8 Marketing Books You Should NOT Read in 2024
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 8:47 am
There are a lot of books in the world of marketing that promise to help you achieve success and become the best in your field. Not all of them are worth your time and attention.Often overrated marketing books simply repeat the same old truths or mislead with outdated strategies. Reading them is as useful as trying to get a 5G signal with an old radio. Whereas new ones can tell you why Balenciaga sells your worn-out jeans from your dacha for $2,500 and other ways to get people to buy.This selection of literature is about eight works on marketing that are not worth wasting time on. This selection of literature is about eight works on marketing that are not worth wasting time on.
Obsolete Concepts: Theories That Have Lost Their Relevance"The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss
automation, artificial intelligence and remote work have changed the perception of labor productivity and working hours;
Therefore, trying to implement something from this book or counting on new knowledge is a big mistake.The book was practically a bestseller in its time and changed many people's ideas about the work week and work-life balance. Now it's only popular because of PR. Here's why the book is no longer relevant in 2024:
Outsourcing in 2024 is not a new thing - most companies have been using this tool for a long time and successfully, you don’t need to read about it in books.
The book was zalo database published in 1999. In it, the author suggests abandoning intrusive marketing in favor of an approach in which the consumer must voluntarily agree to receive advertising messages. Since then, advertising methods, technologies, and business strategies have changed significantly. And without an agreement, no mailing goes through anyway — this is required by the Federal Law "On Advertising.""Permission Marketing" by Seth Godin
Since 2015, the algorithms and functionality of VKontakte and other social networks have completely changed. The strategies, methods and tools described in the book have lost their relevance and no longer correspond to current realities.Damir Khalilov wrote this book before the spread of neural networks, machine learning and data analytics in social networks. "Marketing in Social Networks" contains dozens of successful cases and examples, but only for that time."Marketing in Social Networks" by Damir Khalilov
The beginning of the book contains basic information that will suit those who have just registered on Instagram*. But this concept is quickly ruined by the section on visuals. It contains 103 pages of screenshots of posts with short descriptions of how to create content. Sometimes there are not even captions. Book blogger Alexander Chernov from the UncleShurik channel spoke about this : “Why couldn’t the book be called “Random Photos from Sasha Mitroshina’s Instagram*”? Why was it necessary to write that this is a promotion of personal blogs?”In addition, social media algorithms are constantly changing. What was relevant in 2019, no longer works in 2024. Due to the blocking of Instagram* in Russia, Russian bloggers and companies are forced to use bypass methods. Part of the audience has been lost, and it is no longer possible to launch targeted advertising. The author of the book does not take these features into account.* Instagram is a social network banned in the Russian Federation.
Obsolete Concepts: Theories That Have Lost Their Relevance"The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss
automation, artificial intelligence and remote work have changed the perception of labor productivity and working hours;
Therefore, trying to implement something from this book or counting on new knowledge is a big mistake.The book was practically a bestseller in its time and changed many people's ideas about the work week and work-life balance. Now it's only popular because of PR. Here's why the book is no longer relevant in 2024:
Outsourcing in 2024 is not a new thing - most companies have been using this tool for a long time and successfully, you don’t need to read about it in books.
The book was zalo database published in 1999. In it, the author suggests abandoning intrusive marketing in favor of an approach in which the consumer must voluntarily agree to receive advertising messages. Since then, advertising methods, technologies, and business strategies have changed significantly. And without an agreement, no mailing goes through anyway — this is required by the Federal Law "On Advertising.""Permission Marketing" by Seth Godin
Since 2015, the algorithms and functionality of VKontakte and other social networks have completely changed. The strategies, methods and tools described in the book have lost their relevance and no longer correspond to current realities.Damir Khalilov wrote this book before the spread of neural networks, machine learning and data analytics in social networks. "Marketing in Social Networks" contains dozens of successful cases and examples, but only for that time."Marketing in Social Networks" by Damir Khalilov
The beginning of the book contains basic information that will suit those who have just registered on Instagram*. But this concept is quickly ruined by the section on visuals. It contains 103 pages of screenshots of posts with short descriptions of how to create content. Sometimes there are not even captions. Book blogger Alexander Chernov from the UncleShurik channel spoke about this : “Why couldn’t the book be called “Random Photos from Sasha Mitroshina’s Instagram*”? Why was it necessary to write that this is a promotion of personal blogs?”In addition, social media algorithms are constantly changing. What was relevant in 2019, no longer works in 2024. Due to the blocking of Instagram* in Russia, Russian bloggers and companies are forced to use bypass methods. Part of the audience has been lost, and it is no longer possible to launch targeted advertising. The author of the book does not take these features into account.* Instagram is a social network banned in the Russian Federation.