This post is part 1 of a series on the homework you need to do before you start on a white paper project for your organization. First: What message do we want to convey?
Have you ever painted anything: a door, a bedroom, a house? Did you keep track of your time? Did you notice that you spent most of your time in preparation, and that the process of applying paint actually went pretty quickly?
White papers are not much different. Organizations that have done all the prep work and established a rhythm and process for marketing content can keep white paper projects rolling without much ado.
But companies still getting their feet wet with this type of persuasive, informative content should do the prep work so that the process of writing, reviewing and approving the paper goes smoothly.
This is a series on the questions to pose and the answers to get when starting a white paper project.
White papers are meant to persuade and inform. What if you did all of your persuading with images and all of your informing with text?
Last week a freelance writer turning her attention to the world of white papers asked:
How important are graphics and diagrams to a white paper? I’m not very good at creating these. Do you think I should check out a few online tutorials on MS Word to learn how to use all those tables and charts?
It’s like children’s literature without pictures. In fact, it is children’s literature without pictures, because you run the risk of losing your readers to the demon of the abbreviated attention span.
I suppose that a real genius could tell the entire story with diagrams and use the text as filler. Most of us are not that good, but we realize that diagrams break up the text and make it easy on the reader, and we’re all in the business of making it easy on the reader.
Is the need for better leads forcing you to rethink your marketing plans for 2010? Are you contemplating using white papers to grow your business? Do you know the common mistakes that make white papers useless?
I will be joined by Bob Bly (author, White Paper Marketing Handbook) as a presenter at this special free event.
By attending this online event you’ll discover how to attract quality leads and grow your business with the world’s number-one marketing tool—the white paper.
Finding quality customers during tough times really is achievable!
Studies show white papers remain the most effective lead generation tools, bar none. Prospects turn to white papers when making large purchasing decisions. These marketing tools are so powerful that corporations repeatedly pay up to $10,000 to professionals to craft them.
But you don’t have to spend a lot of money or hire someone else to put the power of white papers to work for you.
Here’s some repression-proven steps any business can take to attract great customers…
As a relative newbie to the craft of writing white papers and social web content, I have glommed on to all the advice I can find on making the process faster and easier as well as to make the end product more readily consumed.
Renowned among my friends and co-workers as a prodigious talker, one of the attractions of writing is that your audience doesn’t have to read what you write—there’s no, metaphorically speaking, “gun to the head”. They can stop reading whenever they want.
In conversation, your audience may listen out of politeness or a sense of duty while thinking, “Geez this guy can really talk—how am I going to get out of this without a) hurting his feelings or b) losing his business, as the case may be.”
It is really an honor when someone actually reads something you write. Thus, I approach writing as less of a job and more of a privileged craft.
As many in my trade are now inclined to do, I have fallen back on mentally defaulting to a white paper format that is list based. This seems to be a pervasive tendency in our culture. But lately, I’ve become concerned about the long-term effects of this phenomenon on our trade and present these 5 Reasons to Stop Writing List Based White Papers.
The goal of your white paper should be to create a following and start conversations that include you. Do you know your followers well enough to do that?
Colleague John Bromhead is fond of saying,”Marketing is the process of starting a conversation.”
David Meerman Scott is more specific:”Marketers, PR pros, advertisers, and salespeople are on the payroll for one reason: To generate attention.“
In short, we’re all trying to generate attention in order to start conversations. For a long time, we’ve assumed that the conversations would be between our prospects and us, but the big lesson of social media is that the most powerful attention and conversations take place in this “following” that we’re creating in our wake. Your white papers (and all of your content) need to fit your following.
The White Paper’s Call to Action
Do most of your marketing pieces contain a section titled, “For More Information”? Traditionally, this is where you place your call to action, the thing you want readers to do once they’ve read the paper or watched the video. But maybe you should rethink this.
Are you working for a company outside of high tech? Maybe financial services, health care or manufacturing? You might be wondering, “Are white papers useful for us?”
Heck, you might even be a freelance writer looking to write white papers for these non-tech spaces. I’d like to address that here.
The question was spawned by a reader (we’ll call her Ruth S.) who wrote me and asked:
I’m a newbie white paper writer who wants to target the life sciences/biotech industry. Yes, I know there are many science writers working in this industry.
But I actually have an academic background (degrees) in this industry. I know that isn’t necessary, but I’m hoping it won’t hurt, and that it might even help.
So is there a market for biotech white papers? Do you have any contacts in the industry? Can you help me get my foot in the biotech white paper door?
I know it’s hard to believe 2010 is just around the corner. Like me, you’re likely putting plans in place for next year. Better customers, more of them and so on.
I wanted to share something with you. There are some amazing marketing superstars coming together for this really great event that will help you grow your business.
If your objective is to help businesses capture a lead, close a sale or establish themselves as kings in a crowded market, here’s some things to avoid:
1. Don’t lead with the product pitch: In today’s economy nobody likes to be sold to. Rather they prefer engagement. That typically means start by building affinity with readers. You can do this by talking about things they care about, such as problems and trends. This draws people into your work and allows you to eventually make the pitch.
2. Avoid verbose writing: Pacify the skimmer. Use short sentences rather than long prose. Try bolding key items and make sure your work is like butter melting on warm toast. This takes time but ensures that the skimmer is engaged.
3. Don’t assume they’re just like you: Too often writers assume that readers understand the terms and “inside the beltway” talk that goes around. However, there’s no bigger turn off to readers than terms and phrases that are are foreign. Always ask yourself, “is this phrase something the reader will understand?” If not, kill it.
What are your thoughts? What would you add? Please comment below…
Michael Stelzner is the author of Writing White Papers and has written more than 130 white papers for recognized companies, including Dow Jones, Microsoft, FedEx, Motorola, Monster, HP and SAP.
White papers are not much different. Organizations that have done all the prep work and established a rhythm and process for marketing content can keep white paper projects rolling without much ado.
In short, we’re all trying to generate attention in order to start conversations. For a long time, we’ve assumed that the conversations would be between our prospects and us, but the big lesson of social media is that the most powerful attention and conversations take place in this “following” that we’re creating in our wake. Your white papers (and all of your content) need to fit your following.
The question was spawned by a reader (we’ll call her Ruth S.) who wrote me and asked:
