Okay, so we no longer celebrate the true meaning Valentines day (St. Valentine was a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity).

Rather, we celebrate this day by expressing our love to others.

I want to take this opportunity and thank you for your devotion to my blog and the craft of white papers.

I wish you and your loved ones a special day.

Here a are a few marketing lessons we can learn from Valentines day:

• Expressing an interest in others leads to opportunity
• Small gifts of thanks go a long way in retaining customers
• It’s not what you do, but the thought that counts on Valentines day

Would you share why you enjoy this day?

Do you have any fun ideas for celebrating this holiday with young children?

If you're new here, be sure to signup for my newsletter and join 20,000 others. You can also follow me on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!

I was recently the guest speaker for a college class on white papers.

One of the students asked a great question, “What is the difference between a research paper and a white paper?”

Wow, I had never been asked that one.

Here’s how I answered it.

With a research paper, the writer begins the project not knowing what the outcome or results will be. Thus, the results come from the research. The conclusion is a result of the findings.

However, with a white paper, a clear understanding of the objectives and intended results are understood from the beginning. The core messages are NOT derived from a study of a topic, rather they are clearly outlined before a writer ever starts the project.

The use of white papers is also different from research papers.

White papers are usually used to help generate business or close a sale.

Research papers are typically used to open up ideas for future exploration and might find their way into journals.

Lets here from you about the distinctions between research and white papers.

Hey All!

Just wanted you to know I have been out with a BAD case of the flu.

I am trying to beat this thing.

101-103 temp for 5+ days.

More soon! - Mike

Today, TechTarget has announced its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its common stock.

For those of you who do not know, TechTarget acquired white paper repository and syndication site BitPipe some time back.

What do you all think?

We sought your nominations and they came en masse.

What follows are the top 10 books for writers. They cover a wide range of writing topics, from building freelance writing businesses to mastering the core elements of writing.

If you do not have any of these books on your shelf, you should seriously consider the investment.

1. On Writing - Important lessons and truths for any writer. By Stephen King.
2. The Elements of Style - THE reference for language use in a small package. By William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White.
3. The Renegade Writer - Achieve freelance writing success the unconventional way. By Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell.
4. The Well-Fed Writer - Put more food on the table with proven methods for freelancers. By Peter Bowerman.
5. Bird by Bird - Practical methods for getting your book written. By Anne Lamott.
6. If You Want to Write - How to write, create and live; a classic. By Brenda Ueland
7. On Writing Well - Clean up your writing style with this classic. By William K. Zinsser.
8. The Elements of Copywriting - THE guide for writing copy intended to sell. By Gary Blake, Robert W. Bly.
9. The Copywriter’s Handbook - Techniques for freelance copywriters. By Robert W. Bly.
10. The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock - Writing letters to land freelance jobs. By Diana Burrell and Linda Formichelli.

Let us know what you think about these books.

Jim Szopinski asks, “What is the difference in content between a white paper and a case study?”

Great question, Jim! You’d be surprised how often this question comes up.

Let’s start this answer with a definition of a case study.

This is a bit technical, but here we go:

“Case study refers to the collection and presentation of detailed information about a particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of subjects themselves. A form of qualitative descriptive research, the case study looks intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions only about that participant or group and only in that specific context,” as explained by Colorado State University’s online writing guide.

In other words, case studies typically examine a specific company and its experience with a product or service. They often include quotes from a key person at that company and are designed to help prospects see an example of how a solution worked for someone else.

Sample titles might include:

• How Microsoft Streamlined Their Internal Communications
• Enhancing Worker Productivity: Wal-Mart’s Story

Case studies typically start with an explanation of the specific problems faced by the study participant. They go on to introduce the reasons for selecting the ultimate solution and the final outcome.

Here is a specific example of a case study WhitePaperSource produced: http://www.whitepapersource.com/marketing/casestudy-hypertransport.html

Now to your question: What is the difference between white papers and case studies?

Where a case study focuses on a very specific case example, a white paper tends to NOT include details about how specific customers have benefited from a product or solution.

Rather, the white paper will examine general business problems and how to solve them (or describe processes). A case study can be used in conjunction with a white paper, typically as a follow-up sales piece.

The core elements of a case study include:

• The specific problem
• Why solution X was selected
• The results

The core elements of a white paper include:

• General problems faced by readers
• A discussion of the solution
• Business benefits

Finally, both white papers and case studies both are very powerful marketing tools.

Do you agree? Join the discussion.

White papers should be easy to read, right?

Well I recently found a white paper that was presented in a very unique way.

I was surfing some blogs and came across Easton Ellsworth’s blog. He referenced me to a white paper called, “A Corporate Guide to the Global Blogoshere.”

First, let me confess that I did NOT read any of this paper.

I got too caught up in the presentation.

When you click on that link above, you will be brought into a fancy interface.

I want to know what you think about this presentation of a white paper?

Does your best work result when you are enthusiastic or skeptical about a project?

For example, let’s say you do not see the real business value of podcasting, but are very interested in email marketing related topics.

If you take on both projects, which one will result in better writing?

Special thanks to Bob Bly for inspiring this post.

Easton Ellsworth of BusinessBlogWire has started a monthly tradition called BlogTipping.

This month I decided to tip you off to some great marketing blogs:

Profitable Marketing:

This is Adelino de Almeida’s blog on business analytics and marketing.

Essentially he examines how data drives marketing.

Simply put. you can learn much about marketing from this blog.

Influential Interactive Marketing:

This blog is from the Vice President of Interactive Marketing for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Rohit Bhargava.

There is some amazing stuff here. Be sure to check out the post on Chalkvertising (street art with chalk).

How to Change the World:

This is the blog of Guy Kawasaki (former Apple evangelist and one of the top 60 bloggers in the world).

You will gain great insight from this blog. Be sure to check out his post, “The Top 10 Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption.”

BONUS:

Since we are on the topic of marketing, be sure to check this out: Creating White Papers that Generate Leads (How to Lure Prospects With Words)