The definition of a whitepaper varies closely from trade to trade, which generally is a little complicated for entrepreneurs seeking to create one for his or her enterprise.
The old-school definition comes from politics, the place it means a legislative doc explaining and supporting a specific political answer.
In tech, a whitepaper normally describes a concept behind a brand new piece of expertise. Even a enterprise whitepaper can serve quite a lot of makes use of and audiences — some extra product-focused than others. And though it’s put collectively like an e book, the 2 are written fairly otherwise.
We’re right here to arm you with the greatest definition of a whitepaper within the context of enterprise and what to do (and never do) as you create one. This text covers:
What Is a Whitepaper?
A whitepaper is a persuasive, authoritative, in-depth report on a selected matter that presents an issue and gives an answer.
Entrepreneurs create whitepapers to teach their viewers a couple of specific problem, or clarify and promote a specific methodology. They’re superior problem-solving guides. Sometimes, whitepapers require at the least an e mail deal with for obtain (normally they require data greater than that), making them nice for capturing leads.
What Is not a Whitepaper?
A product pitch.
Though Investopedia defines a whitepaper as “an informational doc issued by an organization to advertise or spotlight the options of an answer, product, or service,” be warned that overtly shilling your individual stuff might flip off your readers.
The purpose of a whitepaper is to tell and persuade based mostly on information and proof, not inform the world why folks want to purchase your product proper now.
How Are Whitepapers Totally different From Weblog Posts and Ebooks?
Talking of what a whitepaper is not … when you’re searching for a fast and interactive option to current your worth to the trade, a whitepaper isn’t your solely possibility. There are additionally ebooks and weblog posts — each of which have varied variations from a whitepaper.
What actually set these merchandise aside are the dimensions, look, and time dedication of every one. Whereas writing weblog posts and ebooks can take anyplace between a couple of hours and some weeks, a very good whitepaper can take between a couple of weeks and some months to write down and polish. They’re much less flashy, way more critical in tone, and extra closely researched than weblog posts and ebooks.
Let me present you a comparability. The set beneath is one in all our personal e book templates (which you can get for free here). It is a thorough however easy learn:
Now, here’s a whitepaper based mostly on our newest analysis on rising tech for small to mid-sized companies (an excellent report — see the web version here). You possibly can see how a lot element whitepapers can go into, each in textual content and in its pictures:
Photographs by way of HubSpot Research [PDF]
Ebooks and whitepapers can begin on the identical template. However finally, whitepapers are the educational papers of promoting content material. Readers count on a excessive diploma of experience backed by stable analysis that’s totally documented by references.
Ebooks, then again, are sometimes extensions of a topic you cowl usually on a weblog. They will come out of diligent analysis, however they attraction to a wider viewers when unpacking a enterprise topic.
You possibly can think about this makes them type of boring compared — honestly, most individuals do not truly need to learn whitepapers, however they do it anyway to construct their information of an operation they want extra perception on earlier than making their subsequent transfer.
For that reason, they are usually significantly detailed and informative, authoritative, and written by trade specialists. And these qualities could make some choice makers really feel higher a couple of future buy.
What Makes a Good Whitepaper?
Technically, there aren’t any minimal necessities for whitepapers. Anybody can name something a whitepaper — this doesn’t suggest it’s best to, although. With out some boundaries on what’s and what is not a whitepaper, we danger complicated our viewers and dropping credibility. This is what an A+ whitepaper seems like:
- Size: No fewer than six pages, together with illustrations, charts, and references. Might be upwards of fifty if the subject requires that a lot element. (Chances are high, it will not.)
- Construction: There’s normally a title web page, desk of contents, quick govt abstract (optionally available however useful), introduction, a number of pages educating the reader about the issue, a number of pages hypothesizing an answer, a number of pages providing an instance of an organization that used that answer to realize outcomes, and a conclusion.
- Density: Denser than an e book. Whitepapers aren’t normally straightforward to skim — in reality, readers normally have to learn them over greater than as soon as to get each morsel of knowledge out of it.
- Format: PDF in portrait orientation (8.5″ by 11″).
- Model: Skilled, critical, properly written, and properly edited. I would suggest hiring a graphic designer to design web page structure, pictures, fonts, and colours as properly.
Whitepaper Examples for Lead Technology
So, if whitepapers are so boring, why do entrepreneurs create them? Nicely, they’re an excellent useful resource on your prospects and gross sales workforce, and so they show you how to construct credibility and belief along with your readers. Additionally, individuals who select to obtain whitepapers typically are additional into the customer buying cycle.
With that in thoughts, listed below are two use instances for a whitepaper:
A Technical Case Research
It has been stated that case research, like ebooks, are very totally different from whitepapers. Nevertheless, some case research are lengthy sufficient that they are greatest packaged as whitepapers themselves.
A case examine is basically the story of a buyer’s success reaching a purpose on account of their partnership with one other celebration. This success is greatest conveyed by way of sure metrics the shopper has agreed to be measured on. And relying on how technical or advanced the service is that they obtained, the extra analysis and element different potential clients will need to see as they proceed their purchaser’s journey.
Subsequently, case study-based whitepapers generally is a terrific approach of demonstrating thought management on a dense idea by way of a real-world instance of how this idea helped another person succeed.
A Reference Information
Think about you’re employed for an organization that sells kitchen cleansing gear to eating places and also you write a whitepaper concerning the upkeep and inspection of economic kitchens.
