White Paper Pundit

FEATURED FREE WHITE PAPER OF THE WEEK:

(Click to Download)

Title: “A Better Deal for Consumers”

Publication Date: July 2009

Sponsor: HM Government (UK)

Author’s Description: “A Better Deal for Consumers” is a project by the UK Government to provide help to people in financial difficulties, and describe the longer term measures that are planned to bolster consumer confidence. The white paper sets a new approach to consumer credit that learns the lessons from recent events and aims to help consumers make better borrowing decisions. UK Government consumer policy will be active in identifying and dealing with new consumer markets; proportionate in its approach to business regulation and concentrate resources on rooting out the minority of rogue businesses. The proposals and actions in this White Paper will form the basis of a consumer policy that is able to adapt to change and help all consumers make informed and responsible choices.

Blogger’s Note: When one thinks of a government white paper, the imagery of unformatted single-font black text on stark white papers comes to mind. With this white paper, the UK Government, (the original developers of the white paper back in 1922) shows how dramatically they have evolved the medium over the past 87 years. Since this white paper deals with a consumer topic, the UK Government has made this white paper very ‘consumer friendly’ incorporating photos, graphics, shaded text boxes, and tables to highlight key points. While its size is overwhelmingly large for a typical U.S. white paper (over 100 pages), nonetheless, it contains important formatting elements that effectively grab reader attention and provide white paper marketers with valuable lessons they can adopt for their own white paper marketing projects.

Download Link URL: http://bit.ly/mb3T6

Website URL: http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/consumer-white-paper/index.html

Interested in featuring your free white paper on the Friday Free White Paper List? Click Here for more information!

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Welcome to the Friday FREE White Paper List!

This list is a summary of the free white papers that have been posted during the past week on Twitter. Each white paper listed below is completely FREE and does not require either email registration or any other personal information. This is a great way to review several white paper examples and learn new techniques from hundreds of white paper marketers. Just click on the Shortened URL link next to the file name and download. Enjoy!

1. One Click Ownage http://bit.ly/nBcRf

2. Gov’t White Paper: The challenges and opportunities facing clean-technology companies http://bit.ly/AdeTf

3. The new strategic marketing battleground: Corporate Social Responsibility http://bit.ly/B9Yu8

4. Using Your Digital Portfolio of Assets As a Business Building Platform http://bit.ly/SW7Ex

5. Breaking Down Barriers to a Perfect Recruiting Ecosystem http://bit.ly/4g7rF

6. Compliance and Representation: Recruiting a Rich Mix of People Delivers High Performance http://tr.im/qDEl

7. UK White Paper: A Better Deal for Consumers: Delivering Real Help Now and Change for the Future http://bit.ly/mb3T6

8. Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On http://bit.ly/RtIM5

9. Accenture White Paper: Web 2.0 and the Next Generation of Public Service http://is.gd/1kKO

10. Software and Systems Dev. with the IBM Measured Capability Improvement Framework. http://bit.ly/zcoYY

11. How to Create an On-Demand Webinar Program: http://budurl.com/56c2

12. The Social Media Process v. 1.0 http://tr.im/smprocess

13. Dry Separations for the Processing Industry. http://bit.ly/qDC3J

14. Informal learning: Extending the impact of enterprise ideas and information http://bit.ly/v9rrj

15. Microfinance in Nigeria http://bit.ly/Uj41q

16. Dramatically Improving Information Management during Transportation Emergency Operations http://bit.ly/2q3Axt

17. The Metadata is the Interface: Better Discovery of Archives and Special Collections: http://bit.ly/8V6JG

18. A Marketers Guide to Building Effective Marcom Strategies in Bleak Times http://tinyurl.com/n3y6sh

19. Microfinance Institutions in Nigeria: Policy, Practice and Potentials http://bit.ly/Uj41q

20. Mobile Widgets http://bit.ly/XXYxf

21. The Future of Digital Relationship Marketing in Pharmaceuticals http://bit.ly/T0EAS

22. Knowledge Management: More Than the Sum of Its Parts I http://bit.ly/gp66l

23. DMZ Virtualization Using VMware vSphere 4 and the Cisco Nexus Virtual Switch http://tinyurl.com/mdzhnh

24. Think: Act Study ChinesE Consumer REPORT 2009 http://bit.ly/2UayE

25. Taking control of Carbon: Comfortable at home, kinder to the environment http://bit.ly/14UBCn

26. Your child, your schools, our future: Building a 21st century schools system http://bit.ly/4zSpEd

27. LESSONS FROM LEADERS: Building Your Personal Leadership Brand http://bit.ly/cQDqT

28. Bed Bug Research Uncovers New Applications for Old Pesticides http://bit.ly/hf5VL

29. HP White Paper: “Technology and Architecture of HP ProLiant 300-series G6 servers” http://tinyurl.com/ProLiant

30. Bycatch in the World’s Tuna Fisheries: The State of Measured Data, Programs and a Proposal http://bit.ly/17F2vl

31. Keyword searches and labeling: The relevance of it all http://bit.ly/13mRYP

32. Women and ICT: Why are girls still not attracted to ICT studies and careers? http://tinyurl.com/mkj5vl

33. Comparing the Power Utilization of Native and Virtual Exchange Environments http://bit.ly/bTKky

34. Simulation-Driven Product Development: Will Form Finally Follow Function? http://bit.ly/Qb6bs

35. Collaborative 3D Virtual Environments & Advanced Classroom Visibility http://bit.ly/A6uJK

36. Bycatch in the World’s Tuna Fisheries: An Overview of the Data, Programs and a Proposal http://bit.ly/TqPbY

37. Atheros eXtended Range XR Technology: Going the Distance http://bit.ly/qM0ko

39. A trend bigger than Twitter: A quick look at rural to urban migration in China http://tinyurl.com/n7d57v

40. Maximizing Apartment Marketing Return on Investment: http://tinyurl.com/makyje

41. The Litigation Support Marketplace – An Analytical Framework http://tinyurl.com/nxb686

As part of her monthly columns on white paper effectiveness via the Connect the Dots blog, Ambal Balakrishnan asks leading white paper experts to provide their recommendations for creating an effective ‘Call to Action’ in a white paper. As part of my answer, here is some additional information on how a multi-faceted Concluding Summary can be used to generate an effective call to action statement.

The Concluding Summary is often thought of as a quick ending to a white paper. In most cases, Concluding Summaries contain one or two paragraphs that briefly summarize some basic points previously mentioned in the main white paper content.

Your Concluding Summary should be more than a simple ending to the white paper. Instead, it should be considered as one of the most important opportunities to deliver essential solution-oriented information to a target audience.

The importance of this section has a lot to do with the “skim reader“, someone that quickly flips through the white paper pages upon their initial exposure to the document. Since the final page is a natural stopping point for this reader, the information contained within the Concluding Summary is more closely reviewed than with other white paper pages. Also, since the Concluding Summary is often read first as well as last, it presents an unique opportunity to deliver key solution messages to both the skim reader and the traditional white paper reader.

The best way to draw both readers into your white paper is to apply four key elements to your Concluding Summary. These are:

1. Walk-Away Messages are the most important problem and/or solution messages presented in the white paper that you want your reader to ‘walk away’ with and remember after they finish reading it. By repeating these key messages in the Concluding Summary, you can maximize the opportunity for the reader to associate the solution with your brand/company.

2. Callout / Pull Quote – Pick the single most important ‘walk away’ message to highlight as your callout or pull quote. Since this text is often larger than the body copy, it will often be read first when the skim reader lands on this final page.

3. Elevator Pitch Points represents the three or four bottom-line business advantages that have been distilled from your white paper content. These points are expressed as a function of money (profit/ROI/cost savings), resources (labor, utilization, effectiveness), or time (savings, market readiness, deadline attainment). The term ‘elevator pitch’ is explained in this previous blog post.

4. A Call-to-Action Statement is the final item on your Concluding Summary page which directs the reader to additional sources of information such as the company phone number, website URL, email address, P.O. box address, or customer support contact. A variety of resources should be listed to make it as easy as possible for the reader to contact the white paper sponsor.

For the ’skim reader’, the addition of a ‘Call to Action’ statement at the end of these concluding summary points acts as an effective close to the sale. For the traditional reader that has read the entire white paper, it creates a greater incentive to take the next step and make contact.

Therefore, tailoring the Concluding Summary content for both the initial ’skim reader’ as well as the ‘traditional reader’ can dramatically increase the chances of turning either into a warm lead for the white paper sponsor.

Now that you’ve spent your hard earned time and money to produce a white paper, what are you going to do to get it in the hands of the people that need to read it?

