A recent study corroborates what I have firmly believed for many years: demand for white papers is growing, and most marketers aren’t delivering.
It's time for white papers to grow up. Artwork credit: ©2009 Nico Tangwall
There are numerous subtleties involved with putting together a great white paper. I have identified over 20 elements that increase value and effectiveness through my own research based on developing and marketing white papers for international, national and local businesses.
Live by the golden rule
Here are my 10 golden rules of marketing white papers:
- Never underestimate the intelligence of your audience.
- Always target content to markets with similar interests and challenges.
- Never exclude powerful case studies, interviews, pilot programs, research findings, industry trends, proof, third-party validation or visuals.
- Always demonstrate your expertise.
- Never put out unbalanced promotion or “fluff.”
- Always tie in business development processes through warm sales calls or self-selected sign-up with a minimum of entry fields.
- Never miss opportunities to extend reach and expand permission-marketing databases via online and social media channels.
- Always start with an interest-piquing title that contains relevant keywords for your business and end with an engaging call to action.
- Never forget to market the white paper.
- Always dedicate the time and acquire the necessary resources to deliver an outstanding product.
Just as the original golden rule contains a universal truth, in business, when you nurture customers’ success, you harvest long-term relationships.
White papers work
I have had great success with white papers and related tactics that incorporate an element of interactivity, such as Web papers and online quizzes. When done right, white papers achieve a strong response and high sign-up rates. On three such projects I developed for a client in the knowledge-based, business-to-business arena, between 9%-23% of the target audience voluntarily signed up to gain access.
Most of us educate ourselves about products now. At home or work, the Internet accounts for 34% of total consumer media time, up from 29% two years ago. In its U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2009 To 2014, Forrester Research predicts interactive marketing spend will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 17% over the next five years, with email marketing growing 11% and social media spend jumping 34%. White papers—and their how-to educational equivalents for consumers—fit well into these media.
Lastly, white papers are the ultimate in “green” marketing. They’re cost-effective. They can be paperless. Their information can be recycled and repurposed in a variety of ways. They are passed along and discussed with others, and, because not everyone seeks knowledge at the same time, they often have a shelf life of years rather than months.
Where’s the disconnect?
According to a new study by Ecollo Media, 77% of business decision-makers are reading white papers in 2009, up from 68% in 2008, and 84% are influenced by white papers in their purchasing decisions. On average, readers would like to see 6-10 pages of information. (I’m OK with going a little longer if there’s something worth saying.)
When it comes to white papers, what audiences want and what marketers are delivering are headed in opposite directions. Instead of expanding knowledge-sharing, marketers are cutting budgets and putting out thinner papers between two to four pages in length.
I think three factors are holding back the development of quality white papers:
- Skill sets: the best white papers require elements of research, journalism, graphic design and marketing. Due to staff size and downsizing of budgets, few marketing departments encompass all of these areas of expertise.
- Time: If you are investing less than a month to research, analyze, write and determine distribution mechanisms, it probably isn’t a white paper.
- Patience (or, believe me…I know, lack thereof): Closely related to the reason above, a focus on short-term results can be one of the biggest obstacles to developing a successful white paper. Taking the time to do quality research, build rapport, and design and deliver meaningful marketing means your launch may have to wait until next quarter. But it can also mean the difference between a 1% response rate versus 10% and between being just another company versus an industry leader.
What do you do to ensure your white papers make the grade?
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Marketing white papers is just as important as the content of the white paper itself. It will serve no purpose if no one reads it. Proper marketing can lead more and more people to the white paper in the end, but it can be tricky.
A great way to add strength to your white paper is to work in collaboration with an independent third party: this increases information sharing between organizations (allowing your organization to learn more) and increases credibility for your white paper.