White Papers For Dummies

White Papers For Dummies
ISBN: 978-1-118-49705-0
Mar 2013
384 pages
$17.99
Description
A fast and easy way to write winning white papers!
Whether you’re a marketing manager seeking to use white papers to promote your business, or a copywriter keen to break into this well-paying field, White Papers For Dummies gives you a wealth of practical, hands-on advice from one of the world’s leading experts in the field.
The fact-based documents known as white papers have been called the “king of content.” No other B2B marketing piece can do more to generate leads, nurture prospects, and build mindshare.
Where white papers were once used only by technology firms, they are becoming “must-have” items in the marketing toolkit for almost any B2B firm. Practically every startup must produce a white paper as part of its business planning.
But writing effective white papers is a big challenge. Now you can benefit from the experience of a white paper specialist who’s done more than 200 projects for clients from Silicon Valley to Finland, from mighty Google to tiny startups. Author Gordon Graham—also known as That White Paper Guy—provides dozens of tips and tricks to help your project come together faster and easier.
White Papers For Dummies will help you to:
- Quickly determine if your B2B firm could benefit from a white paper
- Master the three phases of every white paper project:
planning, production, and promotion - Understand when and how to use the three main types of white paper
- Decide which elements to include and which to leave out
- Learn the best practices of seasoned white paper researchers and writers
- Choose from 40 different promotional tactics to get the word out
- Avoid common mistakes that many beginners make
Introduction 1
Part I: Getting Started with White Papers 9
Chapter 1: Unleashing the Power of White Papers 11
Chapter 2: An Exciting Opportunity for Writers 29
Chapter 3: The Past, Present, and Future of White Papers 47
Chapter 4: Just the FAQs on White Papers 57
Part II: The Three Flavors of White Papers 85
Chapter 5: Picking the Perfect Flavor for Your Next White Paper 87
Chapter 6: The Backgrounder: As Basic As Vanilla 103
Chapter 7: The Numbered List: As Fresh As Strawberry 121
Chapter 8: The Problem/Solution: As Complex As Chocolate 143
Chapter 9: Mashing Up Different Flavors 171
Chapter 10: Special Ingredients for a White Paper 181
Part III: From Foggy Idea to Finished Document 195
Chapter 11: A Proven Process to Complete Your White Paper 197
Chapter 12: Planning an Effective White Paper 207
Chapter 13: Producing a Powerful White Paper 225
Part IV: Succeeding with White Papers 251
Chapter 14: Doing Research: Think Like a Lawyer 253
Chapter 15: Write Like a Journalist 273
Chapter 16: Promote Like a Madman 305
Part V: The Part of Tens 327
Chapter 17: Ten White Paper Problems and How to Solve Them 329
Chapter 18: Ten Tips on Designing a White Paper 335
Chapter 19: More Than Ten Ways to Spice Up a White Paper Title 341
Index 349