White Paper Pundit

If you’re a fan of white papers, you’ve probably noticed the changes that have taken place with the medium over the past ten years. In fact, this rate of change seems to be progressing at an increasingly faster pace each year.

For example, ten years ago, the limited number of commercial industries that fully embraced the white paper medium treated it like a technical brochure. White papers were written, printed, and distributed in a hard copy format just like spec sheets, brochures, and user guides.

With the advent of Adobe Acrobat PDF technology, white papers took the next step and evolved as a screen-based medium where it is read online rather than as a hardcopy document. Today, in this format, we see white papers using professional design along with a series of visual aids to enhance information assimilation such as concept graphics, business charts, stock photography, network diagrams, product cutaways, integrated case studies, and hyperlinks to web pages. This evolution has been a very good trend. As reading habits are increasingly influenced by online information such as Social Media and it’s short, quick, messaging formats, the white paper must evolve to accommodate these changing reading habits.

So what is the next trend with the white paper medium?

Many say that given this trend video and interactive white papers are the next logical step on this evolutionary path.

Video white papers are a way to make white papers interactive and engaging. They are particularly effective for educating buyers about complex products and services because of the detail they can provide. In fact, a recent B-to-B study of over 4,000 respondents found that 80% of buyers rely on vendors for educational material to solve a problem. At the same time, online video is becoming the preferred medium for web users. A recent AOL/Google study that found 75% of respondents reported watching more video online than they did a year ago, and half (52%) expected to watch more online video over the next year.

How are video white papers produced?

A leading producer of video white papers is Accela Communictions. According to Kevin Flatley, the client supplies Accela Communications with a standard white paper and Accela will produce a 5 to 7 minute executive summary video of that paper. Banner ads are produced prompting the viewer to register to receive the PDF version. That registration data is passed to the client. The client can run the video on their website, and a AccelaCast inBanner rich media banner ad will be created to promote and launch the program via their own media buys. Accela can also guarantee leads via their AccelaCast Media Network.  Accela Communications will take care of all aspects of the project including scripting the video, hiring an actor to appear in the video, and handling the video production.

The cost? About the same as about two professional written and designed white papers.

What are the results? According to one case study posted on the Accela website, Biomni, a leading enterprise Request Management solution provider, saw the following results from the implementation of their video white paper after one month of activity: (You can see how Biomni implemented their video by visiting their home page).

• Total unique viewers = 546
• Total views including repeats = 671
• Total view time = 49 hours
• Average view time for classified registrants = 6:41 or 81% of the program
• Total downloads of textual white paper = 395 or 76% of all viewers

These results are certainly impressive and represent a glimpse of how video white papers can influence demand for PDF white papers. For enterprise organizations that embrace white papers as a regular part of their ongoing marketing programs, the addition of video white papers allows prospective customers to easily assimilate complex solution messages, as well as, increase the number of PDF downloads as evidenced by the Biomni results.

As business executives are falling out of favor with traditional white paper registration methods, and enterprises are searching for new and more effective ways to generate high quality leads from their white papers, the addition of video white papers looks like an innovative, and more importantly, a highly effective way to generate leads and new business opportunities.

FEATURED FREE WHITE PAPER OF THE WEEK:

Title: Carbon Market Readiness: Accounting, compliance, reporting and tax considerations under state and national carbon emissions programs

Publication Date: January 2010

Sponsor: Ernst & Young

Sponsor’s Description: In this report, Carbon market readiness: accounting, compliance, reporting and tax considerations under state and national carbon emissions programs, concludes that, while the timing and scope of climate change legislation in the US is uncertain, many countries around the globe (and many states) have some type of regulatory program to manage carbon emissions. With the strong likelihood that there will be more regulatory activity in the US, companies should consider carbon emissions requirements as part of  their businesses and financial management strategies now, including establishing plans for measurement, monitoring, reporting and accounting.

