New and Classic Books on Web Accessibility

A website accessible to consumers with disabilities is both good for business and legally compliant. Here are eight new and time-honored books to help ensure your ecommerce site meets modern accessibility standards.

Books for Web Accessibility

 Web Accessibility Cookbook: Creating Inclusive Experiences by Manuel Matuzovic

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Web Accessibility Cookbook

Released just last week and already an Amazon bestseller in the “Web Services” category, this hefty tome provides step-by-step recipes to help front-end developers build key website components in an accessible manner. The author, an experienced developer and consultant, explains the “why” and the “how” of creating an inclusive front-end for your site.

Practical Web Accessibility: A Comprehensive Guide to Digital Inclusion (Second Edition) by Ashley Firth

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Practical Web Accessibility

This updated edition of an Amazon bestseller explains how to find and fix website accessibility issues and improve a site for all users — not just those with disabilities. It offers tools and checklists to help ensure your site is compliant and ready for the modern, inclusive web.

 A11Y Unraveled: Become a Web Accessibility Ninja by Dimitris Georgakas

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A11Y Unraveled

Georgakas clearly and concisely reviews the fundamentals of web accessibility. He breaks down web design components, explains “what helps with what,” and provides plenty of examples. The book focuses on WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 guidelines and provides an overview of the laws that govern website accessibility in various parts of the world.

 Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People and Technology by Irene Peyrera

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Universal Principles of UX

This encyclopedic, heavily illustrated book is near the top of Amazon’s lists for “User Experience and Website Usability” and “Business Research and Development.” It presents the core principles for thinking about UX through real-world case studies. Each principle is presented in a convenient two-page format: definitions, examples, and guidelines are on the left page, and example images and explanatory graphics are on the right.

A handy pocket version with the same two-page format is coming in September.

Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew

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Against Technoableism

Though not specifically about web design, this new 176-page manifesto in the Norton Stories series challenges conventional thinking about technology and disability. It is already widely acclaimed. Shew, an associate professor at Virginia Tech, researches how disability is represented in technological narrative and imagination.

Building For Everyone: Expand Your Market With Design Practices From Google’s Product Inclusion Team by Annie Jean-Baptiste

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Building For Everyone

A practical guide to the strategies developed and used by Google’s innovative Product Inclusion and Equity team, “Building for Everyone” covers the best processes and practices for limiting risk and boosting profitability through inclusive design, with case studies from across industries. The author is Google’s product inclusion head and the founder of the EquityArmy community of innovators who are passionate about making the world more inclusive through design.

A Web for Everyone: Designing Accessible User Experiences by Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery, with Foreword by Aaron Gustafson

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A Web for Everyone

Even though web technology changes rapidly, design and accessibility principles are timeless. This book is widely recommended, including by Steve Krug, author of the classic web usability bible, “Don’t Make Me Think.”

Accessibility for Everyone by Laura Kalbag

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Accessibility for Everyone

Designing with accessibility in mind makes your site more inclusive for everyone, regardless of disability experience. Kalbag explains how to plan, evaluate, and test accessible design and write clear copy, create well-structured information architecture, and design thoughtfully.

Top Books for Cross-border Success

Doing business in just one country and language almost certainly leaves money on the table. Yet operating internationally adds challenges and complexities. Here are 11 books — six just published — that help succeed across borders.

Top Books for Cross-border Success

American Idioms for Marketing: Engage and Persuade with Colorful Expressions Used in the USA by Liz Chroman and Richard Koret

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American Idioms for Marketing

Filled with colorful illustrations, this book aims to help non-native English speakers remember common marketing-related idioms such as “bird’s-eye view,” “find your niche,” and “flying under the radar” in a fun way. The authors are Liz Chroman, an English language teacher, and international marketing and communications expert Richard Koret.

How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain by Peter S. Goodman

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How to World Ran Out of Everything

New York Times economic journalist Peter S. Goodman explores how the pandemic exposed the complexity and vulnerability of the global supply chain and how to improve it.

Mastering Market Entry: USA: The European’s Guide to Making It Big in America by Manny Schoenhuber

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Mastering Market Entry: USA

This book offers a playbook for European business owners to break into the U.S. market. Schoenhuber is an attorney who represents European companies and investors in the U.S. and facilitates collaboration.

Spiderweb Capitalism: How Global Elites Exploit Frontier Markets by Kimberly Kay Hoang

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Spiderweb Capitalism

University of Chicago professor Kimberly Kay Hoang reports on her groundbreaking behind-the-scenes investigation into the shadowy world of offshore finance and shell corporations.

Change Your Perspective: Communication Pitfalls in International Business by Irek Zyzanski et al.

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Change Your Perspective

Explains how to avoid stereotypes, improve cultural intelligence, and work smoothly with international teams.

