White Papers For Dummies E-Book

Gordon Graham

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Seitenzahl: 655

Beschreibung

A fast and easy way to write winning white papers!

Whether you’re a marketing manager seeking to use white papers to promote your business, or a copywriter keen to break into this well-paying field, White Papers For Dummies gives you a wealth of practical, hands-on advice from one of the world’s leading experts in the field.

The fact-based documents known as white papers have been called the “king of content.” No other B2B marketing piece can do more to generate leads, nurture prospects, and build mindshare.

Where white papers were once used only by technology firms, they are becoming “must-have” items in the marketing toolkit for almost any B2B firm. Practically every startup must produce a white paper as part of its business planning.

But writing effective white papers is a big challenge. Now you can benefit from the experience of a white paper specialist who’s done more than 200 projects for clients from Silicon Valley to Finland, from mighty Google to tiny startups. Author Gordon Graham—also known as That White Paper Guy—provides dozens of tips and tricks to help your project come together faster and easier.

White Papers For Dummies will help you to:

• Quickly determine if your B2B firm could benefit from a white paper
• Master the three phases of every white paper project:
  planning, production, and promotion
• Understand when and how to use the three main types of white paper
• Decide which elements to include and which to leave out
• Learn the best practices of seasoned white paper researchers and writers
• Choose from 40 different promotional tactics to get the word out
• Avoid common mistakes that many beginners make

Leseprobe

White Papers For Dummies®

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013932119

ISBN 978-1-118-49692-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-49704-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-49705-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-49707-4 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Gordon Graham is an award-winning writer who has worked on close to 200 white papers for well-known companies, like Google, Rackspace, and Oracle, plus many smaller firms with big dreams. Gordon wrote his first white paper in 1997, and by 2001, he decided to specialize in this unique form of content. His versatile experience as a journalist, technical writer, marketing executive, and independent copywriter helps him look at white papers from all different angles: as a reader, a sponsor, and a creator.

Gordon finds most white papers not nearly as engaging or persuasive as they could be, and he thinks that’s a shame. He continues to do research, write articles, and give presentations to professional marketers and writers on how to make their white papers more effective. His website, ThatWhitePaperGuy.com, is top-rated in Google, thanks to the dozens of how-to articles available on his site.

Gordon has taught writing at two universities and given more than 50 workshops, including in-house training at Cisco, Ericsson, and Sprint. As a freelance journalist, he wrote close to 1,000 magazine articles on technology for everyone from accountants to woodworkers. And for five years, he was the editor of SoftwareCEO.com, interviewing dozens of software executives on the secrets of their success.

Unlike most writers, Gordon has first-hand experience as a marketing executive. He served as the vice president of marketing for a wireless startup, where he helped grow sales from $250,000 to $14 million and then sell the company in three years. He did this, in part, by sponsoring white papers that helped his firm “eat the lunch” of much larger competitors.

Gordon lives with his family and two ginger cats a few steps from the shore of Lake Huron in northern Ontario, Canada. In the summer, he likes to run, paddle, and cruise the river on his boat, The Thessalon Queen. In the winter, he is happy to confirm that you can get high-speed Internet in an igloo.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wonderful partner, Angie Gallop, the woman I dreamed of since I was a teenager. Her love, insight, and sense of humor are a constant delight to me and all who know her. And to our daughter, Cassidy Rain, who helps us welcome every day with a toothy smile and a strong desire to go “oudside.”

Author’s Acknowledgments

It takes a village to write a book, even if only one person’s name is on the cover. This book took a village of colleagues, creatives, and clients over the past 15 years to come into being.

Thanks to my fellow white paper writers Michael Stelzner, who blazed the path with meteoric brilliance, and Jonathan Kantor, with whom I spent many intriguing hours discussing the past, present, and future of white papers. Thanks to Manny Gordon for your ongoing wit and wisdom, not to mention working together on our first-ever white papers, lo these many years ago. Special thanks to Louise Audren for the design and cover, and to Britt Brouse, Elizabeth Creith, and Jonathan Kantor for helpful reviews of the original version of my “ice cream” report. Thanks to Jef Keep for keeping my website humming along smoothly. Extra-special thanks to Steve Matthews, who designed the logo and website for That White Paper Guy and helped set all this in motion. And many thanks to my brother, Greg Graham, who helped research the global market for white papers and has been a fine coconspirator in the world of self-employment.