White Paper Pundit Comment: This white paper is another great example of a next-generation “White Paper 2.0 strategy”. The combination of professional design, along with an abundance of charts, graphs, and illustrations makes the delivery of key bottom lines messages very easy for short attention readers. Any enterprise that wishes to upgrade the effectiveness of their existing white papers should use this paper as a model for their future campaign strategies.

Download Link URL: http://ow.ly/13Ba9

Web Landing Page: http://bit.ly/dl0gzg

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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 is completely FREE and does not require email registration or personal information. This is a great way to review white paper examples and learn new techniques from hundreds of white paper marketers. Simply click on the shortened URL link next to the file name and download the white paper.

1. Bridging the Skills Gap http://bit.ly/727Hiw

2. Discovery Assistant Near Duplicates http://bit.ly/b75A92

3. E&Y White Paper: Carbon Market Readiness: http://ow.ly/13Ba9

4. Faster PHP Through Java http://bit.ly/cVh7cJ

5. Agfa Healthcare’s Medical Imaging Repository Using an EMC Infrastructure http://bit.ly/a3ko9H

6. Social Networks vs. Management? Harness the Power of Social Media: http://ow.ly/13C7T

7. Winter Driving – Skids http://bit.ly/aoLLUG

8. Social Media in Marketing Survey http://bit.ly/cpZrXm

9. Securely Extending the Enterprise With Private MPLS Networks http://ow.ly/16ujV5

10. Understanding Real-Time Bidding (RTB) From The Publisher Perspective http://bit.ly/cOx9RH

11. Processing Geographical Data with Vectorworks Landmark http://bit.ly/c4EdYu

12. The Evolution Of Clean http://bit.ly/cTTXcs

13. MS White Paper: Active Directory Certificate Services: Network Device Enrollment Service http://bit.ly/cMgUSj

14. Low Voltage Motor Control Center (MCC) Technology http://bit.ly/99QFxv

15. Taking Your Brand Mobile http://bit.ly/bWhXj8

16. IBM White Paper: XML: Changing the data warehouse http://bit.ly/b4OOd7

17. HP White Paper: EVA Advantage: Eliminate Stranded Storage and Boost Performance http://bit.ly/6RdOHP

18. Automating Business Processes with #Documentum Application Xtender Workflow Manager http://bit.ly/9rsXxz

19. Exploiting the RDF-based Linked Data Web using .NET via LINQ http://icio.us/vxszgr

20. U.S. Strategy for Cyberwar and Cyberterrorism http://bit.ly/clhVu8

21. Introducing Windows Azure  http://bit.ly/afS08D

A downloadable eBook version of my new book in PDF format, “Crafting White Paper 2.0: Designing Information for Today’s Time and Attention-Challenged Business Reader” is now available. It is the definitive book on how to engage white paper readers with “Short Attention Marketing” techniques that will grab their attention and help you to deliver critical business solution messages. If you’ve already purchased a copy, please leave a comment on my book page and let me know your thoughts.

While the printed version of the book sells for the retail price of $26.95, you can pick up a copy of the eBook for the special promo price of only $19.95. For more information please visit my landing page, and follow the link at the bottom of the page to order the ebook.

In addition, if you have a question on Short Attention Marketing, or any part of my book, please feel free to join my discussion group on Linkedin.

I look forward to hearing from you!

One of the ongoing debates with white paper marketing is whether to require user registration for your white paper or to offer it as a free download. A recent article posted by the B2B Conversations Now blog, states that approximately 75% of IT professionals won’t register for a white paper which gives credence to those who insist on giving it away for free. On the other hand, since white papers are often the eye candy for effective lead generation, many white paper marketers bristle at the idea of simply giving it away, opting instead of a long list of contact information from their prospective readers.

In either case, given this and other surveys and blog posts on this topic, it’s clear that public sentiment has changed and the traditional white paper registration process may have lost some or most of its initial luster as an effective lead generation mechanism.

As with most things, there are always pros and cons to consider with the issue of white paper distribution, some of which may include:

Registration:
Pros: Adequate and measurable lead generation, repurposing leads for additional marketing programs.
Cons: Bad leads (fake/inadequate contact info), unable to determine number of drop offs due to user dissatisfaction with the registration process.

