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National Write a White Paper Month??

By Michael Stelzner

I recently came across a rather sly press release indicating that April was “Write a White Paper Month.”

Considering how odd that was, it got my attention.

The fellow who crafted the release has a link to his website where you could download his “ThisIsNotAWhitePaper” report.

What grabbed me were these opening lines of his non-white paper:

…[this project] began as a simple Google search and series of keyword alerts over a week’s time. I wanted to compare the outside world’s perspectives with those of clients and colleagues, most of whom are small business owners in technology sectors or professional services.

The comparison validated what I assumed. There are no standards, no guidelines and no definition. A “white
paper” is as varied in format, approach and content as a jar of Jelly Bellys.

Do you agree that there are “no standards, no guidelines and no definition?”

I’d like to hear from you…

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Writing White Papers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • Michael,

    What a hoot. It actually sent me back to my own way-back file. I worked for a restaurant owner when I was in college back in the 80's. The owner decided that he would do the same for national Pizza month, which concluded with a competition and was overseen by a local radio station...which he subsequently won. It was great PR for him and raised awareness for all the pizza shops in town.

    Wether or not there are any specific documented rules, standards or guidelines for whitepapers or not, there are rule for writing and typography that are as foundational as ever.

    A concerted focus on providing valuable, actionable information that people can easily assimilate w/out too much spin or pitch seems to be the best policy in my humble opinion.

    Thanks Michael. I'm looking forward to investigating your work thoroughly!
  • I agree with both Rob and Phil on this one. And especially Rob's assessment that there is a lot of "selling abuse" out there. Anybody can fling together a short report and call it a white paper, but it's liable to fall flat if it's not properly put together, and lumping all kinds of things into the "white paper" genre muddies the water so much that our prospects don't really have a clear idea of what they are and how they can use them.

    It's almost like the age-old Madison Avenue style of advertising versus Direct Response; do I get all creative for the sake of creativeness (and throw money out the window) or do I carefully craft a message in a tried-and-true format that targets my audience more directly?

    As a writer I navigate toward the tried-and-true, and certainly you and Bob Bly have some of the best material out there on crafting well-written white papers. So yes, there are guidelines and standards... but there have always been guidelines and standards on good advertising and salesmanship, too--but they get thrown out more often than they are used.
  • The exact definition and parameters might be murky and fluid, but the attention being focused on the subject serves to illuminate the value that is to be had by creating well thought out white papers.
  • Hmmm? I guess I should not be surprised. But, I am.

    This incident highlights what is both and good and bad about the communication power of using the internet. Someone can do very limited research, write an uninformed or misinformed opinion . . . and influence many.

    My comment: You cannot believe everything you read. I believe there are some very good standards and guidelines related to the purpose, content and format of white papers. That is not the problem. The problem is that not everyone adheres to these guidelines.
  • I've seen a range of tastes, styles and formats for white papers -- all falling somewhere between "solution brief" and "white paper"... some tending more toward "special report." I have some clients that want really academic, no-selling, hands-off, just the facts papers. Others would like to frame a topic and then present their solution.

    My recommendation is to start with the problem/pain/challenge/issue and then move to a really honest discussion of options, technologies, approaches, etc. Then it's good to promote the client solution within the overall context. The key, IMHO, is to *really* flesh out the challenge section and make sure you have a reader that identifies with the issues at hand.

    So.. to answer more directly.. there are some loose standards and guidelines, and I definitely push for the ones I prefer... but, as a writer, you really need to flex to client needs/expectations while "herding" them into the traditional boundaries (strange as that sounds). A little give and take.

    <abbr>Phil Dunn's last blog post..What is the Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Your Mailbox?</abbr>
  • Joanne Levy
    In your link to the "This is not a white paper" report, you failed to mention it requires registration. I am always amazed at registration shields on material the author wants to distribute widely. There is now a lot of evidence (from David Meerman Scott and others) that having no registration produces a 20x or more increase in downloads. Wouldn't you rather have your white paper read by 200 people or by 10 (who most likely will make up the registration info anyway)?
  • Well, I there certainly are decent guidelines for white papers available, but they are ignored as often as followed. Unfortunately, many marketers and companies are anxious to paste the "white paper" label on all sorts of publications, and are especially willing (or even anxious) to use them for sales pitches. Good white papers can be extremely useful to buyer and seller, but the offenders in this area reflect a much larger and more general problem, which is the continued belief in traditional promotional tactics vs. the educational approach that is usually necessary for the complex sale (i.e., the type that call for white papers!).

    <abbr>Rob Leavitt's last blog post..What kind of blogger are you? Typealyzer nails me in a nanosecond</abbr>
  • Based on the white papers I have read, there is a lot of variation in the structure. Your book is my favorite resource for writing an engaging, structured white paper.

    <abbr>Tiffany Derville Gallicano's last blog post..Where to Go in Portland, Ore.? Check With the “Twisitor Center”</abbr>
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