White paper (aka eBook, aka white books) – content marketing tool that attracts the target audience and has been very popular in Western countries for many years.
But, surprisingly, in the CIS countries still underestimate its capabilities — very few domestic marketers and businessmen take advantage of this marvelous tool. And very in vain – with the right approach, a white paper can be written for almost any type of business and for any target audience.
Let's fix this annoying gap together! Read in our article what white papers are, why they are useful for business, how to write them correctly and use them in marketing.
What is White paper
Despite the White Paper is interpreted as a white paper, don't be afraid – You don't have to write a 4-volume book a la Leo Tolstoy. The white paper is often also referred to as the extended guide. This is a multi-page brochure (5-30 pages) in electronic format (most often, pdf – file).
It is created in order to attract a potential target audience, as it contains useful and valuable information of practical value (usually a guide to solving pressing problems of clients or your own life hacks, insights, tips).
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The subject can be anything. For example, if you have an information business, you can write about proven ways to find customers on the Internet. Beauticians can talk about the secrets of proper facial care at home or about the rules that will help you identify a good specialist at the first visit.
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To make the White paper easy to read, the text is usually supplemented with a colorful design: photographs and pictures, diagrams, etc. You can also make it easier for users to read dry text by resorting to highlighted key points or quotations, subheadings, tables, bulleted lists.
Such electronic guides are distributed free of charge, but in return, site or landing site visitors are asked to leave their personal data, which can then be used for mailings and sales funnels.
White paper has several features that help to easily distinguish it from an advertising brochure:
1. It does not contain intrusive advertising (at least direct).
2. It does not impose the opinion of the author, but only reasonably persuades readers to his product or service by describing the solution to their pressing problems. That is, only facts, and not just someone's opinion!
3. White papers are written in simple language, understandable to everyone, in the form of a narrative
4. There are no eBooks less than 5-6 full pages.
5. If the e-guide is given to the client after the sale (and not before it), then it loses its direct marketing value and cannot be considered a full-fledged white paper.
Western marketers divide white papers into backgrounds with full-fledged reviews of the properties of a particular product or service, numbered lists of best practices, tips, life hacks on a specific topic, and the "problem-author's solution" format. However, this is a very conditional division.
How to use white paper in business marketing
Many readers already have a question: why waste time and effort on preparing a free guide? There are several reasons at once.
Firstly, in this way, new visitors to your site will be interested in valuable information, that is, they will become a potentially loyal audience in the future.
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Secondly, if the visitor has to "pay" for downloading the guide, with your personal data (email address, phone number, profile in social networks), then in the future you will be able to drag it into the sales funnel by offering to start subscribing to an email newsletter or a newsletter in messengers.
Finally, if you or your author manages to create a really valuable and unique White paper, it has every chance of becoming viral on the Internet, which means glorifying you and your site, increasing its traffic many times over.
However, it's not enough just to write a good white paper. It still needs to be promoted! In order for the audience to notice the release of your creation, you need to beat it.
There are many ways to promote – if possible, try as many of them as possible and choose the best one for yourself.
White paper promotion methods:
• Creating a separate landing page with intriguing "squeeze" from guide
• White paper announcement on your website
• Mailing to the subscriber base
• Announcement on social networks (especially good in groups whose topics are similar to the topic of your white paper)
• Sending to popular bloggers from your field of activity (this can only be done if you are really firmly convinced of the informational value and uniqueness of your book)
• Sending a presentation or press release to partners
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If, while reading this article, you still have not decided whether you should take on the development of White paper, then just ask yourself a few questions. Are you selling something new? Are you selling something expensive? Is your product or service difficult to understand? If your answer is "Yes" for at least one of these questions, then the white books – just the perfect tool for your business. Although those who find it easier to decide can also use them with success.
It is often not enough for a product or service to be successful in the market by making it unique, valuable and useful. You also need to be able to clearly communicate this value to potential customers (which is often even more important and more difficult). White books will help you in this matter!
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