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THE COLLECTIVE BOOKSHELF

Good books.
Better thinking.

Books for paid media practitioners and agency owners. Compare what each book covers, who it helps and when another title may be a better fit. Reading guides include source notes and attributed external commentary where available. The newest checked editions appear first.

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81 titles to explore

Dates identify the checked edition. A recent edition or source review does not confirm that every platform tactic is current.

StrategyBOOK

Building a Successful Micro-Agency

Gil Gildner & Anya Gildner

The founders' approach to a small marketing agency, covering focus, demand, cashflow and margins. Useful for owners defining a sustainable operating model.

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Checked edition: 2022Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

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StrategyBOOK

Stop the Scale

Kirk Williams

Challenges growth for its own sake through client selection, retention and sustainable operations. Useful for owners deciding how big their agency should become.

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Checked edition: 2022Publisher description and contents reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

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CreativeBOOK

Paid Attention

Faris Yakob

Explores how brands compete for attention through ideas and communication. Useful for strategy discussions before committing to a media or creative approach.

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Checked edition: 3 November 2021Publisher description and contents reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

StrategyBOOK

How Brands Grow Part 2

Jenni Romaniuk & Byron Sharp

Extends the brand-growth research, including B2B markets in the revised edition. Useful for testing how a broad growth argument applies to different clients.

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Checked edition: September 2021Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

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StrategyBOOK

All-Inclusive TV

Chuck Hengel

Makes the case for linear TV within a wider video mix, with data and accountability in view. Useful context when evaluating a proposed TV service.

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Checked edition: 29 June 2021Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices. Public samples are linked where checked.Wider paid mediaEdition & source notes

CreativeBOOK

Alchemy

Rory Sutherland

Explores perceived value and unconventional marketing ideas. Useful when an agency's creative thinking has narrowed to predictable, purely rational arguments.

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Checked edition: 13 May 2021Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

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Paid socialBOOK

LinkedIn For Dummies

Joel Elad

A broad LinkedIn introduction with one advertising chapter. Useful for understanding the platform's wider business role before specialising in paid campaigns.

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Checked edition: April 2021Publisher description and contents reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices. Public samples are linked where checked.Introductory advertising chaptersHistorical manualEdition & source notes

MeasurementBOOK

The Power of Experiments

Michael Luca & Max H. Bazerman

Business and policy stories show how experiments inform decisions. Useful for leaders making the case for testing and discussing its limits.

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Checked edition: 2 March 2021Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices. Public samples are linked where checked.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

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StrategyBOOK

The Trusted Advisor

David H. Maister & Robert Galford & Charles Green

Explores how professional advisers earn client trust and communicate well. Useful for owners who want stronger relationships around difficult decisions.

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Checked edition: 2 February 2021Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

MeasurementBOOK

Causal Inference: The Mixtape

Scott Cunningham

A technical guide to separating cause from correlation. Useful for analysts assessing marketing impact when a straightforward experiment is unavailable.

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Checked edition: 26 January 2021Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

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Paid searchBOOK

Ultimate Guide to Google Ads

Bryan Todd & Mike Rhodes & Perry Marshall

A historical Google Ads campaign guide with mobile, local and network coverage. Useful for studying campaign foundations, with 2020 tactics clearly dated.

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Checked edition: 24 November 2020Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Dedicated PPC booksHistorical manualEdition & source notes

Paid searchBOOK

Join or Die

Patrick Gilbert

A PPC agency perspective on adapting to automation. Useful for reconsidering team skills, campaign decisions and the service clients pay an agency to provide.

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Checked edition: 16 November 2020Description and sample reviewedPaid book; price varies by retailer and format.2020 automation and agency perspectiveDedicated PPC booksEdition & source notes

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Paid socialBOOK

Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising

Mark Ingles & Bob Regnerus & Perry Marshall & Thomas Meloche

A historical Facebook advertising guide covering audiences, creative and the customer journey. Useful foundations, with the 2020 platform advice dated.

