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Books & Audio Tapes Personally Recommended by Dan S. Kennedy

"For Serious Students & Practitioners Of Advertising & Direct-Response Copywriting, The Original, Unabridged Edition Of The Original, Legendary ROBERT COLLIER LETTER BOOK Is Mandatory."
- Dan Kennedy.

"When I get a little money I buy books, and if any money is left
I buy food and clothes." - Erasmus

"You can predict a person's future and divine his bank balance if you
know two things: the books he reads, the people he associates with."
- Earl Nightingale

The city fathers of Franklin, Massachusetts once wrote to Benjamin Franklin: "We have named our town after you and would be grateful if you would send a donation so we can get a bell for the church steeple." Franklin wrote back: "I am honored and a donation is enclosed. However, I suggest you start a public library with it instead of buying a bell. I have always preferred sense to sound."

 

ABOUT THESE LISTINGS & COMMENTS
Unless specifically noted, all these books are available at amazon.com. Simply click the book title itself and you'll be instantly transported to amazon, to shop and order, and have your book(s) conveniently delivered to your door. MY MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BOOKS ARE IN BOLDFACE TYPE. Unfortunately, this is an incomplete list, and I apologize to any author I've omitted - I will be continually expanding this list over the coming year. And be sure to check the NEW LISTINGS in this list frequently.

CATEGORIES

  1. MARKETING
  2. DIRECT MARKETING & MAIL-ORDER/COPYWRITING
  3. INFORMATION MARKETING
  4. SPECIALIZED MARKETING
  5. SALES
  6. SUCCESS & PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT
  7. FINANCIAL
  8. PHILOSOPHY & LIFESTYLE
  9. AUTOBIOGRAPHIES & BIOGRAPHIES
  10. UNUSUAL BOOKS
  11. BOOKS FOR WRITERS
  12. DIRECTORIES
  13. NEW LISTINGS

MARKETING

  MAXWELL SACKHEIM'S BILLION DOLLAR MARKETING SECRETS.
101 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOURSELF by Raleigh Pinskey. Raleigh has spoken at a past SuperConference, and is an absolute wiz at identifying lots of unusual publicity, promotion and marketing opportunities for just about any product. Her book is a huge cafeteria of ideas, contacts and resources.
WHY WE BUY: THE SCIENCE OF SHOPPING by Paco Underhill - must reading for retailers.
WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING by Jerry Wilson.Jerry spoke at our Year 2000 SuperConference and was a huge hit. His expertise is engineering organized, system, proactive programs for retaining customers and motivating them to refer, even sell for you.

CLICKING: 17 TRENDS by Faith Popcorn. Her 2nd book, following the bestselling POPCORN REPORT, identifies trends in consumer behavior.
BIG IDEAS FOR SMALL SERVICE BUSINESSES by Marilyn Ross
HOW TO DRIVE YOUR COMPETITION CRAZY by Guy Kawasaki. This was a Gold Inner Circle Book selection in 2000. Fun to read, lots of good ideas.
UP THE LOYALTY LADDER by Murray Raphel. On customer retention, preserving and maximizing customer value.
MILLION DOLLAR MAILINGS by Denny Hatch. A giant collection of tested and proven direct-mail campaigns, reprinted and analyzed.
POSITIONING: THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND by Ries & Trout.
THE ULTIMATE MARKETING PLAN - a new, up-dated and expanded edition of my book is now available. (Released late 2000)


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DIRECT MARKETING & MAIL-ORDER
AND COPYWRITING

TRIGGERS by Joseph Sugarman. Joe Sugarman is one of the savviest direct-response pioneers, a true legend. His JS&A CORPORATION dominated the ad pages of airline magazines for years - beginning with the very first direct-response ads for the first handheld electronic calculator. In fact, Joe was the first marketer to utilize toll-free 800#'s for credit card ordering in mail-order advertising. More recently, his BLU-BLOCKERS products sold via print, TV infomercials, QVC, catal0ogs and retail have been a mammoth success. Above all else, Je is a master at utilizing specific psychological "triggers" to capture the attention of prospects and move them through sales copy to action. This is a "must have" book for copywriters.,
WORDS THAT SELL by Richard Bayan. A concise, easy to use thesaurus specifically for copywriters' use, with hundreds of alternative words and phrases for describing offers, guarantees, calls to action, etc. The most important, frequently used reference book a copywriter will ever own.
  THE GREATEST DIRECT-MAIL SALES LETTERS OF ALL TIME by Richard Hodgson. This is a "secret weapon" of mine, that I refer to frequently. It contains the proven, enduring "control" campaigns in every category, including consumer offers, business to business, fundraising, subscriptions. Includes the famous Wall Street Journal "two men" campaign, the famous "s. mouse" campaign and many others.
SUCCESSFUL DIRECT MARKETING METHODS by Bob Stone. This is a serious textbook for direct marketing professionals and is, admittedly, "heavy" reading. It includes financial models, statistics, and case histories.
METHOD MARKETING: HOW TO GET INSIDE THE HEADS OF YOUR CUSTOMERS by Denny Hatch. Denny published "Who's Mailing What" for many years, and has an enormous resevoir of experience with "copy that sells."
2,239 TESTED SECRETS FOR DIRECT MARKETING SUCCESS by Denny Hatch. A compilation of "best advice" from the likes of Ogilvy, Peterman, Throckmorton and nearly 200 other copywriters, direct marketers.
ADVERTISING SECRETS OF THE WRITTEN WORD by Joe Sugarman
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD ADVERTISEMENT by Victor Scwab. Includes the 100 greatest headlines ever written - a ready-made "swipe file."
HOW I MADE $1,000,000.00 IN MAIL-ORDER by E. Joseph Cossman. I know Joe well, and have enormous respect for his many accomplishments. In this book, you'll learn Joe's "formula" for re-positioning products, including "dead" or unsuccessful products, for success in mail-order. One of a dozen million dollar successes Joe engineered is the famous "Ant Farm."
  HOW TO MAKE AT LEAST A MILLION DOLLARS IN MAIL-ORDER by Gerardo Joffee. Out of print. (Mr. Joffee is up-dating his home study course and we intend to make it available to Members as soon as possible in 2001.)
THE GOLDEN MAILBOX by Ted Nicholas. Out of print.


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BOOKS FOR INFORMATION PRODUCT MARKETERS

COMPLETE GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING by Marilyn & Tom Ross. Marilyn and Tom have spoken at a past Kennedy Inner Circle Annual SuperConference, and are widely respected as expert "book packagers" and promoters, astute in both traditional ie. bookstore and alternative distribution. Book includes tips and vendors for actually getting your book published, copyright, ISBN# and Library of Congress registration instructions, publicity and promotion examples, and much more.
HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR BOOK & MAKE IT A BESTSELLER by Melvin Powers. Melvin is the most successful independent book publisher in the entire industry, with hundreds of titles ranging from special editions of classics like 'Think And Grow Rich' and 'Magc Of Thinking Big' to books for gamblers and poker players, horse lovers, hobbyists, etc.
LAZY MAN'S WAY TO RICHES by Joe Karbo. The original was self-published by Joe in 1973 and sold via full-page magazine and newspaper ads with the now-famous headline "Are You Too Busy Making A Living To Make Any real Money?", and variations thereof. An up-dated edition including the original text was published in 19__. Published by
WHAT A WAY TO MAKE A LIVING by Griffith & Lyman Wood. If you attended my Information Marketing Boot Camp or got the audio/video highlights, you heard me talk about Lyman Wood, and this book. This is one of the most fascinating memoirs of a mail-order pioneer I've ever read, filled with insight stuff. The successful Troy-Bilt Tiller ads you see today are thanks to Wood, but his earlier work in "tabloid products" is even more fascinating.
  ULTIMATE INFORMATION ENTREPRENEUR MANUAL - not available in bookstores. Refer to www.dankennedy.com.