Free Distribution:
Pros: Widest Possible Distribution, free white papers are more readily passed along to other business contacts and associates.
Cons: Lack of targeted leads, lack of repurposing for other marketing deliverables, difficult to return to registration process once white paper is offered for free.

So which should methods should a white paper marketer choose that will yield the best possible results? One suggestion is to test both methods and see which one is more effective for your company/brand/industry? Here’s what I mean:

When a writer creates a new white paper, there are often several titles proposed to the client. Each title is equally acceptable in effecting targeting the audience and communicating the scope of its content. For example, if we were writing a white paper about an enterprise support center solution, we might provide two proposed titles for the client such as:

A. The Four Secrets of Highly Successful Support Centers:
How Flexibility and Customization Creates Profitable Customer Relations

B. Recession Proofing Your Customer Support Center:
How to Get the Most from an Outsourced Support Center Provider

Rather than choosing one singular title for the paper, select a separate title for your registration campaign, and the other for free distribution. Then measure one title against the other in terms of the number of leads, blog comments, tweets, visits, web articles and customer referrals. The core content of the white paper would remain the same, just the title and design of the paper would change.

This assumes of course that the marketer is hitting on all available marketing cylinders by having a corporate blog and participating in a formal social media campaign along with a landing page for lead capture. By measuring one title against the other provides an easy way for marketers to see which title is creating more buzz and any subsequent warm leads and/or new business opportunities.

For those that choose to test this comparative method, there are some helpful tips to consider:

1. Create two unique cover/page layout designs – Thumbnails of a professionally designed front cover is an essential way of attracting initial attention for your white paper. Create two similar but different covers for each paper, by using different colors that meets your corporate design guidelines. For example, this might look like the following:

2. Choose two unique distribution methods – For the registration campaign choose environments that are conducive for lead generation such as your corporate website, white paper syndicators, and other free sites that will generate acceptable lead criteria, such as an email address. For free distribution, choose sites that make it easy to download and/or forward the white paper such as free distribution sites. Twitter is a good example since a free white paper can be both downloaded and reTweeted. Both campaigns should be directed to a unique landing page, one for registration, the other for the free download, such as the following:

3. Embed some form of measurability – Besides measuring the number of downloads, embed a web page visitor counter to your white paper landing page to compare the number of visitors versus the number of downloads. This will also provide valuable insight to the number of ‘drop-offs’, those that are interested in your white paper but choose not to register. For free distribution, include the counter along with buttons that will measure the number of tweets or votes from other sites.

4. Provide regular reminders with hyperlinks – Most people have short attention spans, so provide regular reminders of your white paper. Sites such as Social Oomph are great for setting up regular reminders that are posted to Twitter without having to do it manually. Make sure each one has a shortened hyperlink to the landing page to enable measurement.

5. Survey incoming leads – For your each white paper landing page (free versus registered), include the question, “Where did you hear about this white paper?”. Provide a pop up menu that includes the various locations where the white paper was posted, along with the option of selecting “Other” and a text field where the visitor can provide their source.

6. Give it time - Marketing campaigns take time to adequately measure effectiveness. If you’re doing all of the above, give this process a minimum of three to six months to determine which method is more effective in generating high quality leads and new business opportunities. Also keep in mind that there is NOT a one to one relationship between closed business and lead generation. Events, circumstances, budgets, and market focus can impact whether a customer closes business with your firm after an initial exposure to the white paper. Your measure of success should be the number of incoming leads and amount of exposure (retweets, articles, mentions, blog posts, web visitors etc).

While this process may take an additional amount of time, resource allocation, and possible budgetary expenditures, the results in the end will yield a very good direction for which distribution method your organization should take with regard to your white paper marketing campaigns. In fact, you may find that free white paper distribution may provide more than what you had originally anticipated.