The Language of Global Marketing by Wendy MacKenzie Pease

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Language of Global Marketing

Pease aims to help businesses expanding into new markets optimize their content and communications with global inbound marketing and quality translation.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, Third Edition by John Perkins

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Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

This expanded version of John Perkins’s New York Times bestseller exposes how the U.S. and China use development loans to trap less-wealthy countries in a corrupt system. The first edition was translated into more than 30 languages.

A Business Guide to International Trade & Investment  by Devyini E. Bailey

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Business Guide to International Trade

Published last year, Bailey’s book is a comprehensive guide to international trade operations and management, focusing mainly on import and export logistics.

Transforming the Global Supply Chain: Cyber Warfare, Technology, and Politics by Dennis Unkovic

Cover of Transforming the Global Supply Chain

Transforming the Global Supply Chain

Unkovic argues that the underlying causes of supply chain problems are not the pandemic but the increasing presence of cyber threats, the powerful impact of 3-D printing and robotics, and the new ways countries seek to protect their domestic economies from foreign competition.

Build Your Cultural Agility: The Nine Competencies of Successful Global Professionals by Paula Caligiuri

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Build Your Cultural Agility

Caligiuri combines theory and practical advice for building cultural flexibility, an essential skill for global managers in any industry who want to be successful in international careers or managing global teams. One reviewer described this book as “a treasure chest of ideas.”

Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business, Fourth Edition by Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars

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Riding the Waves of Culture

This 2020 update of an international classic provides an in-depth look at cultural differences, change management, and more. The authors are prominent thinkers on globalization.

10 New Ecommerce Books for Summer 2024

School’s out, summer’s here, and with it, new books for ecommerce pros. Here’s our quarterly rundown — a selection of recent and forthcoming titles that present fresh takes on economics and finance, AI, startups, marketing strategy, Amazon, and more.

Ecommerce Books: Summer 2024

Your AI Survival Guide: Scraped Knees, Bruised Elbows, and Lessons Learned from Real-World AI Deployments by Sol Rashidi

AI Survival Guide

Rashidi, who helped launch AI implementations, including IBM’s Watson, demystifies AI deployment with hype-free, real-world examples and practical advice.

The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power by Dana Mattioli

The Everything War

This detailed exposé of Amazon’s no-holds-barred competitive tactics by an award-winning Wall Street Journal reporter is hailed by reviewers as “blistering,” “riveting,” “explosive,” and “masterful.”

Cash Is King: Maintain Liquidity, Build Capital, and Prepare Your Business for Every Opportunity by Peter W. Kingma

Cash Is King

Kingma, a corporate consultant, argues that cash position is just as important as sales, costs, and service, providing case studies and tips on ensuring your company always has cash when needed.

Reignition: Transforming Stuck Startups into Breakout Winners by Dave Hersh

Reignition

Entrepreneur and investor Hersh aims to help entrepreneurs get unstuck — or better yet, avoid getting stuck in the first place.

Think Like a Brand. Act Like a Startup. Drive Growth and Innovation by Balancing Stability and Agility by Lauren Perkins

Think Like a Brand

Drawing on her experience working with companies of all sizes, Lauren Perkins shows entrepreneurs how to combine the best aspects of established brands and innovative startups for growth and stability.

Plastic Capitalism: Banks, Credit Cards, and the End of Financial Control by Sean H. Vanatta

Plastic Capitalism

Ecommerce as we know it wouldn’t be possible without credit cards. Vanatta’s accessible financial history explains how plastic came to dominate the consumer economy.

Simple Marketing for Smart People by Billy Broas, Tiago Forte, and Ali Abdaal

Simple Marketing for Smart People

With so much advice on marketing strategies and tactics, it can be easy to get lost in the weeds. This book aims to cut through the clutter to focus on the basics for maximum effectiveness.

The 10-Second Customer Journey: The CXO’s Playbook for Growing and Retaining Customers in a Digital World by Todd Unger

10-Second Customer Journey

A 30-year digital marketing veteran offers a step-by-step guide to becoming your own “Chief Friction-Reduction Officer.”

Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms: How to Assess True Macroeconomic Risk by Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak and Paul Swartz

Shocks, Crises, False Alarms

How might global events — pandemics, wars, inflation, recession — affect your business? Two seasoned economists show how to get past frightening headlines to assess the potential risks.

Never Enough: From Barista to Billionaire by Andrew Wilkinson

Never Enough

What’s it like to make a lot of money? Wilkinson shares his journey from starting a business in high school to becoming a billionaire — and beyond — with some surprising lessons learned.

The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Content Marketing,
AI, Social Media, Podcasting, Video, and Newsjacking to Reach Buyers Directly, 9th Edition
by David Meerman Scott

New Rules of Marketing & PR

And finally, a new version of an international bestseller. The updated ninth edition of this perennially popular classic is set to publish in August.