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SPECIALIZED MARKETING

BEYOND MIND GAMES: THE POWER OF PSYCHOGRAPHICS. Book or audio tape by Rebecca Piirtro. Definitive explanation of "psychographics": data useful in predicting consumer behavior, segmenting lists, sophisticated target marketing.
UNTOLD MILLIONS: SECRET TRUTHS ABOUT MARKETING TO GAY AND LESBIAN CONSUMERS by Grant Lukenbill
MARKETING TO AMERICAN LATINOS by Isabel Valdes'.
TARGET THE U.S. ASIAN MARKET by Angi Ma Wong


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SALES

THE CLOSERS - an inside look at closing techniques used in "hard sell" situations.
SECRETS TO CLOSING THE SALE by ZIG ZIGLAR. The classic, seminal collection of closing techniques from my speaking colleague Zig Ziglar. While Zig has become better-known for his personal growth material, Zig came from the tough direct sales environment, and there's not a direct sales company or top pro that does not use and teach Zig's closing tactics.
THE SUCCESS SYSTEM THAT NEVER FAILS by W. Clement Stone Clement Stone built an empire and became a billionaire beginning with door-to-door selling, then developing a massive sales organization in insurance, in the great Depression. His persistence and self-motivation based "system" is fully described and documented in this book. Stone hired Napoleon Hill as a salesforce trainer, became Dr. Hill's partner and benefactor in Hill's later years, and is the founder of the Napoleon Hill Foundation.
  DYNAMIC SELLING POWER by Robert Trailins. Hard to find, out of print. Best ideas for structuring and writing powerful sales pitches.

NICHE SELLING by Bill Brooks YOU'RE WORKING TOO HARD TO MAKE tTHE SALE by Bill Brooks My speaking and business colleague Bill Brooks is a highly respected sales training consultant, installing sophisticated systems for some of America's biggest and most successful sales organizations.
ZERO RESISTANCE SELLING - the only book on sales, based on Psycho-Cybernetics.


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SUCCESS & PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT

THINK AND GROW RICH by Napoleon Hill. No success library is complete with Hill's famous book, first published in 1937, after a 20 year study of the era's greatest achievers. Mentored by America's first billionaire, Andrew Carnegie, Napoleon Hill interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs, industrialists, inventors that you've read about in history books; you know what they did; thanks to Hill, you can know HOW they did it. OTHER BOOKS BY DR. HILL:
YOU CAN WORK YOUR OWN MIRACLES
SUCCEED & GROW RICH THROUGH PERSUASION
GROW RICH WITH PEACE OF MIND
THE 13 GREAT LAWS OF SUCCESS
SUCCESS IS AN INSIDE JOB by Lee Milteer. My good friend Lee Milteer has done an outstanding job of enunciating the fundamental truths of private, personal thought, at conscious and subconscious levels, controlling reality. Topics include: how to ask questions to improve the quality of your life; how to find your talents and capitalize on them; Intuition, etc. lee s a much-in-demand speaker/trainer, working with clients like FedEx, Disney, NASA.
EARL NIGHTINGALE'S: THE STRANGEST SECRET **
EARL NIGHTINGALE'S: GREATEST DISCOVERY **
  ** Earl Nightingale, a radio broadcaster, discovered "success education" when hired to narrate a record based on Think And Grow Rich. He became so fascinated by the basic question of what separates top achievers from others, he made researching and writing about this subject his life work. His first recording, 'The Strangest Secret', was the first spoken word record ever to sell one million copies. His LEAD THE FIELD audio-program is the first such material I was ever exposed to. In these two books, you get "the best of Earl Nightingale."
PSYCHO-CYBERNETICS by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. This is the original science of successful achievement, and literally everything since -- including the entire field of 'sports psychology' -- is derivative, because effective self-image management is prerequisite to utilizing any other techniques. (In addition to reading the book, be certain to visit www.psycho-cybernetics.com.)


