fingers turning knob through different stages of the customer journey

18 must-do’s to promote a white paper

So you wrote a white paper. Now what?

Now it’s time to get it in front of your target readers.

And that means doing promotions.

There are lots of ways to promote a white paper.

In fact, my book White Papers For Dummies includes a list of 40 possible promotions.

But not every tactic works for every audience.

So here’s a table that lists all the promotions I consider must-do’s for every white paper. These tactics are listed more or less in chronological order.

So I recommend that you work through this table from top to bottom.

#	Item	Done?
1	Create an effective landing page
2	Feature your white paper prominently on your website
3	Mention it in your newsletter (if any)
4	E-mail it to your sales force (if any)
5	E-mail it to your channel partners (if any)
6	E-mail it to your house list of prospects and clients
7	Tweet about it on Twitter
8	Post about it on your blog
9	Repurpose it as 2 or 3 blog posts *
10	Announce it to any appropriate LinkedIn groups
11	Publish a press release about it *
12	Send press release + white paper to journalists & analysts
13	Send press release + white paper to bloggers
14	Get it mentioned in channel partner newsletters (if any)
15	Post it on free white paper sites or forums
16	Repurpose your white paper as a slide deck *
17	Send your slide deck to your sales force (if any)
18	Send your slide deck to your channel partners (if any)
* Ask your white paper writer to create these

Everything leads to the landing page

Creating an effective landing page is must-do #1 for any white paper promotion.

That’s because almost every other tactic you implement leads to that landing page.

Most of the people you tell about your white paper will use your landing page to access it.

And that’s the link they will use to pass on the word.

Without one, where can interested prospects go to find and download your white paper?

But you must make a landing page that works.

For tips on creating an effective landing page, see this article.

A marketer’s job is never finished

Of course, this list can hit only a few highlights, and remind you about some possible tactics you may have forgotten or never considered.

No matter how much you do, you can always do more.

But make sure to cover these 18 items first and you’ll be off to a good start in promoting your white paper.

Get the white paper promotion checklist

For a PDF checklist of these 18 must-do tactics to promote a white paper, click the thumbnail.

If you’re a marketer, feel free to use it.

If you’re a writer, feel free to pass this on to your client when you’re doing a white paper project.

Good luck getting the word out!

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Posted in White Paper Project Management, White Paper Promotions

About Gordon Graham

Worked on 328 white papers for clients from Silicon Valley to Switzerland, on everything from choosing enterprise software to designing virtual worlds for kids, for clients from tiny startups to 3M, Google, and Verizon. Wrote White Papers for Dummies which earned 60+ 5-star ratings on Amazon. Won 16 awards from the Society for Technical Communication. Named AWAI 2019 Copywriter of the Year.

View all posts by Gordon Graham →

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