundation for success, this is the one for you.
It’s a must-read for anyone looking to sharpen their product marketing game.
15. Product Marketing Debunked by Yasmeen Turayhi and Cali Schmidt
In Product Marketing Debunked, Yasmeen Turayhi and Cali Schmidt break down common product marketing myths that might be holding you back.
They offer practical guidance on how to rethink your approach to positioning, promotions, content marketing, and beyond.
The authors share strategies and real-world examples to help you avoid common pitfalls and gain clarity in your marketing efforts.
With actionable takeaways and solid frameworks, this book clears up the confusion and equips you with the tools you need to succeed.
If you’re looking to refine your product marketing strategy, this book will provide you with the insights you need to steer clear of misconceptions and take your approach to the next level.
Useful Tools for Product Marketing
Here are some tools you can make use of to excel in product marketing:
- WPFunnels: You can create dedicated product marketing funnels and landing pages to showcase product details, key features, and benefits, and drive signups or purchases.
- MailMint: You’ll be able to build automated email campaigns focused on product launches, new release announcements, product updates, and educational content highlighting the product’s value proposition.
- Google Analytics: It analyzes user behavior on product pages, identifies the highest-converting marketing channels/content, and tracks product marketing funnel performance, signups, and purchases.
- SEMrush: It helps you conduct keyword research around your product for SEO content and paid ads, monitor product keyword rankings, and optimize product marketing pages.
These tools enable core product marketing tactics like driving product awareness, nurturing prospects, and converting audiences into customers through targeted campaigns, analytics, and optimizations solely focused on marketing your product effectively.
Conclusion
The books in this list are packed with insights to help you succeed in product marketing. From case studies to proven strategies, they offer practical advice to position and promote your products effectively.
If you’re gearing up for a product launch or aiming to sharpen your skills, these best product marketing books are a must-read.
They’ll guide you in crafting better messaging, improving strategies, and boosting your results. To complement your learning, try WPFunnels which will help you in your product marketing effectively
** FAQs **
How can product marketing help you understand customer behavior?
- By focusing on customer segmentation and understanding the customer journey, product marketing helps you uncover insights about customer behavior. With this knowledge, you can tailor your marketing messages to resonate with different customer groups.
How can I stand out in a crowded market with product marketing?
- In a competitive market, effective product marketing focuses on delivering fresh ideas and clear messaging. By using strategies from industry experts like Donald Miller, Jack Trout, and Lucas Weber, you can sharpen your approach and create a product-led growth strategy to connect with mainstream customers and make your product shine.
How can I improve my customer communication through product marketing?
- Product marketing helps refine how you communicate with your customers. By using practical advice and leveraging tools like StoryBrand, you can create messaging that is clear, engaging and aligns with your customer’s expectations. This ensures your product’s value resonates with them throughout their journey.
How can I apply these product marketing books to my technology company?
- For a technology company, these books provide a practical guide to navigating the product development process and positioning disruptive technologies. By understanding customer needs and refining your customer communication, you can develop a robust product marketing strategy that drives growth and customer adoption.
How can product marketing contribute to a product-led growth strategy?
- Product marketing plays a crucial role in a product-led growth strategy by aligning your product’s value with customer needs. It helps you craft marketing messages that highlight the benefits and features that matter most to your target customers, driving adoption and retention.
