The Biggest Challenge in Creating and Marketing White Papers

Posted by Ambal Balakrishnan July 15th 10

Business decision makers don't read white papers just because a product or service is "cool".  They have real business problems they are trying to solve. How should marketers solve this informational need? We asked white paper experts: "What is the biggest challenge in creating and marketing a white paper? What do you recommend to your clients to overcome this challenge?"  

Jonathan Kantor

Blog WhitePaperPundit Twitter Jonathan_Kantor

"Constructing a formal process that will generate high quality business leads.”

Jonathan Kantor's Bio

Jonathan Kantor is the principal and founder of The Appum Group, "The White Paper Company", and has been producing commercial white papers for the past 11 years. He is also the author of the White Paper Pundit blog. Jonathan's experience with white papers is also coupled with over 25 years of enterprise business experience with leading industry innovators such as Apple Computer, Microsoft, Digital Equipment Corporation, and J.D. Edwards Enterprise Software (now a division of Oracle Corporation). This experience included a variety of sales, marketing, business development, and management positions.

Jonathan Kantor's Tip

The biggest challenge in white paper development and marketing is constructing a formal process that translates raw Subject Matter Expert (SME) interviews or online research information into a compelling white paper sufficient to generate high quality business leads and/or a greater number of social media followers.

I recommend a structured development process comprised of the following steps:

Step 1 Formulating the right kind and quantity of questions for SME interviews that can translate into highly appealing white paper content.

Step 2 Constructing a detailed outline (blueprint) of the proposed white paper that will provide marketers with a good idea of the planned size, framework, flow, and key points expressed in the first draft.

Step 3 Condensing interview and research data into no more or less than a 6 to 8 page draft incorporating both text and graphic elements that will to appeal to today’s time and attention challenged reader.

Step 4 Enhancing the final approved white paper draft with a polished corporate design, similar to the concept of an annual report, that connotes a professional image to targeted business executives and decision makers.

Step 5 Leveraging the finished white paper within a social media marketing plan that will ultimately generate quality business leads and/or increase the number of social media retweets and followers.

Jonathan Kantor Recommends

• Generating More Leads with Video White Papers
• Free document distribution sites: Scribd.com, DocStoc.com, Slideshare.net, Gazhoo.com, Yudu.com, and WhitePapers.org. 
• Blog sharing sites such as BizSugar.com, Sphinn.com, and Reddit.com.
• WhitePaperPundit: The Friday FREE White Paper List, a listing of free white papers from weekly Twitter Tweets that don’t require registration, posted each Friday.
• Twitter search criteria set to keywords: “White Paper”, and “White Papers”.
• Google Alerts set to “White Paper”, and “White Papers”. 

Stephanie Tilton

Blog Savvy B2B Marketing Twitter StephanieTilton

 “Stay focused on prospects' preferences and concerns. ”

Stephanie Tilton's Bio

Stephanie Tilton is an expert case study and white paper writer who helps B2B companies advance the buying cycle by engaging prospects and customers. Harnessing her unique blend of technical knowledge, marketing savvy, and writing skills, Stephanie has crafted nearly 150 case studies and white papers for leading brands such as Akamai Technologies, EMC, Macromedia, Novell, SAP, and Symantec. Her website is Ten Ton Marketing.

Stephanie Tilton's Tip

The biggest challenge creating and marketing a white paper is staying focused on prospects' preferences and concerns.

When creating a white paper, keep in mind the following:

1. What are the reader's main concerns at this stage in the buying cycle? If the paper is meant for someone early in the buying cycle, it should be free of information about your offering and should instead explore issues and trends that are top of mind for the prospect. Someone in the middle of the buying cycle will likely be interested in key differences between you and your competitors. The key is to understand what information the buyer is interested in at this stage. And don't try to address all stages in a single paper – it implies a lack of understanding about your prospects.
2. What level of detail does the prospect prefer? We're all pressed for time these days. That said, people generally seek different amounts of information depending on their roles. Papers aimed at executives need to be short and to the point, whereas papers written for those further down in the hierarchy can afford to delve into more detail.
3. How can the paper be formatted to make it easy to scan and memorable? Regardless of the intended audience, most readers will first scan a paper to determine whether or not it's worthy of their time. With that in mind, write a succinct executive summary that conveys the salient points, craft meaningful headings, and pepper the paper with bullets, call-outs, sidebars, and graphics that can be quickly digested. Careful attention to formatting also helps keep key points top of mind once the reader has finished the paper.
4. What is the next logical step in the buying process? Don't leave it up to readers to decide what they should do after reading the paper – point them in the right direction, whether that means signing up for a webinar, downloading a case study, or contacting a sales rep. Whatever you do, don't overwhelm the reader with multiple choices as this can lead to paralysis instead of action.