Half the battle in getting your white paper read by a wider audience has more to do with making some simple changes that increase its exposure with that target audience. Here is a list of ten things you can do that will result in a greater number of downloads and increase its potential for greater lead generation:

1. Title It – Create a catchy title that generates interest and curiosity. Titles such as “Four Things you Need to Know About_______”, or “Three Things You Didn’t Know About _________” are much more compelling than “__________ Best Practices“.

2. Cover It – Even if you may have an all text white paper, create a professionally designed cover for your document. It will engage your reader and create an incentive to review it. By adding other visual elements such as pull quotes, bullets, and shaded text boxes you can increase the chances that a greater portion of the document will be read.

3. Picture It – Create a small icon of your white paper cover to reference the document on your website (like the one to the right). It will make the document easier to find rather than a simple text hyper-link.

4. Twitter It - Twitter is a great way to get the word out on your white paper. See my previous post on how to tailor your Twitter message to maximize its description within 120 characters (not 140).

5. Sign It – Most business executives and B2B marketers send out thousands of emails and correspondence every day. Add your white paper as a hyper-linked item below your email signature. Over the course of a few months, a significant number of people will either download it, read it, or forward it to someone else they may know that has interest in the topic.

6. Link It – When you add a hyper-link to your white paper using Twitter or other social media sites, make sure it directly references the URL location for the PDF. Don’t link a landing page, home page, or library page that forces your reader to hunt for the link. Each additional page that you add to the process will decrease the chances that your reader WILL download or read that white paper.

7. Describe It – If you have a white paper library site that lists multiple white papers, add a brief two or three line description along with the title. This ensures your reader will have a better understanding of the content and if it meets their business needs. Don’t force them to download and read several pages before they realize it doesn’t meet their original expectations.

8. Label It – Visitors to your website gravitate to the most current white papers. Add the date the white paper was added to your website, and use a bright, visible label “NEW” when you post your most recent white papers so your reader will see it as soon as they land on your library page.

9. Reference It – Get others in your industry to discuss, reference, hyper-link, and forward your white paper. Sources such as Twitter, LinkedIn, industry forums, news sources, and wikis are great ways to increase exposure and the number of downloads.

10. Freely Distribute It – As mentioned previously on this blog, give your white paper away for free without registration requirements. While the general tendency is to leverage a white paper into email leads, you’ll get a significantly wider reading audience (and the potential for a higher number of leads) by giving it away without a registration requirement.

FEATURED FREE WHITE PAPER OF THE WEEK:

(Click to Download)

Title: “Social Computing in the Enterprise”

Publication Date: June 2009

Sponsor: Microsoft Corporation

Author’s Description: This white paper presents a strategic business vision around social computing in the enterprise environment. For additional information on specific product capabilities and business scenarios, see “Get the Most Value from Social Computing” and other resources at sharepoint.microsoft.com/social.

Blogger’s Note: This is a great example of an enterprise white paper that uses a “clean” professional design to address the issue of social media in the enterprise. The white paper uses several unique design elements to enhance message delivery including: shaded text boxes, stylized text callouts, professional images, and simple 3-D business charts to educate their target audience.

Download Link URL: http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/social/Resources/Pages/downloads.aspx

Website URL: http://www.microsoft.com/

Interested in featuring your free white paper on the Friday Free White Paper List? Click Here for more information!

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Welcome to the Friday FREE White Paper List!

This list is a summary of the free white papers that have been posted during the past week on Twitter. Each white paper listed below is completely FREE and does not require registration or personal information. This is a great way to review several white paper examples and learn new techniques from hundreds of white paper marketers. Just click on the URL link and download. Enjoy!

Also, join the FREE White Paper List Discussion on Facebook and comment on your favorite white paper.

