White papers need structure, and smart marketing managers work out the structure with an outline early in the writing process.

Be sure your writer includes these elements in an outline.

How often do you get started down a path in your work, only to realize you have to backtrack and go down a different path? Is there anything more frustrating than discarding work you’ve already done and restarting it?

Suppose your marketing communications writer interviews three customers for a white paper you need, then writes up the interviews into a paper and sends you a draft. You read it and realize it’s mostly wrong.

“No!!!” you holler. “This isn’t where I want this to go. We have to tear this down and start over.”

Too soon for a white paper draft?

Here’s what can go wrong when the writer just dives in and goes straight to the draft:

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Being bombarded with marketing from all directions, people have become skeptical. They require proof that your marketing hype isn’t just that – hype. Case studies and white papers provide that extra ‘push’ customers sometimes need to make a buying decision.

So, why make it difficult for prospects to get that further bit of proof? If it means the difference between clicking, “YES! I want to buy your widget,” and walking away from your website empty-handed, does it really make sense to force someone to give up his name and email address first?

Having prospects register for content is a very common B2B practice. You are asking readers to fill out a form prior to reading a case study or a white paper. The idea is that you will increase your leads list by doing so. But forcing readers to register can backfire.

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