A white paper is an informational document, issued by a company or not-for-profit organization, to promote or highlight the features of a solution, product, or service. White papers are sales and marketing documents, used to entice or persuade potential customers to learn more about or purchase a particular product, service, technology or methodology<\/p>\n
The definition varies heavily from industry to industry, which can be a little confusing for marketers looking to create one for their business.<\/p>\n
In tech, a whitepaper usually describes a theory behind a new piece of technology. Even a business white paper can serve a variety of uses and audiences — some more product-focused than others. And although it is put together like an ebook, the two are written quite differently.<\/p>\n
What Is a Whitepaper Not?<\/strong><\/p>\n A product pitch. Breaking down White papers<\/strong><\/p>\n Many white papers are designed for B2B (business to business) marketing purposes, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. The white paper is used to inform and persuade the other company that a certain offering (such as a product or technology) is superior for solving a particular business problem or addressing a certain challenge.<\/p>\n In relation to B2B marketing, there are three main types of white papers: backgrounders, which explain the technical features of a particular offering; numbered lists, which highlight tips or points regarding an offering; and problem\/solution white papers, which introduce an improved solution to a common business or technical challenge.<\/p>\n White papers differ from other marketing materials, such as brochures. While brochures and other materials might be flashy and include obvious sales pitches, a white paper is intended to provide persuasive and factual evidence that a particular offering is a superior method of approaching or solving a problem or challenge. In general, white papers are at least 2,500 words in length and are written in a more academic style.<\/p>\n How Do You Make a Whitepaper?<\/strong><\/p>\n Technically, there are no minimum requirements for whitepapers. Anyone can call anything a white paper – this doesn’t mean you should, though. Without some boundaries on what is and what isn’t a white paper, we risk confusing our audience and losing credibility. Here’s what an A+ whitepaper looks like:<\/p>\n Length:<\/strong> No fewer than six pages, including illustrations, charts, and references. Can be upwards of 50 if the topic requires that much detail. (Chances are, it won’t.)<\/p>\n Structure:<\/strong> There is usually a title page, table of contents, short executive summary (optional but helpful), introduction, several pages educating the reader about the problem, several pages hypothesizing a solution, several pages offering an example of a company that used that solution to achieve results, and a conclusion.<\/p>\n Density:<\/strong> Denser than an ebook. Whitepapers aren’t usually easy to skim — in fact, readers usually need to read them over more than once to get every morsel of information out of it.<\/p>\n Format:<\/strong> PDF in portrait orientation (8.5″ by 11″).<\/p>\n Style:<\/strong> Professional, serious, well written, and well edited. I’d recommend hiring a graphic designer to design page layout, images, fonts, and colors as well.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n In contrast with brochures, these white papers don\u2019t have as clear of a sales pitch; instead, they dig into relevant topics. Through reading these white papers, potential customers could come to better understand the rationale for using your product or service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A white paper is an informational document, issued by a company or not-for-profit organization, to promote or highlight the features of a solution, product, or service. 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\nThe goal of a white paper is to inform and persuade based on facts and evidence, not tell the world why people need to buy your product right now.<\/p>\n