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FINANCIAL

THE ROARING 2000'S: BUILDING WEALTH AND LIFESTYLE YOU DESIRE IN THE GREATEST BOOM IN HISTORY by Harry S. Dent Jr. Dent is one of the economic forecasters I most respect.
THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR by Thomas Stanley
THE TRICK TO MONEY IS HAVING SOME by Stuart Wilde


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LIFESTYLE AND PHILOSOPHY

HOW I FOUND FREEDOM IN AN UNFREE WORLD by Harry Browne, Libertarian candidate for U.S. President
GROW RICH WITH PEACE OF MIND by Napoleon Hill. Hill is much more widely known for his first books LAWS OF SUCCESS and its condensation, THINK AND GROW RICH, but I believe this, his last book, is by far his most valuable and provocative.
COMPASSIONATE CAPITALISM by Rich DeVos - this is a "must read" and a book to pass along to children; it is the clearest, most persuasive "case" I've seen made for the free enterprise system.
WINNING THROUGH INTIMIDATION by Robert Ringer. This book could be listed in many categories. It is one of the ten books that have had the most influence on me, and it may be one of the most important books you will ever read.
NO RULES: 21 LIES ABOUT SUCCESS - my book (in hardcover: "How To Succeed In Business By Breaking ALL The Rules.")


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BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY

NO LIMIT: THE RISE & FALL OF BOB STUPAK AND LAS VEGAS' STRATOSPHERE TOWER by John L. Smith. You have probably read my interview with Bob Stupak or read or heard me use his fantastic promotions for Vegas World (now: Stratosphere) in my books and seminars. This is the inside story of this fascinating promoter, arguably the P.T. Barnum of Las Vegas.
MY AMERICAN JOURNEY by General Colin Powell. As you know, I had the privilege of following General Powell on the Peter Lowe/SUCCESS events in dozens of cities a year, for several years, and got to visit with him in "the green room" quite a bit. He is a quality individual with an inspiring life story and equally inspiring outlook.
AN ENTERPRISING LIFE: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAY VAN ANDEL. Jay and his lifetime partner, Rich DeVos, had a number of false starts before launching Amway, now the largest, most stable, and globally successful network marketing company of all time. Jay's insights on the entrepreneurial experience, on management and leadership, and free enterprise are fascinating. (I gave this book to my Platinum Members.)
PIZZA TIGER by Tom Monaghan.
IACOCCA by Lee Iacocca
BE MY GUEST by Corad Hilton


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UNUSUAL BOOKS

THE ART OF MONEY-GETTING by P.T. Barnum
THE TRUE BELIEVER by Eric Hoffer - this is a "secret weapon" of mine. It is a book about the key factors in common that drive all mass movements and cults, however these exact same strategies are important to all exceptionally successful marketing efforts.


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BOOKS FOR WRITERS

WRITERS MARKET is the annual guide to the book and magazine publishing industry that virtually every author - myself included - uses for research, preparing book or article proposals, seeking literary agents, directly contacting publishers, and so on. In total, over 4,000 book publishers, magazines, and agents are presented, including contact information, lists of recently published materials, pay rates, submission requirements. Pub'd by Writers Digest Books.
GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS is the companion to WRITERS MARKET; profiles nearly 500 agents, plus sample query letters and submission guidelines. Pub'd by Writers Digest Books.
COMPLETE GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING by Marilyn & Tom Ross. Marilyn and Tom have spoken at a past Kennedy Inner Circle Annual SuperConference, and are widely respected as expert "book packagers" and promoters, astute in both traditional ie. bookstore and alternative distribution. Book includes tips and vendors for actually getting your book published, copyright, ISBN# and Library of Congress registration instructions, publicity and promotion examples, and much more.


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DIRECTORIES

DIRECTORY OF BUSINESS INFORMATION RESOURCES/Greyhouse Publishing. Over 15,000 listings of associations, newsletters, trade shows, web sites.
DIRECTORY OF BUSINESS TO BUSINESS CATALOGS/Greyhouse Publishing

Note: many Directories are listed in my MILLION DOLLAR ROLODEX, issued annually in print to all Kennedy Inner Circle Members, and up-dated and maintained in the Gold Members' Only section of this Site.
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BOOKS RECOMMENDED BY
INNER CIRCLE MEMBERS
(THAT I HAVE NOT REVIEWED)

Delta Sync Sleep System
The Discipline Of Market Leaders
The Sales Bible


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NEW LISTINGS

TWENTY ADS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD by James Twitchell. Jerry Wilson sent me this book as a gift, and it is well worth your careful and thorough study.


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  � Dan Kennedy 2005. All Rights Reserved.