The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages

As part of developing my Friday FREE White Paper List each week over the past six months, I’ve had a chance to review hundreds of free white papers and their associated web landing pages. So I thought I’d take a moment and give you my perspective of what I think works and doesn’t work when marketers prominently feature their white papers for prospective downloaders.

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THE DOs:
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1. DO: Make Your “Download/Register Button” Colorful and Easy to Find

Yes, it’s sad but true. Your prospective reader has a short attention span and is quite impatient. (Ever heard of the 3-second Internet rule for your home page?) Let’s face it. They won’t spend a lot of time hunting around your landing page to find that hyperlink for the download embedded three paragraphs down. If they can’t find it quickly, they’ll move along, so make it easy for your visitor to find where to download your white paper. Place your download button in a very visible place and make it big. Here’s a landing page that will give you a good idea of what I mean. Can’t miss it, right?

RR Landing Page

2. DO: Include a Thumbnail of Your Front Cover

We are a visual society. If you have a colorful front cover to your white paper (like the example above) take a screenshot of it, and use it along with text hyperlinks for the download/registration page. By including a thumbnail you will increase the likelihood that your visitor will notice it and download the paper. If on the other hand your cover contains nothing but text, get a new cover!

3. DO: Provide Several Ways to Download/Register

People respond to web information in different ways. While most would prefer a large button at the top of your page, there are others that will read an abstract or summary first. For this group, you might want to add hyperlinks in the descriptive text for the title of the white paper. As a general rule, I’d advise at least two or three hyperlinks to your white paper download/registration placed within the landing page text.

4. DO: Quickly Get to the ‘Bottom-Line’ in Your Abstract Description

One of the things that I find annoying is when an abstract sounds like a formal white paper Introduction page. Do your reader a favor and reserve the industry/background information for the white paper content. Time-sensitive web surfers prefer a short abstract that describes what’s in the white paper and the lessons they’ll learn if they download and read it.

5. DO: Tell Your Reader What They Will Gain by Reading It

Your reader’s time is valuable, especially in this economy. Cut to the chase in your landing page abstract and them what they’ll gain if they read it. Will it teach them something they did not previously know? Greater profitability? Lower costs? A strategic business advantage? If you don’t include a ‘value’ statement similar to this, you’ll diminish the likelihood that they WILL go the extra mile and download the paper, let alone read it in its entirety.

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THE DON’Ts:
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1. DON’T Wait Until the End of Your Abstract Page to Provide the Link

Unfortunately many white paper marketers assume that their prospective reader has the same patience and stamina to read all of the abstract text as the marketer does. Don’t wait until the last paragraph before you provide them with the link to the white paper. Most won’t get past the 3rd paragraph before they surf to another site.

2. DON’T Combine Two Tasks in One Landing Page

Have you ever seen a web landing page that reads like a press release? Unfortunately, I have on more than one occasion. Your web visitor will notice as well. Don’t cut corners and combine two tasks and think it you’re fooling anyone. Make the extra effort and write a separate landing page abstract. Save the Press Release for the ‘Announcements’ section on your website.

3. DON’T Force Your Prospect to Visit More than Two Sites

Think about how many sites your prospect must visit before they can download your white paper. Twitter (one) Blog Post (Two) Landing Page (Three) Registration Page (Four) and Confirmation Page (Five). For most web surfers with short attention spans, you’ll be luck to retain them after about three locations. I recommend no more than two sites to retain visitor attention. You can accomplish this by integrating an email registration into the bottom of your landing page, then immediately initiating the download/confirmation process after that address has been received.

4. DON’T Place Hurdles in the Register & Download Process

Some registration forms that require the surfer to include their personal information prior to download look like an application for a small business loan, similar to the one below:screenshot_01

I wonder how many people gave up after filling in the first six fields? If you ask for too much information from your web visitor not only will it result in fewer downloads, but they will also wonder what you going to do with all that personal information? Try one simple email field instead. You’ll get a higher number of participants, downloads, leads, and more importantly, a greater amount of exposure for your white paper.

Isn’t that what this whole exercise is about anyway?

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26 Responses to “The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages”

  1. Jonathan_Kantor Says:

    White Paper Pundit | The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/8NVo6I #wppundit

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  2. The Dos and Don'ts of White Paper Landing Pages | White Paper Pundit Wiky Blog Says:

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  3. FreeWhitePapers Says:

    White Paper Pundit | The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/8NVo6I #wppundit (via @Jonathan_Kantor)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  4. CopywriterMaven Says:

    RT @tweetmeme The Dos and Don’ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/8NVo6I

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  5. Tweets that mention The Dos and Don’ts of White Paper Landing Pages | White Paper Pundit -- Topsy.com Says:

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  6. smallbiztrends Says:

    Trending now on BizSugar – The Dos and Don’ts of White Paper Landing Pages: http://bit.ly/8NVo6I

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  7. concarjess3 Says:

    RT @smallbiztrends: Trending now on BizSugar – The Dos and Don’ts of White Paper Landing Pages: http://bit.ly/8NVo6I

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  8. Jagath Says:

    I particularly like the #3 in “Don’t”. I hate it when I have to fill in unnecessary details.