1. How to Moderate Teens and Tweens. http://bit.ly/jMrqb

2. The Hollow American Economy – A Clarion Call for Leadership http://bit.ly/Ufs9o

3. Learning Governance: Cut Training Costs without Crippling Learning & Dev. Efforts http://bit.ly/TVd4c

4. Resilient Flooring & Chemical Hazards http://ping.fm/R9rsl

5. Seven Magic Questions: How to Improve Your Win Ratio by Selling Value Instead of Price http://tinyurl.com/npnxal

6. Above the Clouds: A Berkeley View of Cloud Computing http://bit.ly/FrKLD

7. A NEW FOUNDATION FOR FINANCIAL REGULATION? http://tinyurl.com/klj2au

8. Why Face to Face Business Meetings Matter. http://twurl.nl/w38xbc

9. Secure Passage through a World of Technological Threats http://tinyurl.com/l9dhax

10. 7 barriers to Success with SharePoint http://bit.ly/9eA71

11. THE RECESSION, PRACTICAL LEGAL EDUCATION, AND THE NEW JOBMARKET http://bit.ly/rEo9f

12. Toward the Efficient Medical Practice http://bit.ly/gEw7y

13. Three Primary Data Mgmt. Systems Within Associations and How They Are Related http://bit.ly/PfaZ0

14. Citrix White Paper: Technical and commercial comparison of Citrix XenServer and VMware http://tinyurl.com/nspaqa

15. Telemarketing: Stop throwing mud at the wall: http://bit.ly/1ebYEO

16. Making Social Media a Capability – Not a Campaign http://bit.ly/tk1LC

17. Making Sense of Search Positions http://bit.ly/162RxF

18. Getting the Organization to Adopt E-Learning: From Challenge to Change http://tiny.cc/8DM5O

19. Ways to Reduce Costs of Your Industrial Vehicle Fleet http://bit.ly/LQ9Wx

20. Rapid Addition with Microsoft .NET 3.5 Framework™ for FIX and FAST processing http://bit.ly/tmGKz

21. Comparing E-minis and ETFs http://bit.ly/rzise

22. Breaking Down Barriers to a Perfect Recruiting Ecosystem http://bit.ly/w1rCd

23. TOP 10 REASONS TO VIRTUALIZE YOUR BUSINESS-CRITICAL DATABASES http://ow.ly/fD8R

24. A Guide to Database Subsetting http://bit.ly/oSDiH

25. A short guide to Scrambling, Masking and Obfuscating Production Data http://bit.ly/AgAI0

26. CFO Fiduciary Responsibilities and Incentive Compensation http://bit.ly/NkuwU

27. Best Practices for Legal Hold Processes http://bit.ly/j8q7t

28. “Leveraging BIM For Energy Efficiency” http://bit.ly/1wlRj

29. Apple White Paper: Integrating Mac Systems into a Medical IT Infrastructure: http://tinyurl.com/nej4p5

30. Microsoft White Paper: Social Computing in the Enterprise http://bit.ly/hM9DV

31. ARM Yourself to Increase Enterprise WLAN Data Capacity.http://bit.ly/wFj9n

32. Healthcare Payment Reform: A Call to Action http://bit.ly/gZrmE

33. WiFi Marketing: http://ping.fm/ULfxG

34. Data Warehouse Governance http://bit.ly/11Jj08

35. An Overview of Identity Based Encryption http://tinyurl.com/neduse

36. Making Sense of IWOM: The Role of Internet Word of Mouth in Purchase Decisions. http://bit.ly/Hcmq6

37. Newton’s Third Law and the White Paper http://bit.ly/pTqNf

38. Achieving High Performance through Demand-driven Operations http://bit.ly/DXYeC

39. Industry Eye Issues Factory http://bit.ly/XmW4w

40. Sage Construction and Real Estate Solutions http://bit.ly/FOlIA

Which was your favorite white paper, and why? Join the FREE White Paper List Discussion on Facebook and add your comments.

According to the Marketing Interactions blog, a new study from Eccolo Media has been released that once again confirms the important role that white papers play in assisting tech buyers to make purchase decisions. The study also provides white paper marketers with several tips on how to make their white papers more effective with this audience.

The participants in the study consisted of: 67% decision makers, 33% influencers – all from U.S. companies. Participants were also asked if “the collateral was viewed, listened to or read in the six months prior to a technology purchase.”

5 types of content were included in the survey:

1. white papers
2. case studies / success stories
3. podcasts / audio files
4. video
5. product brochures / data sheets

The survey findings included:

• white papers were thought extremely or very influential by 44%
• brochures were the least influential at 33%
• 48% responded that case studies were very or extremely influential
• videos only hit 39%, but it’s interesting to note that studio quality was considered important by 93% – casting doubt on that do-it-yourself idea being touted by social media folks. Well, at least for tech purchases.

Notice that white papers and case studies are equally effective. Therefore, integrating case studies into white papers makes a lot of sense! Other interesting items uncovered from the research regarding white papers included:

Over 70% of white papers, case studies and product brochures were viewed on the computer screen, not downloaded. This means it’s critical to think about format and design your content for consumption on computer screens. For example, do you really think people like to scroll up and down to read content in columns laid out in portrait format?

