I have to share story with you. It’s one of the most bizarre things that’s ever happened in my freelance writing career—and it happened to me just recently.

Now before I share this story with you, I want you to know that I thought I had pretty much seen it all… I work with some of the largest companies in the world (and some of the smallest) and have seen the many hoops they make us freelancers jump through. But I’ve never experienced about to share with you…
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The interview process in writing white papers has some interesting parallels in newspaper journalism—beginning with the all-important needs assessment. So I think it helps to go back to newspaper basics when conducting that first call.

Just the facts, M’am…

When writing for a newspaper, you learn to keep articles short and stick to the “Five W’s,” who, what, why, where, and when. Bare bones—that’s it. Editors have only just so much space in which to cram those pesky words, so journalists learn quickly to keep interview questions to the point. But that can be easier said than done, both in journalism and writing white papers.

When interviewing several people at once for a white paper needs assessment, for instance, sticking to “just the facts” can become quite a challenge—especially when the project stakeholders are excited about their “story.”

That’s why it’s really important to stick to your outline when conducting that first interview and take charge of the process.

What does “taking charge of the process” mean?
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Are you a blogger or thinking of becoming one? Perhaps some of these questions are on your mind: ‘Is it too late to blog?’ ‘What should I write about?’ ‘How do I find time?’

In this interview with Denise Wakeman of the Blog Squad, we address these very questions head-on.

What are your thoughts on blogging?

One of the primary maxims of writing sales copy is: “Know Your Customer.” However, that particular pearl of wisdom sometimes gets ignored in white papers. Why?

We’re taught to “Talk Sideways”

When I took a speech class in college, one of the tips the instructor gave for handling stage fright was to look over the heads of my audience and avoid direct eye contact. Have you ever heard that one? Or how about visualizing your audience naked?

While these “talking sideways” tactics may help temporarily reduced sweaty palms in public speaking, they didn’t help me “connect” with my audience, which I later learned was much more important, both in public speaking and writing persuasive copy. Talking directly “to” your audience—making that eye contact—is what gets the best audience response.

Here’s a little nugget of wisdom I learned in copywriting that may help you make better connection with your readers:
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Does it ever makes sense to give away your secrets in a white paper?

This is a question that I hear a lot—and it might be one that you’re pondering. When does it make sense to share the very secrets that make you great?

This is the essence of a question I received over email from Andy Marker.

He wrote:

I feel I’m dumping all my experience and thoughts about what I have done onto a piece of paper and this is theoretically quite valuable, personally if not to others.

I can’t really see the value in writing this up and then distributing to various people who basically can just say ‘thanks’ and build a program structured off of what I have written–not needing me anymore.

With this in mind, is it wise to create a document that includes the 1st page and then the table of contents with a note that basically says –’Hire me and I’ll let you read this…’?”

Andy, here’s my answer:

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Does it ever make sense to write a white paper in the first person?

This whole social media craze has me wondering.

In the normal trails of life, we actually talk in first person. And on social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook, it makes a lot of sense to to speak in first person.

But what about with a white paper (or even a case study)?

I’d like to have an open “first person” discussion on this one. What say you?