Providing White Papers, Information Marketing and Powerful Copywriting

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.

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One of the most important yet most often overlooked elements of any white paper is the call to action. No matter how exciting the information, no matter how important, if you don’t direct the reader to take the next step, your white paper will not perform to its fullest potential.

Tell the reader exactly what you want them to do, give them an offer they can’t refuse and you greatly increase the odds of meeting your white paper objectives.

Get them while they’re hot
If you’ve built trust with your reader by providing solid, helpful information, the last thing you want them to do when they have finished reading is to put the paper down. If you’ve sold the reader on the proposed solution, now is the time to act. Don’t leave your reader with a sense of, “That was interesting, what do I do know?” Tell them what to do.

“About Our Company” is not a call to action
It is amazing how many white papers end with a paragraph describing the company who created the white paper. Granted your reader even bothers to look at it, these short bios do very little for the reader. It doesn’t help them in any way. Your reader doesn’t really care how many years you’ve been in business or how many clients you have. They want to know how you can help them. Guide them in the process.

Offer to help
Hopefully, by the end of your paper, you’ve shown the readers a viable solution to their problem. Now offer to help. Provide a free analysis. Let them test your service with a free trial. Whatever you do, be sure that the offer is strong enough that readers can’t help but take the next step in the process.

Make it Stand Out
Don’t bury your call to action in the text. Make it stand out. Give it a bold headline – maybe in a different color. Box it so that it pops out from the text. The call to action is one of the most important elements of your paper. Make it obvious to both the reader and skimmer alike.

The success or failure of a white paper often hinges on the call to action. And while overt sales pitches are generally rejected in white papers, this is the one place where you can guide the reader directly to your product or services.

This is the seventh post in a 10-post series on creating better white papers. Click here to read day 6Click here to read day 5.Click here to read Day 4, here to read Day 3, here to read Day 2 and here to read Day 1. 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.”

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For the writer facing deadline, there is nothing as intimidating as a blank page (or computer screen) screaming for words. At the same time, that blank page offers a world of potential just waiting to be developed. Now its time to turn this potential into a powerful, compelling finished piece.

At this point in the process, if you’ve properly prepared you should have an approved outline in hand. The outline is the culmination of your research and  prewriting and is actually a first draft. Now it’s just a matter of developing the abbreviated form of the outline. With a solid outline, the paper often writes itself and the process is just a matter of writing it in paragraph form.

Sounds easy enough doesn’t it? No question planning helps but here’s a few tips to keep in mind as you write:

Keep it tight and to the point:
It is amazing how many potentially powerful white papers suffer from verbose, wordy and overcomplicated copy. If you force the reader to dig to find the message, they won’t. No matter how complex, make it easy to read. Cut out the extra words and if it isn’t needed to convey the message, get rid of it.

Short Paragraphs and Subheads
Shorter paragraphs topically grouped by subhead make the paper much easier to read. While it’s true that many will print your white papers, readers will usually skim first, usually on a computer, before making the decision to read further. Keep this in mind as you write the paper. Look for natural breaks and write informative subheads that encourage an in-depth reading.

Target Audience, Target Audience, Target Audience:

If you’ve been following this series from the beginning, you’ve already clearly defined your target audience. What are their hot buttons? How are you going to solve their problems? Are they familiar with the technology at hand or do you need to educate?

Keep them in mind with every word you write. If the paper doesn’t speak to them, they won’t read it. If they won’t read it, the paper will fail.

Keep it Objective:
Good white papers build trust with their readers by providing useful, objective information. If your product truly solves the readers’ problem, you don’t need to skew the information. Show them how.

If the white paper reads like a sales brochure, readers will read it like a sales brochure. Once the reader switches from learning mode to customer mode, the filters drop into place and the white paper will  lose it’s power.

No Time for Humor
While we all enjoy a good laugh, humor just doesn’t fit the white paper format. A serious tone conveys a serious topic. Humor will only distract from the issue at hand and can ultimately result in a loss of credibility.

Revise as Needed
Revision is part of the writing process. Don’t ever become so attached to your writing that you can’t go back and make drastic changes. However, if you’ve used the outline process described in this series, the major revisions should be out of the way.

Once you’ve written your draft, it is also good to put the paper aside for a day or two. It is much easier to identify problems with fresh eyes. The immediate sense of completion can cause an attachment to the writing that can stand in the way of good revision.

This is the sixth post in a 10-post series on creating better white papers. Click here to read day 5.Click here to read Day 4, here to read Day 3, here to read Day 2 and here to read Day 1. 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.”

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So you’ve completed the research and now you’re staring down the barrel of a big blank computer screen. Before putting fingers to keyboard, step back a moment and do a little planning or “prewriting.” Prewriting forces you to organize your thoughts resulting in a much more efficient writing process. If your project requires the approval of others (ie. clients, colleagues, content experts), you can greatly minimize revisions and rewrites by including the appropriate parties in the prewriting process.

Mind Mapping
While prewriting can take any of a number of forms, I prefer to start by brainstorming a web or “mind map” which I then turn into an outline. Mind mapping is a great way to quickly formulate ideas and information. The process creates a natural hierarchical structure which can then be easily translated into an outline. Some programs will even turn your completed mind map or web into an outline with the click of a button.

There are a number of great mind-mapping programs available. Bubble.us and Freemind are free programs which allow for collaborative mind mapping. Bubble.us is fairly simple and easy to use and offers a nice graphical interface. However, the last time I used it, Bubble.us did not offer an outline function. Freemind is a little more complex but I haven’t used it enough to test its outlining abilities.

Personally, I use Inspiration. Although originally designed for education, the program offers a number of business applications and is available for a free 30 day trial.