Thanks to all my colleagues at Wiley, starting with acquisitions editor Stacy Kennedy, who glimpsed the need for this book; to project editor Vicki Adang, who coaxed, cajoled, and inspired me with brilliant suggestions on how to reorganize and refine the manuscript; to technical editor Russell Willerton, who made many wise suggestions and helped me remove my foot from my mouth in a few notable places; and to copy editor Jennette ElNaggar, who made hundreds of eagle-eyed comments on how to improve the text. And, of course, thank you to my agent Carole Jelen from Waterside Productions for all your cool-headed advice.

Thanks to my fellow writers, including all the members of To the Point, the Thessalon Writers’ Group, who inspire me in every possible type of writing, and to my fellow readers in our book club, who remind me what’s important in life: friends, laughs, eats, and drinks. To my many friends in PWAC, you know who you are, especially Anne Douglas, Kathe Lieber, Paul Lima, Pippa Rispin, Bruce Wilson, and many more. Extra-special thanks to Steve Slaunwhite for years of encouragement, wise counsel, and helpful coaching.

Last but certainly not least, thank you to all my clients from Australia to Finland, who saw the potential of marketing with the unique form of content called white papers and who weren’t content to publish “just okay” efforts but urged everyone involved to do our very best. Special thanks to Ben White and everyone at MJ Impulse for your understanding as I delayed your white papers to get this book completed. This book contains the many lessons I learned from working with all of you. And I trust our learning isn’t over yet.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

Senior Project Editor: Victoria M. Adang

Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy

Copy Editor: Jennette ElNaggar

Assistant Editor: David Lutton

Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen

Technical Editor: Russell Willerton, PhD

Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker

Editorial Assistants: Rachelle S. Amick, Alexa Koschier

Cover Photo: © John Wiley & Sons

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery

Layout and Graphics: Carrie A. Cesavice, Jennifer Creasey, Joyce Haughey

Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell, Bonnie Mikkelson

Indexer: BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

David Palmer, Associate Publisher

Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

White Papers For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/whitepapers to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organized

Part I: Getting Started with White Papers

Part II: The Three Flavors of White Papers

Part III: From Foggy Idea to Finished Document

Part IV: Succeeding with White Papers

Part V: The Part of Tens

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with White Papers

Chapter 1: Unleashing the Power of White Papers

Seeing a White Paper for What It Is

Getting the scoop on the three flavors of white papers

Following a proven system for creating white papers

Declaring White Papers the “King of Content”

Seeing the growing trend to white papers

Spotting three flaws in many white papers

Using a mantra to avoid problems

Understanding Today’s Complex Sale

B2B marketing has evolved quickly

Today’s B2B buyers do their own research

Profiting from White Papers

At the top of the funnel

Throughout the funnel

At the bottom of the funnel

Discovering Who Uses White Papers and Who Should

Chapter 2: An Exciting Opportunity for Writers

Sizing Up the Possibilities

Looking at three trends pushing white papers to the top

Understanding why marketers can’t find qualified writers

Calculating the earning potential for a white paper writer

Discovering who uses white papers

Wondering whether the white paper opportunity will last

Coming into White Papers from Three Common Paths

Copywriters and white papers

Journalists and white papers

Technical writers and white papers

Finding White Paper Clients

Avoid most of what you hear

Getting started with the basics

The secret of freelance success

Chapter 3: The Past, Present, and Future of White Papers

Where It All Began: Generation 1.0 (1910s to 1990s)

Characteristics of Gen 1.0 white papers

The closest model: Business reports

Forcing White Papers to Evolve

Where White Papers Are Now: Generation 2.0 (1990s to Today)

Characteristics of Gen 2.0 white papers

Two close models: Annual reports and science magazines

But aren’t white papers old-fashioned?

