Last updated on November 1, 2022

There are a LOT of SaaS marketing books out there.

The problem is that most people don’t know which SaaS marketing books are worth reading and which aren’t. So, we decided to put together a list of our favorites. The books on this list have been recommended by multiple SaaS marketers, influencers, and thought leaders. We’ve included both classics and some newer releases, so you can be sure that whatever you pick up will provide value.

If you’re looking to level up your SaaS marketing game and need help getting started, these books will be an invaluable resource.

Writing

Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples

John Caples was the first person to measure the results of advertising. He was a copywriter who worked in the advertising industry, and his book Tested Advertising Methods is a classic example of direct response advertising. It outlines how to create sales letters that generate leads and sales for your business.

The book covers all aspects of creating persuasive copy: headlines, body copy, calls-to-action, illustrations and testimonials. Caples’ methods are still used today by SaaS marketers because they work!

This is a great book to level up your copywriting skills and create marketing copy that attracts and sells.

The No-Nonsense Guide to Find Great SaaS Writers

Are you looking for great SaaS freelance writers but don’t know where to start? Is it blocking you from scaling your content strategy? “The No-Nonsense Guide to Find Great SaaS Writers” is a great step-by-step guide to finding top SaaS freelance writers to work with.

It includes:

• 7 secret “tried & tested” tactics to find great writers (with examples)
• Cold email templates to get writers to respond back to you instantly
• Links to writer marketplaces, communities & “twitter threads” to find writers

This 19 page book is short, practical and no-nonsense. Highly recommended for SaaS founders and marketers.

Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon’s book is a must-read for anyone who creates content.

It’s all about how to get your ideas out there by sharing them with the world. Kleon advocates that you share your work, even if it’s not perfect, as it will help you develop your skills and build an audience of people who want to see more of what you create.

Kleon argues that our culture has become so concerned with being original and unique that we’ve forgotten how to share our work. We’re afraid to share our ideas because we think someone else will steal them.

If you struggle with figuring out what content to create or how to share your work effectively, this is great book to get inspired.

Product Marketing

Obviously Awesome by April Dunford

SaaS positioning expert April Dunford wrote this book to help SaaS founders and marketers figure out how to position SaaS products. While Al Reis’ book on positioning is a great book, it doesn’t really go into the how-to of implementing a good positioning strategy for SaaS companies. Dunford’s book walks you through the process of figuring out your SaaS product’s positioning and then how to communicate it effectively.

It includes frameworks, checklists and examples that can be applied right away to create a solid SaaS positioning strategy. Highly, highly recommend it!

Product Marketing, Misunderstood by Richard King

Product marketing is one of the most misunderstood roles in SaaS. A lot of people think it’s just about writing sales copy or email subject lines, but it’s so much more than that. Written by Product Marketing Alliance’s founders, this book does a great job of explaining what product marketers do and how they can help grow your business. It also includes lots of examples and checklists that you can use right away to improve your product marketing efforts.

If you’re a product marketer or want to enter product marketing, you should read this book.

SEO

The Value of SEO by Andrew Holland

The Value of SEO is a collection of 100 illustrated stories and essays about why search engine optimization should be a priority for any SaaS business. The book does not go into detail about how to do SEO or how to build an effective strategy, but it does remind you why it needs to be done.

I follow Andrew on LinkedIn and his illustrations about the value of SEO are a great way to explain to clients/CEOs why to invest in SEO. If someone isn’t convinced about investing in SEO, send them this book!

The Art of SEO by Eric Enge

The Art of SEO is a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about SEO. It explains how search engines work and provides a detailed explanation of the technical side of SEO. You will learn about keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, social media marketing and more.

Eric Enge is a well-known search engine optimization (SEO) expert and author. He’s also one of the most prolific, having written over 50 books on the topic. The Art of SEO is a great resource for beginners and intermediate-level SEOs alike.

Product-led SEO by Eli Schwartz

Product-led SEO is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about the technical side of SEO. It dives deep into the logic and theory of SEO instead of offering step-by-step guidelines and techniques.

