Six Books Every School Leader Should Read on Marketing

It’s hard to believe that summer is quickly approaching and the students will soon be on summer vacation.

Summer brings the opportunity for reading and reflection. I like to read, especially now that I can quickly and easily download a book on my Amazon Kindle.

Yesterday I presented a webinar on best practices in marketing to about 60 ACSI school leaders. During my talk, I recommended several books that private school leaders and marketers should put on their “must read” summer list. I thought it would be good to share this list with you:

Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz – Provides an excellent framework for developing your school’s word of mouth marketing strategy.

The Referral Engine by John Jantsch – With referrals driving your marketing and enrollment effort, this book provides an excellent resource for generating constant interest in your school.

The Purple Cow by Seth Godin – A branding classic to help your school stand out and be remarkable as a purple cow in the midst of a world of brown cow schools.

The Celebrity Experience by Donna Cutting – When you treat your parents like celebrities and deliver outstanding customer service and a “wow” experience, your parents will tell others about your school.

Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs by  Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah and David Meerman Scott – In today’s web-based world, there is nothing more important than utilizing web-based marketing strategies to reach your target audience.

NAIS Handbook on Marketing Independent Schools edited by Kathleen Hanson – This is the newest book on the list, and one of just a couple available, on marketing for independent schools. And because of this, it is a must read for you.

If you haven’t read these books, you need to. These marketing resources are must reads for you and your team.

I want to also add another “must read” to your list. Brendan Schneider writes a blog on the topics of social media, technology, branding and inbound marketing for schools. He is the Director of Admission & Financial Aid at Sewickley Academy, a PK-12 independent, day school, located in PA. I would highly recommend that you subscribe to his blog today: www.schneiderb.com.

What’s on your summer reading list?

Do you have any recommendations for marketing books or blogs that should be read this summer?