Pass along is alive and well. Over 60% shared collateral with other decision makers and influencers within their organization. So, think about how you can be even more helpful by offering versions that answer the specific needs of the decision makers and various influencers on the buying committee for your customers.

And, it’s important to note that they don’t just forward content to one person. Forty-four percent pass along white papers to 4 or more people

Also, according to the Marketing Interactions blog was this quote from the survey on white paper effectiveness:

White paper length, a frequently debated topic among white paper blogs, showed once again that the size of white papers is shrinking. According to the survey the preferred size is 4-6 pages, with a maximum of eight pages:

Buyers want information focused on objective discussions of technology, not products. The length decision makers prefer is 4-6 pages, while influencers will go for 8 pages. Consider that influencers need to formulate discussions and learn how to speak to the issues to sway decision makers’ perspectives. So, keep that in mind when targeting your white papers and help them out. Yet another validation for content designed for specific audiences.

If you would like to obtain a copy of the report, you can download the report along with a registration requirement.

By now just about everyone has heard of the well worn marketing phrase “The 3 Second Rule”. This term pertains to the amount of time that a web surfer will devote to your website before they either become engaged by your design and content, or leave it to go somewhere else.

Is there a 3 second rule for white papers? I think so, but I’ll give it two more and round it up to 5 seconds.

Just as a website Home Page is the basis for the 3 second rule, your white paper cover is the basis for the 5 second rule. Take a look at the two examples of white paper covers below. Which one engages you to open it and read more, and which one will probably be dragged to the trash icon on your desktop?

If you’re like most people, your answer will be the one on the right. While the cover on the left may have a bold title that accurately represents the content inside the white paper, the one on the right is more visually pleasing, professional, and engaging.

What can we learn from this example that will help white paper marketers better design their white papers to quickly grab reader attention and generate an incentive to open up the document and read its content? Here are some tips that can be learned to leverage cover design into greater reader engagement:

1. A Clean Design – “Clean” is a term that’s hard to define but clear when you see it. The white paper on the right has a clean, professional design. When you see similar examples from other Fortune 1000 companies, the impression is that the content inside of the white paper will be logical and straightforward. The goal with design is not to be flashy or ‘avant-garde’, but rather to grab reader through a professional look and feel that stands out from other plain ‘text-oriented’ white papers.

2. Audience Affinity – The images chosen for the cover should accurately reflect the audience for the white paper as a way to build greater reader affinity. In this case it’s clear that the readers targeted by this marketer are enterprise business executives. If the target had been a younger professional reader, the cover would contain images of younger executives with a business casual look and related office setting.

3. Bold Title/Subtitles – The bold title on the designed white paper uses the same primary colors as the rest of the white paper as a way to grab reader attention. This technique is also used by each heading and subheading used throughout the white paper. The tendency for the reader is to gravitate to color items on the page. By using color for your titles and headings, there is a greater chance that your reader will notice and read each one.

Unfortunately, very few white papers leverage their cover design into a significant competitive advantage. Is it because writing style is considered greater than design? Could it be that there is a belief that incorporating ANY design elements turns a white paper into a marketing brochure, thereby lessening the credibility of its content?

Here’s my view: As reader attention becomes shorter as the result of frequent exposure to text messaging, email, and short, brief social media content, white paper design will become a more important way to grab reader attention early in the reader’s research and discovery process.

Without it, today’s reader may not read a significant portion of your white paper, or may not read it at all!

FEATURED FREE WHITE PAPER OF THE WEEK:

(Click to Download)

Title: “Middle-Class Moms & the Recession”

Publication Date: June 2009

Sponsor: E.B. Lane | Advertising, Interactive and
Public Relations.

Author’s Description: The purpose of this white paper is to capture the attention of companies and marketers at a pivotal time in history when the values and attitudes of American middle-class moms are undergoing a dramatic shift like never before. Consequently, this transformation will significantly
alter their purchasing practices now and in the future.

Blogger’s Note: This is an example of how a white paper can be used to address a unique consumer market segment for demographic research. The white paper incorporates an extensive use of graphics, images, and YouTube video links to reinforce key educational points. Unfortunately, each time the reader leaves the document environment to visit another website, it increases the chance that the reader may not return to complete the rest of the white paper.

