I've spend some time at Amazon looking into books about marketing and internet marketing. Probably books about Internet marketing issued before 2005 aren't worth the money. Could you recommend some books for reading about marketing in general and Internet marketing (not SEO)? I know many things about SEO, AdWords, AdSense, affiliate programs, ... but I'm looking to learn more, perhaps more about marketing issues than those mentioned above.
I'd say start off by picking up a used textbook on marketing principles just to help you grasp some of the basics. Personally, I love the Guerrilla Marketing books (at least most). Look for one most directly related to the type of work you want to do. I'm sure there are plenty of other good general books on the subject, but I lean towards textbooks and trade publications... look into some of those if you want to keep up on the latest trends.
Jenn, thank you for your suggestion. I'm particular interested in testing statistical hypothesis in internet marketing areas. Have you seen some resources regarding this?
Well if you don't have a background in statistics, start there (I don't have any particular suggestions book-wise though). Are you actually interested in conducting research, or simply evaluating trends? If you want to conduct tests yourself, study up on market research techniques to learn how to design effective surveys and such (if you don't prepare them correctly, the data is useless ... you need to avoid flaws in results before you even start to gather them). Again, I'd go the textbook route. I always seem to like textbooks put out my McGraw Hill and Wiley the best. Look into them and see if they have something available... you can probably pick up a used copy relatively cheap through Amazon.
Jenn's right. Hit up amazon and look for books on Marketing. You'll probably find great textbooks that are just 1-3 years old for cheap. I did that for law school books and rather than spending $3-4k for my books, I spent about $1k. Now, there are times when books past 1-2 years old are of little use, but you get the idea. Marketing is about more than sales and advertising, so it's good when you know exactly what you want. There are books about marketing and then there are books about where to market. For instance, if you wanted to learn about marketing, you could pick up a Marketing 101 type book. However, if you wanted a book on where to market, you'd buy something like Adsense Code. Don't get caught up on buzzwords like "Internet," because the principles being used are from traditional sources generally. For instance, creating a segment analysis works the same whether you're doing it for an Internet site or Mom's Dry Cleaners down the street.
For a Internet marketing book I've found Street Smart Internet Marketing to be a fantastic resource. I believe it was released in December so the info is about as up to date as it gets. It covers all things Internet marketing related (email marketing, tracking, testing, site promotion etc). I just bought it off the books website (InternetMarketingBook.com) but you can also get it from Amazon. The Guerrilla series of books is also usually a good bet (I've seen Jay Conrad Levinson speak a few times - brilliant man!) it just depends how recent the book is on the specific topic you're after.
Here are 4 great books on internet marketing. They all carry good ratings on Amazon and are all current. They're all a good read. I promote these all in my aStore and find they get a lot of attention. Good luck on your search! The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More - By Chris Anderson Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant - By W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne The Wisdom of Crowds - By James Surowiecki How to Use the Internet to Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Website with Little or No Money - By Bruce Cameron Brown