| White Papers are the Trojan Horses of marketing. | | | | - Know your audience. Perhaps somewhere in the |
| The stealth airplanes. You could also liken them to | | | | paper's opening you even mention something like, |
| white knights. | | | | "this resource will help network managers to identify |
| Let me explain. | | | | and mitigate obstacles frequently encountered in |
| On the one hand, they are performing the chivalrous | | | | fiber-to-the-home planning and deployment projects." |
| task of informing readers on a topic of high | | | | By singling out "network managers," you elegantly |
| importance to them. On the other hand, these short- | | | | excuse the marketers and execs -- perhaps your |
| to medium-length reports also carry an unspoken | | | | product is too technical for them to understand. So |
| directive. Their purpose is to help potential buyers | | | | you appeal to the people in operations, with the |
| further along in their decision cycle -- and hopefully | | | | popular strategy of making the folks in the field your |
| deeper into your sales funnel. | | | | evangelists in their organization. |
| Achieving both goals requires subtlety, thorough | | | | - Quote reputable outside sources, but especially |
| subject matter knowledge, and a genuine desire to | | | | recruit your own, best, in-house experts. Every time |
| provide valuable information. | | | | your subject matter experts open their mouths and |
| But first, a quick definition for those not familiar with | | | | drop pearls of wisdom upon the reader, they are |
| the term "white papers": A white paper is simply an | | | | selling without selling. |
| informational, usually brief, "special report"-style | | | | - Close with a soft sell. These are sophisticated |
| document that an organization can use to educate its | | | | individuals, your readers, and a hard pitch at the end |
| customers or potential customers on some otherwise | | | | of an otherwise good white paper will leave a bad |
| esoteric topic. | | | | taste. They will ask themselves, "How reliable was |
| For the niche audience intended to read them, white | | | | any of this information if all they were trying to do |
| papers can be highly valued resources. For the | | | | was sell me on their so-called 'solution?'" |
| organization that sponsors white papers, they can | | | | A good way to get in a plug for yourself, then, is to |
| build tremendous goodwill and develop highly targeted | | | | include a case study (or studies) of customers who |
| leads for customer relationships. | | | | benefited from your product or service. This lets the |
| The scope of white paper topics is nearly limitless, | | | | reader know that yes, you do offer a fix to their |
| but a few popular subjects include information | | | | problem; and a quick case study provides third-party |
| technology, communications technology, engineering, | | | | validation that your proposal works. |
| workplace and organizational behavior, investing and | | | | DO NOT... |
| finance and countless others. | | | | - Make your company, product, or service the "star" |
| Ultimately, you want readers to find your white | | | | of the white paper; in that case, it just becomes a |
| paper so compelling that they're forwarding it to | | | | glorified brochure. |
| colleagues, supervisors and most importantly, | | | | - Hard sell. As noted above, strong-arm tactics won't |
| whoever in their organization signs the checks. You | | | | work with this audience. For the most part, they're |
| want it to become "sticky," as in, people refer to it | | | | too sophisticated, and if you make them feel |
| and share it often. You want it to go viral, so that | | | | uncomfortable while they're reading, they'll abandon |
| your organization's name becomes associated with | | | | your document to their folder of forsaken and |
| the expertise and thought leadership shown in the | | | | forgotten downloads. |
| white paper. | | | | - Speak in impenetrable prose. Academia is probably |
| Here then, are a few best practices for writing white | | | | the only domain where pompous language is revered |
| papers that stick. | | | | and rewarded. In business, keep it simple -- if you |
| DO... | | | | want to get the business. |
| - Identify at the beginning of the paper a problem, | | | | Final Thoughts |
| crisis, or dilemma that the intended reader faces | | | | The complete list, obviously, is much larger. The |
| - Provide a brief road map of how the paper will | | | | above rules are made to be broken -- under different |
| proceed to define, quantify, and identify solutions to | | | | contexts than a white paper. Unlike other marketing |
| said problem | | | | pieces, the white paper's purpose is to avoid the |
| - Use language and jargon appropriate to your | | | | frontal assault of heavy self-promotion. Instead, it is |
| audience; i.e., using lots of techno-jargon with | | | | a strategic piece that slips in beneath your buyer's |
| engineers will build credibility; using techno-jargon with | | | | radar, demonstrates you to be a reliable and valuable |
| a marketing or executive audience will generate blank | | | | source of information, and lays the all-important |
| stares and perhaps annoyance at you for wasting | | | | groundwork of establishing a longer-term relationship |
| their valuable time. | | | | with your customer. |