10 Audiobooks and Podcasts That Make Marketers Smarter (No, Really)

Smart People Say These 10 Marketing Podcasts and Audiobooks Are Worth Your Ears—Here’s Why

We asked 10 actual marketing professionals—people with job titles, LinkedIn profiles, and the occasional unpaid intern—to tell us their #1 recommended audiobook or podcast for marketing and advertising. The only rule? No AI-generated fluff. (Sorry, ChatGPT. You sit this one out.)

The result? A list that ranges from Donald Miller’s cult-like clarity gospel to Louis Grenier’s “stop-being-a-sleaze” pep talks. There are content nerds, ad spend truthers, and founders who take notes at the gym. Whether you want daily tips, deep dives, or just something that makes you feel smart while folding laundry, this list delivers.

StoryBrand Audiobook Transforms Marketing Clarity

My number one recommendation is the audiobook version of Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. It completely changed how I structure messaging by focusing on clarity and positioning the customer as the hero. It’s packed with practical frameworks you can apply instantly, whether you’re writing ads, emails, or landing pages, and it helped me simplify campaigns that were overcomplicated and underperforming.

Georgi Petrov, CMO, Entrepreneur, and Content Creator, AIG MARKETER

Everyone Hates Marketers: No-Nonsense Integrity Podcast

Love Hate

My personal favorite has to be Everyone Hates Marketers. Hosted by Louis Grenier, it’s a good listen when it comes to listening to no-nonsense insights into the world of marketing. Whenever Grenier invites somebody else on board, they never feel like they’re trying to sell you sleazy tactics, and that kind of integrity is very hard to find these days.

Eric Sornoso, Co-founder, Mealfan

Marketing Against the Grain: Practical Digital Strategies

Our top recommendation is the Marketing Against the Grain podcast by Kipp Bodnar and Kieran Flanagan. It offers sharp, up-to-date insights on growth, brand, and the future of marketing, with a strong focus on practical strategies that actually apply to modern digital teams.

Philip Young, CEO, Bird Marketing UAE

Naval Ravikant’s Almanack Redefines Content Leverage

‘The Almanack of Naval Ravikant’ audiobook. It’s not a traditional marketing resource, but it completely changed how I think about leverage, especially in content and distribution. Naval breaks down how media can scale without needing permission or a big budget, so it’s huge for anyone trying to grow without dumping money into ads.

Josiah Roche, Fractional CMO, JRR Marketing

Marketing School: Quick Daily Tips Podcast

I really like the podcast “Marketing School” by Neil Patel and Eric Siu. They share quick and easy marketing tips that you can use right away, and the episodes are short, so it’s easy to listen to every day.

David Reynolds, Digital Marketer, JPGHero

Call to Action: Real Tests, Clear Results

Podcast recommendation: Call to Action by Unbounce.

It’s one of the few marketing podcasts that actually talks about real tests like how changing a button label or removing one form field impacts results. No vague advice, just clear takeaways you can apply the same day, especially if you’re working on landing pages, CRO or copy that needs to be converted.

Nirmal Gyanwali, Website Designer, Nirmal Web Design Studio

Inside Google Ads: Authentic Marketing Fundamentals

I’ve been listening to Inside Google Ads by Jyll Saskin Gale, which does pretty much what you’d expect covering google ads and related content.

What makes it one of my go-to podcasts are that it feels authentic (Jyll goes at a nice steady pace where many others are overwhelmingly rushed and hyped), is consistently updated, and makes you question some fundamentals around product-market fit and messaging, not just ad spend.

Steven Manifold, CMO & Director, B2B Planr

My First Million: Business Teardowns Worth Notes

My top marketing/advertising podcast recommendation is My First Million. You get real-life business teardowns from other founders from a diverse set of industries. It’s also entertaining enough that you don’t feel like it’s just more work. I find myself taking notes at the gym whenever I’m listening!

Anahita Guha, VP of Marketing, Tress Wellness

Uncensored CMO Reveals Psychology Behind Marketing

I would recommend “The Uncensored CMO” podcast hosted by Jon Evans. Most marketing podcasts focus on tactics, but this one goes deeper into the psychological & cultural forces shaping consumer behavior today. Evans interviews chief marketers from major brands who share unfiltered stories about campaigns that worked for surprising reasons, such as how a beer company increased sales by targeting people’s nostalgia for childhood flavors or why a luxury brand deliberately made their ads slightly confusing to create intrigue. It makes you rethink assumptions about what drives decisions in our noisy digital world.

Kevin Heimlich, Digital Marketing Consultant & Chief Executive Officer, The Ad Firm

The Long Game: Authentic Content Strategy Insights

One marketing podcast I always come back to is The Long Game by the team at Omniscient Digital. It’s not your usual list-of-tips format. Instead, they dive deep into how great content strategies are actually built and scaled over time. I especially enjoy the “Kitchen Side” episodes, where the team has open, unfiltered conversations about what’s working, what’s not, and how they’re thinking through real challenges. It feels more like listening in on a smart internal meeting than a polished show, and that authenticity has helped me rethink how I approach content marketing. It has helped me take a more long-term view of content and not just focus on short-term results.

Abhishek Biswas, Content Marketing Specialist, Radixweb

Audiobooks and Podcasts Are Great. So Is the Mandel Marketing Blog.

The internet is full of advice. Most of it is bad. Some of it is so bad it somehow ends up on a Canva quote graphic. But these recommendations come from people who actually do the work, not just tweet about it while they’re on the toilet. So the next time you’re stuck in traffic or avoiding your inbox, plug in one of these titles. Your campaigns—and your sanity—will thank you.

And hey, if you find one that makes you want to immediately rewrite all your ads or fire your current agency (unless it’s us), maybe that’s a good sign it’s working.