Get a Handle on AI with These 10 Books

Forecasts for artificial intelligence’s impact range from a better society to mass layoffs or worse. Here are 10 respected books to help grasp AI’s promise and pitfalls for business and beyond. Eight titles are new in 2024, while two are industry classics.

Books to Grasp AI

Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing) by Salman Khan

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Brave New Words

Khan Academy’s founder argues that AI technologies can transform education by creating customizable learning tools. He explores its implications for teachers, parents, students, and society.

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick

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Co-Intelligence

One of Amazon’s top-rated AI books of 2024 and a bestseller since its publication in April, Wharton professor and AI expert Mollick analyzes the impact of AI in education and business through real-life examples and advocates learning to work with it effectively.

Welcome to AI: A Human Guide to Artificial Intelligence by David L. Shrier

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Welcome to AI

Shrier, an authority on technology-driven innovation, discusses how accelerating advances in AI will affect how we learn, live, and work.

51 Essential AI Terms Explained for Leaders: A Non-Technical Guide by Marco Ryan

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51 Essential AI Terms

This alphabetical guide, written by the former chief digital officer at British Petroleum, provides definitions, plain-language explanations, and real-life examples to help those without technical experience understand key AI terms related.

The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now by Hilke Schellmann

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The Algorithm

Schellmann, a New York University professor and contributor to The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and National Public Radio, explores how AI tools are already used in human resource management and how faulty algorithms compound human biases. He advocates for more thoughtful practices in hiring, evaluating, and managing employees. The New York Times Book Review named it one of the five best books on AI, stating it “treats AI as a tool used by people, avoiding grand theories and wild speculations.”

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar

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The Coming Wave

In this multi-award-winning book, Suleyman, who has led AI initiatives for Google and Microsoft, warns of the possible dangers of rapid technological advances such as quantum computing, synthetic biology, and AI while remaining optimistic about meeting these challenges.

Generative AI for Business Leaders: 2024 Edition by I. Almeida

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Generative AI for Leaders

This collection of three practical guides provides an overview of the potential risks and benefits as well as ways to reduce negative consequences and enhance business outcomes.

HBR’s 10 Must Reads on AI by Harvard Business Review and multiple authors

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HBR’s 10 Most Reads on AI

This addition to Harvard Business Review’s “10 Must-Reads” series collects expert articles on using AI in business. It covers topics ranging from pricing algorithms to AI ethics.

The Business Case for AI: A Leader’s Guide to AI Strategies, Best Practices & Real-World Applications by Kavita Ganesan

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The Business Case for AI

Ganesan aims to demystify AI for business leaders looking to identify its opportunities. Though published in 2022, her book is still highly recommended by reviewers and experts for its real-world examples and jargon-free language.

The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values by Brian Christian

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The Alignment Problem

Christian, an award-winning author and science journalist, examines how to align AI technology’s behavior with human values, which has become even more urgent with advances in AI technology in the four years since this book was published.

Favorite Books of Ecommerce Pros Q2 2024

With the plethora of ecommerce and technology books — Amazon offers hundreds of new and forthcoming titles for categories such as “starting a business” — it’s tough to isolate the gems.

Curious, I reached out to ecommerce and digital marketing pros, asking, “What books are the most informative, useful, and inspiring?”

More than 30 responded, including founders, owners, sales and marketing executives, and search-engine specialists from industries ranging from precision manufacturing to festival fashions, from Texas to Australia.

In all, they recommended more than 60 books across diverse ecommerce interests, including analytics, global marketing, web design, UX, leadership, personal development, and iconic brands such as Amazon, Zappos, and Nike.

Eight titles were clear favorites, with multiple enthusiastic endorsements.

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Reis

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Lean Startup

Published in 2011, “The Lean Startup” remains a go-to resource for today’s entrepreneurs. A quote highlighted by 20,000 Kindle readers sums up its key message: “Lean thinking defines value as providing benefit to the customer; anything else is waste.” Brian Lim, who founded and operates three online retailers of rave and festival clothing, says Reis’s “validated learning” method of using data for decision-making “reduces the risks associated with launching new products and helps ensure that your business strategies are based on real customer feedback rather than assumptions.”

Crushing It! How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence — and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk

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Crushing It!

One recommender, Victor Trasoff-Jilg, vice president of sales at Bombing Science, an online retailer of graffiti and art supplies, calls this “a motivational and practical guide for anyone looking to build their personal brand and leverage it for business success … both inspiring and actionable.” Vaynerchuk’s “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” also received mentions.

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal

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Hooked

Kayden Roberts, chief marketing officer of Camgo, a chat and dating app claiming more than 7 million users worldwide, says Hooked is “especially relevant for e-commerce businesses because it explores how to create a user experience that turns casual visitors into repeat customers… This is essential for e-commerce managers looking to enhance customer loyalty and drive long-term growth.”