Still evolving, not dying

Where White Papers Are Going: Generation 3.0 (Coming Soon)

Some trends to watch

Four possible paths to the future

Chapter 4: Just the FAQs on White Papers

Working Out the Whats of White Papers

What is a white paper anyway?

What are the industry standards for white papers?

What else do people call white papers?

What’s the difference between white papers and other marketing materials?

Figuring Out Who Writes and Reads White Papers

Who publishes white papers?

Who reads white papers?

Who hires people to write white papers?

Who writes white papers?

Understanding Why White Papers Are So Useful

Why do companies publish white papers?

Why do prospects read white papers?

Why do writers write white papers?

Pinpointing the Wheres of White Papers

Where do B2B prospects find white papers?

Where do people read white papers?

Where did white papers first come from?

Where are white papers going in the future?

Tracking the Whens of White Papers

When do companies publish white papers?

When do B2B prospects read white papers?

When should a company use each type of white paper?

Figuring Out the Hows of White Papers

How do people read white papers?

How long does a white paper take to create?

How much does a white paper cost?

How much can a writer earn doing white papers?

How can you tell whether a company needs a white paper?

How many white papers are “enough” for a company?

Part II: The Three Flavors of White Papers

Chapter 5: Picking the Perfect Flavor for Your Next White Paper

Recognizing the Three Purposes of White Papers

Defining the Three Flavors: Vanilla, Strawberry, and Chocolate

Zooming in on the product: Plain vanilla

Making points quickly: Scrumptious strawberry

Finding a solution: Rich chocolate

Making two tasty mash-ups

Getting messy with other flavor combinations

Choosing the Right Flavor

Reflecting on your purpose

Considering your target audience

Thinking about your target sector

Choosing between a pure flavor and a mash-up

Figuring out what to do if your idea doesn’t fit any flavor

Developing Your Topic

Sizing up your ideas

Giving readers something new

Getting ideas from prospects and clients

Chapter 6: The Backgrounder: As Basic As Vanilla

Introducing the Granddaddy of All White Papers

Defining a backgrounder

Spotting a backgrounder

Understanding this flavor’s appeal to sales and marketing types

Deciding When to Use a Backgrounder

Promoting an undisputed leader

Supporting a technical evaluation

Supplementing a product launch

Looking at the Pros and Cons of Backgrounders

Pro: Easy to research

Pro: Easy to write

Con: Short-lived

Con: Not good for generating leads

Planning a Backgrounder

Gathering essential information

Allocating pages

Choosing an effective title

Setting a factual tone

Going Beyond Text in a Backgrounder

Adding graphics

Using rich media

Repurposing a Backgrounder

Press release

Slide deck

Demo

Webinar

Chapter 7: The Numbered List: As Fresh As Strawberry

Introducing the Lightest and Liveliest of All White Papers

Defining a numbered list

Spotting a numbered list

Five reasons numbered lists are popular

Deciding When to Use a Numbered List

Getting attention with provocative views

Nurturing prospects already in the funnel

Casting FUD on competitors

Looking at the Pros and Cons of Numbered Lists

Pro: Easiest to write

Pro: Fastest to read

Pro: Easiest to repurpose

Con: Most superficial

Con: Easiest to dismiss

Con: Can be overused

Planning a Numbered List

Gathering essential information

Allocating pages

Choosing an effective title

Setting a provocative tone

Going Beyond Text in a Numbered List

Adding graphics

Using rich media

Repurposing a Numbered List

Blog post

Guest blog

E-newsletter article

Placed article

Chapter 8: The Problem/Solution: As Complex As Chocolate

Introducing the King of Content

Defining a problem/solution

Spotting a problem/solution

Understanding why this flavor appeals to executives

Deciding When to Use a Problem/Solution

Generating leads at the top of the funnel

Educating salespeople and channel partners

Educating analysts, bloggers, and journalists

Redefining a market space

Building mindshare

Looking at Pros and Cons of Problem/Solutions

Pro: Generates the most leads

Pro: Lasts the longest

Pro: Makes the best investment

Con: Hardest to create

Con: Slowest to create

Con: May heighten internal conflicts

Planning a Problem/Solution

Gathering essential information

Allocating pages

Choosing an effective title

Setting a dignified tone

Going Beyond Text in a Problem/Solution

Using graphics in a problem/solution

Using rich media

Repurposing a Problem/Solution

Blog post

Placed article

Slide deck

