Product Description

Insightful tips to master white paper writing and marketing The white paper is a crossbreed of a magazine article and a brochure. White paper guru Michael Stelzner reveals his secrets for creating compelling white papers that attract readers in droves. The first of its kind, Writing White Papers provides critical how-to details for every step of any white paper project—from performing the needs assessment to attracting prospects with creative marketing tactics. With this book, you will learn to: •Create outlines that work •Master interviewing techniques •Focus content on your readers •Inject persuasion into your paper •Quickly find research data •Write the core parts for any white paper •Craft compelling titles •Apply proven marketing techniques Whether you have been tasked to write a white paper for your company, are a freelance writer wanting to grow your practice or a student seeking to master the art of writing white papers, this book will be your priceless guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42057 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 214 pages

From the Inside Flap
White papers are at the forefront of an educational marketing revolution. Powerful enough to lure readers and able to persuade with unyielding strength, the well-written white paper is a super weapon in the marketing professional's arsenal.

Wearing many hats, the white paper can talk business or converse technically, and it can inform or influence. Best of all—it is highly sought-after. The white paper's underlying strength rests on this premise: If you give readers something of value, they will give you their loyalty, and ultimately their business. This book aims to equip anyone with the tools necessary to immediately begin writing white papers that attract readers and keep them engaged.

About the Author
Michael Stelzner is one of the world's leading authorities on the topic of writing and marketing white papers. He has written nearly 100 white papers for many of the world's most recognized companies, including Microsoft, Federal Express, Motorola, Monster, Hewlett-Packard, Cardinal Health and SAP.

Excerpted from Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged by Michael A. Stelzner. Copyright © 2006. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
White papers help people make decisions. They sit at the forefront of an educational marketing revolution. Powerful enough to lure readers and able to persuade with unyielding strength, the well-written white paper is a super weapon in the marketing professional's arsenal. Wearing many hats, the white paper can talk business or converse technically, and it can inform or influence. Best of all—it is highly sought after.

The white paper's underlying strength rests on this premise: If you give readers something of value, they will give you their loyalty, and ultimately their business.

White papers present monumental opportunities for writers, marketing professionals and businesses. Crafting the white paper can be a rewarding and often profitable experience. A single well-written white paper can propel a business to the thought leadership position and lead to enormous business opportunities. When you author a successful white paper, its positive results are credited to your efforts.

The use of white papers is exploding. In 2001, a Google™ search on the phrase white papers returned a mere 1 million responses.1 By 2006, that number was a whopping 329 million! Along with the upward trend, the term white paper has become a fuzzy label, wrongly applied to many documents. The goal of this chapter is to clearly define white paper, explain why white papers are important and examine how they are used.

What Is a White Paper?

Defining a white paper is one of those challenges people have been wrestling with for some time. If you look up the term in a dictionary, you will find an outdated response describing a government report. Let's shed a little light on the term white paper by considering what some respected experts have to say.

Gordon Graham, an experienced white paper writer, describes white papers as persuasive essays and observes that their style rests "somewhere between a lively magazine article and a dry-as-dust academic paper." He adds that white papers are fact-driven and contain useful information, expert opinions and ironclad logic.

White papers are tools used to create a positive image of a company in the eyes of its readership, explains Dr. Russell Willerton, a professor from Boise State University who specializes in white papers.

According to veteran white paper writer Jonathan Kantor, white papers reveal product or service features and translate them into business advantages.

Extending these thoughts, here are a few concise definitions:

High-level white paper definition: A white paper is a persuasive document that usually describes problems and how to solve them. The white paper is a crossbreed of a magazine article and a brochure. It takes the objective and educational approach of an article and weaves in persuasive corporate messages typically found in brochures.

Detailed white paper definition: A white paper is a technical or business benefits document that introduces a challenge faced by its readers and makes a strong case why a particular approach to solving the problem is preferred. A white paper usually proposes a solution to a problem, but can also introduce a new concept or describe how to perform technical tasks. Most white papers range from 6 to 12 pages in length; however, some can exceed 50 pages. White papers are comprised of mostly text and usually very few graphics. However, diagrams, charts and illustrations are commonly included in most white papers.

White papers "represent an intersection of technical documentation (i.e., providing technical information about a product or service) with marketing communication (developing information to inform potential customers, improve sales and garner attention in the marketplace)," explains Willerton.

White papers usually provide valuable information to their intended audience, yet readers of white papers generally understand that the sponsoring company is marketing to them. The marketing aspect of a white paper is typically a very soft sell. Overt marketing messages are usually left for other documents. Often, solutions are introduced only after a significant case has been established, demonstrating a clear need.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Guide to Writing White Papers
Mr. Selzner's bookis a thorough and readable guide to how to write white papers. He defines what a white paper is, provides examples of white papers, provides detailed guidance on how to write different types of white papers, and identifies difficulties writers often encounter and how to overcome them. A excellent guide and resource on white papers.

More than just a detailed book about writing white papers
Michael A. Stelzner's Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged describes a detailed step-by-step program for creating effective white papers and leveraging them into corporate and small business profits.

Based on Michael's years of experience, and on-going research conducted with over 600 write paper writers and users, nothing has been left to chance. Among the things you'll learn:
* Why white papers succeed
* Who uses white papers
* How do they use them?
* How white papers differ from other marketing communications
* Different types of white papers
* How to choose the right title
* Research and interview tips and techniques
* White paper design guidelines

There's even several samples of completed white papers, plus tips for locating additional sources, such as a discussion forum for white paper users and writers.

Although aimed at writers and users of white papers, Stelzner's book has lessons to teach a broader audience of authors and writers. Any self-employed professional interested in writing a book to promote their competence and expertise and will Michael Stelzner's Writing White Papers an excellent guide to creating trade books and e-books.

The BOOK on White Papers
I thought I had a pretty good understanding of white papers; how to write them and how to use them effectively. Then I read WRITING WHITE PAPERS by the King of white papers, Michael Stelzner. This book put white papers in a whole new light for me. When I reviewed Dan Kennedy's book, "The Ultimate Sales Letter", I said that no one should even attempt to write a sales letter without first reading Kennedy's book. Ditto here. Don't even think about attempting to construct a white paper without first learning from the white paper master.

Stelzner takes the reader by the hand and walks you through the world of white papers, beginning with a succinct definition and the four primary types of white papers. From here, you'll learn how white papers should be used and the basic elements that all white papers should contain. Once this basic information is clearly defined, we follow Stelzner's ten-step process of writing white papers. The rest of the book is a compelling study of these ten steps.

Throughout the book, the text is laced with clear examples. Everyone will find their own favorite chapter along the way. For me, it was Chapter 5, particularly time saving research techniques. In just minutes on the computer, I was saving hours of time on google, simply by using the proper search techniques, making google searches much more effective.

Once your white paper education here is complete, Stelzner concludes with a chapter on Marketing with White Papers. I believe, for the writer, there is much to learn here on how to effectively "pitch" a potential client on whether or not to commission a white paper for their company or product.

The Appendix contains a Quick Start Guide, a pair of well-crafted white papers samples, and white paper resources. I don't believe much has been left out here. This is a pretty conclusive guide, with the exception of maybe Stelzner sharing advice on how to go about landing such clients as Microsoft, Motorola and FedEx. Maybe that will be in the next volume.