Anyone who desires to market and sell a product or service needs to know how to use a white paper. A white paper is a piece of advertising copy that seeks to inform a reader about a product or service while indirectly persuading the reader to make a purchase.
A white paper offers a solution to a problem, and makes a sale by convincing the reader that your product or service is that solution. It is not a direct way of saying “Buy me!”; rather, it is a way of saying “Hey, you need something to fix this problem”, and then tying the “something” to what you are promoting.
A white paper is generally 7,500 to 10,000 words long, which translates to 8 to 12 pages in length. White papers usually follow a typical format, shown here:
- Title Page
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Key Points (typically 3-5)
- Supporting Data
- Graphs
- Charts
- Statistics
- Conclusion
What is the purpose of a white paper?
A white paper is designed to provide insight into your product or service in an informational manner. You are trying to take your product and explain how it works, but in a way that lets the product rest on the merits of what it offers and how it solves a problem. In fact, one popular white paper format is to offer a problem faced by the consumer. A white paper will explain this problem and usually provide an argument for a solution to the problem using new trends, technologies, or applications. The white paper writer then explains how the product or service is the solution to the problem.
You can see how writing white papers can introduce consumers to your brand (and even to a problem that they never knew existed!). You can also use white papers to close new business as well as to generate new leads, especially by illustrating how your product or service is superior to your competition – always a great way to attract new business and keep your current clientele informed.
What do I need before writing my white paper?
Before you begin writing white papers, you will need to define your initial goals. Make sure you have an outline that preferably follows the above white paper format. Having a well-written outline ensures that your content will be created seamlessly and reinforces the logical flow of your paper. You should then identify the key points or arguments that you will be making. It helps to frame these points in the form of questions that you will ask the reader – questions that will be answered with raw data, graphs, or charts that you have compiled.
Additionally, you'll need data that supports your positions or answers. Consumers love hard facts. If your commentary is supported by hard facts, your position will be that much stronger.
Also, be sure to have definitions of any acronyms or other bits of technical jargon. It's best to provide your audience with any and all definitions that they'll need in order to digest the information that is presented to them. It's important to keep content and explanations simple wherever possible, so that you do not lose the interest or attention of your audience.
Finally, it helps to gather real-life examples of the arguments and positions that you will be taking in your white paper. Learning how to write white papers also means knowing how to connect theoretical concepts to real-life applications for your reader.
Why are white papers important?
We could spend a few posts talking about why white papers are important, but instead we’ll hit the high points. White papers are invaluable as backup collateral for a marketing campaign for a product or service. Since they are written based on solid information, they offer great supporting evidence for what your product accomplishes. White papers are also strong tools that salespeople can leverage when trying to convert leads.
Further, white papers provide high-quality content for your website and allow you to position yourself as an expert within a specific subject area. They are typically loaded with relevant key phrases and concepts that users are searching for, which can help to effectively increase traffic to your website. Having a well-written white paper will also generate leads through linking, as industry colleagues may want to reference your paper due to its content. Plus, a white paper is a gold mine for additional content – whether you opt to use it for PowerPoint presentations, direct mail or email marketing campaigns, and blogs.
How can I use white papers as an enticement?
One of the best ways to use a white paper is to generate leads and entice consumers to your product or website. A white paper is a pretty involved piece of work, so it should provide solid value for your readers. A carefully-crafted white paper that has value can help you obtain client information. For example, you can offer a white paper for download and can request the potential client provide his or her name, telephone number, and email address. You can then take this information and use it to build up a leads database and an email marketing list. White papers can prove to be instrumental in adding to your existing leads database or in building a database for a marketing campaign.
Why white papers matter
White papers, in short, are insightful marketing tools that can effectively enhance a marketing campaign by making it authoritative, alluring, and compelling. Writing white papers can generate leads, promote your product, offer a solution to a common problem, be a resource for potential clients, act as a medium for gaining valuable contact information, enhance your credibility, and – most importantly – offer a service to a potential client.
Simply put, if you are looking for a powerful tool for growing your business and promoting your product or service, then create a well-defined white paper.
