subject: 6 Easy Steps to White Paper Success [print this page] White papers play a key role in influencing B2B buyers. Findings from Eccolo's 2009 survey of B2B technology buyers show that "89% of respondents regularly pass white papers on to colleagues", and significantly, "70% prefer to read them online."
How can you ensure the success of your white papers? Try following this checklist.
Open up with an executive summary
Business executives decide quickly whether reading your white paper is worth their time. That's why the best white papers open up with a one-page summary. Readers can scan through key points, get the gist, and decide if it's worth reading all the way through.
Like an email, a well-written summary can "tease" your reader into the next step, for example, to click on a download button or a link. You find them in Twitter and in articles sites, where companies link prospects back to their websites and microsites with well-executed summaries.
Write in skimmable structures to guide readers
Do you find it tough to read online? Most people do, which is why professional white paper writers pay attention to the layout of the summary. They break up text into easily manageable chunks with subheads. Importantly, these subheads identify current business problems that concern readers and pull them into the main text.
For example:
Poor LANs Hamper Financial Performance (a familiar problem for financial officers)
Full Service Capability Saves On Help Desk Costs (your product offers a specific benefit)
Consistent Processes Enhance Returns (it impacts on the bottom line)
Fully Business-Aligned Network Management (it delivers a successful outcome)
Include bullets to save readers time
Bullets make for easy reading too. It's worth finding ways to include them in your main text and break up the page layout. For example, formatting with the bullet library allows you to highlight key points in an argument, show how a complex process works step by step, or round off a section with a "take away" list.
Simplify complex ideas with charts and images
A picture is worth a thousand words, isn't it? So it's worth spending time creating good quality images for your white paper readers. Busy executives like charts and tables that summarise at a glance. Comparison charts work for technical specifications.
Technical readers, especially engineers, feel more at home in the language of diagrams and charts. Again, they break up your document and make for a more engaging read.
Add call outs and text boxes
Build up your argument with quotes. Use text boxes to highlight key points from satisfied customers or third parties. They draw your eye away from, and back into the main text. A good designer will have plenty to say about this, especially on the use of colour online a fascinating area!
Offer a summary conclusion to take away
Like many book buyers, time-pressed readers skip to the end to read the key points. (It's also why the PS is the second most-read part of a direct mail letter). Try wrapping up your white paper with a concluding section, and give your readers another reason to pass on your white paper to their colleagues.
