6 ingredients for an amazing white paper

The idea of writing a good marketing asset can be daunting, but with premium content comes premium results.

Well designed, well written white papers are one of the best ways in which you can consolidate your position as a thought leader and enhance brand loyalty. But they need to be well thought out and well cultivated.

Here are 8 key ingredients for engaging white papers that will resonate with your target audience.

1.    Topics that resonate

The rise of social media, mobile phones and digital news has drastically changed the way we engage with and process content. According to HubSpot, the average human attention span is now just eight seconds – shorter than that of a goldfish.

But there are still ways to stand out from the crowd and shout above the digital noise. Offering relevant, educational, and unique content is a great place to start.

Ask yourself: “Will this content provide value to its intended target audience?”

2.    Snappy titles

Titles also need to be short and snappy to pop out of the screen and grab your reader’s attention. Gating white papers can also limit what is shown to just a few lines, making the headline all the more important.

3.    Go the extra mile in design

White papers shouldn’t just sound interesting, they should look interesting. Sleek designs might cost a little more, but they can go a long way in turning a dull report into an easy to read, insightful asset.

4.    Be educational

With white papers often marketed as a more desirable form of content, the temptation might be to market your products and services as much as possible.

Avoid this at all costs!

If your white paper reads like a sales pitch, then people simply won’t read it. If it’s educational, informative and answers your prospects questions on the other hand, they will both read it and come to consider your brand as reliable and reputable.

5.    Make it evergreen

White papers can be costly and resource-heavy to produce, so putting them together every other month is not a viable method for success.

The most successful white papers are evergreen, remaining relevant and ready for re-promotion for months and even years after initial publication.

6.    Back up your claims

Equally, white papers can’t just need to look and sound great. They need to stand up rigorous fact checking in order to maintain their premium status.

Anyone can pluck a stat or figure out of thin air, but without a reputable source to back up those claims, any white paper will quickly be seen as unreliable, undermining the entire purpose of publishing.

Notting Hill Media is a disruptor of traditional B2B trade publishing. Focusing exclusively on digital content, Notting Hill Media provides industry critical information to its purchaser and specifier audiences while gating premium content to provide lead generation for manufacturers and solution providers.

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