SEO 2024: Learn search engine optimization with smart internet marketing strategies by Adam Clarke

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SEO 2024

Clarke updates his long-running, popular search engine optimization guide yearly. Respondents recommended both the 2022 and 2023 versions. The 2024 edition is now available.

Digital Marketing for Dummies by Ryan Diess and Russ Henneberry

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Digital Marketing for Dummies

Laviet Joaquin, head of marketing for TP-Link, a worldwide provider of consumer networking equipment, calls this “a must-read for every ecommerce business wanting to boost online visibility“— in other words, all online merchants!

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

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Contagious

Bonnie Ruan, chief product officer at Beska Mold, a manufacturer of precision machining parts, gives Berger’s book top marks because it “delves into why certain products and ideas become popular, and how you can use these insights to craft marketing strategies that encourage word-of-mouth sharing online.” Berger’s “Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior” also received recommendations.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

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Influence

This book has been a game-changer for our sales and marketing teams, helping us craft more effective messaging and build stronger relationships with our clients,” says Daniel Meursing, CEO of Premier Staff, an event staffing provider.

E-Commerce Evolved: The Essential Playbook to Build, Grow & Scale a Successful E-Commerce Business by Tanner Larsson

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Ecommerce Evolved

Trasoff-Jilg of Bombing Science calls this book “particularly valuable for its in-depth look at creating a sustainable ecommerce operation, not just quick wins.”

10 Leading Book Authors for Ecommerce and Marketing

An Amazon search for ecommerce books pulls up a hodgepodge of titles that suggest get-rich-quick schemes such as “Making Money Online Has Never Been This EASY”; books aimed at beginners such as indie authors who don’t have much business and marketing know-how; and books written by consultants looking to promote their own businesses.

What’s more, ecommerce encompasses such a broad range of strategies and disciplines — startups, usability, AI — that there’s no single authority. Skimming through reviews takes time. To simplify the search, here’s a list of 10 veteran authors for ecommerce success.

Jonah Berger

Contagious book coverContagious book cover

Contagious

Berger, a Wharton School professor, writes on the science of influence, persuasion, and word-of-mouth marketing. His bestselling books include “Contagious: Why Things Catch On,” “The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind,” and “Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior.” These titles are available in multiple formats and languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, and Chinese, demonstrating the global appeal of his ideas.

Robert Cialdini

Influence book coverInfluence book cover

Influence

Devoting his entire career to rigorous research on what causes people to say “yes” to a request, Cialdini is a renowned expert on the science of persuasion and how to apply it ethically in business. His “Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion” is a New York Times bestseller. He writes and speaks extensively about influence and persuasion.

Seth Godin

Linchpin book coverLinchpin book cover

Linchpin

Godin sold his 1990s internet startup, Yoyodyne, to Yahoo and served as the platform’s vice president of direct marketing. A popular and prolific speaker and writer on modern marketing, he has published more than 20 books, including “Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable,” “Permission Marketing, Turning Strangers Into Friends and Friends Into Customers,” and “Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Ann Handley

Everybody Writes book coverEverybody Writes book cover

Everybody Writes

Digital marketing pioneer Handley is the author of the best-selling book on content marketing, “Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business,” which has been translated into nine languages. Her second book is “Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content.”

Steve Krug

Don't Make Me Think book coverDon't Make Me Think book cover

Don’t Make Me Think

Krug’s first book, “Don’t Make Me Think,” the classic and widely cited guide to web usability — and his work with companies such as Apple, Netscape, AOL, and Lexus — helped make him a sought-after speaker and consultant. “Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web (and Mobile) Usability” is still tagged as a bestseller on Amazon even though it was published in 2013 and now has a second edition.

Charlene Li

Open Leadership book coverOpen Leadership book cover

Open Leadership

Li is a sought-after commentator and keynote speaker who focuses on the impact of emerging social technologies. She is the author of “Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform How You Lead, The Disruption Mindset: Why Some Organizations Transform While Others Fail” and coauthor of the critically acclaimed, bestselling “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,” revised and updated.

Donald Miller

Building a Story Brand book coverBuilding a Story Brand book cover

Building a Story Brand

Miller’s updated “Building a Story Brand 2.0: How to Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen” is set for publication later this year. His other bestsellers include “Marketing Made Simple” and “How to Grow Your Small Business.” He has also written books on coaching and spirituality.

Jakob Nielsen

Usability Engineering book coverUsability Engineering book cover

Usability Engineering

Nielsen is considered a world expert on web usability, a subject he has been writing about since 1995. The dozen books he has authored or coauthored address all aspects of usability, including mobile, multimedia, and hypertext, as well as usability designing and coordinating. “Usability Engineering” is his most popular.

