That means the final page count is usually 12 to 16 pages total.<\/p>\n
For more on the ideal length for a white paper, see the White Paper FAQ<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n But what if your draft doesn’t fit this format?<\/p>\n What about a draft that’s way too short or way too long?\u00a0Can you save it?<\/p>\n Yes, you can. And here are some practical tips on how to do it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two “white” papers that are just one page: <\/em><\/p>\n Enough for a blog post, maybe, but not for any deep argument based on facts and logic<\/em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Here are some signs your draft white paper is too short:<\/p>\n Suppose the company sells something for $100,000 a pop. And all you’ve got is 1,000 words.<\/p>\n Do you really think that’s enough to convince a skeptical B2B buyer to part with that much money?<\/p>\n Me neither. It’s just too lightweight.<\/p>\n Remember, B2B prospects want useful info that helps them understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.<\/p>\n What if you get them interested enough to download your white paper, but it’s so short it doesn’t engage them?<\/p>\n Your white paper has just failed in its mission.<\/p>\n Here are seven different ways to add more bulk to a skinny white paper. And none of these involve pumping it up with hot air or silly filler.<\/p>\n 1\u2014Reality check: Is your idea big enough?<\/strong><\/p>\n Your idea may be too small to sustain an entire white paper.<\/p>\n For more on what size of idea works best for a white paper, see this quick tip<\/a>.<\/p>\n If your idea is too small, brainstorm a more useful or meaty idea and start over.<\/p>\n Did you deal with only one corner of a problem that’s actually much bigger?<\/p>\n Can you expand the scope to cover the whole problem?<\/p>\n 2\u2014Review your project parameters<\/strong><\/p>\n Review your timelines and your budget.<\/p>\n Are you expecting your writer to produce too much, too fast, for too little money?<\/p>\n Can you review your deadlines and lengthen them? Or review your budget and invest more?<\/p>\n 3\u2014Talk to your writer<\/strong><\/p>\n Ask about their other commitments. Do they have too many balls in the air?<\/p>\n Did they send in that draft sooner than they should have? Maybe just to show you they were working on it?<\/p>\n Can your writer commit to expanding the draft to a defined word count? How about 3,500 words?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n If your writer can’t commit, can you find another writer?<\/p>\n 4\u2014Do more research<\/strong><\/p>\n If your idea is big but your paper is small, you need to do more research and add more content.<\/p>\n That means doing more interviews with SMEs and more web research. Here are some specifics depending on which flavor you’re working on.<\/p>\n For a problem\/solution (chocolate) white paper<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Dig deeper into the problem.<\/p>\n Come up with statistics that show how big it is and how long it’s plagued the industry.<\/p>\n Get some expert opinions and sound bites.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then look at all the traditional ways of solving the problem.<\/p>\n Express each one in generic terms as a class or category, not a specific product name. Then shows its drawbacks or unintended consequences.<\/p>\n Doing all that will expand your argument and make your paper longer and much more persuasive.<\/p>\n For a numbered list (strawberry) white paper<\/strong>:<\/p>\n I often devote a whole page to each point.<\/p>\n If you have three or four points wrapped up in a single page, you’re not going deep enough.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rethink your list of points or issues. If you only have three or four, see if you can double that.<\/p>\n Can you split some points in two?<\/p>\n Can you think of anything you left out?<\/p>\n Then for each point, dig in and find numbers, dates, quotable quotes… some sort of evidence that makes a strong case for that point.<\/p>\n Doing all that will lengthen and deepen your numbered list.<\/p>\n Organize your research around the key features and benefits of your offering.<\/p>\n Some technical benefits could be security, privacy, flexibility, transparency, ease of set up, ease of maintenance, ease of disposal, user-centered design.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some financial benefits could be lower cost, easier learning curve, longer life, lower total cost of ownership, fewer or cheaper consumables, and so on.<\/p>\n Covering more features and benefits will make your backgrounder longer and more compelling.<\/p>\n 5\u2014Add front and back matter<\/strong><\/p>\n Does your white paper have a text-only cover that lists the contents?<\/p>\n Use this quick tip to find a good cover photo<\/a> and move the contents inside. You just gained a page and made your white paper more attractive.