These 26 Real Estate Marketing Books Can Give You an Edge

There is no doubt that books can give you inspiration and new ideas; the same is true regarding real estate marketing.

This article will give you an overview of 26 real estate marketing books that can give you an edge in your real estate business.

I classified them into economics & strategy, traffic, and conversion. I ordered the books according to popularity and reviews on Amazon.

When Real Estate Marketing Books Don’t Work

There is a reasonably high chance that books on real estate marketing or marketing, in general, are outdated once they hit the market.

But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read them.

“Why should I read something that is likely outdated? That doesn’t make any sense.” 

That’s something you might wonder about.

Although some tactics in these books may already be outdated, it doesn’t mean you can’t translate the principles to current, more up-to-date tactics.

Why do you want to read these books more from a bird’s perspective and ask yourself how certain tactical principles could be extrapolated?

It’s to still get value out of them.

But on the flip side, if you try to apply the knowledge 1:1, you gamble a bit and may risk doing something that might not work as well as when or just before the book was written.

Another reason why real estate marketing books might not work is of course, when you don’t apply anything from the books at all after reading them and use the same marketing strategies and methods as you did before. 

So, you might want to read them a bit with the mind of someone willing to experiment with the concepts and methods presented.

 

Different Marketing Areas Different Marketing Books

The issue with outdated information is relevant mainly in one of the three marketing categories: traffic. 

I will order the books presented to you further down below.

So which categories will I use to classify the books?

They are the three categories I have been using on my blog and already mentioned in my first article about the 80/20 principle in real estate marketing: Traffic, Conversion, and Economics/Strategy.

Just to remind you what they are, I explain them again below:

1) Traffic

These are all the different rather tactical methods you use to make potential customers come to you.

This can be physically offline to your office or digitally to your website.

2) Conversion

Once you have generated traffic, you need to convert it into leads and, hopefully, into paying and serious customers.

The conversion category includes all the methods in the area of persuasion, be it negotiation, copywriting, or sales.

The higher your conversions, the better you use the traffic you generate.

3) Economics & Strategy

This category is more like the bird’s view of your overall real estate marketing methods.

Here, you ask yourself: what are the 20% that get me 80% of the results?

It applies to all the different marketing areas. It also includes more nerdy numbers stuff, such as marketing analytics and crunching numbers.

It also asks what value (product or service) you can offer in exchange for money or what 20% of your products & services get you 80% of your revenue.

The 26 (Real Estate) Marketing Books That Might Give You an Edge

Not all books I present below are marketing books that cover real estate marketing directly. 

Where this is not directly covered, you can at least translate the knowledge to real estate marketing. 

I observed that books that directly cover real estate marketing could be shallow and lack substance.

I read many of the books below, but others I didn’t. 

For the ones I didn’t read, I took a three-way approach to evaluate it.

I first checked the table of contents to get an overview of the topics, checked how many three-star reviews it got, and then also checked the comments of those three-star reviews.

I did the same with the books I had already read.

Why didn’t I count the 5-star and 1-star reviews?

Unfortunately, the review system of Amazon has become a bit skewed. 

It has become a common practice to give a book a push when launching by “paid” reviews or give free books out before the launch in exchange for a “good” review.

That being said, I don’t think that every author does this, and all 5-star reviews are that way.

Still, we can’t consider 5-star reviews to have been completely created objectively and unbiasedly. 

The same is true for 1-star reviews. 

Although I am sure no one pays for 1-star reviews, they are often overly negative.

Usually, they come from the competition or just some internet trolls and are equally not really objective, unbiased, and balanced.

What is left and what comes closest to an unbiased review are the 3-star reviews. 

Therefore, the best way to go is to check on the 3-star reviews.

Another thing to consider when it comes to the categories I use to classify the books is that none of the books fall 100% within one single category all the time.

Each book usually focuses on a particular category and touches some of the other ones. 

So this means that when I add a book in a certain category, that is its main focus.

