Thought Leadership 101—Tips for Writing Better White Papers
I encountered my first white papers somewhere around 2002. I don’t remember what these documents were about, but I do remember why I took the time to read them. An ad agency had called asking if I could write a “white paper” for a major car brand that was their client. “Of course I can,” I said. Seeing as I hadn’t read a white paper before—that I hadn’t even the faintest clue of what a white paper was—I immediately went online, grabbing any white paper I could find and analyzing the heck out of it.
I’ve since authored and ghostwritten many white papers and other thought leadership documents for agencies and clients, including some for the Council. The communications challenge today is the same as it has always been: How do we get people to read our white paper when so many other people are putting out comparable thought leadership documents? How do we write “good” white papers that stand out and that people actually use? How do we make our clients and/or ourselves look smart?
I have several suggestions. First, pick the topic carefully. Don’t write about a broad topic like “innovation” that has been written about ad infinitum. Make the topic more specific—a particular kind of innovation, a particular innovation process. No matter what topic you choose, make sure you have something important or useful to say. Be original. Be bold. And don’t be too commercial. The overtly self-promotional cast of so many white papers today causes the entire genre to lose credibility. Respect your reader’s time by delivering something of actual value, trusting that in the end your act of giving will pay back many-fold for you.
Second, acknowledge what has been written before about a topic and let the reader know why what you’re saying is different. In presenting ourselves or our clients as experts, we sometimes feel that we can’t acknowledge the contributions of other, more established experts. Do ads for Five Guys Burgers and Fries acknowledge how great McDonald’s already is? No, but white papers aren’t hamburger ads. As authors, we have to respect our readers enough to know that they’re going to be familiar with what’s already out there. When we don’t acknowledge prior authorities, we lose credibility, and we also lose focus. The best thought leadership documents pay homage to existing wisdom while sharply defining themselves as clearly, undeniably different.
Third, offer great material. This might seem obvious, but so many white papers flounder because their ideas come with inadequate or mediocre support. Take extra time to find and present that slam-dunk data or that compelling story. Scour the web. Interview experts or others in a position to know.
Fourth, be economical. A natural tendency when trying to present ourselves or a client as “smart” is to become longwinded. In fact, given short attention spans, the best approach is to eschew the know-it-all approach and pack the most information, wisdom and knowledge into the fewest words. Illustrations in the form of data or anecdotes are fantastic, but don’t present everything you find. Serve up the very best stuff and relegate the rest to footnotes or an appendix.
Fifth, pay close attention to structure. So many thought leadership documents are weak in this area. Part of the value any white paper provides is its ability to break down a seemingly limitless and confusing topic into parts that seem logical and manageable. Three main points. Four big principles. Five primary trends. There’s no substitute for a good list!
Sixth, don’t follow any of these rules too closely. This is critically important. Let’s face it, most business writing is boring, and often that’s because writers get too analytical. Allow yourself to have fun and be creative in the writing. Weave in jokes. Get personal. Include material from outside the realm of business. Does the poet Walt Whitman have anything to say that’s relevant to resolving supply chain issues? You might be surprised.
The strongest thought leadership documents I’ve seen end by summarizing what has just been said in a way that also pushes the discussion a bit further. So let’s return once more to my recurring theme: Respect your readers. They’re busy, curious, intelligent people just like we are. If ideas are the currency of business, then we authors of white papers need to remember that it’s people, not machines, who have ideas, who read about them, and ultimately, who can be induced to care about them.
Excellent advice, Seth. Some white papers I’ve plodded through read like they are written by machine so adding a little personality as you suggest can make a world of difference. And I would underscore the self-promotional part. Some white papers look like marketing pieces gussied up as thought leadership when they are more like glorified ads. I also find that an executive summary can be very useful in highlighting the key points.
Terrific post I will share. I would add that for a professional service firm, particularly agencies publishing a paper for themselves, there might be value in sprinkling in some of the agency’s work as examples of a point or two. But not every example has to be from the agency! That can scream too much self-promotion.
Seth, spot on and I’d like to add one if I may. Try to make sure the content of your white paper addresses some of the challenges or issues faced by your clients or your prospects. In this way your ability to commercialise your point of view becomes a lot easier.
That’s not to say you make the mistake of becoming overtly commercial or sales-like in the paper itself but at least undertand what their issues are and try to focus your white paper on one or a number of those issues.
My suggestion is along the lines of Seth’s points “offer great material” and “pick the topic carefully,” but one other thing to emphasize is the white paper should “be useful.” White papers differ from brochures, web copy, and other marketing materials in that people read them because they expect to get something concrete out of them. They hope to learn new ways of doing things, to gain fresh insights, or to have a topic put in a new light. If the document is nothing more than a wordy product brochure, then it’s not useful and it’s not really a white paper.