I’ve touched on the importance of white papers in previous blogs. I personally think that every company should have at least one. The problem is that some marketers handle the information that goes into a white paper with varying degrees of relevancy.
The white paper is a marketing tool, no doubt, but it is not supposed to be a 10-page sales pitch. All too often, that is precisely what it turns into. Today, I’d like to pinpoint a few mistakes that tend to steer your white paper in that direction and help you eliminate them from the equation when developing your own.
The Purpose of a White Paper
Let’s start off on the right foot. What is the purpose behind developing a white paper? Simply put, it exists to help people reduce their choices between similar products and services down to one.
Good white papers jab pain points and offer pointed solutions. They keep the focus on educating the prospect about the quality and benefit of your product or service, where it belongs, and they do their best to shove anything comparable out of the frame for good in the eyes of your prospective customers and clients.
Mistake #1: It Has Unclear Marketing Objectives
Alignment and congruity are important concepts in marketing. Your white paper has to mirror the spirit of your brand message while completing ONE specific objective. White papers can be used for a variety of purposes.
Why are you developing a white paper? Is it going to be used as a digital asset for lead generation? Will it add some much-needed long-form content to your website to help boost SEO? Are you using it as a focal point for a new product launch? It is necessary to know the objective before you begin writing.
In all of the above examples, the basic content will be the same but the delivery of that content will vary a bit. The worst thing you can do is try to use one paper to serve all those purposes. Don’t get lazy. Spend the time, effort, and money to align your white papers with their objectives if you want to maximize your ROI on them.
Mistake #2: It Misses the Target
Like any other type of content, white papers need to be clearly targeted and written to a specific audience. It is the responsibility of the white paper to meet people at the exact point on their buyer’s journey where they will be most apt to respond favorably to its message.
In order to make your white paper as effective as possible, you need to have a clear handle on your target audience’s pain points, wants, and needs. You also need to target appropriate and effective content for potential buyers at every point in your sales cycle.
This goes back to the concept of alignment. Send consistent messages with all your content and pay special attention to your white papers. They are unique in that those of your prospects that are seriously considering doing business with you will read far more of a white paper than they would a sales page or a blog post. There are things you need to do to keep their attention, but those efforts go further with white papers than with virtually any other type of content. This brings me to the next big mistake…
Mistake #3: It Has Too Much Sales Language
White papers are a bit of an enigma in that they are sales content but they have to be careful just how much selling they actually do. White papers have their own 80/20 rule in that they should be 80 percent informative and educational with a slight sales edge. Limit sales language to no more than 20 percent of the message in a white paper.
Frame features and benefits in the context of user experience. Assume that the readers already use and love your product so they get into and stay in that mindset. Toward the end, you can give them a final jab that reminds them that they still need to take action to have it, but always steer the language back in the direction of experience. Make the purchase the next logical step in the process.
Mistake #4: You’re Writing It Yourself
As a final observation, I am obviously going to recommend working with a copywriting company or freelancer with a proven track record of writing high-quality white papers. Demand to see samples of past work to make sure the style aligns with your brand message and verify that the content is appropriate for a white paper.
When you select a writer, make the development of the white paper a real team effort. Keep lines of communication open and be as thorough as possible with the information you share with your writer. It would also be helpful to take the extra time to find one with experience writing on similar products or services.
Don’t be afraid to be picky when it comes who you select as your writer, but do be sure that when you decide on one you choose one you can trust. Keep in mind that what shows up on paper may not necessarily be what you see in your own head. The writer’s presentation could mean the difference between a white paper that is effective and one that isn’t.