White Paper Writing Guide - Impact Technical Publications

[Pages:88]White Paper Writing Guide

ow to achieve marketing goals by explaining technical ideas

Al Kemp

Copyright ? 2005 Impact Technical Publications. All rights reserved.

This book uses the names of fictitious organizations (Acme Company, NewOffice Company), products (ElectroWorkFlow), and periodicals (The Office Automation Report). Any resemblance between these organizations, products, and periodicals and any real organization, product, or periodical with the same name is purely coincidental.

Apple? and iPod? are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

Acrobat?, Acrobat Reader?, Adobe?, Adobe Garamond?, Myriad?, Photoshop?, and Utopia? are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc.

Charlotte SansTM is a trademark of Esselte Pendaflex.

Gill Sans? is a registered trademark of The Monotype Corporation.

Futura? is a registered trademark of Fundicion Tipogr?fica Neufville.

LEGATO? is a registered trademark of LEGATO Systems, Inc.

Monotype BaskervilleTM is a trademark of Agfa Monotype Corporation.

PalatinoTM is a trademark of Linotype-Hell AG.

Trend MicroTM and Trend MicroTM Network VirusWallTM are trademarks of Trend Micro Incorporated.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTENTS

Introduction 5 White-Paper Pitfalls 6 The White-Paper Development Process 6

Phase 1: Assess Needs 7 Define the Goals 7 Define the Audience 8 Analyze the Audience 9 Describe the Subject Matter 10 Develop Strategies 11 Prepare the Needs Assessment Worksheet 12

Phase 2: Plan 13 Identify Sales Processes & Related Marketing Publications 13 Choose Delivery Media 14 Identify Personnel Needs & Assemble a Team 15 Identify Reviewers 16 Choose Desktop Publishing Tools 16 Estimate Costs 16 Prepare a Schedule 18 Prepare the Project Plan 18

Phase 3: Acquire Information 19 Gather Information 19 Analyze Information 21

Phase 4: Organize Content 25 Create an Outline 25 Create a Storyboard 27

Phase 5: Design the Look & Feel 31 Design with your Audience in Mind 31 Choose a Page Size 32 Choose Colors 33 Design the Basic Page Layout 33 Make Typographical Decisions 34 Specify your Design Elements 36 Design a Title Page 38 Design a Cover 38

Create a Desktop Publishing Template 38 Produce a Mock-Up 38

Phase 6: Write 39 Start with the Storyboard 39 Write Iteratively 39 Educate your Audience 40 Explain Concepts Clearly 42 Demonstrate Business Value 47 Highlight Key Points 51 Put Supplementary Material at the End 51 Summarize the Content 51

Phase 7: Illustrate 53 Use the Right Resolution for your Graphics 53 Tell the Story Visually 53 Use Charts to Show Data 54 Use Diagrams To Make Comparisons without Data 57 Use Flow Charts to Show Processes 57 Use Illustrations to Explain Concepts 58 Use Interactive Graphics in Electronic Documents 58 Use Illustrations to Emphasize Major Points 59 Use Tables to Highlight Information 59 Use Sample Screens and Reports to Show Capabilities 60 Use Illustrations to Show People, Places, and Objects 60

Phase 8: Review, Revise, & Approve 61 Review the First Draft 61 Revise the First Draft 62 Prepare the Final Draft 62 Review the Final Draft 63 Revise the Final Draft 64 Test the Content 64 Obtain Legal & Financial Approval 64 Obtain Approval to Publish 64

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WHITE PAPER WRITING GUIDE

Phase 9: Publish 65 Generate Output for Publication 65 Check the Output 65 Save your Files 66

Final Thoughts 67

Appendix A: Five Myths about White Papers 69 1. Business executives will not read a long white paper. 69 2. Audiences should read the entire white paper. 69 3. Never make assumptions about the audience's knowledge of subject matter. 70 4. To sell drills, talk about holes. 70 5. Everything in a white paper must support its abstract. 70

Appendix B: Three Mistakes when Starting a White Paper 71 The History Lesson 71 The Joy of Technology Syndrome 71 The Laundry List of Problems 72

Appendix C: Seven Excellent White Papers 73 1. Introducing the Digital Negative Specification: Information for Manufacturers 73 2. Redefining Security to Combat Today's Malware Threats 74 3. Radio Revolution 75 4. Podcasting & Vodcasting: a White Paper 76 5. Records Management Redefined: From The Backroom To The Boardroom 77 6. eXtensible Metadata Platform 78 7. Corporate Blogging: Is It Worth the Hype? 79 What To Do if You Can't Access an Example 80 Have I Overlooked an Excellent White Paper? 80

Index 81

About the Author 87

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INTRODUCTION

A white paper is ? in its broadest definition ? a detailed and authoritative report. The traditional goal of a white paper has been to educate readers about a complicated political or scientific subject.

In contrast, product brochures and other marketing collateral persuade readers to make purchases. This approach works well for commodities like furniture, personal computers, and motor vehicles. Basic performance is warranted, and prospective customers can compare products in showrooms to evaluate the capabilities that distinguish one product from another. But companies selling new products and services based on complicated advances in information technology are finding that traditional marketing collateral do not persuade prospective customers to make purchases. Prospects are wary that products and services may not live up to the marketing hyperbole. A prospect may not be able to evaluate an expensive enterprise software product before it has been purchased, customized for the client, and put into production. Purchasing mistakes are costly and time-consuming at best. Prospects must be convinced that these products and services deliver the business value that their vendors claim in the marketing literature.

To market new products and services based on complicated advances in information technology, companies have taken the traditional white paper and modified it to fit their needs. The new breed of white paper achieves marketing goals by educating readers about technical subjects. It combines a large amount of education with a smaller amount of persuasion. For example, a white paper may educate its readers about technological innovations and show how those innovations are creating a market for new products and services. A white

paper may explain how a new technology solves business problems, and it may demonstrate how a new product implements the technology. A white paper may explain how a new methodology works, and it may document cost savings at organizations that have adopted the methodology.

For the purposes of this guide, a white paper is any business document that achieves its goals by educating its readers. Four common goals are: Selling a product or service Promoting a technology Funding a project Establishing a reputation for expertise

There are many valid goals for writing a white paper. Goals drive content decisions but do not determine whether a business document is a white paper. Education is the key. Elaborate product brochures may be called white papers, but if they persuade without educating, they are white papers in name only. In contrast, many educational business documents that meet my definition of a white paper have other titles: technical overview, position paper, case study, and so on.

Corporate decision-makers, business analysts, and technical specialists increasingly rely on white papers for information to evaluate new technologies as well as products and services based on those technologies. A well-written educational white paper exerts tremendous influence on its readers.

This guide explains how to write educational white papers that achieve marketing goals. Many principles, tips, and techniques apply to any business-tobusiness communication that requires a clear explanation of technical ideas to achieve its goals.

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