David Meerman Scott

News Jacking book coverNews Jacking book cover

Newsjacking

Scott’s classic “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” is now in its eighth edition, making him an authority in the field. Various editions have been translated into multiple languages. His other books include “Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas Into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage” and “Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn From the Most Iconic Band in History.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

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Day Trading Attention

Known to his vast following as “GaryVee,” Vaynerchuk transformed in the early 2000s his family’s annual $3 million brick-and-mortar liquor business into a $60 million online wine retailer. He also co-founded the restaurant reservation platform Resy and three digital media firms. In 2017 Forbes named him a top social influencer. He has written seven books on wine, entrepreneurship, and social media. His latest, “Day Trading Attention: How to Actually Build Brand and Sales in the New Social Media World,” will be released next month.

10 New Ecommerce Books for Spring 2024

Here’s a batch of new ecommerce books for spring. There are titles on digital marketing, team development, content marketing, AI, launching a startup, and growing a business.

I compiled the list using Amazon. From the “Books” category, I selected “Business & Money.” From there I chose the “Processes & Infrastructure” sub-category and selected “E-commerce.” Then I handpicked titles from that group based on customer ratings and relation to ecommerce. I also selected a few titles from the “Business Development & Entrepreneurship” sub-category.

New Ecommerce Books for Spring 2024

Punchlines to Profit: How to Leverage The Power of Comedy to Create Revenue-Generating Content by Megan Nager

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Punchlines to Profit

“Punchlines to Profit” explores the art of comedy in successful digital marketing. Whether for an established brand, a startup, or a content creator, adding humor to an online presence is a powerful way to establish a voice, entertain an audience, and gain a following. Discover the power of authenticity, the psychological effects of comedy, ways to implement comedy into your content and brand, and professional tips from stand-up comedians. Paperback $15.95.

Reignition: Transforming Stuck Startups into Breakout Winners by Dave Hersh

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Reignition

Drawing upon the author’s experience as an entrepreneur and investor, “Reignition” outlines how to transform a stagnant startup into a lean and focused organization — and remake an established company. Learn to avoid common mistakes around premature scaling. Gain the confidence to change a company, the skills to do it, and the reassurance that you are not alone. Hardcover $27.95; Kindle $9.99.

Create Once, Distribute Forever: How Great Creators Spread Their Ideas and How You Can Too by Ross Simmonds

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Create Once, Distribute Forever

“Create Once, Distribute Forever” guides entrepreneurs wanting to unlock efficiency, brand awareness, and sustainable digital marketing success through content distribution. Learn the ins and outs of content, how to overcome roadblocks, why remixing and republishing content is important, and how to uncover your business’s most profitable distribution channels. Hardcover $26.99; Kindle $7.99.

Untrapping Product Teams: Simplify the Complexity of Creating Digital Products by David Pereira

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Untrapping Product Teams

“Untrapping Product Teams” outlines tactics for working with product teams on digital products. Explore the product journey. Learn to recognize dangerous traps and the strategies to overcome them. Simplify decision-making, apply mindful product discovery, use delivery to accelerate value, and measure results beyond outputs. Craft product principles and set solid foundations for product teams. Paperback $39.99; Kindle $14.95.

Time Is Now: A Journey Into Demystifying AI by Raj Verma

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Time Is Now

“Time is Now” will help entrepreneurs and small business owners leverage AI and emerging technologies for practical decision-making. Through stories and relevant examples, explore AI and learn how today’s leaders must make decisions through a convergence of information, context, and choice. In the explosion of AI, leaders have a responsibility to learn before they act. Leverage today’s tools with the insight needed to benefit the future. Hardcover $27.99; Kindle $9.99.

Simple Marketing for Smart People: The One Question You Need to Win Customers without Gimmicks, Hype, or Hard Selling by Billy Broas, with Tiago Forte and Ali Abdaal

Cover of Simple Marketing For Smart PeopleCover of Simple Marketing For Smart People

Simple Marketing For Smart People

Cutting through the clutter of the modern digital marketing landscape, “Simple Marketing for Smart People” helps readers create simple yet authentic marketing to resonate with customers and clients. Learn techniques to instill beliefs necessary to compel customers to act. Craft essential and effective marketing content through email, social media, and a website. Kindle $7.99.

The Covert Code: Mastering the Art of Digital Marketing by Anna Covert

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The Covert Code

“The Covert Code” presents clear solutions to take control of your digital media strategy. Learn the insider rules for optimizing digital media, how to create a strategic budget, when and how to leverage search marketing, where remarketing will deliver optimal value, and more. Discover how to decode the digital marketing landscape and seize the opportunity to connect with the customers you need. Hardcover $32.99; Kindle $9.99.

Zero Risk Startup: The Ultimate Entrepreneur’s Guide to Mitigating Risks When Starting or Growing a Business by Paulo Andrez and David S. Rose

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Zero Risk Startup

“Zero Risk Startup” is designed to help entrepreneurs systematically reduce risk on the path to success. Mitigate entrepreneurial uncertainties through more than 100 practical tips and tools. Learn whether or not to start a business, how to identify and mitigate risks with the Zero Risk Startup methodology, strategies to get external funding, and AI technologies for risk mitigation. Hardcover $29.99; Kindle $8.99.