Download Link URL: http://tinyurl.com/mrg6sf

Website URL: http://www.eblane.com/

Interested in featuring your free white paper on the Friday Free White Paper List? Click Here for more information!

____________________________________________________________________________

Welcome to the Friday FREE White Paper List!

This list is a summary of the free white papers that have been posted during the past week on Twitter. Each white paper listed below is completely FREE and does not require registration or personal information. This is a great way to review several white paper examples and learn new techniques from hundreds of white paper marketers. Just click on the URL link and download. Enjoy!

Also, join the FREE White Paper List Discussion on Facebook and comment on your favorite white paper.

1. Return on Ideas (How Finance and Marketing can work together) http://bit.ly/8FWs4
2. ELIMINATING ROUTING CONGESTION ISSUES WITH LOGIC SYNTHESIS http://bit.ly/4bmtod
3. Government 2.0: Building Communities with Web 2.0 and Social Networking http://is.gd/15mTc
4. Role of Nutrition Pressure Ulcer Prevention & Treatment: National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel http://tr.im/n2LD
5. The glittering allure of the mobile society http://tinyurl.com/lpzueu

6. True Restaurant Sustainability: More success, better future http://snurl.com/kbo4h

7. ArcGIS® Server and Virtualization http://bit.ly/GWUtK

8. Sharp: Making the Right Display Choice for Industrial Applications (PDF) http://bit.ly/T0SW2

9. Local Government Permitting Best Practices http://tinyurl.com/kt6wf4

10. Obama Administration on Financial Regulatory Reform http://bit.ly/rMlIB
    

11. MAPPING TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES OF MOBILE COMPUTING DEPLOYMENTS http://tinyurl.com/lq8298
    

12. Climbing Mount Reliability http://bit.ly/pLPDA
    

13. The Do’s and Don’ts of Creating an Effective Social Media Strategy http://bit.ly/14K4sn

14. Delivering Value in Uncertain Times: Oracle E-Biz Suite Human Resources Management System http://bit.ly/OBSv3
    

15. GemFire Data Fabric: High performance, Distributed data and events platform http://tinyurl.com/mc7jk
    

16. Church Video Productions Leveraging Video to Enhance Message Delivery and Outreach http://tinyurl.com/mxlra

17. The Digital Britain http://bit.ly/XH4eH

18. Converting considerations for flexible (solar) materials http://bit.ly/XnCUb
    

19. PRISM – 10 Ways to Operationalize Your Diversity Process http://bit.ly/13nI0N
    

20. Google: The Data Center is the Computer http://bit.ly/zcJQw

21. Life above the Service Tier: How to Build App Front-ends in a Service-Oriented World http://bit.ly/1OdyaM
    

22. WiMAX FORUM® Roaming Models http://cli.gs/X2Zp5j
    

23. Enabling Breakthrough Local Store Marketing http://bit.ly/wuhCC
    

24. Addressing Misconceptions about the Consumer Price Index http://bit.ly/2zh5Eb
    

25. Balancing Work and Family Life http://bit.ly/PRvYd

26. Middle-class Moms & the Recession http://tinyurl.com/mrg6sf
    

27. How to Find New Customers: Guide to Driving Demand for your Products and Services http://bit.ly/eqzld

Join the FREE White Paper List Discussion on Facebook and comment on your favorite white paper.

The expression in this title, first used over 100 years ago to dispel false obituary reports of Mark Twain’s demise seem as commonplace today as it was back in 1897. Like then, we are willing to jump to erroneous conclusions based on the opinions of a select few.

This exercise reminds me when the Netscape 1.0 browser first appeared in the early 1990s, and many computer users were wondering what this “Internet thing” was all about. Soon after its release, many were lamenting, “Why would I want a online billboard to promote my business? This is a flash in the pan!“. It didn’t take long for those original static web pages to add digital photos, flash animation, digital videos, forums, blogs, wikis, twitter feeds, Facebook, etc, and become the multi-faceted web medium we enjoy today. Those early naysayers who were ready to abandon that medium less than 20 years ago could not have envisioned what has now become possible. In fact, none of us can know today what may be possible in the next 20 years.

Now a few voices, such as Velocity Partners via their B2B Marketing Blog, have written a blog post entitled, “The white paper is dead…or is it?” In it, they question the viability and longevity of the white paper, due to the limitations of a few bad examples. As one comment on the blog reads:

“most (white papers) are far too long, far too self-serving, far too boring and written so turgidly that just a few paragraphs in, suicide is often attractive. In our experience, while B2B marketers say that they write white papers to exert some thought leadership, few really do this.”

