Best Practices: Creating a Successful White Paper Program

Best Practices: Creating Successful White Paper Programs

Technology companies around the globe use white papers to educate buyers on solving business problems.
But too much of a good thing creates a backlash: prospects complain about being inundated with mediocre
messages that hype rather than solve problems. How is a company to stand out from its competitors?
Decision makers don’t want sales pitches, they want expert advice about the products they buy, and that’s
what a well-crafted white paper should provide. Companies that make exceptional use of storytelling in white
papers will succeed. Companies that under-deliver by focusing on product details instead of customer needs
will not.

Benefits of a White Paper Program

A white paper program is a curriculum of organizational elements and best practices that support companies in
delivering a schedule of targeted, well-written white papers over a period of time.
A well-executed program provides several clear benefits to technology companies. Through a series of
planned papers, a program helps differentiate a company’s approach to technology, positions the company as
a thought leader, clearly defines the benefits of proprietary solutions to prospects and investors, and enhances
credibility among business leaders and decision makers.

A successful white paper program equips authors with the tools they need to craft stories that garner top line
attention and support marketing departments with the creative messaging that attracts prospects and keeps
them engaged. Here are the benefits of a well-executed white paper program:
• Reduce time commitment of authors and content providers
• Increase storytelling capabilities and educational value of the papers
• Provide best practices that ensure successful papers
• Deliver more effective calls-to-action
• Improve marketing capabilities of the papers
• Increase readership with well-designed documents
• Highlight the collective intelligence of an organization


White Paper Program Best Practices

White papers are ideal sales tools for communicating the advantages of complex, technology products and
services. A robust white paper program can be used to serialize papers for technical and business decisionmaking
audiences, as well as users. Careful planning of a white paper program generates more fulfilling
documents for both authors and readers. Here are some best practices to guide the development of a
successful white paper program:
Simplify the research process – researching a topic can be one of the most time-consuming and
cumbersome procedures in the white paper writing process. Laser-focus the research practice and shorten the
timeline.
Create persuasive storylines – one of the biggest challenges for an author is creating a solid, persuasive
thread that keeps the reader interested and anxious to turn the next page. Engage readers by showing them
that you feel their pain. Look for fresh perspectives and communicate them with persuasive and compelling
content.
Compose a compelling title – a strong title attracts more readers than a basic description. For example,
“Five things computer hackers don’t want you to know” is far more intriguing than “PC Security Measures.”
Build credibility with case studies – many business executives are skeptical of the average white paper.
However, including case studies in a white paper can add incredible value if they are powerfully and succinctly
written.
Deliver what your reader really wants – day after day your prospects are bombarded with so many
marketing messages that they simply stop listening. Readers want different things: some want to be educated
about new technologies or platforms, others may want to know if you can solve their problem. A well-written
white paper accomplishes both by delivering a clear message in the language of the readers.
Manage your time – any successful person has a million things to do and only a few hours in which to do
them. But there are time-proven ways that authors can manage their time so that the important things always
get done—and done well.
Capture skim readers – most readers skim your paper before making the commitment to read it. There are
tips that make a paper more enticing to skim and therefore more readable. Strong headlines, subheads,
bullets and captions are a few ways to provide readers with valuable information at a glance.
Exercise restraint – prospects today look to white papers for insights and education, not sales pitches. When
companies ignore these expectations, they lose credibility and valuable sales opportunities.
3-30-3 rule – grab your reader’s interest in the first three seconds; that’s how long you have to show them that
you have something meaningful to say. If they stay for the initial glance, you may have another 30 seconds to
make your point. If they're still with you, the final three minutes are to convince the reader that you have the
right solution.
Create irresistible calls to action – when it comes to a great white paper, the last thing you write is just as
important as the first thing. Learn how to write a powerful call to action that gets prospects to pick up the
phone and call.
Avoid deadly design mistakes – design plays an essential role in the success of any white paper. Before a
prospect begins reading your paper, they judge its value by its appearance and attention to detail. Graphics,
tables and charts can make your papers more accessible and more interesting.

