Whitepapers: What are they and how should your business be using them?

We think it’s safe to say that absolutely nobody enjoys receiving spam e-mails or phone calls. They definitely affect the mood in the ROI Media Works office, lemme tell yah. So, Vircom, an anti-spam software company, decided to shed some light on this whole spam epidemic. They created a report entitled Why Spammers Spam and made it available to download. Then the floodgates opened. That White Paper Guy claims the report has been downloaded over 2,200 times and generated roughly $94,000 in profit. What would reports such as these be called in marketing terms? Whitepapers.

Whitepapers broadly refer to a document created by a person or business who has both a deep understanding of and an opinion on a topic. HubSpot provides some extra detail to this. They define it as “a persuasive, authoritative, in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem and provides a solution.” As a business owner or a marketer, you are privileged to hold immense knowledge on how things work in your industry. Whitepapers allows you to flex your brain muscles to showcase this. Here are a few hypothetical examples of knowledge you could bestow upon some lucky people:

• You just had one of the most successful client or customer interactions in your business’ history. Putting together a lengthy case study about the experience positions you as a leader in your field.
• Your business operates uniquely in your field. Put a whitepaper together that explains what you do, why you do it and how you’re different. Be sure to include facts and data.
• Some new legislation is going to impact the product or service your business delivers. Your customers could benefit from a whitepaper that explains the legislation and how your business is well prepared.

Oftentimes, they’re a “you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours” situation. More times than not, whitepapers can be downloaded with a catch. In most cases, users need to put in some data like email or company size in exchange for unlimited access to your work.  You, as the business, owner just made a new lead. They, as the downloader, just got valuable, primary data. This may seem eerily reminiscent of a blog, only with a lead generating entrance point. That sentiment isn’t completely true. Yes, a blogger wants to create content that benefits and informs, but a Whitepaper is a lot more formal. A blog in a Tuxedo, so to speak. In other words, and courtesy of HubSpot, these characteristics identify Whitepapers:

• “Length: No fewer than six pages, including illustrations, charts, and references. Can be upwards of 50 if the topic requires that much detail. (Chances are, it won’t.)”
• “Structure: There is usually a title page, table of contents, short executive summary (optional but helpful), introduction, several pages educating the reader about the problem, several pages hypothesizing a solution, several pages offering an example of a company that used that solution to achieve results, and a conclusion.”
• “Density: Denser than an ebook. Whitepapers aren’t usually easy to skim — in fact, readers usually need to read them over more than once to get every morsel of information out of it.”
• “Format: PDF in portrait orientation (8.5″ by 11″).”
• “Style:Professional, serious, well written, and well edited. I’d recommend hiring a graphic designer to design page layout, images, fonts, and colors as well.”

We’ve seen time and time again that advertising methods are changing. This is yet another example of this overall shift, known through the umbrella term of inbound marketing. Rather than interrupting customers with TV commercials, savvy marketers and business owners create content that is mutually beneficial. Whitepapers are a great way to market to your customers by actually helping them along the way.