... What's a white paper? o.O

I guess that it's a little like the many ways of learning something new, such as software.

Some people like to be taught in a classroom, some like to read an instruction manual, some like watching videos and some like to just dive in and start experimenting.

White Papers are just another communication medium. As Charles Brown commented, if 1% of people get something from white papers then if that 1% is a big enough number of people, then a well-written white paper can be very useful.

Ian Traynor
Professional Webmaster
www.marketing-update-newslette...

Hey Everyone;

Great points! The irony is that if you read the entire article, this guy is actually trying to sell his white paper writing services.

Seems like a real odd way to sell I think!

Mike

He's probably right if looked at from the point of view of 99% of the people out there. White papers are a very targeted marketing tool. To all the rest of the people out there, the typical white paper can appear to be gibberish.

That said, for the 1% person to whom the white paper is targeted to, it is very valuable.

A buyer is under pressure to do her "due dilligence." Moreover, she must make decisions that may be outside her area of expertise.

So when a well-written white paper comes along that makes a difficult concept easy to understand AND provides the analytical data needed for due dilligence, it is a VERY valuable tool.

Charles Brown

To me, white papers aren't any different than any other kind of communication.

Some are very well done and are very relevant.

Some are not well done but are very relevant.

Some are well done and are irrelevant.

Some are not well done and are irrelevant.

Everybody likes to take potshots at the last category.

I guess Mr. van der Wolf must have been busy writing his blog when the stats about white paper effectiveness and perceived value where handed out by well recognized companies such as eMarketer and Marketing Sherpa.

Unfortunately, while his is misinformed on the importance of the medium, I have to admit that there still are a lot of bad white papers out there. Far too many that I read, tout product names and solution advantages too early and too often in a paper, and come off sounding like glorified sales brochures. This combined with the other half that insist on having their IT professionals write their white papers has contributed to his current perceptions about the medium.

Fortunately, Mr. van der Wolf is in the minority. I have countless numbers of customers who tell me that white papers generate measurable business for them.

Like everything else in life, quality is value. You can't disguise a poorly written and designed project by merely sticking the name "white paper" on the cover.

As they say, "If you try to perfume a pig, all that you end up doing is getting yourself dirty and making the pig angry!"

Mark's comments could be applied equally to many promotional documents and content types, including blog posts.

White papers may be the current target of scorn for those who want to promote podcasts, blogs, etc. as preferred media. But in the minds of our readers, these forms don't really matter.

If you provide clear, current and most of all RELEVANT content, a prospect or customer will read it (or listen to it), as long as it is presented in a form that is easily accessible.

I advise my clients to avoid getting hung up about whether a document is "truly" a white paper and instead focus on presenting the best and most compelling information.

Janice King, Author
Copywriting That Sells High Tech
www.writinghightech.com