The overall categories and the 3-star rating system I use will help you prioritize which books to start or which to focus on.

The books are already ordered within the categories, from high numbers of 3-star ratings to low.

 

13 Books in the Strategy & Economics Category

1) Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

This is a book I found to be really inspiring. 

The knowledge can be applied to all industries (including real estate).

The author points out that the difference between businesses and people with a loyal following is that they first started with and prioritized the question “Why”. 

Once that question was answered, the “What” question could be answered.

According to the author, using the “Why” answer in different marketing messages and throughout the organization would generate more loyal customers.

Another argument is that people don’t truly buy into a product, service, idea, or movement until they understand the “Why” behind it.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“The concept he is writing about is not that new. It’s very close to Stephen Covey’s Number Two Habit in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Begin with the end in mind. In other words, know why you’re doing it.”

You can find the book here.

2) The One Thing by Garry Keller

“The One Thing” was and is an inspirational book because there are so many similarities to the 80/20 principle (the Pareto Principle).

It can help you find what is essential in your business, learn to be more productive, and set goals.

From the start, it analyzes what daily things can distract us and what happens when everything matters equally to you.

The rest of the book goes deeper into what questions you can ask yourself to find “the one thing” in different areas of your life (including your business).

The author also gives example questions depending on your life and business areas.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“A book filled with inspirational bootstrap quotes about things that may or may not cause you to be extraordinarily successful but will probably help you set up some solid systems for being productive & purposeful.”

You can find the book here.

3) Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition by W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

This book is helpful, especially for the real estate industry, where competition can sometimes be fierce.

The author challenges many common opinions and requirements for strategic success and states that evil and fierce competition result in a bloody red ocean of “rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool.”

Using a study of 150 strategic moves over 100 years across 30 industries, the authors conclude that lasting success comes from getting into untapped new markets, not battling competitors.

I think this book is addressed more to medium-sized to larger companies. However, it could also benefit small businesses to realize the importance of finding a niche, such as a real estate niche (read my article on real estate niches here).

One of The 3-Star Comments:

“The central argument of expanding a market by moving boundaries while also reducing costs–thus creating a new blue ocean–is powerful, but I’m afraid many examples in the book either aged poorly or were just wrongly presented. In any event, an influential book that must be read and appreciated for its pioneering view about disruption and innovation.”

You can find the book here.

4) Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

Things and situations can change quickly in business and especially in marketing. If you don’t adapt accordingly, you might lose the edge you had before.

The book covers a variety of research in sociology, psychology, and other fields to help you make transformative changes. 

It argues that successful changes follow a pattern you can use in all areas of life (including business).

One of the main arguments is that there is always a conflict between the rational and the emotional mind, which often makes change difficult or impossible.

For example, the rational mind wants to try a new approach or marketing method.

In contrast, the emotional mind prefers the comfort of what has always been done.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“I liked the book and the way the authors approached switching. I didn’t find [it] much helpful for thinking about and implementing change. Recommend as an introduction to the subject.”

You can find the book here.

 

5) The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! by Al Ries & Jack Trout

I already enjoyed this book several years ago. 

It’s a classic and should be read by everyone who wants to take marketing seriously.

The author presents 22 rules for understanding and succeeding in the international markets. 

Although the book is already older, it’s one of the marketing books which won’t be outdated anytime soon. 

This is because it covers less marketing tactics but a bird’s eye view of marketing strategies.

One of the 22 rules is, for example, the law of category, which is related to dominating a particular niche and how this can have many advantages in taking a leadership position.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“Since I am not a marketing professional, I found some of the content valuable.

Especially the ideas that you need to own a single-word concept (not your brand name) in the consumer’s mind, that you can’t really change perceptions once formed, and that you need to define a category you are first in if the broad category is ruled by someone else.”

You can find the book here.

6) The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Garry Keller

I read “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent” about eight years ago.

The one thing I found most inspiring and motivating was the author’s number approach and how it broke the goal of getting a one million dollar annual income into smaller goals, such as monthly, weekly, and daily goals.