That whitepaper might be chock filled with details about authorized necessities for exhaust methods, cooking gear, and cleanliness documentation that might put even the most important kitchen upkeep fanatic to sleep if learn cover-to-cover.
However it additionally serves as an extremely helpful reference for restaurant house owners who need to know preserve their kitchens to cross inspection. As soon as they know the way clear they should preserve their kitchens, they’re going to possible purchase some costly cleansing gear from you as a result of they see you as a useful, detail-oriented, credible supply.
Many individuals create whitepapers for this goal — a useful resource that their leads can take with them to develop into higher at their commerce. Ideally, the higher they develop into, the extra certified they’re to work with the group that gave them the whitepaper.
Now that you realize the aim of whitepapers and the way they differ from ebooks, it is time to get began in creating your individual. With the above greatest practices in thoughts, this is the method you’ll be able to take to supply a superb whitepaper on your viewers:
The best way to Write a Whitepaper
- Establish your viewers’s ache.
- Do your analysis.
- Create a top level view.
- Put pen to paper and flesh out your define.
- Use imagery to assist your factors.
- Get suggestions.
- Put money into the formatting and design.
1. Establish your viewers’s ache.
Whilst you’re a subject knowledgeable in a novel place to offer content material, you could think about your viewers and what’s going on of their lives. By making a whitepaper that addresses (and solves) for his or her wants, you will higher be capable of generate demand on your whitepaper.
To do that, think about creating a buyer persona. This exercise will show you how to put your self of their footwear. Then, you will need to think about what sort of data would appeal to them, how they’d use the knowledge, and the way it could resolve their ache or drawback.
2. Do your analysis.
Whitepapers are informational in nature, and you will need to decide present data your viewers cannot get elsewhere. You are able to do that by:
- Working an unique examine/survey
- Placing collectively distinctive case research
- Detailing a novel course of or venture
In case you’re unable to do your individual analysis, strive drawing statistics from authorities and/or survey organizations and analyzing them in a novel approach (and ensure you cite your sources).
3. Create a top level view.
As a result of whitepapers are long-form in nature, a top level view can assist arrange your ideas. Take into account sketching out your matter within the following format:
- Introduction and Synopsis – Introducing the subject of the whitepaper, explaining why it is essential (from the standpoint of the viewers), and what the whitepaper units to do, convey, or resolve.
- Overview – Defining some a number of the key phrases you propose to make use of, detailing the variables or parameters concerned, and summarizing what you will talk about.
- Physique – Laying out all the important thing factors and highlights you will hit.
- Conclusion – Explaining the important thing take-aways from the physique and any motion objects the reader ought to take.
4. Put pen to paper and flesh out your define.
Utilizing an informational and fact-based tone, start increasing on the concepts you’ve through the use of the define as a information. As well as, every paragraph ought to contribute to the general purpose of the piece.
5. Use imagery to assist your factors.
As a result of whitepapers go deep on analysis and evaluation, visuals akin to charts, graphs, and tables can assist you current data in a visually attention-grabbing approach and make the paper simpler to learn.
6. Get suggestions.
It’s vital to current the perfect write-up you’ll be able to on your readers. The upper high quality it’s, the extra authority you will have in your viewers’s eyes. Get suggestions from somebody you belief to catch typos or different points with readability.
7. Put money into the formatting and design.
Whereas it isn’t essential to get too flashy with it, colour, structure, and imagery goes a protracted option to make your whitepaper interesting.
Whitepaper Examples
To supply much more inspiration, listed below are trendy examples of whitepapers which are emblematic of nice whitepaper execution (and why):
1. Not Another State of Marketing Report, HubSpot
HubSpot does an incredible job yearly compiling information from specialists and companions to convey trendy developments within the advertising panorama. That is helpful for entrepreneurs as a result of they will use the statistics to create advertising and gross sales content material in addition to study from the macro shifts which are taking place within the trade. The whitepaper presents this data with engaging graphs and quick editorial summaries together with hyperlinks to extra in-depth articles on every matter.
2. It’s Not You, It’s My Data, Custora
Custora created this whitepaper about buyer churn, why it is essential, and forestall it. What makes this e book nice is that it guarantees concrete worth to the reader (income financial savings from stopping attrition) backed by a wealth of knowledge and actionable recommendation. Even higher, the whitepaper is trendy and engaging, so the studying expertise is nice. This helps the reader devour the long-form content material with out friction.
3. Google Cloud’s AI Adoption Framework, Google
This whitepaper leverages Google’s authority to steer the reader into adopting AI. By offering a strategy at first, Google goals to provide the reader the instruments to assume by way of the facility of AI as it may be utilized to their enterprise. Then, the whitepaper dives into extra technical data for superior readers.
4. Employees and Cybersecurity, Excedeo
Excedo goals to teach concerning the safety dangers that workers might unknowingly pose to companies when improperly skilled. The whitepaper advocates concerning the forms of inside IT insurance policies and coaching which are important in immediately’s world.
Whitepapers have a protracted historical past, and their makes use of have continued to alter. Be sure you resolve whether or not or not a whitepaper will truly serve your viewers earlier than spending the months-long course of to supply it. Typically, an e book will do exactly positive. Then again, long-form instructional content material has a spot in your content material technique.
Editor’s word: This submit was initially printed in March 2018 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
