White papers take a lot of effort to create, so make sure you have a definite goal before you start. There are lots of different reasons to produce a white paper, from thought leadership and SEO to market positioning and qualifying leads. Talk to people across your business: have they noticed any new trends, interesting data, or recurring questions? Think about the questions and problems that your target audience faces. The ideal topic is something that your customers are interested in, and you’re an expert on. Are white papers cost-effective for content marketers? How should you distribute a white paper? How do you know when to use a white paper, and when to switch to another format?īefore you start writing, you’ll need to think about: Now you know the basic types and aims of a white paper, let’s talk tactics. You can have a point of view or an editorial angle, but it must be supported by the evidence. They should be focused on facts, leaving readers to make their own decisions. Regardless of the type of white paper you create, note that white papers are not for declaring opinions or making a sales pitch. You might also see white papers referred to by other names, such as a competitive review, an executive briefing, a market overview, a position paper, an evaluator’s guide, or a special report. It’s reserved for readers who are already strongly engaged with a topic and ready to make a purchase. This is the most in-depth type of white paper. It’s a useful reference and is usually shared with prospects who have started to move through the sales funnel. In this format, you sum up all the available information on a topic. In content marketing, it’s often aimed at prospects at the top of the funnel. This kind of white paper is very straightforward: you outline a particular problem, then recommend a solution. In content marketing, white papers are most often used for lead generation and as a sales tool, though can also be used for building brand awareness and establishing credibility as an expert in your specific industry or field.Ĭontent marketers often talk about three different types of white paper, each with a slightly different goal: Unlike academic papers, a white paper is an expert summary for people who may not have very deep knowledge of the topic at hand. The tricky part is to find the right balance between technical detail and readability. But it will include practical, well-researched suggestions or solutions to a problem.Īnd it will be written for people outside the organisation: potential customers, not insiders. A white paper for content marketing may not be printed, and it will hopefully be a bit more colourful than a simple white page. Those features are still important today, even in the very different context of content marketing. They were public-facing, instead of just internal documents. And second of all, they were available for the general public to read. And it had two key characteristics: first of all, the proposals were only suggestions, not absolute commitments. It referred to a short informational document, printed and bound in white paper, that set out proposals for legislation. The idea of a “white paper” was invented by the British government. The easiest way to understand the purpose of a white paper is to understand where they come from.
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