The Well Organized White Paper Writer
Many white paper writers writers mistakenly believe that good writing skills alone are sufficient in achieving white paper marketing success. While highly creative writing skills are certainly important, they are not the ‘be-all, end-all’ of being a good white paper writer.
A good white paper writer must be able to organize information in a way that facilites the production and delivery of the white paper project. When one looks at the range of tasks needed to produce a white paper, organization plays a major role, which takes place across several stages in a typical B2B white paper project: (more…)
Does Research Content Generate White Paper Marketing Success?
Filed under: Lead Generation, White Paper Strategy, White Paper Writing, WP Marketing
Does a B2B white paper project containing nothing but industry research generate quality business leads? It’s a question that is frequently asked by prospective white paper marketers.
I define a pure research white paper as something you would find from an industry researcher or news organization that describe the state of a hot topic in the marketplace using statistics, polls, quotes and trends. Some stalwarts in the technology sector that create this information would be highly recognizable names such as Gartner Inc., TechTarget, Forrester Research, IDC, etc. There are other similar research firms in other vertical markets such as finance, insurance, real estate, investments, and many others.
With research white paper marketing, an unbiased research entity takes a broad, encompassing view of a particular topic within a specific industry along with their perspective as to the current situation, sector leaders, industry trends, and given these dynamics, how these issues will change with that industry over the next 12 to 18 months. You’ve seen many of these pure research white papers before, such as the state of the tablet market, the leading technologies for secure file sharing over the cloud, etc, etc.
The question that many B2B whitepaper marketers ask is, “Does it make sense for my firm to conduct our own research, and distribute a pure industry research white paper under my brand as a way to generate thought leadership and generate business leads?” The reason that B2B marketers are considering this approach is that they believe this type of ‘unbiased’ content generates good will in their customer’s eyes while avoiding the perception of attempting to sell the reader a solution, strategy or product, which they believe turns readers off.
There are three points that describe why I think this is not the best approach for your strategic white paper marketing investment and why the “sales” perception is flawed:
Why Video Should Be Part of Your Business White Papers
Filed under: Design & Format, Lead Generation, short attention marketing, Social Media, White Paper Strategy, White Paper Types
Most of us enjoy watching YouTube videos, but should video be an integral part of a traditional white paper? I think so.
The primary story in my recently released January 2012 newsletter was called, “How to Use ‘Attention Grabbing’ Videos in Your White Paper“. In the article I discuss how integrated videos will become an increasingly popular component of ‘next generation’ white papers going forward as a way of attracting today’s younger, social media savvy reader to the medium.
If you like articles like this, and you aren’t a current subscriber, you should consider subscribing to “Short Attention Marketing Tips“. You can sign up here.
In the article, I reference a recent report called, “Eccolo Media 2011 B2B Technology Collateral Survey”, in which the CEO, Lorie Loe is featured in two short videos embedded in the PDF file, where she offers several marketing recommendations based on some of the findings in the report.
Just Out: The NEW “Best of White Paper Pundit Blog” for 2011
LEARN THE BEST TIPS, TRICKS, AND TECHNIQUES FOR CRAFTING GREAT B2B WHITE PAPERS!
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This 76-page PDF guide will give you many valuable suggestions that will improve your white paper marketing via better white paper reader engagement, better white paper lead generation, and exceptional white paper solution message delivery with your white paper marketing campaigns.
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In this white paper booklet, I will teach you the tricks of the trade that has lead to my success with white paper marketing over the past 15 years. This booklet will teach you new ways to craft highly engaging white papers that attract reader attention, delivery essential business messages, and most importantly, generate leads and new business opportunities.