Brainstorming

The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

This is a classic book that every SaaS founder should read. It’s based on the idea that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. If you can figure out what that 20% is, you can save yourself a lot of time and energy. The book will teach you how to figure out what those 20% are and use them to grow exponentially faster than before.

This book changed my perspective and I highly recommend to read it.

Theory of Constraints by Eliyayu Toy and Arieh Isenberg

Theory of Constraints is based on the idea that you need to focus on identifying bottlenecks in a business process and creating solutions to eliminate them. The book will teach you how to figure out what those bottlenecks are and how to unblock them.

The TOC methodology helps organizations identify their most important goals, then break down those goals into smaller steps (which are managed separately). By focusing on these smaller tasks at a time, companies can create more effective processes that lead to better results overall.

This is my go-to method when I’m stuck with a complex business problem. It’s helped me unlock breakthrough ideas.

Leadership

No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings

This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to build a great team culture. The book explains how Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings built his company into one of the most successful businesses in history by building a strong company culture that attracts top talent.

The book is full of inspiring examples and practical advice that anyone can use to create a culture based on accountability, trust, and freedom. Highly recommend this book if you manage a marketing team!

The Messy Middle by Scott Belsky

The Messy Middle is a must-read for anyone who wants to build a business that lasts and stands out from the crowd. This book will teach you how to navigate through the messy middle, where most businesses fail, and how to avoid that fate. It’s full of practical advice on how to grow your business and keep it growing, both in good times and bad.

The book is a collection of essays about going through difficult phases of company growth. If your company isn’t growing or your metrics are flat (or worse), this is an excellent book for navigating this stage with grace, agility, and integrity.

Sales

Predictable Revenue by Aaron Ross

Predictable Revenue is a book about building a sales model that is predictable, repeatable and scalable. It’s also about finding the right customers, building a sales process that is predictable and repeatable, and building a sales team.

The book includes case studies from Salesforce.com and Marketo (formerly ExactTarget).

The book is a business fable that takes you through the journey of building a sales model. It shows how to build a sales model that is predictable, repeatable, scalable and profitable.

Sales Acceleration Formula by Mark Roberge

The Sales Acceleration Formula is a great book for anyone who’s looking to get more out of their sales team. It teaches you how to create a sales process that will help your company sell more, faster. The book was written by Mark Roberge, co-founder of HubSpot. HubSpot has been a pioneer of SaaS companies so their advice is worth following.

Product Demos That Sell by Steli Efti

Product Demos That Sell is a book about how to do product demos. Steli Efti, the founder of Close.com, wrote it to share his insights on how he approaches demoing his company’s software products and services to potential customers.

If you’re looking for a strong resource on the art of presenting your product or service by way of demonstration, this book will help you understand what types of demos are best suited for which situations, as well as provide tips on how to make them more effective in practice.

Miscellaneous

From Impossible to Inevitable by Jason Lemkins

Jason Lemkin’s book teaches you how to create a repeatable and scalable business model that will help your SaaS company grow from $1 million to $100 million ARR.

The book takes you through 7 ingredients of hypergrowth (borrowed from the playbook of companies like Salesforce, Zenefits and Echosign) and teaches you how to grow your SaaS company faster than the competition.

Crossing the Chasm by Geoffery Moore

Geoffery Moore’s book teaches you how to cross the chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. It takes you through 8 stages of innovation adoption (from innovators to early adopters) and helps you understand how to successfully launch your SaaS product in each stage.

If you’re a B2B SaaS company, this book is mandatory reading.

Product-led Growth by Wes Bush

Wes Bush’s book teaches you how to grow your SaaS company using product-led growth. It teaches you how to build a product that solves a real problem for your customers, and how to use the product as a Trojan horse for growth.

It’s a must-read for any SaaS founders who want to build a successful product-led growth strategy.

A piece of advice

Don’t read every recommended SaaS marketing book out there. You’ll go mad. Be selective on what you read.

Instead ask yourself:

• What are my short term and long term goals?
• What are my biggest challenges?
• What’s the ideal outcome that I’d like from those challenges?

Once you have clarity on those questions, you can decide which SaaS marketing courses and books to take.

And if you want to get more SaaS marketing tips, follow our blog!