Do White Papers Work?

Do White Papers still work as a direct response offer? Yes, says Nick Copley, Vice President of Bitpipe. “The big [magazine] publishers are scaling back the amount of editorial space they have to offer,” he explains.

White papers allow marketers to bypass the trade press and reach their prospects directly, and the IT audience is receptive. “People are looking to get up to speed on technology any way they can, and a little bias seems to be okay.”

Here are a few of Copley’s tips for writing effective white papers:

• Determine the objective: Decide up front what the one goal you are trying
  to achieve with this document. Save all the other nuggets of ideas for other white papers.
• Add a case study: When your white paper is too abstract, adding a case
  study or two, perhaps as sidebars, “can bring the paper back to reality.
• Address competing technologies: Show how your solution maps against
  the competition. Make sure your white paper addresses the major issues your
  competitors raise.
• Have a call to action: You’ve educated and persuaded the reader. Now spell out the next step.

SOURCE: SOFTWARE SUCCESS, VOL. 16, NO. 22