White paper writer tip #3: Plan your work
Remember the old chestnut to “plan your work, and work your plan?” That certainly applies to white paper writers. Why? Just consider most other professions. Does a surgeon go into the operating room—without reviewing the patient’s chart? Does a golfer tee up his first drive in the U.S. Open—without playing a few rounds on the…
Read MoreHow white paper writers can use high-priced sources
To be an effective white paper writer, you must find good sources to back up your argument. But what if you locate what seems like a great source, but you can’t afford to access it? What if you find a market study with a price tag of $4,995? Or a promising article you can’t download without subscribing to an…
Read More3 lessons tech writers must unlearn to write white papers
Here’s my message to tech writers: You can write great white papers. If you’ve done any technical writing, you’ve probably seen a few white papers in your time. You may have reviewed a few of them. You may even have written them yourself. As a tech writer, you already have many skills you can apply…
Read More3 lessons journalists must unlearn to write white papers
If you’ve ever worked as a journalist, you can likely write effective white papers. As a journalist, you already have many skills you can apply to writing white papers. You can write crisply and clearly. You know how to tell a story using facts and quotes. And you can meet deadlines and work with editors…
Read More4 lessons copywriters must unlearn to write white papers
Copywriters can definitely write effective white papers. You just need to unlearn a few things first. As a copywriter, you already have many skills you can apply to writing white papers. You likely know how to: Do research Interview experts Write smoothly Meet short deadlines Handle reviews and comments To succeed at writing white papers, you…
Read MoreA look back at 2015 | That White Paper Guy
We covered a lot this year in our quest to help you create compelling white papers. To give you a quick review, we’re highlighting the best of the bunch. That White Paper Guy’s website We’ve been sharing articles every two weeks on our website, www.thatwhitepaperguy.com. We’ve found you love to see real-world examples from our portfolio,…
Read MoreHow to repurpose a white paper by creating tweets
Here’s how to repurpose a white paper by creating tweets from the actual document. This is part 6 of our ongoing series on how to repurpose a white paper. You can find links to the first 5 parts of our series at the end of this article. We don’t think of social media as “content.” Rather, it’s a…
Read MoreBook review: The Elements of Style
THE EARLIEST EDITION of The Elements of Style was set down more than 100 years ago in 1919. But it’s far from outdated. In fact, The Elements of Style remains the single most brief and practical guide to English writing that’s ever appeared. By far. Whether you write B2B, B2C, mysteries, or text for cereal…
Read MoreHow to repurpose a white paper by creating a landing page
Here’s the final part of my series on how to repurpose your white paper. You can see the earlier parts here: Part 1 on the original white paper Part 2 on repurposing as a press release Part 3 on repurposing as a set of blog posts Part 4 on repurposing as a slide deck I…
Read MoreHow to repurpose a white paper into a slide deck
Here’s how to repurpose a white paper into a slide deck. This is part 4 of our ongoing series. For other posts in this series, see the links at the bottom of this post. A slide deck makes a good companion to any white paper, since the two are so different. For example, you can use…
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