I’ve been asked to write more whitepapers for my clients recently. And because they’ve been on my docket, and on my mind, I’ve developed a couple helpful points to pass along. Hopefully, these tips will help you write better whitepapers.
To start, it’s no mystery why my clients are attracted to the idea of creating whitepapers. Like blogs, and like social media profiles, these whitepapers are an opportunity to showcase both the personality and reputability of a company… helping you build your brand, and maintain top-of-mind awareness among potential clients. Additionally, whitepapers, as opposed to blogs or social media, are traditionally more formal and academic in nature, which may lend them more toward a particular kind of company, or a particular kind of company initiative.
Here are three things to keep in mind while writing your own whitepapers:
1. Have something to say. Whitepapers traditionally are used to give a quick summation of research, and/or promote a specific and well-tested idea. While herein lies the strength of whitepapers — the credibility they can lend to the author — there’s a also a risk to those who try to fake it. Save yourself the effort of writing, if you don’t have something to write about, or even worse, if you don’t know what you’re writing about. Be kind to your readers, and have something to say. Then say it.
2. Say it succinctly. While some whitepapers can be long, up to 50 pages in length, I urge you to be succinct. Whitepapers are the medium to communicate your brand through authority, but they’re not the place to brag. Say what you came to say, succinctly if not plainly, and get out. Just like this paragraph.
3. Don’t be intimidated. Whitepapers can be intimidating to write, if for no other reason than they usually remind us of those dreaded college paper-projects. In reality, the worst thing you can do for a whitepaper is to try and revisit those days, fretting about page limits, proper attribution formats, and quoting the “readings.” Instead, write as a knowledgable professional, confident in your subject matter (you have something to say, right?), and don’t be intimidated by the format or feel. At the end of the day, it’s still writing… and the best writing still approximates simple, one-on-one conversation.
The last thing I have to say, though it’s outside my expertise, is to ensure that your writing goes within a functional and fitting design. Content is king, when it comes to whitepapers, but format matters too. Don’t feel the need to go over the top, by any means, but spend some time here at least.
And I think that’s it. follow these three guidelines, put your writing within a functional and fitting design, and you’ll have yourself an authoritative and ultimately effective whitepaper.
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