The Common Thread

Whether you’re trying to expand your business, or you’re looking to build your brand in general, establishing yourself as an industry expert is a great place to start. But how do you get started? … By sharing your opinion…or writing a white paper.

You know you have opinions—from the latest business trends to what’s your favorite technology for your industry. Why not share those views in a white paper format.

You may view the concept of writing a white paper as a daunting task and be asking yourself: How do I write a white paper? What should the objective be? Am I qualified to write it?  This document is a white paper itself with the objective of guiding you through the process of developing effective white papers and persuasive business documents.

What is a white paper?
WHITE PAPER is defined as an authoritative report issued by any organization; or formal written work whose purpose is to educate the reader. Originally, white papers came from white books, which are official publications of national government. Now, any organization can create a white paper and it is a common tool to introduce technology innovations or products. White papers are also powerful tools used to help key decision-makers and influencers justify implementing solutions.

Tips for writing white papers
Define your audience—Properly understanding the disposition of your target market is essential to writing a well received white paper. A white paper should quickly identify problems or concerns faced by that group and lead them down the path to a solution. You want to grab the reader’s attention in the first paragraph, so that you will achieve your objectives.

Decide on a method –There are really only two ways to write white papers; self interest or interests of audience.  Both types are explained below, but keep in mind that the second method is generally preferred.

The first type of writing method would be to focus on a particular self interest. The self-interest method focuses exclusively on a product, service, or solution by expounding on its benefits, features, and implications. While effective in some circumstances, this method is best left for something other than a white paper, such as a data sheet or product brief.

The second and recommended method would be to concentrate on the interests of your audience. This can be effectively accomplished by leading with the problems your solution overcomes, rather than the actual solution itself. To many people, this seems counterintuitive, but it really is just the opposite. By focusing on the problem and the struggles experienced by the reader, you are establishing credibility with the reader and simultaneously filtering out unqualified clients.

White papers written in a self-interest style run the risk of sounding advertorial—which can turn readers off. Readers may feel more inclined to white papers written towards their interests as it will seem more educational to them. They have the chance to learn about a new technique that could solve their problem.

Possibilities—You can take it a step further by looking at issues such as historical precedents, describing new solutions that address the problem, and even identifying what to look for in a solution; while never once mentioning your name or company (at least not yet). This altruistic method will score major points with the reader and greatly increase the likelihood he or she will actually read the entire paper.

You’re white paper’s written. Now what?
So, you’ve decided on your topic and you’ve written you paper to address your audiences’ concerns—now what? How do you share it with the group you’re trying to reach? Here are just a few suggestions:

• Upload your white paper to your website under a tab of “Helpful Articles”. Then post a snippet of the article on your Facebook page, or Tweet about it, including a link to the full article on your website—now you’re building traffic!
• Submit your paper for possible publication in industry magazines and newsletters your intended audience reads.
• Propose your paper for consideration as a presentation for a conference your intended audience would attend.
• Include your paper in proposals/bids for clients who would be interested in the topic matter.

I was at the ASAE Technology conference this week, and from the opening keynote to several of the sessions I attended there was a key theme when it came to association technology: mobile.

I actually lost track of the many different sources on the huge increase in accessing the internet via mobile devices, but I think we’re at the point where if you need the proof, your behind the curve. Use of smart phones is going through the roof. Use of PCs to access the internet in some cases is actually going down. The desktop use won’t go away, of course, but if you’re ignoring how your web presence interacts with mobile devices, you’re in trouble.

But the point about mobile internet use that really stuck out for me came from the opening keynote, delivered by Luke Wroblewski. He pointed out that the constraint of a smaller screen has required web designers to have some discipline in their design. They have to limit what they show, forcing them to focus on what matters. This is Southwest Airline’s home page on the web:

A little distracting and all over the place, don’t you think? And this is what their mobile version looks like:

Let me be honest. I like the mobile one. I like that it just gives me what I need. I like that it doesn’t give me a lot of choices. In fact, as a general theme, I’m growing tired of choices. The institutions that will gain my loyalty are the ones who are both smart enough and bold enough to offer me fewer choices.

That’s no easy task. Offering fewer choices requires some really brutal clarity. That’s something that many organizations simply don’t have the discipline to achieve. But given the explosion in mobile use, I think we all better get on the clarity bandwagon too.