So, in the book, you will learn about three concepts that drive production.

They include the different economic, organizational, and lead generation models and the mentioned number’s approach to “earn a million” annually.

While the first part covers the right mindset, the last part also shows how to delegate your different real estate business processes to a team.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“I like some of the concepts but don’t believe every agent needs to read this book. Maybe for those who are looking to grow his/her own team. Not really for the beginner.”

You can find the book here.

7) 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More by Perry Marshall and Ron Allan

The book “80/20 Sales and Marketing” is one of my favorites. 

I revisit it regularly to review some of the concepts and have already mentioned it several times on this blog.

The authors show you throughout the book how the 80/20 principle or the Pareto Principle can be applied to nearly all areas of business, especially sales, and marketing. 

You can read my article about real estate marketing inspired partially by this book here.

So, the authors argue very convincingly that the 80/20 rule is an inviolable law of nature. It’s thus also an organizing principle of every business.

The book shows you how this rule can be applied and found in publicity, outsourcing, hiring, market research, lead generation, online marketing, time management, locating invisible profit centers, differentiating yourself from rivals, and many more.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“…One of the big ideas is that the 20% that produces the 80% can be further divided. That means that 4% (20% of 20%) of customers can produce 64% (80% of 80%) of revenue.

And then divided again and again until there is a tiny number of customers who individually spend a fortune.”

You can find the book here. 

8) The Honest Real Estate Agent by Mario Jannatpour

The author of “The Honest Real Estate Agent” wants to take new agents by hand.

Why?

Because according to him, most real estate schools just teach you how to pass the real estate exam and not how to succeed as a real estate agent.

Instead, he takes a 10,000 feet view of a real estate agent’s work and business.

He doesn’t dive too deeply into the different areas of marketing, though. 

The book discusses if you have what it takes, what clients usually expect, how to choose the right company, and market analysis, among other things.

Marketing strategies and methods are discussed over 24 pages.

About the 3-Star Comments:

Judging by most of the 3-star comments, it’s an ideal book for new real estate agents that don’t have much business experience yet and need a bit of coaching but have less practical advice.

You can find the book here.

9) SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times by Garry Keller

This is another good one from Garry Keller. 

In contrast to the book “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent,” in this one, the author focuses more on a crisis or difficult market situation and how you can adapt and shift to the problems at hand.

He argues that tactics that can help your business in tough times can move it forward in good times, so you can take advantage of any changes in the marketplace.

In the book, Keller discusses:

• Overcoming Buyer Reluctance
• Short Sales, Foreclosures, and REOs
• Expense Management
• Lead Generation
• Creative Financing

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“I think the author is a little too dependent on scripts and formulas to work your way out of a slump.

If he would update it a tad to account for the fact that most consumers are extremely averse to script-heavy agents, it would have been better.”

You can find the book here.

10) Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies by Dirk Zeller

At the beginning of the book, Zeller covers basic things such as the general skills and strategies of a successful agent, selecting the right company, and mastering buyer and seller markets.

Dirk Zeller’s book covers lead generation via blogging and advertising via social media channels. It has a large overall part with a focus on digital marketing methods.

Still, it doesn’t ignore classic advertising methods, such as prospecting, generating referrals, expired listings and FSBOs, and open houses.

The book’s second half focuses more on the operational processes and management of a real estate agents business, such as listing presentations, teams, and agent safety.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“Not for the beginner. This is a book for the established agent who wants to improve their ability.”

You can find the book here.

11) Real Estate Marketing Playbook by Brandon Doyle

“Real Estate Marketing Playbook” is all about actionable advice, not tactics that may have worked at some point for one person.

It also includes information about the struggles and successes of different experts.

Some of the marketing methods discussed in the book are:

• Email Marketing
• Agent Referrals
• Paid Lead Sources
• Search Marketing (organic)
• Social Media
• Paid Website Traffic
• Direct Mail
• Door Knocking
• FSBO

Each method is discussed in a shorter form so that the book can give a good overview of all the different methods. 

However, it doesn’t get too deep into the different methods.

You can find the book here. 

12) Real Estate Success in 5 Minutes a Day: Secrets of a Top Agent Revealed by Karen Briscoe

This book takes an interesting approach by applying techniques to form new habits for success principles in real estate.

It argues that the easiest way to develop a new habit is to attach it to an existing one.

The book provides another small habit you can build each day of the year to increase your chances of real estate success. 

Each small chapter represents one year’s day and can be read during a short coffee break.

It touches on various issues and challenges you can face by running a real estate business.

This includes scripts, roller-coaster situations in real estate, property taxes, prospecting, negotiation, home inspection contingencies, questions and objections, and much more.

You can find the book here. 

13) The Million Dollar Real Estate Team by Chris Watters

While this book also touches on one of its subsections on marketing & lead generation, its main focus is creating a scalable business through systems and delegation.

It provides a step-by-step business plan and includes the author’s experiences scaling their own real estate business.

The book covers topics about automation and delegation, such as leadership & scaling, technology, sales teams, coaching & training, and the back office. It discusses how they all look in different growth phases.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“If you have any background in business, this will be pretty boring.
Love that the author gives some of the tools they use, really a good resource for the book. The rest is pretty basic business stuff”

You can find the book here.

 

6 Books in the Traffic Category

 

 

 

1) Endless Referrals, Third Edition by Bob Burg

Endless Referrals, Third Edition by Bob Burg, “Endless Referrals” covers all different aspects of generating “traffic” (people coming to your physical office or website) by using networking.

The promise of the book is turning casual contacts into solid sales opportunities. 

It covers different relationship-building principles, how to leverage relationships, maximize daily contacts, and do that with various tools.

The different chapters discuss the following topics, amongst many others:

• Working crowds
• Following-Up
• Prospecting
• Cross-Promotions
• Referral-Mindset
• The Foundation of Effective Communication

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“For the salesperson, this system will help you develop networking skills between you and another human being.

But as a guide for web/social marketing, it is not current and is very much out of date (2006).

I would encourage you to find the most current books on social, email & web marketing to be able to successfully market your services/products via Google, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest & Instagram.”

You can find the book here.

2) Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords: How to Access 100 Million People in 10 Minutes (Ultimate Series) by Perry Marshall, Mike Rhodes, and Brian Todd

This is another book I refer to regularly because it’s a great resource if you want to go the pay-per-click advertising route with Google.

It’s written by the same author of the “80/20 Sales and Marketing” book mentioned above.

It is updated regularly since things change quickly in this area, giving you smart ideas, strategies, and best practices for Google ads.

It covers the AdWords basics, such as building a campaign from scratch, organizing a campaign, using keywords, how to write ads, and more.

The latest edition covers enhanced campaigns, Google AdWord’s Express, Product Listing Ads, AdWords Scripts, and Universal Analytics.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“I bought this book years ago, the concepts were great the implementation was not current. The problem is that the world changes all the time, paperback is out of date by the time it’s printed.”

You can find the book here.

3) Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising: How to Access 1 Billion Potential Customers in 10 Minutes (Ultimate Series) by Perry Marshall, Keith Krance, and Thomas Meloche

This is another book from the “Ultimate Series” with Perry Marshall as co-author with a focus on Facebook Advertising.

It provides you with information on how you can…

• Create custom audiences from video views, page engagement, and your contact lists.
• Increase your ad return on investment with video, branded content, and newsfeeds.
• Generate your first 100 conversions by using a Facebook Campaign blueprint.
• Increase conversions on all traffic to your website.

The authors also give you a three-step formula to create successful video ads.

At the beginning of the book, you will be able to find out if Facebook Ads is for you in the first place.

