continuing education. In this competitive world, that’s one way to stay ahead of the competition. But continuing education doesn’t have to be in a classroom and you certainly don’t need to receive a grade or take final exams (although putting your newfound knowledge to the test might indirectly do that for you anyway). Chances are if you’re trying to stay ahead, you’re looking for new and innovative ways of doing things, looking for the latest trends to capitalize on, and simply want to be better than the competition. Thanks to the World Wide Web, we now have a bottomless bucket of ideas waiting to be read, thought about, and put into action. These insights come from thought leaders and business executives in various aspects of the industry. But they can also come from you!
Today, white papers are one of the instrumental ways you can position yourself as a thought leader. The benefits are double. White papers, which are informative reports, are increasingly used to “sell” information, products. and services by providing more detailed information about a topic or problem. Also, including whitepapers on your website helps optimize your site: today’s search engines crawl whitepapers just like they crawl your blogs and other “live” information.
White papers are a great way to delve into a topic of interest in a market segment. Explain the importance of this information and how the reader can use it within their business model or marketing mix. Where does your experience lie? On what topics can you provide information to your customers? Do they need to better understand a new technology and how it can benefit them? If you were a potential client, what kind of information would you need to know to do business with a particular VAR? By presenting well-thought-out and well-written content, you will build your brand, but more importantly, position yourself as a thought leader among your peers and customers. People will expect you to have the answer (or at least ideas), making you the ultimate solution provider.
White papers can be tricky to write sometimes, so don’t be afraid to ask someone to help you collect your thoughts and put them on paper. Here are some tips to help you get started:
– Choose your theme. Are you going to write a detailed story about the latest piece of software, still in the prototype phase, that you just tested? Do you have a marketing promotion that worked well for you and are you willing to share that success with others? Whatever the topic, do your research and collect as much information as you can. Find facts to support your claims, and use the knowledge and research of other thought leaders to support your position on the issue (just remember to attribute your ideas in your white paper). Of course, with the Web, there is an endless supply of information.
– Deliver relevant information. Doing a Google search for your topic could return hundreds, if not thousands, of results with information to use as part of your white paper research model. However, the facts and statistics you use must be relevant to the topic at hand. Don’t just throw out a bunch of information to “fatten up” the white paper. If you do, you will confuse your reader and miss the point. Instead, focus on two or three areas of information that relate specifically to the point you’re trying to make. To determine what belongs and what doesn’t, start by defining the purpose of the white paper. Make sure all of your information relates to that goal.
– Include useful tips and tricks. Everyone loves ideas, especially when they’re free. By sharing tips and tricks that have worked for you, you’re offering an inside look at how you solve problems while also providing some free advice. This compounds your ability to be a thought leader. Customers and prospects will come back to you for more if they implement your advice, and it works!
– Offer problems; then solve them using your approach. White papers should be designed to provide real life examples and situations that could occur. As the solution provider writing the white paper, you should tailor your responses to resolve the situations, giving several examples of what works, but guiding the reader in the direction of how you would resolve the situation.
– Embed keywords. This is the SEO part of why white papers work today. By using keywords that will appear in a search engine search, you can attract readers from outside of your existing customer base to visit your website. White papers help optimize your site. Think of keywords and keyword phrases that potential customers might use to find the information they need. Then incorporate them into your white paper (as long as they stay on topic), which will direct them to your website.
When writing technical documents, it’s easy to go overboard or sometimes to come up short. Keep your papers to around 3,000 to 4,000 words. Each award must focus on the topic at hand and be relevant to the overall theme. Documents of 2,000 words or less may not have the substance someone is looking for, while a document of more than 5,000 words is simply too cumbersome and may be more suitable as a detailed e-book. But as long as the text supports your original goal for writing the paper in the first place, then you should be well on your way to becoming the next great thought leader.