FEATURED FREE WHITE PAPER OF THE WEEK:

Title: Turning Customer Interactions into Money

Publication Date: May 2008

Sponsor: Peppers & Rogers Group

Sponsor’s Description: The sheer wealth of information about today’s customers that can applied toward anticipated behavior is staggering. A new white paper from Peppers & Rogers Group and SPSS will show you how to use data and the insight gained from it, to predict customer behavior. You’ll learn how to leverage this predictive knowledge to drive changes in customer behavior and increase enterprise profitability.

White Paper Pundit Comment: Peppers and Rogers is no stranger to this featured white paper list. Their approach to professional white paper design is one that adds significant value. This white paper provides a god example of how effective text enhancements can produce a clean, professional look in a white paper. Consistent header/subhead colors, sidebar callouts, and a simple 3:1 text to graphics ratio are just three of the examples why they remain consistent leaders in white paper marketing.

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

Website URL: www.peppersandrogersgroup.com/

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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 is completely FREE and does not require email registration or personal information. This is a great way to review white paper examples and learn new techniques from hundreds of white paper marketers. Simply click on the shortened URL link next to the file name and download the white paper.

1. When in Doubt, DON’T Send it Out http://bit.ly/amKBd7

2. ZServer Works Fast http://bit.ly/ReBS6

3. The Competitiveness of HK and Asian Law Firms http://bit.ly/ca1HKu

4. Guided Buying and Selling: http://bit.ly/9cswTI

5. Turning Customer Interactions into Money http://bit.ly/aWcMlA

6. The Path to a Meaningful Reputation” http://bit.ly/cUN5JV

7. Best Practices for Workplace Harassment Prevention http://bit.ly/adKLYf

8. Best Practices for BI: What We Have Learned in 20 years http://bit.ly/8BAj2q

9. How to Design a White Paper for Your Time-Challenged Readers: http://is.gd/74n2J

10. Getting Patients to Meaningful Use http://bit.ly/8LLitg

11. 3 reasons virtual teams fail – and how to see it coming http://bit.ly/8ByaZ5

12. Google White Paper: Environmental Claims Experience: What’s Old, What’s New, What’s Coming http://bit.ly/7NZm2F

13. Environmental Claims Experience: What’s Old, What’s New, What’s Coming http://bit.ly/93iUAA

14. The Serials Crisis and Open Access http://bit.ly/6rLN62

15. IBM White Paper: IBM SQL Upgrade Guide for CloudBurst 1.2 http://bit.ly/4xMYi1

16. Oracle White Paper: A Strategic View on Oracle: Creating Options http://bit.ly/8qhseh

17. Understanding the Short Sale” http://bit.ly/8QWdxk

18. Transitioning to a Renewable Energy Future http://bit.ly/7MU0MG

19. Tracking the Influence of Conversations: A Roundtable Discussion on Social Media http://bit.ly/73huXI

20. Dollars from Dust http://tinyurl.com/yk2j7xg

21. Downsized…Now What? A guide to prepping for a job search in 2010 http://tinyurl.com/downsized-now

22. Intelligent Objects: The Future of Simulation http://bit.ly/aYcfRR

23. Rational Forecasting – The Convergence of Skils, Strategy, and Pipleline Mgmt http://ow.ly/NOxD

24. Reliability Benefits of Interoperability http://bit.ly/97mXTV

25. Environmental Benefits of Interoperability http://bit.ly/9nJDzj

26. MS White Paper: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0: Optimizing and Maintaining Performance http://icio.us/xuojct

27. The Serials Crisis & Open Access http://bit.ly/a6DzAX

28. The Internet Book of the Dead: http://bit.ly/aOsUU9

29. 2010: Cybercrime Coming of Age: http://bit.ly/9bprYH

30. Managing Multi-Channel Mktg to Increase Customer Acquisition http://bit.ly/9VvEaL

31. The Dynamic Duo: Email Marketing and Social Media http://ow.ly/11BYl

When white paper readers need to assimilate complex concepts, most will prefer to see pictures rather than read several paragraphs of text. This idea was reinforced by a study conducted by IBM Research in 2009, titled “An Eye Tracking Study of How Pictures Influence Online Reading“, which showed that people assimilate and retain online information more easily when it is presented as a graphic image rather than as text.