To this point, I wholeheartedly agree. Far too many white papers are poorly written, formatted, and are just too long or too short. The issue of thought leadership doesn’t seem to be a factor with many white paper marketers.

So what does this blogger advocate to correct the problem ? Here are some of their suggestions and my responses to each point:

“Don’t cram your latest widget into every paragraph. If you overkill on your offer you’ll undermine the value of the piece.”

Agree: Too many white papers (often first projects) believe they must include an exhaustive amount of detail rather than being succinct and to the point for their reader. Too much information is a good way to lose your reader and more importantly, any subsequent business leads and prospects.

“Use video, audio or flash or a combination of all three to get your messages across in a couple of minutes. Interview your technology experts in a white board session.”

Disagree: This notion that digital media is the answer to every business need is just plain shortsighted. Remember when homemade podcasts were going to replace white papers? Guess what. That might have been fine if we were all blessed with a voice like Casey Kasem, but somewhere along the way someone forgot to tell that 60s-something CEO to go out any buy an iPod to listen to them. It didn’t happen, and podcasts are now relegated to either professionals or those of us who have figured out how to produce a quality program.

“Keep it short to less than 5 pages“

Disagree: Producing short white papers, especially those in the 2-4 page range may fit a tight marketing budget, but they rarely generate the kind of results that most are seeking. These briefs (I won’t call them white papers) limit their scope to solution advantages and are perceived as glorified “sales pitches”. To lay out the case for a solution as a true white paper would, one must dedicate a certain number of pages at the front end to educate the reader to industry background issues and problem assessments pertaining to the topic. A good white paper that gets read and is passed along to others is a function of its ability to provide quality educational content, and not quick, flashy solution messages.

Fortunately, somewhere in the post, the blogger answers the question first posed in the title:

“So are white papers dead? Providing they’re not boring, too long and all about you, absolutely not”.

Agreed. So here’s my bottom line response to this point: The white paper medium as a whole is not dead. Far from it. It’s as alive as it was when the business community first adopted and modified it over 15 years ago. Just as web technology has evolved as with my Netscape 1.0 example, so have white papers. White papers today are far from what the British government ever could have envisioned when they wrote the first one over 75 years ago. It has matured to become a robust, sophisticated, and multi-dimensional document that still educates and convinces the reader in entirely new and powerful ways.

The core issue isn’t how can we change the medium to be something else, but instead, how can we EVOLVE the medium to take into consideration the changing needs of today’s reader? The popularity of Twitter has demonstrated that we want information delivered in spoon-fed, bite-sized chunks. Grab my attention with a Twitter message, then let me click to drill down to another website, another article, another white paper on my own time and in my own way. These are one of several new requirements for the modern white paper.

To accommodate the needs of today’s changing business reader, we need to evolve the business white paper from the tired, old text-only, left-flush paragraph oriented, mono-font format to one that uses graphic design, Executive and Concluding Summaries, charts, callouts, bullets, etc, that grab reader attention and engage them to read additional quantities of detailed information. Hopefully if done well, the reader will take additional action such as visiting a website, contacting the sponsor, or passing the paper along to someone else within the decision chain.

So let’s not throw the white paper baby out with the bath water because of a few bad apples. White papers will still be a dominant business communications medium for many years to come, but over time it will incorporate entirely new approaches that we can’t even imagine today.

That’s what makes this medium both fun and interesting at the same time.

When was the last time you got excited when you saw the words:

An ‘annual report’ from ____ Corporation, or

A ‘competitive analysis‘ of the ______ industry, or

A ‘technical primer‘ from the company that brought you _____________.

If you’re like most people, probably as excited as your last bowl of Cherrios.

But, when you see the words “White Paper” festooned on the cover of a business document something magical happens. The probability that the document will be downloaded, skimmed, and even read cover to cover increases. Why?

I believe that the label “white paper” means something of greater value to most business readers especially in light of what has become a highly skeptical and jaded business environment. If an executive needs a solution to solve their business problem, and a prospective provider offers a white paper, then there is a greater likelihood that the decision maker will download and read the white paper than if the marketer only offered a series of brochures or webpages. This is the power behind the term “white paper”.

