3 Reasons Why Whitepapers Just Don’t Work

I work with a number of software and technology companies, as well as other industries.

They ALL have a whitepaper to give away; usually more than one.

They all believe that their whitepaper is valuable.

They all believe that their whitepaper will help grow business.

They all believe that their whitepaper really explains their “value” to a customer.

They are all, mostly, wrong!

Here’s 3 reasons why.

#1 BEEN THERE DONE THAT

Five years ago a whitepaper had some mystique and authority to it. Today they are as common as business cards; even more “common” since they can be instantly downloaded.

That means the term “whitepaper” has been bastardized.

Worse, the titles are usually things like:

· ‘The State of [industry] for [current year]’

· ‘How to [sell more, be more productive, streamline process] with [our technology]’

· ’10 Insights from [industry leaders who bore you] on [things you don’t care about]’

So what’s the solution?

Change the name and change the game!

Instead of calling your information a “whitepaper” choose something new like:

Actionable Items Paper

or

Off-White Paper

or

[Industry name] Solution Document

That allows you to break away from the standard way of doing a whitepaper and allows you to have fun.

Second, give them a title that speaks to something they care about RIGHT NOW.

Think something like:

The 4 Steps to Eliminate in Your (XYZ) Process

or 

Why [something you do everyday] is the a HUGE Mistake that will keep Your Company in the Red forever

or

 3 Reasons Why Whitepapers Don’t Work :)

By changing the medium from a whitepaper to something else you lose the stigma. And by giving a title that speaks to something they care about right now you gain engagement.

#2 BAIT AND SWITCH

Whitepapers used to be an academic exercise.

Really smart people in colleges or universities would study something for years. They’d make some interesting discoveries. Then they wrote about it in detail in a whitepaper. Then other smart people would read it and learn from it.

Then marketers took the idea and screwed it all up!

Today, in the business world, most whitepapers are just poorly veiled lists of features and benefits.

It’s a sales pitch disguised as “useful information.”

Two pounds of wool can’t hide 150 pounds of wolf.

So what’s the solution?

Show them you can solve a real problem by solving a real problem!

When choosing what problem to address in your whitepaper, choose a specific one.

Something like “How to Increase Sales” is vague and meaningless.

But “3 Strategies to Save a Sale After the Client has Chosen another Vendor” is very specific and useful.

Once you have a real problem laid out, you can give detailed ideas on how to solve it.

This shows you know what you are talking about, and that you can help the prospect with that problem.

When a prospect knows that you can solve a real problem it increases the likelihood of a sale far more than a laundry list of what you ‘could’ do.

#3 LEAVE THEM HIGH AND DRY

The last problem I see with whitepapers is the same problem I see with most marketing in general: Lack of a real call to action.

If you flip to the last page of a whitepaper you will usually see a blurb on the authors, a blurb on the company, and then something that says:

‘To see how our [technology or system discussed in whitepaper] can help you [achieve some outcome] while [streamlining some problem] call us at 123-456-7890 or email us at [email protected]’

And that’s it.

But since the title of the whitepaper was meaningless and the content of the whitepaper was white noise, there is no feeling in the reader to go further.

The offer was in vain.

So what’s the solution?

Offer them something they really want right now!

If you build your title and content correctly, you will already have the reader interested in you, believing you are credible and in the right frame of mind for an offer.

That offer still has to be good!

“For more information” or “To see how…” is not a real offer. It’s an unserious offer like when you say “Let’s do lunch sometime” or “Give me a call.”

But something like:

“An (XYZ) Software Integration and Disruption Analysis” for clients who are considering your software but are hesitant because they fear too much workflow disruption.

or

“A Talent Attraction Makeover Session” for clients who are considering your staffing/recruiting service but need to become aware of how their company is currently unattractive to new applicants.

or

“A Driver Dynamics Identification Test” for clients who are thinking about buying a car from you but need help in knowing which car is “right” for them.

When the prospect is invited into your process in a way that benefits them, they are all in.

Until then, they are all out.

YOUR TURN

Okay, I’ve laid out the pitfalls to avoid.

So go create a new (something) paper to attract new prospects and re-energize old ones.

And, as always, have fun!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

P.S. Here is my blatant call to action!

---------A 1 on 1 Superstar Session--------

If you read this article you are using, or plan to use, whitepapers to market your business.

That means you want to grow your business.

Now, if you’re company is a marketing firm then you’re probably all set.

But if your company does something else, then you have 2 choices:

1) Take your attention of what you are good at and spend time learning how to market/lead gen/sell/scale/generate revenue while your competitors improve their offerings and outflank you

or

2) Seek help from an expert in marketing/lead gen/selling/scaling/revenue generation while you keep your attention where it belongs.

If you believe your company can be a multi-million dollar fast growth company, but you don’t know how to make it that way, then you should apply for our 1 on 1 Superstar Session.

Here’s what you get:

·        The call is free and lasts up to 90 minutes, and must include all decision makers and stakeholders so you can get real time feedback (It is vital that all voices listen as well be heard)

·        You’ll get a true “objective perspective” on your growth potential from us. You will know where you really stand and where you can really go (Only an OUTSIDER can do this)

·        Much of the confusion you’ve been feeling about “what to do?” will be eliminated and you will immediately make several key decisions that will impact your sales (Goodbye “what to do?” - Hello “More Revenue”)

·        You will receive a mindmap break down of all the learnings, aha’s, and implications from the session (profoundly useful and perfect for sharing with your teams)

·        You will receive a recording of the session for your review (no need to worry about note-taking)

We only do 6 of these per month, so apply now by CLICKING HERE!