White Papers
White papers are also known as positioning or proof papers and should typically be used to position your product/service, or aspects of your product against the alternatives. Sometimes they can be
controversial and can categorize all your competitors at once to completely deposition them (i.e., backing up to “tape” every 24 hours is a “worst practice, not a best”
(when you have a hard-drive CDP product). They are also critical for “market development,” where you might be a leader in your market and should expound the benefits of your entire
category (i.e., Salesforce touting the benefits of cloud computing (SaaS).
For example, if you have the world’s most rugged PC, then you would write a white paper on the merits of a rugged PC and the things to look for. You might also de-position other PC’s as
consumer, semi-rugged, and even so-called rugged then define rugged (and yours may be the only one that meets all the criteria).
If you have an alternative to e-mail, you might extol the benefits of saved money, time and legal risk. If you have a new CRM that helps sell more, versus less (like most), then you could extol the
benefits of call-centric features and show proof (numbers, benchmarks, examples and testimonials).
A white paper is a chance to make your case.
White papers should spend enough time on the problem that it becomes self-evident, then they must contain proof and evidence that solves that problem. They should follow the “persuasive format,” attention, credibility, problem, solution, best solution, overcoming objections and step to actuate.
Examples of effective white papers that Chanimal helped create:
Read the above samples. If you are convinced to take action--they worked.
The one thing that white papers are not, is product slicks, ads or blantant promotional pieces. It is more powerful to identify the problems, show a solution (that obviously maps to the solution that
one your products or service can provide), then include a brief, “brought to you by...: This is more credible and more subtle--and vastly more convincing.
You can also find out more about white papers by visiting, “That White Paper Guy.” Gordon has
great resources including a good Q&A, articles, book reviews and more.
Where to Publish your White Paper?
Of course you will want to offer a download of your white paper at your website--usually with basic contact info so it generates a lead. You can also publish it for free or for pay. Following are some
locations to consider (free to consumers--many will send you leads if you pay):
For additional locations to post your white paper, type “’your product category’ white paper” into Google and see what comes up. Some categories have their own white paper
repositories. Plus, you’ll be able to see how your competitors list their white papers.
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