A lot of people will tell you not to waste your time writing a white paper, let them do it for you. But this is far from the truth. A white paper is written for potential customers, and if nobody knows about it, then who will read it?

The Benefits Of A White Paper For Potential Customers

It is important to know what is a white paper for:

  • It can raise your online profile.
  • It will give you something to give while presenting a pitch deck of your services or products.
  • You can try and get links from other websites by offering them free copies of your white paper, in return for their link backs to you.

Study Your Own Products And Services

The process of writing a white paper is not a difficult one, but it does require you to have some skills. The first thing that you need to do is research about your product(s) or service(s), this way you will be able to answer any questions from potential customers. It has been noted by marketing consultants that the white paper should be at least 10 pages long, but this is going to depend on the product or service that you are selling.

Use A Template

You will need a white paper template to help you get started. If you do not have one in Microsoft Word, then there will be plenty available online. Once you have your template, start by adding your company name and logo at the top. Now you can write out your white paper, it is recommended that you use subheads to make it easier for people to read.

Use Your Company's Branding

This means that the white paper should be consistent with everything else about your company. If you are using blue-coloured text throughout the document, then every time somebody sees your company name, it should be in blue text. If you use an unusual font size, then every time somebody reads your document, they need to see this same font size; if there is a picture at the top of the page with a certain gradient and colour scheme, make sure that everything else has this gradient and colour scheme used.

Take Your Time

You need to take your time when writing a white paper, the whole process can take up to an hour or more. It is recommended that you study your product(s) and service(s) for at least two weeks before you start your white paper. This way, it will be easier for you to get started on your white paper, and the quality will be there.

How To Make It Interesting

The main thing that you need to do is make sure that your potential customers are interested in your product(s) or service(s). This may sound easy, but it can actually take a lot of work. You will need to study what they want and what they are looking for, and incorporate it into your white paper.

If you can make sure that your potential customers see an improvement after reading your white paper example, then they will be more interested in doing business with you; this is why we recommend that you use a template to help you get started!

Looking for a white paper that you can edit? Check out Venngage.  

Brainstorming Your White Paper

You need to brainstorm your white paper before you actually begin the writing. This means that you should not rush into it and start writing, as there are many things that you will need to keep in mind. The most important thing is how you present your information, this means that everything needs to be linked together with a single idea or theme and white paper format. If you can do this, as well as include as much information as possible about your product(s) and service(s), it will be a success.

Spell-Check Your White Paper

You need to make sure that you use correct grammar and spelling when writing your white paper; the last thing that you want is for them to think that you are trying to fool them into buying or investing in your product(s) or service(s). There are certain spelling and grammar mistakes that are common, ones which you should watch for are:

  • Their/There/They're
  • Loose/Lose
  • It's/Its

Along with all of this, you need to use a professional tone but stay away from using formal language too much. You want to make your white paper easy for people to read and understand, thus you should avoid doing things like overusing complex words or making up your own jargon.

How To Finish Your White Paper

The end of your white paper is going to be the most important part, as this will help to convince a reader that they need what you are selling. If you have information about how much savings can be made or potential gains, then this should all be stated in the last couple of paragraphs.

To Conclude

The most important thing about writing a white paper is to make sure that you focus on what your potential customers want and need; the format, tone, grammar, and spelling should all be focused around this. You want to avoid making up any jargon or complicated language, as this will cause people not to trust you.

Good luck with your white paper, and remember to use a template!