White Papers with grubby edges

I don't know about you, but I'm fed up with some organisation's attitudes to "white papers".  I regularly download white papers on a variety of topics, or to find out about what my competitors are doing and thinking.  Some are extremely good, but some examples I've downloaded recently from AccountingWEB campaigns and elsewhere have been little more than recycled sales collateral, with very little real content, or just a taster of an idea, where you need to get further in to the sales cycle with that company before you get the real answers. 

I'm convinced that well written white papers should be part of your marketing strategy.  However, you need to be confident enough to provide a good message and information on the topic, and trust that your audience will see you've got expertise in that area, and be compelled to pick up the phone, e-mail, or make contact with you.  My business partner and I have just written a series of white papers on issues around our business, and we pride ourselves that they provide interesting ideas and pointers to good reference sources - so far audience reaction  has been very positive. 

Thankfully we did a reasonable job based on our experience, but here is a good article I wish I'd read first, with advice on this topic that you should read: How to Write Compelling White Papers (Your Audience Will Really Want to Read).
Technorati Tags : marketing, white, papers, compelling

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