For one, white papers are significantly longer. The average white paper falls between 11-15 pages of relevant content. Case studies are written around your company and what you did, where as white papers are written for another persons company as a persuasive article.
White Papers are persuasive documents that describe a problem specific to a group of people or type of company and solves them.
They provide value to the customer reading. And in turn, the client grants you time, respect and loyalty and hopefully their business.
White Papers are read more often then:
- Case Studies;
- Articles;
- Product Literature;
- Company Websites;
- Webcasts;
- Postcasts; and,
- Blogs.
There are two types of White Papers, Business and Technical:
Business white papers tend to be targeted at the companies decision makers. The writings discuss business advantages and are either educational or persuasive. These types of White Papers are very effective for generating leads.
Technical white papers are targeted at the engineer or influencers in a company. They are longer and discuss how things work. These types of white papers are very descriptive and are mainly used in the sales process later to close a deal.
There are two ways to write a white paper:
- Self interest-focused, this approach focuses on a product, service or solution, by describing the benefits, features and problems.
- Reader-focused, are focused on the problems associated to the reader and where those problems stem from.
- People problems- affect individuals or groups
- Process problems- issues from poor practices
- Quality problems- stem from poor functions
- Absent problems- something is missing or needed
What to expect from the first first page?
- Identify the reader
- Summarize the challenge
- Summarize the solution
- State the goal of the paper
What should you avoid on the first page?
- Detailed explanation of the solution
- Discussing features
- Your company
- How the solution will work
- Humor (White Papers tend not to be funny)
The title of the white paper should be a promise of what's to come. It ultimately addresses the question of "Why should I read this?"
The title should be interesting and eye catching, this is your first impression. To do this make your title short and explain the white paper by using a longer more descriptive sub-title.
3-30-3 Rule:
The general rule of thumb for a website, is that you have 8 seconds to grab there attention and give them what they want. However, in white papers you have 3 seconds to capture there attention, 30 seconds to gain their interest and 3 minutes for them to skim your content.
Stay tuned for "Major Marketing Mistakes made with White Papers" and "How to gather information from the client for giving them free white papers."
