What the heck is a white paper?

A few days ago we sent out an announcement about a brand new teleseminar we are presenting in June about how to use white papers as a lead generation tool.  Well, we got quite a few responses back saying "what's a white paper?"

Patsi, the writer on our team, has been studying the emerging marketing trend of writing white papers to attract new business leads. Here's a definition she put together:

White papers are like articles on steroids. White papers present in-depth information about a problem, and exploration of common solutions, and an introduction of a new solution. Then the white paper connects you and your company with the new solution.

They are benefit-oriented, educational, and represent key elements of persuasive copy that builds credibility and expertise while laying the ground work for sales.

They are preferred reading by executives and professionals who want an overview of problems and solution without all the hype. They have a cousin, called case studies, which businesses are also using as educational marketing collateral.

You could also call a white paper a "special report on steroids." Back in the late nineties, Internet marketers wrote and offered free special reports on areas of their expertise to entice people to sign up to their mini-courses or ezines.  They still do and they still work. 

Being in the content development business (yes, a blog is a vehicle for developing content, and content is king and queen on the Internet), it's our responsibility and our passion to continuously explore new ways to get the word out, attract new prospects, make more sales and generally have a more successful business.

So Patsi has dived in head first to study, experiment, and develop her skills in this area so we can, in turn share the info with you.

We'd love to hear your experiences either writing white papers and/or using white papers as a marketing tool to generate leads for your business.

Comments

[Lynn]

I have several projects that I use this type of approach with, providing indepth educational information that lead into connecting to my sites that provide additional information and relative products. Great marketing method.