Have you ever painted anything: a door, a bedroom, a house? Did you keep track of your time? Did you notice that you spent most of your time in preparation, and that the process of applying paint actually went pretty quickly?

White papers are not much different. Organizations that have done all the prep work and established a rhythm and process for marketing content can keep white paper projects rolling without much ado.

But companies still getting their feet wet with this type of persuasive, informative content should do the prep work so that the process of writing, reviewing and approving the paper goes smoothly.

This is a series on the questions to pose and the answers to get when starting a white paper project.

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Last week a freelance writer turning her attention to the world of white papers asked:

How important are graphics and diagrams to a white paper? I’m not very good at creating these. Do you think I should check out a few online tutorials on MS Word to learn how to use all those tables and charts?

I think about this a lot. A white paper without diagrams is silly, bordering on the oppressive.

It’s like children’s literature without pictures. In fact, it is children’s literature without pictures, because you run the risk of losing your readers to the demon of the abbreviated attention span.

I suppose that a real genius could tell the entire story with diagrams and use the text as filler. Most of us are not that good, but we realize that diagrams break up the text and make it easy on the reader, and we’re all in the business of making it easy on the reader.

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Your chances of winning are VERY good.

And the grand prize is two summit tickets and a free consult with me!

Go there now and enter to win your free tickets.

If you’re pondering these questions, I strongly recommend you attend my upcoming webinar (it’s free) called 5 Ways to Grow Your Business With White Papers and the 3 Mistakes You Must Avoid coming on January 20, 2010.

I will be joined by Bob Bly (author, White Paper Marketing Handbook) as a presenter at this special free event.

By attending this online event you’ll discover how to attract quality leads and grow your business with the world’s number-one marketing tool—the white paper.

The free seats are limited, so be sure to go here and secure yours now before they’re gone by clicking here.

Hope to see you there!

Also remember, this online event happens on January 20, 2010 (and will be recorded)—but you must register in advance by going here now.

Studies show white papers remain the most effective lead generation tools, bar none. Prospects turn to white papers when making large purchasing decisions. These marketing tools are so powerful that corporations repeatedly pay up to $10,000 to professionals to craft them.

But you don’t have to spend a lot of money or hire someone else to put the power of white papers to work for you.

Here’s some repression-proven steps any business can take to attract great customers…

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Renowned among my friends and co-workers as a prodigious talker, one of the attractions of writing is that your audience doesn’t have to read what you write—there’s no, metaphorically speaking, “gun to the head”.  They can stop reading whenever they want.

In conversation, your audience may listen out of politeness or a sense of duty while thinking, “Geez this guy can really talk—how am I going to get out of this without a) hurting his feelings or b) losing his business, as the case may be.”

It is really an honor when someone actually reads something you write. Thus, I approach writing as less of a job and more of a privileged craft.

As many in my trade are now inclined to do, I have fallen back on mentally defaulting to a white paper format that is list based.  This seems to be a pervasive tendency in our culture.  But lately, I’ve become concerned about the long-term effects of this phenomenon on our trade and present these 5 Reasons to Stop Writing List Based White Papers.

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Colleague John Bromhead is fond of saying,”Marketing is the process of starting a conversation.”

David Meerman Scott is more specific:”Marketers, PR pros, advertisers, and salespeople are on the payroll for one reason: To generate attention.“

In short, we’re all trying to generate attention in order to start conversations. For a long time, we’ve assumed that the conversations would be between our prospects and us, but the big lesson of social media is that the most powerful attention and conversations take place in this “following” that we’re creating in our wake. Your white papers (and all of your content) need to fit your following.

The White Paper’s Call to Action

Do most of your marketing pieces contain a section titled, “For More Information”? Traditionally, this is where you place your call to action, the thing you want readers to do once they’ve read the paper or watched the video. But maybe you should rethink this.

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Heck, you might even be a freelance writer looking to write white papers for these non-tech spaces.  I’d like to address that here.

The question was spawned by a reader (we’ll call her Ruth S.) who wrote me and asked:

I’m a newbie white paper writer who wants to target the life sciences/biotech industry. Yes, I know there are many science writers working in this industry.

But I actually have an academic background (degrees) in this industry. I know that isn’t necessary, but I’m hoping it won’t hurt, and that it might even help.

So is there a market for biotech white papers? Do you have any contacts in the industry? Can you help me get my foot in the biotech white paper door?

Wonderful question Ruth!  Here’s my response:

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I wanted to share something with you.  There are some amazing marketing superstars coming together for this really great event that will help you grow your business.

Before I tell you about it, I want to share a story that will encourage you. (more…)

1. Don’t lead with the product pitch: In today’s economy nobody likes to be sold to.  Rather they prefer engagement.  That typically means start by building affinity with readers.  You can do this by talking about things they care about, such as problems and trends.  This draws people into your work and allows you to eventually make the pitch.

2. Avoid verbose writing: Pacify the skimmer. Use short sentences rather than long prose.  Try bolding key items and make sure your work is like butter melting on warm toast.  This takes time but ensures that the skimmer is engaged.

3. Don’t assume they’re just like you: Too often writers assume that readers understand the terms and “inside the beltway” talk that goes around.  However, there’s no bigger turn off to readers than terms and phrases that are are foreign.  Always ask yourself, “is this phrase something the reader will understand?”  If not, kill it.

What are your thoughts? What would you add? Please comment below…