Besides the already mentioned, it covers like-campaigns, proven Facebook selling systems, audience awareness, Facebook-friendly offers, persuasive ad copy, ad creatives, video ads, and different campaign objectives.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“great tips but book is too long way too much unnecessary information, the author spends pages talking about the similarities of fb advertising and flying a plane, also this is more of a book about advertising in general than just fb advertising, when time is a factor you wanna go straight to the point, this could have been a 100 pages book. There’s some valuable information though.”

You can find the book here. 

4) Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth by Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin

This one is similar to the book “Endless Referrals” mentioned above. 

Daniel Lemin argues that word of mouth is responsible for 19% of all purchases and influences 90%.

He compares that even though this is a fact, only a few (fewer than 1%) companies use a strategy to generate customers by word of mouth.

According to the author, one strategy is to exceed expectations. Hence, customers feel compelled to tell someone else about a particular company.

The book covers research about why and how customers talk, more than 30 case studies, and a system to create talk triggers.

You can find the book here. 

5) GetSocialSmart by Katie Lance

The focus of this book is clearly on social media and building a sound strategy.

It’s a social media guide for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and real estate professionals.

It covers Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Snapchat and how you can create a content strategy for taking advantage of these platforms.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“This book has some good info, and you might be able to make use of it if you’re not distracted by sloppy formatting, incorrect placement of commas, incomplete sentences, etc. A better presentation of the same subject is The Conversion Code by Chris Smith.”

You can find the book here. 

 

6) YouTube for Real Estate Agents: Learn How to Get Free Real Estate Leads and NEVER Cold Call Again by Karin Carr and Georgia Coast Homes LLC

This is another book on creating and hopefully converting traffic using a social media strategy.

The focus of this book is YouTube.

The author argues that YouTube is one of the best real estate marketing tools and that it can help you get free real estate leads.

She is right about what I already discussed regarding real estate video marketing in this article.

Some of the topics covered in her book:

• How to get subscribers with the right channel art
• Why do most agents get few views and fewer subscribers
• How to attract new clients
• The reason why most videos won’t get you a new client

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“This book clocks in at under 100 pages, and it’s dense – giving you what you need to get started. My problems with it are these:
1. Examples. I need more. There are those who learn through teaching concepts and those who learn through seeing examples. I’m the latter; give me more “I searched this, so I’ll create this video” examples.
2. Quickly outdated. While I LOVE the idea of the book, it was partially outdated within days. One free service she recommended became a paid service within days of me receiving the book. The end of the world? Of course not – but it shows the limitation of a book format to present information.”

You can find the book here. 

 

7 Books in the Category of Conversions

1) Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, PhD

This is a classic book I already read a while back. Its contents can be applied in negotiations and copywriting.

It is a New York Times bestseller. The author Robert B. Cialdini explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply this knowledge to everyday business situations. 

This is all backed by scientific research.

The book covers in-depth the following six universal persuasion principles:

• Reciprocation
• Commitment and Consistency
• Social Proof
• Liking
• Authority
• Scarcity

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“While the content is worthy of study, the book itself was at times for me a painful read. The most irritating thing was its redundancy. You’ll read a section where the author proves his point and then 5 pages later, it’s still being reiterated. I’d rather the point be made, move on, and reduce the book down in size removing the repetition of the same point.”

You can find the book here. 

2) Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman

“Emotional Intelligence” is another classic book I already read a while back.

The information in the book can be pretty helpful when it comes to real estate negotiations and also sales calls.

The author argues that a high IQ is no guarantee of success and that emotional intelligence plays a significant role.

The book covers what psychology and neuroscience found about the “two minds” (the rational and emotional) and how they work together.

He also shows different factors of emotional intelligence, such as self-discipline, empathy, and self-awareness, which are not fixed at birth.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“My main complaint is that the book focuses mostly on the “whats” and “whys” of emotional intelligence, and that is commendable. But I highly missed the part on the “how”, in other words, how to improve one’s emotional quotient (EQ).”

You can find the book here. 