Webinar

Conference presentation

Chapter 9: Mashing Up Different Flavors

Understanding Why You Need Mash-Ups

Supporting a product launch, plus attracting attention

Generating leads, plus raising your company’s profile

Creating Tasty Mash-Up #1: Backgrounder + Numbered List

When to use this mash-up

What to include and what to leave out

Creating Tasty Mash-Up #2: Problem/Solution + Numbered List

When to use this mash-up

What to include and what to leave out

Avoiding Two Messy Combinations

Messy mash-up #1: Backgrounder + problem/solution

Messy mash-up #2: All three flavors in one

Fixing a Mash-Up That Doesn’t Taste Right

How to tell when you’ve made a mess

Separating the flavors

Reconfirming your purpose

Using the ingredients that belong

Chapter 10: Special Ingredients for a White Paper

Sprinkling on the Special Ingredients

Positioning blurb

Synopsis-style executive summary

Numbered lists

Buyer’s guide

Case studies

Conclusions

Call to action

Leaving Out the Bitter Ingredients

Hype

Marketing speak

Groupthink

Vagueness

Product mentions

Direct attacks on competitors

Part III: From Foggy Idea to Finished Document

Chapter 11: A Proven Process to Complete Your White Paper

Benefitting from a White Paper Process

Not all white paper projects go smoothly

Many companies lack a publishing process

A process you can use for your own

Getting an Overview of the Process

Stage 1: Planning a white paper

Stage 2: Producing a white paper

Stage 3: Promoting a white paper

Getting an Edge with Six Success Factors

Success factor #1: In-house sponsor

Success factor #2: Firm deadline

Success factor #3: Deep understanding of the topic

Success factor #4: Cooperative SMEs and reviewers

Success factor #5: Joint ownership

Success factor #6: Sense of urgency

Taming Four Maddening Pests

The scope-creep

The tug-o-warrior

The no-see-em reviewer

The dyslexic designer

Chapter 12: Planning an Effective White Paper

Step 1: Assembling the Team

What the client does in this step

What the writer does in this step

How to hire a white paper writer

Step 2: Holding a Kickoff Conference Call

What the client does in this step

What the writer does in this step

Resolving differences during the conference call

Step 3: Preparing a Plan

What the writer does in this step

What the client does in this step

Putting together a white paper plan

Step 4: Gathering Research

What the client does in this step

What the writer does in this step

Step 5: Preparing an Executive Summary

What the writer does in this step

What the client does in this step

Crafting the executive summary

Dealing with comments on the executive summary

Chapter 13: Producing a Powerful White Paper

Let the Writer Write!

Step 6: Creating First-Draft Text and Graphics

What the writer does in this step

What the illustrator does in this step

Expanding the executive summary

Creating graphics without an illustrator

Reviewing graphics

Step 7: Gathering Initial Comments

What the client does in this step

Dealing with comments on the first draft

Step 8: Creating the Second-Draft White Paper

What the writer does in this step

What the illustrator does in this step

Step 9: Gathering Final Comments

What the client does in this step

Dealing with comments on the second draft

Step 10: Collecting and Checking Sources

What the writer does in this step

What the client does in this step

Saving source material as PDFs

Keying sources to footnotes

Spot-checking sources

Handling unused sources

Step 11: Preparing the Final Document

What the illustrator does in this step

What the writer does in this step

What the designer does in this step

What the client does in this step

Proofing final pages

Putting keywords in the PDF

Step 12: Wrapping Up the Project

What the client does in this step

What the creatives do in this step

Making payments — the faster, the better

Getting permissions

Transferring copyrights

Doing a postmortem

Part IV: Succeeding with White Papers

Chapter 14: Doing Research: Think Like a Lawyer

Your Goal: Building an Open-and-Shut Case

Digging Up Solid Sources and Extracting Relevant Points

Evaluating sources

Finding sources for a white paper

Understanding what makes good evidence

Keeping Track of a Mountain of Research

Writing out index cards

Typing and printing out a Word file

Putting them together: Word plus index cards

Managing content with Evernote

Choosing Footnotes or Endnotes

The immediacy of footnotes

The finality of endnotes

The tidiness of in-text citations

Formatting citations

Chapter 15: Write Like a Journalist

Reading for Fun and Profit

Reading white papers

Reading related research

Reading for inspiration

Keeping a “swipe file”