Growing Your Beautiful Small Business by David Y. Choi

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Growing Your Beautiful Small Business

“Growing Your Beautiful Small Business” is for small and early-stage companies experiencing challenges. Learn fundamentals and perspectives on entrepreneurship, practical business lessons, and intellectual exercises to develop growth strategies and plans. Paperback $14.95; Kindle $9.99.

Stress-Free LLC: A Quick Start Blueprint to Easy Business Entity Formation by Wesley WealthGuard

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Stress-Free LLC

“Stress-Free LLC” is a practical guide to forming an LLC. Get a clear seven-step plan for swift and efficient LLC formation. Learn actionable tactics to optimize your LLC’s tax structure and financial efficiency. Discover why an LLC is your gateway to protecting your assets and minimizing risks, ensuring a secure foundation for your entrepreneurial endeavors. Paperback $9.99.

Advice to a New Ecommerce Merchant

Mike Carroll is a weightlifting buddy who lost his job last fall. He had been an insurance salesman for 25 years and is now contemplating a new career. I asked him, “Have you thought about ecommerce?”

He had not.

Launching an ecommerce company intrigued him, but he was unsure where to start. Knowing many would-be entrepreneurs with similar concerns, I invited him on the podcast.

Here’s our conversation. The entire audio is embedded below. The transcript is edited for clarity and length.

Eric Bandholz: What’s going on?

Mike Carroll: In September, I was let go from a position I held for eight years and returned to school to finish my degree. I will end this May, and I’m exploring new opportunities. I’ve been in sales for 25 years. I’ve sold mortgage insurance to banks, companies, and credit unions. I’ve sold home and auto insurance through my own agency. In college, I sold Kirby vacuums door to door. I don’t recommend that. However, I learned to deal with rejection quickly.

You recently asked me if I’ve considered ecommerce. I hadn’t really. I’ve bought stuff online, and that’s about it. The possibilities for what I want to do and explore are wide open. I’d love to hear what ecommerce avenues you’d suggest pursuing.

I’ve been a business owner, but insurance is not a physical product like ecommerce. I wouldn’t know where to begin. What types of products would I sell? Do I start something from scratch? Do I find a broker to help buy a business? What kind of skills do I need?

Bandholz: You have negotiation skills from your sales background. Those apply to ecommerce with vendor management, employees, and more. The direction you take in ecommerce depends on what you’re good at and what excites you. I love creating a business from scratch, obtaining that first customer, and scaling up.

Another option is buying a business. That would suit folks who thrive at systems, organization, and optimization. They could find opportunities with inefficient companies and make improvements. However, buying a business typically has more risks.

I recommend starting from scratch if you’ve never had a business because the risk of placing, say, a $1,000 inventory order is low compared to buying a million-dollar company.

Plus, a new business can outsource many tasks. Third-party logistics companies — 3PLs — can store, pack, and send your orders. Freelance consultants can photograph products, build and manage the website, and market your items on Facebook and Google, for example. Product designers and manufacturers can engineer and produce inventory. In that model, you’re the quarterback. It’s not unrealistic for a solo entrepreneur to build a company doing $1 million a year with no employees.

It would be hard work. Again, many outsourcing options exist worldwide, such as in Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and Poland. The Philippines has a lot of talented workers who also speak English.

Carroll: How do smaller ecommerce firms compete with Amazon?

Bandholz: Finding products that cater to enthusiasts is the best way to go from zero to one. A lot of successful entrepreneurs study Amazon data for top-selling products. They read the reviews of those products for opportunities to improve and then develop their own version based on that info and launch it on Amazon. They improve a product that many folks are already interested in, in other words.

Another option is serving an unmet need to folks who will pay more for a product. We had a guest on the show who sells chinchilla cages. His inventory is wire. When he gets an order, his team makes the cage and sends it out. He doesn’t need storage space or production costs for unsold finished cages. He drives efficiency through manufacturing. He has employees and manufacturing costs, but his niche is specific. He provides chinchilla owners with what they need.

Carroll: I know what I like, but the market may not need it.

Bandholz: The right product for the right price to the right customer will make your life easier. Avoid products that are very similar to competitors’ or are too expensive to make or buy. Find a unique product that only your company offers. Emphasize your brand. An excellent product with terrible branding is easily replicated by competitors.

My perfect ecommerce product would be small and light so I could easily ship it. It would be expensive — something consumers would pay a lot for and buy regularly that wouldn’t go bad. That’s the holy grail of products. It’s also what seemingly every merchant is looking for.

Look at the world. Everything is a product. Ask yourself, “Would I want to sell that? What would be the advantages?”

