White Paper Planning
White papers and… Halloween?!
I was planting skulls in my flowerbed when a raven cawed behind me. Looking up, I surveyed my efforts. Cobwebs. Bats. Candles. And it struck me like a thunderclap. Getting ready for Halloween is a lot like sponsoring a white paper. And kids dashing house to house looking for goodies are a lot like…
Read MoreHow many white papers are "enough"?
B2B marketers often wonder: How many white papers should our company publish? How many white papers are really “enough?” The correct answer is “that all depends.” One of my clients asks me to write a white paper every time his sales force comes up against a serious objection. The more objections, the more white…
Read More12 steps to great white paper project management
A white paper project is a complex undertaking, with many moving parts. Here are 12 steps to an effective white paper project. We created each of these steps after going through a painful experience with a white paper that went off the rails A few were never even completed, despite my best efforts. So consider…
Read MoreCrossing the chasm with effective white papers
This is a tale of two white papers, and the companies that planned them. It shows how an effective marketing strategy can help you to create an effective white paper. And it shows how an ineffective marketing strategy can hinder your best efforts to create a good white paper. Along the way, we’ll review a few…
Read More8 reasons to hire a white paper writer who knows your industry
Some say the best white paper writers are generalists who can write about any topic under the sun. They’ll say they can sift through what’s important and what’s not and explain things in a reader-friendly way. That White Paper Guy (Gordon Graham) is a generalist who has written on dozens of topics. But someone with…
Read MoreTo gate or not to gate?
That is the question, for anyone involved in content marketing today. So what’s the best answer? As you know, “gated content” is a white paper, special report, or any other content you give to a site visitor after they complete a registration form. We’ve all filled in those forms. But do they work? Here’s a dirty little secret…
Read MoreTop 10 tips for ICO white papers
Every new cryptocurrency needs a white paper on how to explain and promote an ICO. So does every new token having an ITO. Industry experts are saying the era of big-money ICOs may be over, so ICO white papers must be better than ever. By this point, I’ve worked on 10 ICO white papers about…
Read MoreWhat’s a good topic for a white paper?
I get that question a lot. One good answer is, “anything that’s hot right now.” And that hot topic should refer to something that’s relatively new, relatively complex, and relatively expensive. This rule explains why in 2017-2018 I heard from four eight 13 16 24 58 prospects launching new cryptocurrencies, something like Bitcoin. Lately I’ve been hearing from…
Read More16 possible ways to structure a white paper
You’ve probably heard my concept of the three “flavors” of white papers. But within these three, there are many different ways to organize a white paper. Here are 16 possibilities, which I’ve extracted and expanded with thanks from one of my favorite books, Presenting to Win by Jerry Weissman. Weissman is a former New York…
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…
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