How to Create Effective, Shareable White Papers

A good white paper can be a powerful tool when trying to attract and convert customers, especially when it comes to B2B. When crafted well, they can influence purchasing decisions that require more in-depth information and help position your business as an authority in your field.

What’s a White Paper?

A white paper is a report meant to educate or persuade your target audience on a particular subject that is relevant to them, and is usually related to your product or service. White papers are an ideal way to explain more complex topics, and typically:

• Introduce a new product or service
• Detail industry trends
• Talk about a target customer’s pain point and best practices to solve it
• Explain how a product or service works

White papers work best with B2B industries and can take on a number of formats:

• An in-depth look at the features and benefits of a product or service
• A numbered list of tips or questions on a topic
• An exploration of a topic in more detail

Why Should I Do It?

There are plenty of reasons to produce white papers:

You can generate more qualified leads. Compared to other types of content, white papers can generate more qualified leads and help convert them into customers. While blog posts can be great at attracting attention and getting potential customers to take a look at your company, white papers offer more information and greater value to those that are highly interested.

People who download your paper are likely to have the needs, wants or pain points that your company can address, helping you to qualify them as a lead. Gating the piece allows you to ask for an email (or other information) in exchange for the valuable content you are providing, giving your marketing and/or sales team information to start a conversation or a nurture campaign.

You can enhance your credibility. White papers showcase your expertise, including your acute understanding of the wants, needs and pain points of your target customers. For prospects in a later stage of the buying journey, white papers can provide that added confirmation and justification that they are making the right decision.

They’re highly shareable. White papers can be easily promoted and shared on your website, social channels, email lists or through targeted PPC ads. The more relevant the topic to your target customers, the more clicks, downloads and engagements you’ll get.

How Do I Make An Effective White Paper?

1. Set a Goal

Start by setting a goal for your white paper, whether it’s lead generation, thought leadership or something else. Figure out what topic(s) would be most likely to achieve your goal. If lead generation is your main goal, research what your potential customers would likely be interested in learning more about and what angles or little known facts could provide the most value.

Then, create a focused outline, decide on the format that would be most well received and determine how you’re going to make the final paper available (gated or not, PDF or other).

2. Optimize the Title

The ultimate aim of a white paper is to maximize the number of prospects who read it, so the title needs to be focused and gripping (and related to the content). People like listicle titles or you could do something compelling like “The Global Checkout: Getting Your Slice of the Trillion-dollar Pie”.

3. Use Appropriate Language

Tailor your tone to your audience and be concise. Address pain points, avoid being too technical or sales-oriented (especially if the paper is not specifically about your product) and be specific.

4. CTAs are Your Friends

Add a clear CTA at the end of your white paper encouraging readers to continue engaging with you. Prompt them to try a free demo of your product, contact your sales team, visit your website or just follow you on social media.

5. Use Visuals

People are highly-visual creatures, so use plenty of charts, tables and photos. Visual data will improve your credibility and also make the document more readable and shareable.

6 Tips for Creating a Compelling White Paper

Not sure how to make that happen? I’ve put together some of our best tips for writing a compelling white paper.

1. Give Readers Information They Can Use

Compelling white papers begin with a compelling information hook detailing the potential impact to your reader. If you’re wondering what you would even write in a white paper, ask yourself a few questions:

• What pains and challenges do your customers experience?
• What kinds of problems does your business help with?
• What kind of advice could you give that would be extremely valuable?

The most effective papers are those that offer real, actionable solutions to readers.

2. Don’t Make It a Sales Pitch

One of the biggest mistakes content creators make when writing white papers is spending too much time promoting a product. Don’t fall into this trap – the goal of your paper should be to answer questions and offer solutions for your audience. Keep your tone conversational and educational, not salesy.

3. Create a Killer Title

The title of your white paper is the first thing prospects see on your website or in a list of search results. If that title doesn’t grab their attention, potential readers are likely to skip right over it. Arouse readers’ curiosity with a title that contains a question, a promise or a bold statement. You don’t even need to call your piece a “white paper” – using the term “special report” may generate more interest, depending on your audience.

4. Back up Your Claims

If you make a claim in your paper, you need to be able to back it up with real data. Use facts and figures from reliable sources and search for the most recent data you can dig up. If your audience suspects you’re using data from suspicious sources or making claims that you can’t prove, they’re less likely to trust your products or services.

5. Provide the Next Steps

While a white paper should certainly be packed with valuable information, it also needs to explain how your audience can make good use of that information. What are the next steps your readers need to take to achieve their desired outcome? Be sure that each of these steps is constructed as a call-to-action.

6. Promote It Like Crazy

Making your white paper available on your website isn’t enough – you need to promote it aggressively to maximize results. Talk about it in your company’s blog and mention it on all your social networks and LinkedIn groups. You may even want to consider publishing a press release or launching an advertising campaign. If you gate it by requiring a reader’s name and email, you can acquire some great leads for your sales team to follow up with.

Connecting with Your Prospects

Creating and sharing an effective white paper is a great way to move prospects toward conversion. But, before you dive into it, know your goals, what your audience is seeking and when they need it. There’s nothing worse than falling into the trap of choosing the wrong topic or format. Good white papers may be challenging to create, but the value they provide for both your prospects and your business makes them worth the while.