A friend who’s been on the podcast sells his own videos of dancing courses that couples can do at home. The business is called Show Her Off. You could do that as a golf instructor given your expertise in that sport. Target the person who wants to learn golf to make business connections. Sell the course for $500.

How can folks reach out to you?

Carroll: You can find me on LinkedIn.

10 New Ecommerce Books for Winter 2024

Here’s a batch of new ecommerce books to start the new year. There are titles on launching a company, daily marketing, branding, generative AI, streamlining development, building a team, and creativity.

I compiled this list using Amazon. From the “Books” category, I selected “Business & Money.” From there, I chose the “Processes & Infrastructure” sub-category and selected “E-commerce.” Then I handpicked titles from that group based on customer ratings and relation to ecommerce. I also selected a few titles from the “Business Development & Entrepreneurship” sub-category.

New Ecommerce Books

Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Simple Way to Launch a 7-Figure Business in 48 Hours by Noah Kagan

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Million Dollar Weekend

By the founder and CEO of AppSumo.com, “Million Dollar Weekend” is a practical guide to launching a successful startup over a weekend. Learn to tap your creator courage, get others to give you money, and automate your business so it can grow while you sleep. Follow Kagan’s simple method that he’s used seven times to launch seven-figure businesses. Hardcover $27.00; Kindle $15.99.

The Best 90 Days Ever: How 10-minute marketing can transform your business one day at a time by Hannah Isted

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The Best 90 Days Ever

Entrepreneurs are usually too busy running a business to be able to spend much time marketing it. “The Best 90 Days Ever” presents an essential blueprint to market a business with daily 10-minute tasks successfully. The guide provides weekly themes, such as email and video marketing, to grow an audience. After 90 days, you will have completed the series of efficient and essential actions to promote your business and achieve the results. Hardcover $30.99; Paperback $18.99.

All In: How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams by Mike Michalowicz

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All In

“All In” shows you how to build an unstoppable team where everyone flourishes, including you. Learn to recruit the right talent, transform struggling employees into superstars, match individual abilities to client and company needs, and elevate your company to where every employee cares as much as an owner. Hardcover $26.10; Kindle $15.99.

Generative AI: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review by Harvard Business Review, Ethan Mollick, David De Cremer, Tsedal Neeley, and Prabhakant Sinha

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Generative AI

“Generative AI” will help you to understand and explore ChatGPT and generative AI technologies. Deepen your understanding and discover how this new tech will affect your business with insights from the Harvard Business Review series. Explore a foundational introduction and practical case studies with reliable research, interviews, and analysis to prepare you and your company for tomorrow. Hardcover $46.00; Paperback $22.95; Kindle $11.99.

The Brand Benefits Playbook: Why Customers Aren’t Buying What You’re Selling — And What to Do About It by Allen Weiss and Deborah MacInnis

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The Brand Benefits Playbook

“The Brand Benefits Playbook” is a guide for businesses to adopt a benefits-based model to transform the organization and win in the marketplace. Learn how customers perceive a brand in terms of benefits. Find the most effective way to segment a market and position a brand in terms of benefits. Hardcover $30.00; Kindle $14.99.

The Lean Tech Manifesto: Learn the Secrets of Tech Leaders to Grasp the Full Benefits of Agile at Scale by Fabrice Bernhard and Benoît Charles-Lavauzelle

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The Lean Tech Manifesto

“The Lean Tech Manifesto” helps businesses excel by streamlining digital product development. Get ahead of the competition without the need for massive investment in staff and resources, which inevitably results in higher organizational confusion and waste. Learn to create a culture of problem-solving and knowledge sharing, deploy faster implementation, measure client satisfaction, and more. Hardcover $32.00; Kindle $30.00.

Don’t Make It Weird: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Being Human on the Internet by Colleen Nichols

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Don’t Make It Weird

“Don’t Make It Weird” is a guide to being authentic online. Learn to connect with followers by bringing your whole personality — the messy, the awkward, and the mundane — to your online presence. Show your authentic self to resonate with today’s audience and create genuine connection and community. Paperback $19.18; Kindle $9.99.

Born to Create: How Creativity Sparks Connection, Innovation, and Belonging in our New World of Work by Anne Jacoby

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Born to Create

“Born to Create” helps businesses tap creativity to produce a more effective, joyful, and authentic workplace. Access the skills developed by artists to build creative confidence and resilience, lead others in the creative process, and foster a thriving culture to achieve business value and personal fulfillment. Get practical exercises and assessment tools to achieve your potential and realize a creative life. Hardcover $26.95; Kindle $9.99.

Better & Better: Creating a Culture of Purpose, Excellence, and Transformative Human Engagement by Bob Stiller

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Better & Better

“Better & Better” is from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters founder Bob Stiller. The book details how he created a company with a mission to build an engaged workforce focused on innovation. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters became a place where employees were heard, empowered to make a difference, rewarded fairly, and encouraged to grow. As a result, the company became one of the few coffee roasters to reach $1 billion in sales. Follow the lessons of a veteran entrepreneur to help increase engagement, retention, and revenue. Hardcover $28.00; Kindle $26.60.