So when there is a need to present a complex or technical concept in a white paper, it’s always helpful to represent it as a concept graphic to ensure that your reader will retain the core messages embodied within it. Due to its simplistic nature, the use of concept graphics is one way to increase the success of your white paper.

What is a concept graphic?

A concept graphic is a diagram, illustration, or image that delivers a primary business message using visual elements in a simplistic fashion without the aid of explanatory text. It is the essence of the “KISS Method”, Keep it Simple and Straightforward. The simpler your concept graphic, the easier your target reader should be able to understand it. If done correctly, a concept graphic should deliver a complex business message without the need to include an additional number of paragraphs to explain what the graphic means.

But getting to “simple” is often easier said than done. So how does one take a complex idea and develop a simple concept graphic around it? Here are some valuable tips to follow that will help you in this effort:

1. Organize Basic Components – Most concepts revolve around a central theme such as people, time, money, space, process, or order. First break down your complex idea into one of these basic themes, list and assemble the various components that make up the concept, and then find a design that best encapsulates it in a simple fashion. For example, in the example below, a ‘brick-like’ structure is used to represent the enterprise entities (pillars) that support the idea of ‘Business Performance Management”.

2. Select an Orientation – The orientation you choose for your concept graphic (landscape or portrait) depends on its available space in your white paper and the particular task at hand. For example, I find that technical diagrams such as workflows and network illustrations are best displayed in a horizontal orientation, while complex structures such as business relationships (i.e. organization charts) work best in a vertical orientation. The example below illustrates the components that make up an “e-marketplace”.  The placement of the titles in each of the three circles are placed from top to bottom and draw your attention to the center of the graphic, where the answer to the message lies. In other words, e-marketplaces are formed by the interaction of: Business Processes, Business Communities, and the Internet. (Yes, I know, this concept graphic is a bit dated but it provides a good example).

3. Use as Few Elements as Possible – Try to minimize the number of elements in your concept graphic so that your reader will quickly understand the main point you wish to convey. Having too many elements increases the level of complexity as well as the risk that your key point will be lost with your reader. Just like your website home page, your reader has a short attention span and you only have a few seconds to grab their attention and deliver your important business message.

4. Don’t Mix Shapes – Stick to one shape if possible. If you develop your concept graphic using squares, circles, or rectangles, use the same shape. Building a concept graphic using a variety of shapes increases reader confusion and the time they need to spend with it. Unlike other types of business graphics, such as line, bar, or column charts, the idea with a concept graphic is to keep it simple and deliver an important business message as quickly as possible. In the example below the combination of arrows, a line, and text robs the graphic of its necessary level of simplicity. As a result, the white paper will require one or two paragraphs to explain what it means, defeating the purpose of the concept graphic.

5. Use Primary Colors – Blue and Red and the most commonly used colors in business communications since they are often the first to be recognized by the human eye. They are also two of the three primary colors, with the third being green (R-G-B) which forms the basis of most computer monitors. Try to use one or more of the primary colors or variations of them (such as purple, orange, teal blue) to make their core message easier to read and quickly understood.

The use of concept graphics can enhance an otherwise boring white paper that is made up of nothing more than paragraphs of text. If you design them correctly in your white paper, you will improve solution message delivery and increase the number of leads that the white paper will generate as part of your online marketing campaign.

FEATURED FREE WHITE PAPER OF THE WEEK:

(Click to Download)

Publication Date: April 2008

Sponsor: Transearch International

Sponsor’s Description: The global Natural Resources market is nearing a critical tipping point. Sustained worldwide demand for natural resources is pushing investment in oil and gas exploration and production, mining and alternative natural resources such as wind and solar while the pace of research in new and renewable energy sciences continues to elevate. It presents a strikingly similar long-term growth barrier for nearly all of the world’s leading natural resources companies – that is, the scarcity of human capital and skilled leadership talent.

