White Papers: What Every Tech Writer Should Know

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During my technical writing career, I've developed a number of white papers. One was to promote and educate the marketplace about a primary ingredient of a client product (they sold wellness supplements).

Sometimes hundreds of pages in length and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, white papers require vast amounts of research and copious interviews with subject matter experts.

Another white paper involved a client providing me with the results of laboratory testing they conducted on products involving their ingredients (special aroma and flavor chemicals called terpenes). This project was straightforward and, honestly, the easiest white paper project I've executed. It was basically a summary of the laboratory research results, so the scope was already defined.

Because the lab data was already concisely and professionally documented, it made my life much easier by working with clean inputs. Unfortunately, not all white papers are so easily developed. These long-form documents, sometimes hundreds of pages in length and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, require vast amounts of research and copious interviews with subject matter experts (SMEs).

What is a White Paper?

White papers are in-depth reports that aim to educate and persuade readers about a specific topic or emerging technology. They are especially popular among corporations, particularly standards organizations, think tanks, and tech companies. Often, white papers introduce new products, services, or concepts. They are effective when attempting to educate a particular audience or the general public about a technology or process innovation, particularly those that are truly disruptive and impactful.

White papers are popular in the IT departments of corporate America and among technology companies and innovators.

Long-form documentation such as white papers are popular in the IT departments of corporate America and among technology companies and innovators. Those promoting leading edge products and services such as space exploration, electric cars, cybersecurity, genetics, nanotechnology, and home automation find white papers especially attractive vehicles for capturing tribal knowledge and packaging it for a particular external audience.

Common white paper topics include new product or service introductions, market trends and analysis, industry best practices, technical solutions to specific challenges or problems, and case studies of successful implementations. They often involve the marketing department because they can serve as such effective promotional tools.

White Paper Key Elements

White papers vary significantly in content and format. There is no exactly methodology to create one. These enterprise documents manifest featuring vast differences in length, technical complexity, target audience, and budget. However, there are a few basic elements that are common to all white papers. If yours doesn't include the sections below, you better have a good reason.

• Table of Contents (TOC): Offers a collection of links to the sections of the document. Because white papers are developed as long-form documents, they require a basic TOC. Even relatively rudimentary development platforms and programs, such as MS Word or Google Docs, provide a TOC feature that makes creation fast and accurate for technical writers.
• Executive Summary: Encapsulates a concise overview of the white paper's main points, including the problem/environment, proposed solution, and benefits. If a white paper is being employed as a marketing asset, benefits should be a core focus. Note: Assume that a potentially significant percentage of your audience will read only the Executive Summary. That's how good it has to be; it's like a mini version of the entire document.
• Introduction: Provides background information on the topic and establishes the paper's purpose, tone, and intended audience. The introduction should leave a reader who is attempting to decide if they want to read your detailed long-form document with no ambiguity or question regarding its nature or what they will experience if they do read it. The intro should validate the information source or author and can act as a persuasive narrative, with the goal of recruiting supporters and allies.
• Body: Contains the majority of the document volume. The body of a white paper delves into the details of the topic and presents evidence, data, metrics, and arguments to support its claims and should precisely compliment the Introduction. It should include immaculately edited and formatted text and a professional layout involving sufficient white space. Additional detail and text relief should be provided by images, schematics, process flows, hierarchies, and other graphics.
• Conclusion: Summarizes the key findings and reinforces the paper's main message. The purpose of the conclusion of a white paper or any long-form document is to psychologically reinforce the points you would like readers to remember. One effective practice is to define a small number of main goals of a white paper at the beginning of the project. These should be reflected in the Introduction and echoed in the Conclusion (or you're simply doing it wrong).

Optional Appendix Items

Note that your white paper may include many more sections than those listed above. Think of the ones presented here as the core essentials of a white paper. More complex examples may feature dozens or even hundreds of sections or subsections.

Common end-of-document (appendicized) sections include an index, a glossary, and a table of images. Particularly in longer, more complex white papers, consider all audience segments when mulling elements such as an index or glossary that may be of value to readers. That said, don't waste time on junk filler merely to fatten a white paper (back in the print days, this was called the "heft factor").

White Paper Best Practices

A number of best practices exist for technical writers developing white papers. Of course, it should be noted that these characteristics are common to all document types—from blog articles and user manuals to standard operating procedures and installation guides.

• Be Objective: Maintain a neutral tone and avoid being overly promotional or biased in your writing. Also: Be sincere. Convince readers that your white paper is an honest document featuring integrity, facts, and transparency.
• Edit & Proofread Like a Pro: Ensure that your white paper is free of errors and inconsistencies and features parallel structure. One effective strategy is to bring in a fresh editor (or editors) for the proofread, someone with no established perceptions of the project or feelings of ownership that might bias their proofread effort or limit their feedback.
• Focus on Your Audience: Tailor the content of the white paper to the specific needs and interests of your readers. Carefully determine, at the onset of your white paper project, if you are trying to reach one or more audiences. Create reader profiles and determine important elements of your audience such as technical literacy, relationship to your company, and other demographics that influence the content that you include, particularly its tone.
• Provide Supporting Evidence: Back up your claims with data, research, expert opinions, and user/customer testimonials. Successful examples from the marketplace or academia and peer-reviewed research studies are excellent ways of conveying supporting evidence.
• Use Clear & Concise Language & Images: Avoid jargon and technical terms that may confuse readers. Always remember that, in the world of tech writing and documentation, less is more. Terse always beats verbose. Provide only as much detail and depth as is necessary to achieve the goals of the project (which should be clearly defined and endorsed by all stakeholders).

Good Luck

And, of course, never forget about the Eight Pillars of Technical Writing that should be applied to all types of documentation, including white papers.

By understanding the key elements and best practices for writing white papers, you can successfully create informative, persuasive, and prestigious long-form documents that help your organization achieve its goals—including gaining the allegiance and faith of shareholders, the marketplace, and government regulators.

Remember that an impressive white paper, for any topic, is not an easy or overnight project. Successful white papers often involve dozens or hundreds of SME interviews, exhaustive reviews and validation of data, and an intense focus on one or more target audiences.

But that's just my opinion. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

— Curt Robbins, Senior Technical Writer

P.S.: I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.