To these individuals, the name “white paper” connotes logical, factual, pertinent content. The term carries an air of credibility, something that has become sorely lacking in an environment that has brought us the ‘ShamWoW’. I have not found a similar draw with any other business communications vehicle in my 25+ years of business marketing experience, than can be found with the image conveyed by using the words “white paper”.

But with the use of the term ‘white paper’, the reader also expects to receive valuable in return. If a white paper fails in its attempt to provide valuable information, that failure will not only impact the overall impression of the solution, but that disappointment will carry over to the image and brand associated with the company behind it. This value-based relationship is one of the reasons why one study after another has shown that decision makers flock to the medium, and why marketers are incorporating it into their overall marketing strategies in an exponential fashion.

Will this growth and demand continue at the same rate over the next ten years? If I could predict that, I’d be sitting on a beach in a chaise lounge with a pina-colada in my hand instead of behind this warm computer screen.

But I can tell you this. As long as writers honor the spirit of the medium by using it to convey factual, educational, and value-oriented information, then this demand for these documents will continue. If the term “white paper” is affixed to any garden variety document no matter its size, format, or content, then the power of the term will mean as much to the business reader as the term ‘Ginsu Knife’ enjoys with aficionados of cutlery.

FEATURED FREE WHITE PAPER OF THE WEEK:

(Click to Download)

Title: “Adopting a Professional Services Mindset”

Publication Date: June 2009

Sponsor: DDB Worldwide Communications Group, Inc.

Author’s Description: Professional services that brand and market well do so because they marry business and brand strategy, ensure both the quality of the client relationship and the quality of service, recognize the emotional and rational aspects of client decision-making, package and promote their intellectual capital as a prime differentiator, and commit to business development as a core process and strive to be excellent at it. These tenets are outlined in the paper and have application to any business or industry.

Blogger’s Note: This is a good example of how a worldwide marketing agency tackles the issue of creating a content rich white paper. I’m not keen on using the term “yellow paper” because I feel it increases market confusion for the white paper medium. Nonetheless, this is a very engaging white paper that leverages design to draw readers into more detailed and pertinent content.

Download Link URL: http://bit.ly/16SrXs

Website URL: http://www.ddb.com/

Interested in featuring your free white paper on the Friday Free White Paper List? Click Here for more information!

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Welcome to the Friday FREE White Paper List!

This list is a summary of the free white papers that have been posted during the past week on Twitter. Each white paper listed below is completely FREE and does not require registration or personal information. Just click on the URL link and download. Enjoy!

Join the Discussion on Facebook and find out how others are using this list.

1. Microsoft White Paper: Bing – New Features Relevant to Webmasters http://bit.ly/38vMTW
2. Converting Patient Satisfaction into Market Share http://bit.ly/flMkJ
3. Business Planning for the Connected World: GIS Enabled Planning for Business http://bit.ly/15hHN5

4. The Economic Crisis Helping Seniors Cope in a Broken Financial System http://bit.ly/EconCrisis

5. Search Engine Visibility and PR http://minurl.org/WGaC

6. Virtual Mail Management™ Solutions in an Increasingly Virtual World:: http://tinyurl.com/kwzajv

7. GreenPLM: Going Green the PLM Way http://twurl.nl/2xr75w

8. The Road to Mobile Banking http://bit.ly/UztFn

9. A Primer in Social Media http://tiny.cc/aMeF0

10. Microsoft White Paper: Apps., Stress Tests & Production Mgmt. What every ISV needs to know http://bit.ly/R8riR

11. How SMBs can compete with the big dogs http://bit.ly/115Cpx

12. The Coming Change in Social Media Business Applications http://bit.ly/MFPs8

13. HOW TO KEEP & MOTIVATE YOUR QA TEAM –WITHOUT INCREASING YOUR BUDGET http://bit.ly/SXtt0

14. Adopting a Professional Services Mindset http://bit.ly/16SrXs

15. Cermet – Nano Particle Ceramic Conditioner for Metal Surfaces http://bit.ly/fuLwX

16. Conceptual Design Modeling in Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 http://bit.ly/9Oakl

17. Social Media: How B2B Companies Can Connect http://bit.ly/a0nmR

18. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Media http://bit.ly/3egx

19. The Secrets of Succeeding With Partner Campaign Marketing Management Technology http://bit.ly/v3Ru7

20. Things to Consider, Pinning Out Your PSOC http://short.to/dy6f

21. Improve Financial Performance of Professional Services Firms http://bit.ly/CQpSm