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Best wishes,
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Founder of WhitePaperCompany.com and
the White Paper Pundit Blog
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Five Ways to Post Better White Paper Examples
Filed under: Design & Format, Lead Generation, short attention marketing, WP Examples
As white papers become a more prevalent , B2B marketers must find new, cost-effective ways to differentiate their whitepapers and generate a greater number of warm leads. Here are five techniques you can employ to improve your white paper examples posted on your website that will improve your competition position, generate a greater number of leads and do it in a more cost-effective manner:
1. Add an Executive Summary
In an effort to save costs, many organizations are trimming down the size of their white papers. This often means eliminating an Executive Summary page, which is a mistake. Executive Summaries appeal to today’s time and attention-challenged executive by allowing them to determine whether the white paper will solve their existing business problems and is a good investment of their valuable reading time. Don’t force your reader to sift through countless pages of detailed information before they can make that determination. Most won’t get past the first three pages before you lose their attention. Since Executive Summaries are often the first item noticed in your white paper example, adding one if you don’t already use them will create a positive first impression of the rest of the content in that paper. (more…)
Annual Survey Confirms White Paper Growth
It seems as if there is a new B2B marketing survey comparing white papers to other business marketing media almost every quarter.
Like clockwork, another annual content marketing report has just been released which has reaffirmed, not only the effectiveness of white papers, but also their growth as a content medium. This is an impressive statistic in an age where businesses of all sizes are cutting their marketing expenditures as part of a recession-driven, cost reduction strategy.
This report, produced jointly by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and the online marketer, Marketing Profs, interviewed approximately 1092 B2B marketers in August 2011 to determine their preferences using a wide variety of marketing content to achieve their business goals. (more…)
Recessionary Tips for Today’s White Paper Writer
Filed under: White Paper Strategy, White Paper Writing, WP Marketing
Ten years ago, the concept of using a white paper for non-technical business marketing was both a unique and innovative way of gaining a competitive advantage. Today, just about every business sector and company has embraced this medium. This fact has helped spawn an entire white paper writing industry.
In fact, if you execute a Twitter search for the word “White Paper” (or the European version, “Whitepaper”), you’ll quickly notice the number of companies that are actively tweeting about white papers to gain additional exposure for their solutions and organizations.
But along with the proliferation of white papers is the impact of the economic recession on white paper quality. As the price of developing a white paper has fallen in response to more price sensitive marketplace, the overall quality of white papers has plummeted. In an effort to appeal to price-sensitive customers and keep the price of white paper low, white papers writers are resorting to shorter sizes, or ‘all-text’ formats that are absent graphic elements or page layout design. As a result, the recession has lowered overall white paper quality and in some cases diminishes its marketing effectiveness. (more…)
A Different Take on the Question: What is a White Paper?
Filed under: Industry Insights, Understanding WPs
If you use Google, one of the most frequently searched keyword phrases is, “What is a White Paper?”. I attribute this popularity to the increasing frequency that businesses of all sizes and across all industries are embracing the white paper medium for lead generation marketing. Of course a search for the same keyword will also generate a host of different answers about what a white paper is, since there doesn’t seem to be any consistency to the phrase from one online entity to the next.
For example, the popular online dictionary site, Wikipedia.org, lists the definition to the question “what is a white paper” as:
“A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to documents used by businesses as a marketing or sales tool. Policy makers frequently request white papers from universities or academic personnel to assist policy developers with expert opinions or relevant research.” (more…)
Which White Paper Format is Best with a Social Media User?
Filed under: Lead Generation, Social Media, WP Marketing
When you read a white paper, do you find a single column or two-column white paper better for B2B solution messaging? Perhaps even three?
One question that many white paper marketers have always asked is the relationship between content design and message comprehension. Does the number of columns in a white paper format enhance its readability or is it merely used as a ‘look and feel’ guide to provide greater credibility to what would otherwise be mediocre content?
Today most white paper formats typically fall into either a one or a two-column design. (more…)
The Principles of White Paper Lead Generation
Filed under: Lead Generation, White Paper Writing, WP Marketing
One of the reasons behind the effectiveness with white papers is its ability to be perceived as a document of value that in turn, can be leveraged to generate high quality business leads.
But to many businesses, the “how” aspect of crafting a white paper that can produce effective lead generation remains a mystery.
So what are the principles of white paper lead generation? Glad you asked. (more…)