    Here is an idea. Why not get rid of the whole idea of “white paper” itself. Why make people register and sign up to download a 10 page fancy pdf while you can communicate the same information via a blog article. Most companies do white papers to get contact information (email id) of the people who are downloading. But I am very likely to ignore the marketing emails if I had signed up just for the sake of downloading the pdf.

    Also, by locking the paper up behind a firewall causes it to be hidden from the Google spiders. If you really have something valuable to say, and if you are giving it away for free anyway (in return for email id), then publish it instead on your blog.

    If people really care for what you have to say, then you will get enough traffic to benefit from. Much more than your white paper behind the firewall.

  9. SchusterConsult Says:

    The Dos and Don’ts of White Paper Landing Pages – http://www.whitepapercompany.com/blog/?p=4002

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  10. uberVU - social comments Says:

    Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jonathan_Kantor: White Paper Pundit | The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/8NVo6I #wppundit…

  11. Jonathan Kantor Says:

    Hi Jagath,

    I can see your point, but the term “white paper” carries a certain “panache” that blog articles don’t have. Prospective customers are more likely to ask “Does your company have a white paper” rather than “Have you done a blog post on the issue”. Also a white paper can include several pages that are devoted to background information and solution selling. Most blog posts are less than a few hundred words. That leaves little room for any detailed educational content and solution selling.

    Let’s compromise and say, “Give it away for free and forget about the registration process altogether!” I think a completely free white paper will probably be passed along via Twitter and other Social Media sites with greater frequency than if personal information is required.

    Thanks for your perspectives on the issue.

    Jonathan

  12. bcavoli Says:

    Good post for B2B marketers: The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/4rYm1K

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  13. Joanna124 Says:

    RT @bcavoli: Good post for B2B marketers: The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/4rYm1K

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  14. Mike_Stelzner Says:

    The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages (great article!) http://bit.ly/8VLALB by @Jonathan_Kantor

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  15. spacephx Says:

    RT @Mike_Stelzner: The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages (great article!) http://bit.ly/8VLALB by @Jonathan_Kantor

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  16. 1080Group Says:

    very good stuff RT @Mike_Stelzner: The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages (great article!) http://bit.ly/8VLALB by @Jonathan_Kantor

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  17. Apryl_Parcher Says:

    RT @tweetmeme The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/8NVo6I (via @Mike_Stelzner @Jonathan_Kantor) Great List!

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  18. Apryl Parcher Says:

    Hi Jonathan:

    You’re absolutely right about finding ways to make it easy as falling off a log backwards to download white papers. Especially in light of the “sweet spot” in web eye-tracking surveys, people just won’t scroll or look much beyond that golden triangle when surfing for info. I also agree with with Jagath’s opinion on short registration pages. Make it easy!!

    But even though people have the web attention spans of gnats, it’s also true that those who are seeking a solution value the depth of white paper content over shorter articles or blog posts, and will continue to download them. Depth is the key word here. It has been proven over and over again in direct response copywriting that long-copy outperforms short when the attention of the reader is caught and the copy is relevant to the his particular needs. The same is true of white papers.

    The challenge is attracting and engaging our short-attention-span reader long enough to intrigue him and get him to part with more of his precious time to absorb the material.

    Blogs and articles can be useful in the initial capture of attention, and are great for “selling” the free download of a white paper–but I don’t think that shorter content can replace a true white paper’s deeper exploration of the subject matter.

    Great discussion and tips! Keep ‘em coming…

  19. Jonathan Kantor Says:

    Hi Apryl,

    Good points!

    Thanks,

    Jonathan

  20. TammyLawman Says:

    RT: @Jonathan_Kantor The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/8NVo6I

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  21. ResponseCapture Says:

    RT @Mike_Stelzner: The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages (great article!) http://bit.ly/8VLALB by @Jonathan_Kantor

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  22. GeorgeWise Says:

    RT: @Jonathan_Kantor The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/8NVo6I

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  23. wittlake Says:

    White paper reg tips. Particularly like the total number of sites view. http://bit.ly/61XSkn

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  24. BabcockJenkins Says:

    RT @wittlake: White paper reg tips. Particularly like the total number of sites view. http://bit.ly/61XSkn

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  25. melindaholm Says:

    Post for B2B marketers: The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages http://bit.ly/4rYm1K

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  26. VirtualMR Says:

    RT @1080Group: very good stuff RT @Mike_Stelzner: The DOs and DON’Ts of White Paper Landing Pages (great article!) http://bit.ly/8VLALB

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

If you'd like to learn more about Short Attention Marketing, make sure you check out my new book, Crafting White Paper 2.0. You can also follow me on Twitter. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll visit this blog frequently!

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