How to write a white paper
If the products or services you sell are technical in nature, you can
probably benefit from writing and offering white papers. These documents – a
staple in the software industry – help explain the concepts behind a technology
and often are a key in winning over technical buyers.
White papers have internal audiences, too. They can help educate a company’s
own sales force about the problems faced by key customer groups, and teach them
to explain clearly how a company’s products fit as good solutions.
What exactly is a white paper?
There are nearly as many definitions of what constitutes a white paper as
there are white papers themselves! A quick Google on the subject turns up the
following from a few well-known high tech marketing consultants:
- A pre-sales document aimed at potential customers who have not yet made
up their minds to buy a certain product or back a certain technology. –
Gordon & Gordon
- A white paper typically argues a specific position or solution to a
problem. White papers are powerful marketing tools used to help key
decision-makers and influencers justify implementing solutions. – Michael A.
Stelzner
- A white paper is your manifesto on how a problem should be solved. –
Perry Marshall
However it’s defined, a white paper is about as close as a business gets to
an academic paper. The subject of the paper can be a technical description of a
product or a technology, or a description of the theory or problems faced in
building the product or technology. Done well, it’s devoid of the hype and
obvious bias apparent in many other types of collateral material.
According to technical writers Gordon & Gordon, there are 5 main types of
white papers:
- Technology guides
- Position papers
- Business benefits documents
- Competitive reviews
- Evaluator’s guides
Each of these has a place, but from the perspective of most companies, there
is ultimately only one reason to provide white papers. What is that reason? To
influence prospect’s behavior, and make a sale! (Can I get an “Amen!”?)
Let’s look now at how you might put together a white paper of your own.
How to write a white paper
Know your audience and focus on their problem - not the solution.
A good white paper firmly establishes the problem customers face. It connects
with their frustrations, and fuels their goals and ambitions. It outlines the
thinking process behind your solution to this problem, and illustrates why
continued discussion with your company will be valuable.
Provide "real" value
Give them “how to’s” they can use. Although there are many possible formats,
here’s a framework you can use as a starting point for creating your own white
paper:
- Scope and goals
- Problem you will tackle
- Rationale for your focus
- Solution & implementation
- How you will approach the problem
- Project organization
- Project management
- Anticipated results
- Deliverables
- Products
- Timeframe
- Interpretation & conclusions
- Outcomes
- How known problem solved
- Added value?
- Next steps
- Cost
- Estimates of major categories
- Human resources and effort
Infuse it with credibility
To build credibility, write objectively. If the paper is rife with blatant
biased self-promotion, it is worthless. It will be discarded immediately as
marketing “fluff.”
In addition, find ways to get others to tell your story for you. Give
examples of others who have benefited from adopting this position or following
this process. Seek out credible third-party sources who can make claims about
your technology on your behalf.
The format of your white paper is important, too. This is one place where the
old college paper trick of changing margins and font size won’t help you. Keep
the narrative to a maximum of five to 10 pages in length using a 12-point font.
Can’t find someone in-house who can write an informative, compelling white
paper? That doesn’t have to be a problem. It’s perfectly alright to outsource
this project to a public relations agency or freelance writer.
For more information on white papers, read Gordon & Gordon's excellent
resource, “The Art of the White Paper,” located here: “The
Art of the White Paper”
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