3) The Sell by Frederik Eklund

In this book, the author Frederik Eklund, the alleged number one real estate broker of Bravo Million Dollar Listing New York, writes about his success formula.

The book focuses on sales and persuasion, and the author combines them with different personal stories and anecdotes. 

So, it’s a combination of motivation and different sales strategies that you can apply. 

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“I love Fredrik but I thought he was too restrained in this book. How could Fredrick be restrained in any way, you wonder? He is a business figure, however, so it is easy to see why he would hold back the juicier bits about his early life. I didn’t really learn a whole lot that you don’t learn from the show.”

You can find the book here.

4) The Conversion Code: Capture Internet Leads, Create Quality Appointments, Close More Sales by Chris Smith

The emphasis of this book by Chris Smith is on conversions from digital marketing.

He argues that due to consumers being savvier, it is more difficult now to get their attention and turn them into paying customers.

Therefore, a new approach to marketing and sales is necessary.

The different parts and chapters show you how to capture internet leads, write good blog posts, and optimize content for lead generation, social media, and search engines.

It also covers how to use advanced Facebook marketing strategies and much more.

One of The 3-Star Comments:

“Expected conversion code strategy and tactics.

Strong beginning, but instead the middle to end sections quite banal.

All boils down to acknowledge, pivot, and readdress for overcoming objections; persistence in smart follow-ups; and use of new channels for relationship building, like SMS. ”

You can find the book here.

 

5) CA$HVERTISING: How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone by Drew Eric Whitman

When it comes to persuasion with words or, in other words, copywriting, this book is one of my favorites, and I come back to it regularly.

It shows you many different proven scientific principles of advertising psychology that someone without the knowledge wouldn’t even be aware of in their daily life. 

Some of the topics are:

• How to Develop a great USP
• What the professionals usually know about consumer buying behavior.
• How to push your potential customer’s right buttons when creating ads, emails, or sales letters.
• How to create better headlines.
• Creating persuasive mental images
• The real reasons people buy your product or service.
• 22 Headline Prescriptions
• How short copy compares to long copy.
• How to use emotional words.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“Decent but not much new material if you have read all the old masters (Hopkins, Kennedy Caples, Schwartz). This book is a great little reference as well but if you have read any of the books I mention you will not learn any new secrets from this ebook as it implies…”

You can find the book here.

6) Exactly What to Say: For Real Estate Agents by Phil M Jones, Chris Smith, Jimmy Mackin

While the previous book (Cashvertising) focused more on the written word and how to create persuasive advertising that converts, the book “Exactly What to Say” emphasizes the spoken word.

The authors provide 30 “magic” words that can help you with today’s challenging and most common conversations real estate professionals can have.

For each of the 30 words, there is a dedicated chapter where the authors explain it further.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“This book offers some good tips on how to ask certain questions or lead a sales prospect toward a desired decision, but coming from a longtime sales manager and sales instructor, it won’t teach you how to sell. Sales is more about good processes than foolproof magic words. Some tips are more likely to succeed than others or are better matched for a relatively simple transactional sale.”

You can find the book here.

7) Real Estate Photography for Everybody: Boost Your Sales with Any Camera by Ron Castle

This book can help you take real estate photos that, if done right, can convert potential leads better.

The author Ron Castle wrote the book for photographers looking for a profitable niche. 

Nevertheless, I think also real estate agents and other real estate professionals can learn from it, so they can improve their photography skills and how well property listing photos might convert website visitors into leads.

The book shows you the skills you need, the equipment you want to use, and what not to photograph.

The last part of the book provides you with multiple sample home shoots, so you get some inspiration about how to do it.

Even if you don’t do real estate photography and don’t plan to do so in the near future, you can still have the person in charge of your photography look at the book.

One of the 3-Star Comments:

“This book is not written for a beginner in my opinion.

If you are looking for a book on the basics and are a beginner I would not recommend this. It’s written for someone who has some experience already.”

You can find the book here.

Overview of All Books

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