Quick 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 do they leave you wanting more?
Sample one-page “white papers”
Click the thumbnail
to see each sample
I personally don’t find either sample compelling or persuasive.
The ACOM one on the left smushes together two case studies without developing either one. This could be a blog post.
But at only 600 words, it’s too skimpy to call it a white paper.
The HP one on the right skims the surface of how mobile devices were making life “easier” for small business people in the early 2000s.
It’s also just 600 words, packed with vague generalities. I’m not sure why this was ever published.
To me, both these samples look skimpy and skinny. What do you think?
Some signs your draft white paper is too short
- You have only 1,000 words or less
- The title promises a deep dive, but the draft skims the surface
- The argument has some gaping holes
- Your reviewers say there’s not enough there
Suppose the sponsor sells something for $100,000 a pop. And all you’ve got is 1,000 words.
Do you think that’s enough to convince a skeptical B2B buyer to part with that much money?
Me neither.
B2B prospects want useful information that helps them understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.
What if you get them interested enough to download your white paper, but it’s so short they don’t think your company is serious?
Some reasons why your draft may be too short
- The topic is too small for a white paper
- The sponsor tried to cut corners on timing or budget
- The writer didn’t do enough research
- The writer submitted a draft too soon
Here are seven ways to add more bulk to a skinny white paper. And none of these involve pumping it up with hot air or silly filler.
Too short tip 1: Check that your idea is big enough
Your idea may be too small to sustain an entire white paper.
Did you deal with only one corner of a problem that’s actually much bigger?
Can you expand the scope to cover the whole problem?
For more on what size of idea works best for a white paper, see this quick tip.
If your idea is too small, brainstorm a more useful or meaty idea and start over.
Try AI for help; it’s great at brainstorming.
Show the AI your draft and then ask things like:
- What else could I add to this topic?
- What am I leaving out?
- What else would readers be interested related to this topic?
- How could I expand this draft to be more comprehensive?
Too short tip 2: Review your project plan
Review your timelines and your budget.
If you’re the sponsor, are you expect the writer to produce too much, too fast, for too little money?
Can you review your deadlines and lengthen them? Or review your budget and invest more?
Too short tip 3: Talk to your writer
Ask about their other commitments. Do they have too many balls in the air?
Did they send in that draft sooner than they should have? Maybe just to show you they were working on it?
Can your writer commit to expanding the draft to a defined word count? How about 2,750 words?
Make sure to say you don’t want fluff and filler. You want solid ideas, expressed clearly and concisely. You want every word to count.
If your writer can’t commit, can you find another writer?
And if you’re the writer, ask yourself the same questions.
Too short tip 4: Do more research
If your idea is big but your paper is small, you need to do more research and add more content.
That means doing more interviews with experts and more web research. Here are some specifics depending on which flavor you’re working on.
For a problem/solution (chocolate) white paper
Dig deeper into the problem.
Come up with statistics that show how big it is and how long it has plagued the industry.
Get some expert opinions and sound bites.
Then look at all the traditional ways of solving the problem.
Express each one in generic terms as a class or category, not a specific product name. Then shows its drawbacks or unintended consequences.
Doing all that will expand your argument and make your paper longer and much more persuasive.
For a numbered list (strawberry) white paper
I often devote a whole page to each point. You can have some white space at the bottom, that’s okay.
In fact, that’s a relief to any reader.
If you have three or four points wrapped up in two pages, you’re not going deep enough.
Rethink your list of points or issues. If you only have three or four, see if you can double that.
Can you split some points in two? Can you think of anything you left out? AI can help here.
Then for each point, dig in and find numbers, dates, quotable quotes… the evidence that makes a strong case for that point.
Doing all that will lengthen and deepen your numbered list.
For a backgrounder (vanilla) white paper
You may not be covering enough features and benefits. Or you may not be covering them in enough detail.
Organize your research around the key features and benefits of your offering.
Some technical benefits could be security, privacy, flexibility, transparency, ease of set up, ease of maintenance, ease of disposal, user-centered design.
Some financial benefits could be lower cost, shorter learning curve, longer life, lower total cost of ownership, fewer or cheaper consumables, and so on.
Covering more features and benefits will make your backgrounder longer and more compelling.
Too short tip 5: Add some front and back matter
Does your white paper have a text-only cover that lists the contents?
Use this quick tip to find a good cover photo. Then move the table of contents inside. You just gained a page and made your white paper more attractive.
Of course, you have an executive summary at the start, plus conclusions with call-to-action at the back, right? If not, add them.
You can get AI to write your executive summary as described in this tip.
Don’t forget to include About the Company at the back. Just paste in the standard boilerplate from a press release or About the Company on the website.
Doing all these simple steps will add four pages to your draft.
And those four pages won’t be filler or fluff; they’ll be useful components that should be in every white paper.
Too short tip 6: Rethink the typography
Sometimes a white paper is too short because the typesetting is too severe, with no white space at the edges, tiny type, and run-on paragraphs.
Add more white space all around. Set your line width to 75 or so characters. If it’s at 100 or 120 characters, that’s too hard to read.
Break up long paragraphs. At a minimum, start a new paragraph every five lines.
These measures will expand your draft and make it far easier to scan and read.
Too short tip 7: Add graphics
Is your draft a wall of text, unrelieved by any visuals? You can make it more appealing and longer at the same time.
Can you think of an infographic that sums up the whole paper in one visual?
Can you simply reuse slices of the cover graphic as visuals inside?
Can you sprinkle some inexpensive stock photos throughout?
Can you use any screen snaps from your software?
Can you even pose some reasonable photos yourself?
Conclusions
Following these tips will help expand your draft to end up at the sweet spot for a white paper today: 6 to 8 pages of main body, or 12 to 16 pages total.
A white paper of that length will meet your prospect’s expectations, with enough depth to develop your arguments, but not so much detail it’s overwhelming.
Good luck!
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