Conquer the White Paper Syndrome

Ever hear of the “white coat syndrome”? It’s when you walk into a doctor’s or a dentist’s office, and your blood pressure shoots sky-high and your palms sweat. You know, like when you’re faced with producing a white paper. If that sounds like you, here are a few tips to make the process easier.

• Frame your topic. Be very specific about your topic, your objectives, and the unique angle that will differentiate your white paper from the run-of-the-mill business news. Pull together information from a number of disparate sources to paint a new, more complete picture of an issue.

• Analyze your audience. Who are you trying to target? How do they like to receive information? How long is their attention span? If your audience likes quick hits of information, include an executive summary covering all the main points or consider a series of mini-white papers. Include relevant call-outs, charts, graphs, and other visuals to make the document visually appealing and to deliver key points quickly.

• Avoid analysis paralysis. Select a topic that you know something about and for which you can be a credible source, but don’t be too close to it. If the topic is something your organization lives and breathes, there will be a natural tendency to include everything you know. Resist the temptation to cite each and every fact you uncover, including the liquid volume of the kitchen sink.

• Establish a hard stop. Identify a specific timeframe for each phase ─ researching, writing, and reviewing ─ and stick to it. When your topic is timely, you’ll be tempted to wait for the “next big thing,” which will likely result in your paper never being finished.

• Limit your reviewers. Acknowledge that you have many knowledgeable professionals in your organization, but identify just a few (3-5) to be the final decision makers. If you don’t, you will probably go through endless rounds of revisions with changes to the changes. Save your sanity and stick with a precious few.

• Plan packaging and promotion. How will you use the white paper? Make it part of a value-add campaign for advisors or use as an incentive in a direct marketing campaign. How you use it will dictate needed formats – electronic and downloadable, print, or both. Plan your promotional strategies ─ email blasts, banner ads, newsletters, print ads ─ to determine what collateral materials you’ll need.

Setting these firm guidelines up front can help streamline development of your white paper. If it still seems like an overwhelming task, turn to an outside resource for help. Whether prepared in-house or by an outside professional, white papers are popular vehicles for showcasing your expertise in the marketplace. And, it doesn’t have to be like pulling teeth.