Digital Common Sense

Content Factor Weblog: What a White Paper Is (and Isn’t)

What a White Paper Is (and Isn’t)

In my many (many) years of business writing, I’ve found that one type of deliverable causes more confusion in terms of exactly “what it is” than any other: The White Paper.

It’s tempting when you’re spending the time to develop an 8, 12, 16 (or more) page publication to include everything about the organization, its products, and more. But the most effective white paper is one that is concise, educational, and keenly focused on a single topic, concept, or technology.

What a white paper is not:

* A brochure
* An overview of your solution
* A newsletter
* A 20-page document that says everything you want to say

What a white paper is:

* An educational tool for the reader first
* A marketing tool for your organization second
* An explanation or discussion of something–a trend, a technology, an architecture–not your product though.

There are other reasons to write white papers that those Jeneane has listed, particiulary those written for internal use. But if more people would follow this simple guide, we’d sure see better quality white papers all the way around.

Filed by Ken at 6:55 pm under General