White Paper Pundit Comment: This white paper is one in a series of white papers targeting different business sectors that share a common design. Each employs several unique formatting attributes such as colored pull quotes placed directly in the middle of the page and matching colored graphics that presents a unique look and feel allowing the content to stand out and be noticed.

Download Link URL: http://bit.ly/8PKPQg

Website URL: www.transearch.com

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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 is completely FREE and does not require email registration or personal information. This is a great way to review white paper examples and learn new techniques from hundreds of white paper marketers. Simply click on the shortened URL link next to the file name and download the white paper.

1. The iPhone Revolution http://bit.ly/8qHZAr

2. The magic of involvement http://bit.ly/4Rt60I

3. 2009 Social Media & Online Usage Study http://bit.ly/57UIeK

4. The Five Pitfalls of 4G Baseband SOC Design http://bit.ly/6HEE5x

5. Finding and Researching Experts and Their Testimony http://bit.ly/5ej9AK

6. The 2.6 GHz Spectrum Band Unique Opportunity to Realize Global Mobile Broadband http://bit.ly/5BoBzh

7. Social Promotion for Movies http://ow.ly/YoKl

8. SHOW INTEGRATION: Not Just Set Dressing http://bit.ly/4WAzMZ

9. UK Gov’t White Paper: Building Britain’s Recovery: Achieving full Employment http://bit.ly/71XOSS

10. Visa White Paper: The Future of Everyday Payments in Europe http://bit.ly/4U2EHM

11. European (Financial) Data Consolidation: http://bit.ly/8DoO23

12. Cisco White Paper: Managing Network Virtualization with Virtual Network Manager http://bit.ly/8PA5I9

13. Supply Chain Intelligence – Moving from Decision Support to Decision Expert System http://bit.ly/5zarvs

14. Edelman White Paper: Ten Ideas for the New Decade http://bit.ly/5Dwl6i

15. Metanomics Season Highlights http://bit.ly/6bginN

16. ACGA White Paper on Corporate Governance in India http://bit.ly/5cGtVF

17. Cisco White Paper: Horizontal Integration: A New Architecture for Customer Contact http://bit.ly/78Sq4T

18. Introducing a Capacity Management Maturity Model http://ow.ly/Y8Yx

19. Hospital Pharmacy Automation: Drug Storage and Retrieval http://bit.ly/4ZGPUo

20. How to Implement Viral Marketing with Social Media http://bit.ly/7xPo4j

21. .Your next BMV will come from an app store http://bit.ly/4rWO9d

22. 2010 State of the Media http://bit.ly/6PklW6

23. Don’t Leave Your Money on the Table: Your Guide to Paid Search http://bit.ly/8BXeOQ

24. Under Pressure: Natural Resources Human Capital http://bit.ly/8PKPQg

25. The Talent Equation: How Global Financial Services are Being Shaped http://bit.ly/6wg2IW

26. The way forward for industrial and manufacturing leaders http://bit.ly/8s5Ioh

27. Hot Tips: How Your Furniture Purchase Can Pay for Itself http://bit.ly/75rL9j

28. The Taxability of Services http://bit.ly/7EmebU

29. 3 Major Risks of Casually Investing in the Web http://bit.ly/4I1wNz

30. Designing for the 21st Century: Interdisciplinary Methods and Findings http://tinyurl.com/ydtynbx

31. Amazon White Paper: Architecting for the Cloud: Best Practices http://bit.ly/8I5rcu

32. Conspiracy Theories: http://bit.ly/8IVs9P

33. NVidia White Paper: NVIDIA GF100 World’s Fastest GPU http://bit.ly/8NFl0E

34. Ethernet Applications and How Microwave Radio Can Play a Part http://bit.ly/7YFXpM

35. EDI Supply Chain Technology http://bit.ly/5c3GVY

Many say that “perception is reality”, a term that applies to just about everything in life, especially in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

The term “eBook” has been generating a lot of buzz within business marketing circles, and many believe this new information format has the potential to replace white papers as the next influential business communications medium. Depending on the source, the term “eBook” carries its own perception which provides us with greater insight into the viability of the medium for solution marketing.