<\/p>\n Of course, you have an executive summary at the start, plus conclusions with call-to-action at the back, right? If not, add them.<\/p>\n Don’t forget to include About the Company at the back. Just paste in the standard boilerplate from your press releases or About the Company on your website.<\/p>\n Doing all this will add four pages to your draft. And those four pages won’t be \u00a0filler or fluff; they’ll be useful components that should be in every white paper.<\/p>\n 6\u2014Rethink the typography <\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Break up long paragraphs. Start a new paragraph after five lines max.<\/p>\n These measures will expand your draft and make it far easier to scan and read.<\/p>\n 7\u2014Add graphics<\/strong><\/p>\n Is your draft a wall of text, unrelieved by any visuals? This is a golden opportunity to make it more appealing and longer at the same time.<\/p>\n Can you think of an infographic that sums up the whole point of the paper in one illustration?<\/p>\n Can you simply reuse slices of the cover graphic as visuals inside?<\/p>\n Can you find some inexpensive stock photos to sprinkle throughout?<\/p>\n Can you use any screen shots from your software?<\/p>\n Can you even pose some reasonable photos yourself? Or even hire a professional photographer to take some?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following some or all of these tips will make your white paper longer and far more effective as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are some signs that your draft white paper is too long:<\/p>\n \u2022 The draft is 25+ pages <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I often see this problem when a company does their first white paper.<\/p>\n They want to do too much with one document.<\/p>\n They want to speak to people from start to finish of their customer journey.<\/p>\n And they want to generate leads, engage customers throughout a complex sale, and help win out over competitors to make the sale.<\/p>\n So they throw in everything but the kitchen sink.<\/p>\n The problem is, prospects at different stages of their journey need different types of information.\u00a0So one paper can’t do everything.<\/p>\n Some technical audiences will read a white paper that’s 30 or 40 pages, as long as it provides useful information.<\/p>\n But most B2B business people won’t put up with that.<\/p>\n They want to get useful info that helps them understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. And they don’t have all day.<\/p>\n That’s why most white papers are 12 to 16 pages, total.<\/p>\n Here are four different ways to slim down a white paper that’s too bulky. And all these tips will help make your white paper more effective.<\/p>\n 1\u2014Reality check: Is your idea too big?<\/strong><\/p>\n Are you trying to appeal to prospects at every point on their customer journey?<\/p>\n Can you focus on one part of the journey only?<\/p>\n Are there\u00a0any side issues you can drop?<\/p>\n
\n![\"1-page](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1-page-white-paper-from-ACOM-231x300.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0![\"1-page](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1-page-white-paper-from-HP-218x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
\nFixing a draft white paper that’s too short<\/h2>\n
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![\"tape](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/tape-measure-short.png\")
<\/h2>\nHere are some reasons why your draft may be too short\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Some solutions you can try<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"scoop](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/chocolate-300x266.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"scoop](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/strawberry-300x243.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"scoop](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/vanilla.png\")
For a backgrounder (vanilla) white paper<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
\nFixing a draft white paper that’s too long<\/h2>\n
![\"white](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/white-paper-so-long-it-falls-over-300x259.jpg\")
<\/h2>\n
\n\u2022\u00a0The text seems rambling and verbose
\n\u2022\u00a0The argument is roundabout and unclear
\n\u2022\u00a0Your reviewers can barely get through it<\/p>\n![\"tape](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/tape-measure-long-300x31.png\")
<\/h2>\nHere are some reasons why your draft may be too long\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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And here are some likely solutions you can try<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"professional](\"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/professional-copywriter-300x215.jpg\")
<\/p>\n