Comments on: Reveal Everything in a White Paper??

By: maikeru76

maikeru76 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:38:27 +0000

Yep,

White papers should be informative but leave out other details that might compromise your service or product. Creating white papers, for me, are an invitation for trouble. What if you fail to deliver your own “created expectation” for your customer who decides to buy your product or avail your services?

White papers out there are overwhelmingly “dense”. If you have to make one, just spell out the important details and fineprint “gray areas”.

My two cents’ on white papers c”,

By: Donn LeVie

Donn LeVie — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:48:03 +0000

It’s impossible to match every reader’s needs and interests with one WP; once folks can accept that, it (hopefully) becomes more apparent that to address the needs and interests of the targeted reader, the WP then becomes a tool in a “scalable” tool box that is designed to eventually get the reader to say “yes” to your product or service. One print/radio/TV ad won’t convince anyone to buy; neither will one brochure, WP, or bounce-back card. But all of them with their varying level of detail and promotional bent when used in a strategic campaign, work together like crumbs along a path to lead people where you want them to go.

Regards,
Donn LeVie, Jr.

By: Steve Leibson

Steve Leibson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:15:41 +0000

/rant on/ “Overwhelm them with your knowledge” isn’t reader-focused writing, it’s grandstanding. If you’re writing a white paper to show off, it’s great advice. If you’re trying to perfectly match the written information with the reader’s wants and interests, then you’re missing the mark. I’ve never started to read anything with the desire to be “overwhelmed” and I’m irritated when the writer goes off on some interesting (to the writer) tangent clearly inserted to prove how knowledgeable the writer is if the diversion ultimately gets in the way of learning what I want to know. /rant off/

By: Shane

Shane — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:24:00 +0000

I guess that’s another challenge of making write paper. Make it “useful and incomplete”.

By: Roger C. Parker

Roger C. Parker — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:58:40 +0000

Dear Michael:
Another helpful and thought-provoking post–in this case, amplified by the great comments. I’m sharing it with my white paper clients. Thank you.

Best wishes–

Roger C. Parker

By: Donn LeVie

Donn LeVie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:59:59 +0000

I have white papers on one of my websites (www.goodharbormusic.com) that explain various facets of that business to potential clients. No, they don’t have ALL the details (I’m not giving away how I create my value propositions), because they don’t need to know that level of minutiae. I want the white paper to induce an interest level that encourages them to take the next step: obtain more information or become a client.

From my experience writing white papers for Motorola and Intel over the years, the white paper contains an oh-so-subtle promotional element about how some technology or product solves a problem. It can’t be overt because that can easily be seen as a blatant attempt at advertising or promotion.

Technology white papers can vary in their depth of detail, depending on how breadth of the topic, but the safest rule to follow is to provide just the level of detail to answer <> questions, but leads the reader to request additional information. White papers are a self-serving communication tool and should rarely–if ever–be written or distributed without a clearly defined purpose, such as requests for more info, a demo, or a personal contact.

By: jericho_ella

jericho_ella — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:47:10 +0000

The most important thing is simplicity and people will able to understand it on every point of view doesn’t mean needed to be detailed but anyone should understand it. Just make it simple, useful and understandable.

By: Natalie Brahan

Natalie Brahan — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:22:13 +0000

It is very important not to ovewhelm the user with tiresome details. It will be better to omit them and sumarize the key things and that’s it.

By: Toddie Downs

Toddie Downs — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:06:35 +0000

Another way to look at it is re-examine what the goals of the paper are - both overt (e.g. educate the reader) and covert (e.g. convert prospects) . Hopefully, if the writer is truly writing from an audience-centered point of view, the line between enough information and too much is easier to draw. From my experience, when I read a white paper that seems to overwhelm the reader with details, my conclusion is often that the writer’s covert goal of getting new clients/seeming like THE expert, etc. has taken precedence over giving actual value to the reader. Which obviously then defeats the purpose of either the overt or covert goal.

By: Cathy Goodwin

Cathy Goodwin — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:22:46 +0000

I’d like to see a few examples of “too much’ versus “just right” versus “too little.”