If you ask business marketers that favor eBooks, you get several perceptions that are skewed heavily towards its business efficacy. One person is Jonathan Kranz in his book, “The ebook on ebooks” (44 pages):

“A successful ebook is more collegial, reader-friendly and visually interesting than the traditional white paper. Rather than communicating what you need to sell, it connects with customers by sharing what they want to hear: information, insights and answers they genuinely value.”

Another frequently quoted pundit on the subject of eBooks is David Meerman Scott, who states in his book, “The New Rules of Viral Marketing” (34 pages):

“Ebooks have become the stylish younger sister to the nerdy white paper.” Ebooks have a great deal of importance to readers. People can instantly see the value of a product that looks like for-purchase content but can actually be downloaded for free. In my opinion, ebooks should be material people want to read, compared to the dense and usually boring white paper, which our buyers feel they should read but often don’t.”

By comparing eBooks to white papers, both Kranz and Scott are indicating that the two formats are interchangeable, and eBooks can easily substitute for white papers for business and solution-oriented marketing.

Unfortunately,when one compares how the business marketplace perceives the term ‘eBook’ you get a completely different perspective more aligned with that of a conventional, printed fiction/non fiction book:

PC Magazine: “the electronic counterpart of a printed book”

Wikipedia.org: “e-text that forms the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book.”

DSM Publishing UK: “an electronic book that is provided to you online.”

Dictionary.com: “books or magazines that are in digital form. A book in digital form”

Of course that’s not to say a book can’t serve as a guide or be a source of valuable business information. There are many business-related books over the years that have become legendary classics, such as “Swimming with Sharks” by Harvey Mackay or “Guerilla Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson. But we read this information mostly for personal educational, strategic guidance, and long term development. Rarely are large tomes of information such as these used to make short term, tactical, or solution-specific decisions. After all, how many IT executives would turn to a 200 page book on Oracle ERP applications as their primary source for evaluating a multi-million dollar supply chain management acquisition?

Compare this perception to the term “white paper” in the commercial marketplace. When we consult online information sources for the term “white paper”, we get a completely different but consistent perception of the medium:

Dictionary.com: “an authoritative report issued by any organization“

Wikipedia.org: “an authoritative report or guide that often addresses issues and how to solve them. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions.”

BusinessDictionary.com: “A marketing tool in the form of information on the technology underlying a complex product of system and on how it will benefit the customer.”

These definitions reflect how the white paper medium is perceived in the general business marketplace. The frequentely used terms “report”, “tool”, “guide” are more in line with the type of solution-oriented information that an executive would consult as part of a business acquisition or decision.

Coupled with this is their size. If eBooks approach conventional books they will require a much greater amount of time and attention to read, something that is in short supply with today’s business executive decision maker. No wonder why most well-written white papers fall into the 6-10 page range. That is about the maximum amount of time that a busy executive can devote to solution education given today’s busy workloads.

As long as eBooks are perceived on the same level as conventional books (both fiction and non-fiction), its ability to be used on the same level as white papers for day-to-day  business decision making remains somewhat uncertain. Since white papers have always been considered a credible, fact-based source of information, it will carry a much greater weight with business executives as a source for critical business decision-making for a long time.

When you want to learn how to be a better business marketer, pick up an eBook. When you want information to evaluate a strategic business solution that will provide a unique competitive advantage, pick up a white paper.

FEATURED FREE WHITE PAPER OF THE WEEK:

Publication Date: March 2008

Sponsor: Foundstone Professional Services

Sponsor’s Description: Maintaining an accurate perception of an enterprise’s digital security posture is key to understanding what is at risk. Using the case of an interactive kiosk, this paper informs the reader how to identify threats and uncover common vulnerabilities from the perspective of people, process, and technology. It concludes with four timeless information security principles that are specifically applied to kiosks.

