Posts by Gordon Graham
Quick tip: Read your draft to your SMEs
Did you ever work with a SME who kept putting off reviewing a white paper draft? Maybe English wasn’t their first language. Or maybe they weren’t sure how to express their comments on your draft. But they were too embarrassed to admit it. Here’s a smart way around that: 1. Schedule a meeting or Zoom,…
Read MoreWhite Paper World 47: September 12, 2024
Quick tip: Make every bullet count This just in: How AI will affect writers New episode: White Paper Review on YouTube How to use AI to write white papers [$100 off] 7:30-minute read. 16-minute listen: Quick tip: Make every bullet count 2-minute read. There’s nothing like a set of bullets to make a list…
Read MoreQuick tip: Make every bullet count
There’s nothing like a set of bullets to make a list easy to scan. But are your bulleted lists as sharp as they could be? Here are four tips to help make every bullet count. Tip 1: Order bullets for quick scanning It’s obvious how to arrange a set of bullets, right? You put the…
Read MoreHow AI will affect white paper writers
Here’s a question on every white paper writer’s mind: How will AI affect me? 3.5 minute read Will clients still need human writers? Or is the whole white paper business about to go bust? I just came across an intriguing new source for answers. The JobsGPT chatbot estimates how much any job will be changed…
Read MoreQuick tip: Fix a draft white paper that’s too short
So you’ve written a draft white paper, but it’s way too short. Now your reviewers and your sponsor are complaining. Can you expand it? Yes, you can. And here are some practical tips on how. But first, check out these one-page “white papers” What do you think? Are they long enough to be convincing? Or…
Read MoreQuick tip: Fix a draft white paper that’s too long
So you’ve written a draft white paper, but it’s way too long. Now your reviewers and your sponsor are complaining. So can you shorten a draft that’s way too long? Yes, you can. And here are five practical tips how. What’s too long, anyway? Technical people may read a white paper 30 or 40 pages…
Read MoreWhat ChatGPT says about white papers (updated fall 2024)
Every writer is talking about the ground-breaking AI program, ChatGPT. We’re all wondering whether it means the end of our careers or the start of a new and exciting chapter. So I decided to ask the source. Early in 2023, I interviewed ChatGPT 3.5 on the issues every writer is concerned about: What it can…
Read MoreQuick tip: How to layer information for multiple audiences
Ideally you can create one white paper for every segment of your target audience. But what if you can’t swing that? What if for some reason—time, money, or whatever—you need to reach more than one audience with the same white paper? In another article, I described how to “clone” one basic document for various segments…
Read MoreQuick tip: 6 easy hacks for ChatGPT [with sample prompts]
After using ChatGPT for a time, we learn a few hacks to get better results. Here’s a quick roundup of six easy ways to pump up your prompts: The first three are common tips you may have heard already. The last three are strange “emotional engineering” to push the AI further. Plus, a bonus tip…
Read MoreQuick tip: How to make better lists
Every white paper includes a list or two. No wonder. Lists have many benefits: Lists help us compare and contrast Lists gather together a lot of data Lists can be scanned at a glance Designers and UX researchers have known for decades that lists are a good way to “chunk” info into shorter pieces. Those…
Read More