Beginner’s Guide To Selling On eBay: 2024 Edition by Ann Eckhart

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Beginner’s Guide To Selling On eBay

“Beginner’s Guide To Selling On eBay” can help anyone quickly earn money on that marketplace. Get a step-by-step guide through the entire eBay listing process. Learn how to take and upload product photos, set up shipping and print labels, process orders, manage and market the store, and handle customer service. This 2024 edition includes eBay’s newest listing and shipping forms, sourcing information, and more. Paperback $23.99.

Help for Mediocre Writers

David Perell helps folks improve their writing skills. His company offers an online course, YouTube author interviews, and a weekly newsletter. But his broader goal is supporting excellence.

He told me, “It’s worth doing exceptional work with whatever you do. The modern world is polluted with mediocrity.”

He and I recently spoke. We addressed writing and speaking and their impact on entrepreneurial success. The entire audio of our conversation is embedded below. The transcript is edited for length and quality.

Eric Bandholz: Tell us who you are.

David Perell: I help folks become better writers. I offer an online course called “Write of Passage.” Roughly 1,000 learners every year from all levels of expertise sign up.

My YouTube channel contains multiple playlists for authors. One is called “How I Write,” where I interview notable bloggers, journalists, and teachers.

“North Star Podcast” was my audio show. I published 90 episodes from 2017 to 2021. I started the podcast after having been laid off from a job. I didn’t have a sense of purpose or a competitive edge. I couldn’t find my North Star, so I started the podcast.

Over the next few years, I interviewed folks about who they are, what they do, and how they think. I ended up shutting the podcast down because it didn’t align with the other stuff I was working on, but it helped me figure out what to do with my life.

Bandholz: You have notable entrepreneurs on your YouTube channel.

Perell: I spend a lot of time thinking about what I have a knack for. I come alive when I’m around successful people in a way that’s hard to explain. I’ve always enjoyed being around older men. There’s a certain peace and a sturdiness amid the chaos around them. I used to love playing golf when I was younger because I could go to the course and hang out with guys in their sixties, seventies, and eighties. We’d walk 18 holes, hit balls on the driving range, and talk about life. I think that’s the best way to learn.

I recently had Marc Andreesen on the show. I sent him the trailer for my channel, which I had carefully assembled. Aesthetics instantly communicate a sense of seriousness and quality, and a trailer makes a stronger impression than a text description. I wrote Marc a note with it, saying I had just launched a YouTube playlist called “How I Write.” I included the names of prominent guests and stated that I would love to interview him. Then, I let the video do the talking.

It’s worth doing exceptional work with whatever you do. The return to being the best in the world at your chosen profession continues to increase. The modern world is polluted with mediocrity and a sense of casualness that hurts creators.

Bandholz: How do you help folks improve their writing skills?

Perell: I use a three-pillar framework that I call POP — Personal, Observational, and Playful. “Personal” is telling stories about yourself that provide credibility. For example, no one wants to read the person discussing his Harvard PhD. It’s much better to share a personal story. “Observational” conveys your insights. How is your writing helpful? What are you teaching your readers? “Playful” implies bringing personality and characteristics that make you distinct. Writing and speaking benefit from having all three.

It’s simple to improve speaking skills. I’ll listen to this entire podcast, observing my speech patterns, cadence and storytelling, anecdotes, and tempo. Did I need to speed up or slow down? For video interviews, I’ll watch myself speak.

Phenomenal CEOs are good at sloganeering and telling the same stories repeatedly. They make tweaks. They look at people’s eyes. They notice where they get a laugh and where listeners are interested in what they’re saying. They’re similar to comedians — telling the same things repeatedly. It’s an art.

Bandholz: What’s the vision behind “Write of Passage,” your course?

Perell: I’m invested in being around smart, ambitious individuals who want to write and get their ideas into the world. Intelligent people read, and successful people read the most. Therefore, writing will remain relevant among thinkers. I want to be their go-to resource.

I try to attract the most valuable audience within that niche. I’ve learned much from my friends David Senra, who runs a podcast called “Founders,” and Patrick O’Shaughnessy, with his “Invest Like the Best” show. I want with writers what David has with entrepreneurs and Patrick has with investors.

“Write of Passage” is a five-week online course. It costs $3,995. We get a few hundred signups. We have about 35 contractors who edit every piece from enrollees, with an average turnaround time of 18 hours. We have mentors who help students overcome the emotional challenges of learning to write and instructors who focus on specific aspects, such as how to find your voice and tell a story.

Bandholz: Where can people support you?

Perell: My website is Perell.com. You can find the “Write of Passage” course there. Check out “How I Write” on my YouTube channel. My Twitter is @david_perell.