If you have never written a white paper you should definitely consider giving it a try. White papers can be an extremely beneficial tool for your company’s success.

White papers act as great downloadable assets for potential clients. They are a tool for inbound leads and will help make others more aware of your expertise and the services that you offer. White papers can be shared on your company website, your social media channels or in your monthly newsletter.

Here are some tips on how to write a white paper.

1. Choose a topic that will benefit your audience

Choose a topic that your potential clients will benefit from. Hopefully they will like what they read and will contact you directly. The topic should also reflect something that relates to your business. Make sure that you understand the topic you’re writing about so that it is reflected in your writing. Some of the topics that we have used in the past are: Building a Startup Sales Team, An Introduction to Copywriting and Getting Started With Twitter.

2. Make an outline before you start writing

Make an outline of the chapters that you will cover in the white paper before you begin to write. Chances are, you have already written articles or blogs in the past that have some great content. Recycle those articles and include them in your white paper. By organizing your ideas ahead of time it will make the writing process much smoother.

3. Look at other white papers for inspiration

Before you start formatting your white paper, search online for other white papers that you can use for inspiration. Look at competitor’s websites and see how they have formatted their white papers. Also, look at how the white paper is acquired. Is there a form you need to fill out or can you download the white paper directly to your computer? Including a form for the visitor to fill out isn’t a bad thing. By asking them to provide their email address you now have a way to contact the person directly which could potentially lead to new business for your company.

4. It’s about quality not quantity

It’s important not to put too much content in your white paper. Make sure that you are providing your reader with quality content that will be interesting to them. The individual won’t want to sit down and read a lot of information, make sure the content is easy to skim through by utilizing easy to follow headings and subheadings.

5. Include hyperlinks to other useful resources

Make sure to include links to your social media channels and company website. Make it as easy as possible for potential clients to contact you. If you found other useful resources during your research, make sure to include links to them too.

6. Add images and facts

Make your white paper visually appealing by adding images, charts/graphs and other interesting facts or tips that relate to your topic.

7. Proofread

There is nothing worse than finding grammatical errors in your white paper after it has been posted for the public. Make sure you thoroughly proofread and ask someone else to look it over as well. There is nothing wrong with being overly cautious.

If you need some inspiration, check out our white papers!