A white paper, according to the copywriter Robert W. Bly, is a promotional piece in the guise of an informational article or report. White papers educate people and help them make decisions.
White papers provide information in a semi-objective fashion. This means a white paper will have more how-to, or background way (i.e., how to set a fertilization schedule for your yard) versus promoting a particular brand (i.e., using a particular fertilizer).
To prepare a white paper, a writer can review previously written source materials, as well as interview key personnel inside the company. In some cases, the writer might interview key personnel outside the company.
Though they can vary in length, a typical white paper can range from 1,200 words, or four pages, to about 3,000 words, or 10 pages. They are often illustrated, though not all are.
White papers can serve other purposes as well, including these examples.
1. Industry history
Industry newcomers not only must learn their way around their company but they must know their industry. And they must learn it quickly.
Well-written white papers can educate those newcomers about the state of their new industry, its history, and future challenges.
2. Institutional knowledge
Workers in the baby boom generation are retiring in increasing numbers. Although they might be leaving, their companies want to keep that institutional knowledge, or stated another way, the facts, concepts, and know-how as it pertains to that particular organization. Such expertise is expensive, time consuming, and perhaps even painful, to acquire.
Well-written white papers capture that knowledge and can help ensure minimal downtime.
3. Best practices
A company follows certain procedures to make its products or deliver its services for any or all of these reasons:
- Safety
- Effectiveness
- Efficiency
- Profitability
In some cases, these best practices white papers focus on an industry (how to fertilize your yard) instead of a particular company (how to fertilize your yard with a particular fertilizer).
A well-written white paper can explain these best practices, how they work, and why they are necessary. It can also serve as a springboard for better ideas (how to quickly fertilize your yard) that can be reflect in your next white paper.
