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by Gordon Graham, Editor, SoftwareCEO
Well, we can't.
"Executives know that white papers provide them with valuable information," writes white paper expert Jonathan Kantor of The Appum Group in his new book
"Crafting White Paper 2.0."
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"Unfortunately, the traditional all-text white paper... requires too much time to sift through," he notes.
"To gain the attention of the time- and attention-challenged business reader, new formats that engage today's short attention decision-makers must be incorporated into white paper content."
We certainly can't argue with that.
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Over the past 10 years, we've noticed white papers getting shorter, more colorful and better designed.
Kantor's book encourages white paper creators to carry on these trends, with careful use of design and content to make these documents more accessible to time-pressured executives.
He knows B2B white papers inside-out, after working with tech companies like Adobe, Apple, intel,
J. D. Edwards (now Oracle) and Microsoft.
Here's a few tips from Kantor for anyone planning white papers for 2010.
Every white paper needs to be fact-driven and take a dignified tone. But yesterday's "wall of text" doesn't cut it any more.
Here's what Kantor says the white paper 2.0 is about:
• Concise size (12 pages max)
• Suitable for reading off the screen
• More color
• Better layout and design
• Attention-oriented text enhancements, such as callouts, graphics, bullets and text boxes
• Designed for online sharing through social media.
If your white papers still look like something dumped out of Word 1.0, it's time for an update.
The oldest trick in the communicator's book is to "tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell ' em and then tell 'em what you told 'em."
These three chunks map perfectly to a white paper's executive summary, main body and conclusions.
If you're leaving out the start and the end, you're missing a critical chance to get your message through.
"The executive summary assumes that readers know nothing about the white paper topic and provides them with introductory and background information
that create an incentive to read the rest."
There are two types of executive summaries, says Kantor and each has their place:
• A preview creates interest, like a movie trailer
• A synopsis sums up the document, like an abstract.
"In comparison, the concluding summary assumes readers have read the entire white paper and as a result, reinforces essential 'take-away' messages."
Skimmers often flip through the whole document and notice the conclusions immediately.
This is where to place another must-have element, the call to action.
Not sure about your call to action?
What do you want readers to do after they finish your white paper? That's your call to action.
Callouts or pull-quotes are those mini-sentences in larger print that you often see in magazines.
There's no reason not to use them in white papers as well.
Keep these short, one sentence from 10 to 20 words, says Kantor and you can count on them being noticed by anyone flipping through your pages.
"Callouts should be used on every page if possible, especially if that page contains nothing more than left-flush, paragraph-oriented text," advises Kantor.
They break up the monotony of the text and give you an ideal way to highlight the most important message on that page.
That's just a small sample of the detailed discussion and excellent tips in Kantor's work.
If your firm ever does white papers, you owe it yourself to get this book.
You can also follow Jonathan's ongoing comments on his blog at www.whitepaperpundit.com
and subscribe to his free e-newsletter from that page.
Copyright © Computing Technology Industry Association, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
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