White Papers for Dummies is the new title by Gordon Graham. The for Dummies series has been around since the DOS operating system days. The first title was DOS for Dummies. The book was so successful the series expanded to countless volumes. Despite the rather insulting title of the series, … Continue reading
What is a case study for? We hear about them all the time. Case studies, and their cousin the white paper, are documents used mainly in the business to business sphere. Where a white paper comes in three varieties—backgrounder, numbered list, and problem-solution—the case study really only has one flavor. … Continue reading
To gate or not to gate, that is the question. And it’s a valid question. There seem to be two major camps in terms of how to make use of a white paper. The first camp thinks the white paper should be distributed as widely as possible, without any obstructions. … Continue reading
Do you know when to use a backgrounder white paper? The backgrounder is a product-specific white paper that goes into detail on features and use. Unlike the problem-solution white paper, this document is not intended to attract attention and draw in prospects. Rather, it’s job is to close the sale. … Continue reading
Did you know there are basically three kinds of white papers? According to Gordon Graham, the “White Paper Guy,” there really isn’t any standardization, but white papers can be categorized into three major categories. Problem and Solution White Papers This is the type of white paper that’s attractive to engineers. … Continue reading
A few words on white papers. White papers are one of the best ways to market to engineering professionals. Engineers are shopping in a business to business environment, and their objective is to solve a problem. Whether they want to find a vendor to stuff printed circuit boards, perform injection … Continue reading
This week, Rick discusses White Papers, how to use them and what they are.
Reason #9 – Wrong Voice Would a salesman use the same presentation script when speaking to a group of engineers, a group of accountants, and the board of executives? Of course not, so why would white papers be any different? A white paper is written for a specific audience and … Continue reading
Reason #8 – Wrong Situation My daughter works at the local movie theater. In training, they taught her to up-sell at the concession stand. But even a teenager selling popcorn at the movie theater doesn’t try to up-sell the customer before that customer even approaches the concessions counter. There are … Continue reading
Reason #7 – Inappropriate Format White papers are are documents meant for a specific target audience. Trying to force a single white paper to do the job of many isn’t going to work out well. A white paper handed to an individual must match that reader’s expectation. The sweet spot … Continue reading