Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
by M. Kyle Craig –
Marketer, Writer, and Technologist
If you’re reading this, you must be using white papers in your marketing.
Right?
Right!?!?!?
I hope you are. They are a killer tool in any marketer’s arsenal.
They are perfect for building your guru status, lead generation, opt-in
bait, educating your prospects, and establishing yourself as an industry
leader.
But most people are doing it wrong. You probably are to.
…you need to NOT read this… Close down the reader and you
need to go and start writing your white paper. Come back when
you have your white paper finished…
Take a few minutes to read through this list. You’ll learn some
things and improve your white papers.
Author is M. Kyle Craig thewhitepaperplace.com
Why use a White Paper?
( A few reasons.. )
You should guide your prospect after they’ve read the paper. You need a clear
action sequence that the customer should follow. Most white papers have no
approach at all. They leave the paper as is and expect the sales team to follow
up with the prospect. Usually, this translates to missed opportunities and lost
dollars.
What exactly should the action be? It depends, your actions can be varied. You
could have them: go to a landing page, send an email, place a phone call,
download a software demo. Something. Just make sure you tell them where to
go.
If you don’t give the reader a clear idea of where to go, you are leaving the sale
to random chance. By specifically telling them the next step, you guide the
reader along, putting them one step closer to purchasing.
White papers are also used to build your credibility over the long term. It’s
called ‘thought leadership’. Thought leadership white papers offer information
that is relevant, applicable, and interesting to your core audience. The
information helps your customers understand your vision, solve a problem, or
educate on upcoming problems. This technique is applied repeatedly over time.
Writers don’t really want to spend time on the subject headline. You
probably don’t either. After you’ve spent countless hours of researching,
writing, and editing, the headline should describe the topic, not be ‘catchy.’ You
want the content to carry itself.
The problem with this is…
without a good headline, the number of people that will read your
paper is EXACTLY 2 – you and your proofreader.
You should realize that most people, like you, are pressed for time.
They make a split second decision about your paper, including it’s worthiness
to them, it’s relevance to them, and it’s quality.
The headline is the first rung in the decision making ladder inside a
the human brain. It serves one purpose - to get your reader to move further into
the paper. If the headline is dull, you’ll likely find yourself being passed over.
The best subject headlines are the ones that make the prospect thinking to
themselves: “Man! I’ve got to stop everything I’m doing and read this paper.
Right now!”
Here is a short list of follow-on items that could be quickly built using data from
a white paper:
- Special ‘member-only’ sections on your website
- Niche sites on the web
- Specialized landing pages
- Presentations
-Training classes for customers
- Datasheets
The actual ‘writing’ part of a white paper is really only a piece of the
whole process. Yes, that’s right. I said ‘process’. Ironically, most people don’t
realize this. This is grossly oversimplified, but the process is :
Not many people realize that the great writers are also the most disciplined. It
takes more than a simple, “I’m going to write a white paper today.’ kind of
attitude.
Skipping these steps (or taking short-cuts) leads to ineffective work.
If you’ve ever had a white paper that has grown out of control or has lost its
effectiveness, then you probably aren’t using a process.
Shortcutting these steps will hurt you in the long run. It will show in
the content. And even if the readers (remember your prospects? The ones with
the money?) can’t quite pinpoint what’s wrong with the paper, they’ll know it
unconsciously. And then they’ll go somewhere else to buy.
You use jargon everyday. You use it at the bar, at the grocery store, at work,…
everywhere.
Jargon is the informal words (and phrases) that you use with your
friends and families. It has a purpose in social settings, but not in writing. Your
white paper should be professional and communicate clearly, without being
boring. There should be no jargon in a white paper.
But… in some cases, you should use jargon…
“What?” you say.
Sure there are some special details that only exist in your business.
But the simple fact of the matter is that human psychology doesn’t change.
Prospects respond to good information and they want to buy good products.
Using a white paper makes that happen.
Don’t fall into the trap that your market is different. Keep an open
mind and pull in new ideas from all areas. One good idea could get your over
your next big hurdle.
The principles of business, marketing, and customers still apply. Even if you
think your business is different.
M. Kyle Craig
Kyle Craig is a marketer, writer, and technology. He has been involved in over 40
product launches and has written in most vehicles, including from newsletters, articles, whtie
papers, press releases, web content, and blog posts. He is a marketing consultant that
combines online and offline methods in the marketing plan.