At the marketing stage, address the following:

1. Where does the prospect seek out information about this topic? In addition to posting the paper on your own site, you'll want it to appear where your buyers spend time.  That might include white paper syndication sites, local conferences, and virtual trade shows.
2. What keywords does the buyer use when searching for information on this topic? To be found online, your papers need to include the keywords that your prospects search on. Once you understand those terms, you should embed them into your paper's title, executive summary, and landing page so your paper ranks high in the search engine results.
3. Is the prospect willing to register for this paper? Don't scare away prospects because you're hell-bent on collecting contact information. More than one study has shown that prospects either lie on registration forms or will simply click away to find a paper that is free to download. If this is the first interaction a potential buyer has with your company, he or she will probably resist registration (rightly expecting that sharing contact info will lead to being bombarded with emails or phone calls). Consider sharing content for free when it's intended for those early in the buying cycle. Once you've reeled them in with valuable content, collect incremental registration information with each subsequent piece of content they access.
4. How can we make it easy for the reader to share this paper with others? If readers like your white paper, they will likely share it with peers and colleagues. Make it as easy as possible for them to do so by forgoing registration and embedding social-sharing options directly in the PDF.

Stephanie Tilton Recommends

• Free eBook: 5 Steps to a White Paper that Pulls in the Perfect Prospect
• Free report: White Paper Syndication Options for Technology Marketers
• Savvy B2B Marketing posts on white papers

Gordon Graham

Website ThatWhitePaperGuy

“Stop talking about your solution and start talking about the basic problem your offering is intended to solve”

Gordon Graham's Bio

"That white paper guy" is Gordon Graham, an award-winning writer with 30 years in technology. He's written hundreds of white papers and case studies for big-name clients like Autodesk, IBM, and Oracle... plus many smaller firms with big dreams. He's taught technical and marketing communication at two universities, and given countless workshops and webinars to professional audiences. And he's also editor of SoftwareCEO.com, the world's largest online community of software executives. 

Gordon Graham's Tip

I believe one of the toughest things for most marketing and sales people is to stop talking about their "solutions" and start talking about the basic problem their offering is intended to solve. A white paper should be genuinely informative, educational and helpful. It should help a prospect understand an issue, solve a problem, or do their job better. To do this, a white paper needs to start from a higher level survey of the industry that decribes a nagging problem, sketches in the earlier attempts to solve it and why none of these were sufficient, and then proposes the sponsor's offering in a generic way. This locates the sponsor's offering in a wider context that is genuinely informative.

But this is not the way most marketing people think as they dash about their daily duties. I try to help them slow down, take a higher view and publish useful content that will help prospects see their companies in a favorable light, as a trusted advisor and not just someone peddling their wares.

Gordon Graham Recommends 

• White Paper FAQ Brief answers to 20 fundamental questions on white papers
• Who needs white papers anyway? Three simple questions that determine whether any company needs white papers
• Tips on terrific titles for white papers The title is one of the most important parts of any white paper. How to give your white paper a more effective title
• Tips on writing white papers as tips Tips rule in magazines, books, and the Web. Here's how to harness this compelling format in your next white paper
• How to use white papers to grow a healthy crop of leads 20 tips from interviews with top executives of two white paper syndication services

 

Related Articles

• How to enhance information absorption for your white paper?
• What is the ideal length of a white paper?
• ClickInsights: What is your favorite white paper? Why do you like it?
• ClickInsights: How to choose a white paper syndication partner?
• ClickInsights: What is the biggest mistake to avoid when writing a white paper?

 

posted in ClickInsights: Expert Interviews

bookmark in del.icio.us | submit to stumbleupon