So you’ve drafted a great 10 page white paper. Problem is, no matter how compelling the content, the paper is worthless if your target audience won’t take the time to read it. So the question becomes, how do you convince a busy executive to sit down and read your white paper?
Think about how you read a newspaper. If you’re like most, you start by looking at the pictures. From there, you skim the headlines and if a headline is engaging enough, you may actually read the story. You may “read” an entire paper and get your fill of the news without actually reading a story. If the headlines and graphics are informative enough, you can often get a sense of what is going on in the world without reading in depth.
Newspaper editors understand this and design newspapers to match reader habits. Papers such as USA Today are designed for the quick read with colorful charts and catchy, informative headlines. Likewise, the Sunday New York Times is geared to a closer reading with more compelling headlines and in depth stories aimed to fill a reader’s lazy Sunday afternoon.
Like newspapers, your white paper should be written for both quick reading and close reading. Upon receiving your white paper, chances are, readers will skim the paper and if the information is compelling enough, they will engage in a closer reading of the paper. The key is to be sure the paper appeals to both types of reading.
Consider the following when preparing your paper for the quick read:
Cover: Although a cover created by your top graphic designer may look nice, it’s not always the best thing for a white paper. Odds are you’ll be distributing your white paper as a pdf file which means that readers will most likely skim the paper while looking at a computer screen. In this case, a cover page can actually get in the way. Especially if the reader is viewing your paper on a small screen and needs to scroll down the document just to see the graphic.
Add introductory pages for copyrights, company info or even a table of contents and it gets worse. The more pages readers need to scroll through to get to the content, the better the odds of losing them.
However, hit them with powerful content they moment the open the paper and you greatly increase the odds of reading.
Executive Summary: There’s an ongoing debate among white paper experts as to the value of an executive summary or a brief overview at the beginning of the white paper. Those in support of an executive summary claim they provide a vital overview that encourages busy executives to read deeper into the paper. Those opposed to them say they get in the way in the same way a cover does and gives away the meat of the paper discouraging the reader from the close read.
Regardless, if you decide to use an executive summary, make sure it is concise and gives the reader a solid reason to go deeper into the document.
Headlines and subheads: Heads and subheads act as signposts for your paper. They also break longer blocks of text into more manageable content. During a quick read, readers will scan the information in the heads and subheads in order to make a decision to read deeper. Be sure that the heads guide the reader and provide information as to what lies within the paper. Headlines need to be compelling enough to catch their attention and make the reader want more.
It is also important to make the headlines stand out. Use a font that compliments the text yet clearly identifies the text as a headline.
Pull Quotes: Pull quotes are an excellent way to draw readers to important information in the text. Find the takeaway line on each page and make it stand out. Be selective when choosing pull quotes. These are the lines that will stand out and the first text the reader will see. Make sure they provide powerful information that appeals to both the quick reader and the close reader.
Pull quotes also provide an opportunity to reinforce key points you want the reader to remember when reading the paper.
Graphics Selective use of graphics are a key element of any good white paper. Graphics can illustrate key points, provide a visual interpretation of data and break up text intensive documents. They are also one of the first things the reader will see on the page. Just like the pull quotes, use graphics to reinforce key information in the white paper. Graphs, flow charts, photos can all be used to convey information that would be much harder to convey with straight text.
Be sure graphics provide a nice balance to the text. Too many graphics or inappropriate graphics and you risk credibility. Not enough and the paper can come across as dry or boring. It is also important to consider the flow of text when placing graphics. Don’t allow graphics to break the natural flow of the page as they can distract the reader and prevent them from finishing the document.
Remember that the ultimate goal is to get your target reader to read the entire white paper. By hitting your readers hot buttons on the quick read, you can greatly increase the odds that they will take the time to read the entire document.
This is the eighth post in a 10-post series on creating better white papers. Click here to read here to read the series from the beginning.. Be sure to check back in the coming days for more tips on the process of creating powerful white papers. Click here to subscribe to the RSS feed today.
Want to learn more about the power of marketing with white papers? Read my special report, “Utilizing White Papers to Generate Leads and Establish Industry Prominence.” or contact me today at jalodico@whitepapersolution.com.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I favor a Summary at the beginning of the paper, but I’ve stopped calling it “Executive Summary.” Just seemed silly, the more I looked at it.
I think the summary or abstract partially depends on the paper and how it will be used. Considerations such as target audience, distribution methods can all come into play.
At this point, I prefer to explain the pros and cons to the client and work together to determine a solution that works best for their specific situation.
They key thing is that if you do use an executive summary/abstract, it needs to be direct, to the point and most important of all, engaging. The last thing you want the reader to do is read the summary and stop.