Collaborative Process

The collaborative process is key to a positive outcome in any working relationship. When developing a white
paper program it is essential that all parties – content specialists and writers – understand and support this
process. Professional technology marketing writers can either assist an organization’s in-house authors in
writing more compelling papers, or they can develop the papers for you. Either way, here are the steps in the
collaborative process:
• Outline Process: Writers work with content specialists/key internal stakeholders to create a clear,
concise white paper outline.
• Content and Research Process: Writers work with an organization’s internal experts to collect the
content necessary to fulfill the underlying theme of the paper.
• Writing Process: Writers work with an organization’s experts to streamline the writing process and
create the first draft for review.
• Revision Process: Writers work with an organization’s internal experts to speed the revision time and
get papers completed sooner.
• Promotion Process: Writers work with your marketing team to develop promotional copy and deliver
creative ideas to help increase the readership and improve response rates.
Creative Team

Many professional technology marketing firms take a team approach to white paper development. Rather than
depend upon a single writer, they support an organization’s authors with a team of writers and creative experts
who provide every aspect of successful white paper production.
• Creative Director: Manages the entire program, including assignment of resources, development of
schedule, and adherence to best practices.
• Project Manager: Dedicated point-of-contact for authors, content specialists and marketing staff.
Responsibilities include maintaining the schedule and work flow; supporting the writing team; managing
the research and writing process; coordinating document review; and more.
• Writing Team: A team of writers and editors who work to ensure technical accuracy, storytelling strength
and continuity within the document.
• Design Team: Add value to white paper design and readership.

Program Summary

A final and important element of a White Paper Program is manageability. The first step in assuring
manageability is selecting an experienced team of technology writers who bring added value to the project and
can manage the creative process for you. For example, experienced writers understand the technology sales
cycle and can offer suggestions that an organization’s content specialists may overlook. A team of writers
offers far greater breadth and depth than a single writer. If that team includes a project manager, it will not only
bring added value to the White Paper Program, but they will also relieve your marketing staff of the burden of
managing and executing the program so you can devote more energy to planning, enhancing brand identity,
preparing for new product launches, and driving prospects through the sales funnel.

The creation of a robust white paper program adds immense value to an organization’s white paper
development and distribution efforts. Creating a roadmap for a 6-month or year-long program provides content
specialists, authors and marketing managers with a unified approach that enhances the collective intelligence
of an organization’s authors and experts, increases executives’ position as a global thought leaders, and offers
promotional capabilities that will increase readership and response from prospects and clients. The ultimate
success of a White Paper Program depends on selecting the right team of writers that complements your
internal team, supports your marketing efforts and helps to manage the process from beginning to end.

Best Practices: Creating a Successful White Paper Program - To learn more about this author, visit John Gillett's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

E-Mail | Print | More

Related Articles
Best Practices: Creating a Successful White Paper Program
	A white paper program is a curriculum of organizational elements and best practices that support companies in delivering a schedule of targeted, well-written white papers over a period of time. A white paper progr...
How do you create corporate values?
	How should the corporate values be created? Where do they come from? Can the brands a company has have their own values? Can these extend the corporate core values? Where do the brand values come from?...
Attracting Potential Buyers
	Successful marketing is about leverage, and the smartest activities you can engage in are those that bring clients running to you in droves, rather than painfully searching for clients one at a time. This article i...
Lesson #2: It Takes Passion to Win the Fight
	White might not have been a stellar student, but thanks to his achievements with the UFC, his high school was nevertheless proud of him. So much so, that they even invited him back to deliver the commencement addres...
Tell to Sell White Papers Boost Tech Product Sales
	White papers have become increasingly common as technologies grow in complexity. They explain the details of your product, where it fits in, and how it competes with similar products. They address the need for infor...

---

Related Forum Posts
	Proper Planning required
	Favorite Christmas movies
	Recycling Papers
	Re: Food Marketing Entrepreneur Assistance
	Fly Paper Required
	Book: Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead But Gutsy Girls Do
	New vendor on Last Minute Training
	Think like an Association