Once you’ve got a formal outline, writing your white paper is really just a matter of writing out the outline in paragraph form.

Sample MindMap created with FreeMind

Don’t draft, outline
Once you’ve created an outline, use the outline to work out any kinks in the paper. Present the outline to the appropriate parties for review and revision. It is much easier to make a major change in direction during the outline stage then it is once you’ve drafted the paper. You are not only saving yourself time in the writing process, you are also saving others time as it is much quicker to scan an outline then it is to read a completed draft.

Once all parties agree on a finalized outline, you can move forward with actual writing comfortable in the fact that there should be no major surprises or rewrites once you’ve drafted the paper.

This is the fifth post in a 10-post series on creating better white papers. Click here to read Day 4, here to read Day 3, here to read Day 2 and here to read Day 1. 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.”

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As a white paper specialist, I am often contacted by clients who have a white paper written but for some reason, it isn’t effective. I usually don’t need to read much more then the first page when the question arises, “Who is this paper written for?”

If your paper doesn’t connect with the reader in the first paragraph, the reader isn’t going to read much further and the white paper fails.

This is especially problematic in highly technical papers. The paper gets tangled in the details of the process and quickly becomes hard to read or just plain boring. Although I’m not the first to say it, always remember that it’s about benefits, not bits.

With that in mind, it is crucial in to clearly identify your target audience in the early stages of any copy driven project.

Identifying your target audience

One of the first questions to ask in the white paper process is, “Who do you want to read this paper?” That one question will ultimately drive the content of your project. If you can’t clearly identify this person from the outset, it will be difficult to make the connection needed for a successful white paper.

Consider the following when identifying your target audience:

• What is his/her role or title in the company?
• Does he/she work for a large or small company?
• What is his/her training? Does he/she have a technical background?
• What are his/her biggest concerns or problems?
• How does your product solve these problems?
• Will he/she be making the purchasing decision or will he/she be advising someone else?
• Where is he/she in the buying process (casual reader, actively researching, making final decision?)
• Is he/she very busy or overwhelmed? How will you get him/her to take time to read your paper?

While this is just a start, by answering these questions early in the process of developing your white paper, you can develop a plan to connect with the reader in the first paragraph. Failure to do so and the reader stop reading and move on.

You may want to narrow these questions even further depending on your product or the problem you solve.

Once you’ve clearly identified your target audience, the language, tone and information presented in your paper will become obvious. However, leave out this crucial step and your white paper will fly right past them and fail to meet the intended objectives.

This is the third post in a 10-post series on creating better white papers. Click here to read Day 2 and here to read Day 1. 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.”

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In day one, we talked about clearly defining the objectives of your white paper. Once you’ve established clear goals and objectives for your white paper, the next step is to narrow and refine your topic.

Choosing the topic

The decision to create a white paper often stems from specific features of a product or service. These features may separate an organization from the competition or the power of these features are not fully understood in the marketplace. Whatever the situation, there is a need to educate or inform potential buyers on the benefits of these features.

It is at this point that many white papers go astray. The desire to discuss product features overwhelms the need to educate and inform and as a result, the white paper reads like a sales brochure. The reader quickly switches from student/learning mode to customer mode and responds with a certain level of skepticism (even if subconscious) as they read.

Good white papers work because they build trust with the reader. Talk about the product too soon and you lose that trust.

Solve a Problem

Successful white papers help the reader solve a problem. They work because they demonstrate a viable solution. The fact that your product meets the demands of the proposed solution is secondary to solving the problem at hand. When choosing a topic for your white paper look at how the product solves your client’s problem. Focus on the process as opposed to the product.

For example, I recently worked with a client who sells high-end printers. At this level, the standard printer uses six inks and prints to a flexible medium such as paper, plastic, whatever. In order to create display graphics, once the print is made, a second process is needed to affix the print to the final medium (foam, wood, or other materials) as needed for the display. However, my client’s printer has the ability to print directly to the medium eliminating a crucial, labor intensive step in the process.

Instead of focusing on the features of the printer, the white paper focuses on the benefits of printing directly to medium. The paper demonstrates reduction in costs and increase in productivity that results from eliminating a step in the traditional process. The white paper doesn’t even mention my client’s printer — at least not until the very end of the paper. Instead, it sells the reader on the process which ultimately will save the client time, money and possibly open new business opportunities.

My client’s advantage is that they are one of the few out there with a printer of this sort. By selling potential clients on the process, they have eliminated the majority of the competition. After reading the white paper, the client can visualize a solution and my client’s printer provides that solution.

Keep it Simple

Try to cover too much and you’ll lose the reader. It is much better to develop one key point then to confuse or overwhelm the reader. Stick to the process which solves the problem at hand. Other features can be worked in as added benefits to the process.

Returning to my above example, unlike competitors’ products, my client’s printer uses four inks as opposed to six. This provides a number of benefits as there is less waste and saves money. However, going into a discussion on the benefits of four-ink printing would distract from the main point of the paper. There are two ways to deal with this situation. The first would be to suggest that in looking for a printer which prints directly to medium, the reader consider also switching to four-ink printing. The second would be to create a separate white paper discussing the process and benefits of four-ink printing.

Remember Your Objectives

Finally, in narrowing your topic, be sure to remember the goals and objectives you defined in Day 1. As the paper moves forward and research is completed, you may find that your original topic or objectives need to be adjusted or refined. That’s o.k. They’re not set in stone. However, the original objectives should act as a guide when narrowing and honing in on the white paper topic.

This is the second in a 10-post series on creating better white papers. You can read Day 1 by clicking here or click here to read Day 3. 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.”