Marketer here. If I were to define the fundamental aspects of marketing, it would be as follows (I also have a note about feedback loops after):

1. Customer empathy: you need to know their pains, dreams, opinions, frustrations, and more. The first step of marketing is to always meet people where they are the most frustrated. Good resources for this are Amy Hoy’s Sales Safari [1], or Netnography [2]. I also like Sean D’Souzas Brain Audit [3]. Sean’s is the most accessible.

2. Copywriting: Once you can empathize with the persona / customer, you’ll need to learn how to relate your product or service to the person’s problems, needs, or dreams. There are many scammy resources out there, but the person who does his marketing in the most ethical way is again Sean D’souza [4]. Robert Bly is also good [5].

3. Distribution: once you solve for customer empathy and the right positioning (through compelling copywriting), the final step is to distribute your copies in various media. Weinberg’s Traction is a good starting point [6].

Some will recommend Russell Brunson, Sam Ovens, Gary Halbert, etc, but these folks are in the extreme end of marketing, and may not suit everyone. Their methods work for “get rich quick” online courses or coaching programs, but not for real products or services where you need to sustain a brand over time. The resources I mentioned are a good foundation for ethical marketing.

RE: Feedback loops - the fastest way to get a feedback loop is to start with content marketing. Your article must solve a tiny problem, then you distribute it. If you get good feedback, then make a longer article, then get feedback again. Then turn it into an ebook or small online tool, then get feedback. Keep increasing the size of your solution until you get to your desired goal (like a SaaS).

Another way to get a feedback loop is through ads: run multiple ads, compare their conversion rates, drop the worst ones, scale the best ones, then add more ad tests.

[1] https://stackingthebricks.com/video-sales-safari-in-action/

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Netnography-Essential-Qualitative-Soc...

[3] https://www.psychotactics.com/products/the-brain-audit-32-ma...

[4] https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/copywriting-home-st...

[5] https://www.amazon.com/Copywriters-Handbook-Step-Step-Writin...

[6] https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Cu...

The author of this piece is also the author of an industry bible for copywriters, The Copywriter's Handbook: http://www.amazon.com/Copywriters-Handbook-Third-Step-Step/d...

My wife is teaching herself copywriting and liked this book, although a lot of the copywriting books are getting dated in light of the Internet - lots of references to fax machines, print writing, etc and little on SEO/writing for the web ("The web might be a fad, we'll know after 1995 if it'll be big..." type of copy). Would not be surprised to see references to typewriters or carrier pigeons in some of the dustier tomes.

Anyone know any good Internet/SEO oriented copywriting books for beginners?

Edit: Not to say the old classics aren't worth reading, there's principles of communication that have been the same for thousands of years. Just skip the parts on optimizing your telegrams...