Writing Winning White Papers

Getting to the point

Handling dialogue and sources

Creating text enhancements

Writing for translation

Choosing one metaphor and sticking with it

Controlling your material

Rewriting Before You Submit

Avoiding throat-clearing

Having your computer read your draft

Getting readability statistics on your text

Changing passive voice to active voice

Writing with Style

Learning from style guides

Following house style

Refining Your Writing Process

Figuring out your best time to write

Wearing the right hat at the right time

Allowing ideas to ferment

Tricking yourself to get started

Using a mind map

Writing in short bursts

Using positive affirmations

Challenging the myth of writer’s block

Chapter 16: Promote Like a Madman

Recognizing the Need for Promotion

Promoting a white paper like a product launch

Measuring your results

Digging up sales and revenue numbers

Repeating the most effective promotions

Continuing your promotions

Choosing the Right Promotional Tactics for Your White Paper

Beginning your promotion at home

Using cost-effective e-mail

Talking it up through social media

Getting it to the influencers

Promoting it through third parties

Using a slide deck

Talking about it face to face

Advertising, online and offline

Part V: The Part of Tens

Chapter 17: Ten White Paper Problems and How to Solve Them

Boring, Nondescript Title

No Summary at the Start

No Conclusions at the End

No Call to Action

Not the Right Length

Sales Pitch in Disguise

Not Enough Proof to Back Up Claims

Not Enough, or Not Good Enough, Graphics

No Logical Flow of Ideas

Not Written by the Right Person

Chapter 18: Ten Tips on Designing a White Paper

Design to Enhance the Content

Consider Your Readers’ Eyesight

Realize That Text Isn’t a Graphic

Make Every Page Count

Control Page Breaks

Avoid a Wall of Gray

Leave Lots of White Space

Avoid Smug Shots

Control Hyphenation

Refine a Corporate Template

Chapter 19: More Than Ten Ways to Spice Up a White Paper Title

Stressing the Benefits to Readers

Using Active Verbs, Not Passive Labels

Identifying Your Target Reader

Converting a Weak Title to a Subtitle

Why Not Try a Question?

Recasting Your Paper As a Numbered List

Using “How to” Phrasing

Leaving Out Product Names

Cutting Out Jargon and Buzzwords

Using Selected Keywords

Testing Titles in Advance

Cheat Sheet

Introduction

When I tell people I write white papers for a living, most look at me with a blank expression. The bravest manage to ask, “Um, what are those again?” I usually give a short answer like, “White papers are fact-based marketing pieces for companies — a lot like the essays we wrote in college.” Then we get back to talking about more-interesting topics, like who’s the greatest rock-and-roll band, why anyone would ever drink light beer, and our favorite oxymorons (mine is currently “jumbo shrimp”).

But in my mind, I’m thinking, “White papers are a time-tested format for long-form copy that combine expository and persuasive writing, whose roots go back more than 100 years and whose future stretches ahead for as long as companies sell anything relatively new, complex, and expensive that needs explaining to a B2B prospect.” But I don’t actually say all of that.

When I first commissioned a white paper, I was the marketing manager in a fast-growing technology company. Before that, I’d spent many years as a computer journalist and technical writer. I’d seen many white papers from other companies, so I figured we needed one, too. I looked around for advice, a book, or some helpful material on the web. Back in 1997, the web was just getting started, and Google wasn’t available yet. I didn’t find much guidance, so in two weeks, my team and I put together something partway between a slide show and a specification. Amazing to all, it turned out well enough that it helped close sales and won an award for technical communication.