White Paper Pundit Comment: This white paper provides a good example of information simplification. The document uses bullets and numbered paragraphs to highlight key strategy points and solution elements. The integration of kiosk images transforms the paper from a stark document into one that is more reader friendly and inviting. The occasional use of digital images, screenshots, and tables maintains a simple yet professional and clean design.

Download Link URL: http://bit.ly/5swaKB

Website URL: www.foundstone.com

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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 is completely FREE and does not require email registration or personal information. This is a great way to review white paper examples and learn new techniques from hundreds of white paper marketers. Simply click on the shortened URL link next to the file name and download the white paper.

1. Six Online Community Vendors for Associations: An Analysis http://bit.ly/3LdNCC

2. Reform International Search Review: Issue 1: China http://bit.ly/5F39NJ

3. 7 Rules For Attracting The Best Executive Talent http://bit.ly/88bwfG

4. The Role of Malware Sample Analysis in Botnet Detection http://bit.ly/4Afk7z

5. Reducing Data Center Cost with an Air Economizer http://bit.ly/5yZruQ

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One of the most effective ways of grabbing reader attention for critical white paper solution messages is through the use of sidebar callouts (also known as ‘pull quotes’). I prefer the use of the term callout since it is a much broader term encompassing any portion of relevant text which can include white paper statements, statistics, and verbal quotes.

One of the reasons that callouts work is due to their increased font size and the fact that they are isolated apart from the main white paper body copy. By reserving this sidebar space for the single most message on the page, callouts quick grab the reader attention, delivering important bottom line information. Callouts are also especially effective since they lead the reader to larger portions of related text that would otherwise go unnoticed on a page that contained nothing more than left flush, unformatted paragraphs.

To maximize the impact of your sidebar callouts here are five tips that will gain greater reader attention and quickly deliver your essential white paper business solution messages:

1. Try Different/Larger Fonts – Any time that you make a dramatic change in your white paper format, your reader will notice that change. This is especially true when the font size and type changes, as shown in the first example on the left. A larger size also requires less text. If you previously selected an entire sentence using small fonts similar to those in your body copy, you will need to select a portion of that sentence when the font size is enlarged. I recommend a 14-point font size for your callout, and no more than 20 words that maintains a clean page design.

2. Use Colored Text – The use of color is another highly effective way of generating attention for the text within a sidebar callout. Bold colors such as red and orange are natural attention generators, and one of the primary reasons they are use for emergency messaging. The use of red is especially effective when your white paper design also incorporates red in other areas such as bordering or shading. The second example to the left demonstrates the effectiveness of a red text callout set within the surrounding black text of the white paper body copy.

3. Apply Shading – Shading the area around the callout is another sure-fire way to generate attention for an important white paper message. For aesthetic reasons the color of your shading should compliment other colors such as  your logo, business charts/graphs, illustrations, or key page design elements. Shading works well when the color of that shade compliments the text around it, such as the example to the left which uses salmon and red. This technique also works with grey shading and black text when the use of color may not be applicable, as with a highly technical white paper.

4. Use a Border - Bordering is another effective attention generating technique, especially when you want to create a visual partition between your sidebar and your body copy. Rather than merely floating the callout in its own white space, the use of a border either on top, bottom or surrounding the entire callout text is a simple way to attract attention to your business message. Simplicity is the best approach with bordering. If you use a fancy bordering with lots of detail you not only distract your reader, but you also diminish the professional image. In the example to the left, the bordering is simple, bold, and effective in attracting attention to the key message without creating a loud distraction for the reader.

5. Integrate a Picture – A new and highly effective technique with white paper callouts is the use of a digital image that is associated with the callout message. The use of an image is one of the most effective ways to grab reader attention since it appeals to online readers that are accustomed to rich, Social Media such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The use of a photograph is especially effective when it relates to the person that may be providing an actual quote in the white paper, such as the example below. This assumes that you have the permission of the individual, or they are a public figure such as a government official.