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Checked edition: 27 October 2020Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Dedicated PPC booksHistorical manualEdition & source notes

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StrategyBOOK

The Boutique

Greg Alexander

Covers starting, scaling and selling a specialist services firm. Useful for agency founders choosing the next stage of their business.

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Checked edition: 6 October 2020Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices. Public samples are linked where checked.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

Paid searchBOOK

Google ADS agile

Gianpaolo Lorusso

Gianpaolo Lorusso's Italian-language guide to reviewing Google Ads campaigns through the PPC CheckMate method: efficiency, effectiveness and budget coverage.

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Checked edition: May 2020Publisher description and contents reviewedPaid book in Italian. See Hoepli for current formats, availability and prices.Historical manual; check current platform behaviourDedicated PPC booksHistorical manualEdition & source notes

CreativeBOOK

The Copywriter’s Handbook

Robert W. Bly

A practical reference for ads, landing pages, websites and email. Useful for writing clearer commercial copy and giving more precise feedback.

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Checked edition: 7 April 2020Publisher or author description reviewedPaid book; price varies by retailer and format.Evergreen discoveryBusiness and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

MeasurementBOOK

Experimentation Works

Stefan Thomke

Explains how leaders make experimentation part of everyday work. Useful for agencies building a testing programme that survives beyond isolated A/B tests.

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Checked edition: 18 February 2020Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices. Public samples are linked where checked.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

CreativeBOOK

Scientific Advertising

Claude C. Hopkins

A historical direct-response classic on claims, headlines, samples and testing. Useful for examining the selling logic behind modern creative briefs.

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Checked edition: 14 January 2020Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

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MeasurementBOOK

The Attention Economy and How Media Works

Karen Nelson-Field

Examines viewing conditions and advertising exposure. Useful for teams questioning whether impressions and viewability describe the attention an ad receives.

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Checked edition: 5 January 2020Publisher description and contents reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices. Public samples are linked where checked.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

MeasurementBOOK

Marketing Metrics

Neil Bendle & Paul W. Farris & Phillip Pfeifer & David Reibstein

A reference connecting marketing measures with margins and customer profitability. Useful for aligning agency reports with the client's financial questions.

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Checked edition: 2020Publisher description and contents reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Business and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

MeasurementBOOK

Trustworthy Online Controlled Experiments

Ron Kohavi & Diane Tang & Ya Xu

An A/B testing reference on metrics, guardrails and common pitfalls. Useful for teams that need reliable results before recommending a rollout.

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Checked edition: 2020Publisher or author description reviewedPaid book; price varies by retailer and format.Evergreen discoveryBusiness and marketing thinkingEdition & source notes

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Paid searchBOOK

Ultimate Guide to Amazon Advertising

Timothy Seward

A historical Amazon advertising guide linking ads with product pages and seller decisions. Useful for understanding the dependencies behind marketplace growth.

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Checked edition: 21 May 2019Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Dedicated PPC booksHistorical manualEdition & source notes

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StrategyBOOK

Digital Marketing in an AI World

Frederick Vallaeys

A 2019 view of how PPC agencies adapt to AI and automation. Useful for tracing changing skills, human oversight and agency services.

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Checked edition: 6 May 2019Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Dedicated PPC booksEdition & source notes

Paid socialBOOK

Facebook Ads Made Simple

Andrea Vahl

An introductory Facebook campaign guide organised around business goals. Useful for learning planning basics, with the 2018 instructions treated as historical.

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Checked edition: 13 December 2018Publisher or author description reviewedSee the publisher or author for available formats and prices.Dedicated PPC booksHistorical manualEdition & source notes

Independent curation with AI-assisted research and editorial notes. Books and their ideas belong to their original authors. Source checks cover the descriptions and samples stated on each listing; books have not been read in full. A recent source check does not establish that every platform tactic is current. Cover availability and credits are shown on individual book pages.