Apr
7
This post will highlight the Top Ten Mistakes in Writing White Papers. Today’s post includes #1 and #2.
Mistake #1 - Turning the paper into a sales pitch
By far, the most common mistake white papers make is launching into a sales pitch. This pitch is the main reason why a prospect stops reading.
People view hundreds of advertisements in a day - on the web, TV, radio, billboards, newspapers, magazines, and so on. Whatever the medium, there is always an ad. Because of this bombardment of messages, the average consumer has become very adept at one thing - ignoring the ads. When the white paper starts into a sales pitch, the reader goes into their default operating mode of ignoring you.
Your white paper should educate the reader. You can help explain to the reader a new trend or methodology, solve a problem that they currently have, or present a new way of solving an old problem.
But don’t start off by selling them. As soon as they start to smell a pitch, they leave and go somewhere else. Most probably to your competitors.
Remember this - they are trading a small piece of their time to read your paper. Don’t jeopardize that gift by jumping into a pitch. They have given you a portion of their time, so you should give them new information. Return their gift of attention on your paper by providing something in return - education.
Your first goal is to educate.
Mistake #2 - Confusing company information with customer interest
Today’s harsh truth of commerce - most people are buying your product to help themselves, not to help you. Sure, the purchase helps your sales, but the customer could care less about that. They want your product because it helps them solve some issue.
So don’t begin your paper with company information. Front-loading a white paper with 3 pages of company information history is ego-centric and off-putting. As people take interest in your company, discuss information related to the issues, not information about you.
Imagine this date scene. A young couple on a blind date visit a nice, semi-romantic restaurant. As the appetizers reach the table, the man launches into mindless dribble about hard drives, gardening, computing performance, investment strategies, monster trucks, and his company information. What happens next? When he looks up from his plate, his date has her head down on the table. She passed out from boredom.
Many companies want to be portrayed as professional. They have a tendency to launch into information about themselves - why they are the best, how their product is the best, and how they are better than the competition. People don’t want to hear about you, they want to hear about themselves.
There is nothing wrong with putting information about yourself. Just create a separate section of the paper to hold that information - at the end.
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