How White Papers Build Trust, Attract Qualified Leads, and Increase Sales for Your Business

Getting more qualified leads … moving your prospects through the sales funnel … answering vital questions of B2B buyers … What single solution is helping companies meets all these marketing goals? The White Paper.

• 71% of B2B marketers use White Papers in their content strategy

• Three out of four B2B buyers are willing to hand over personal details in exchange for a White Paper

• 71% B2B purchasers use White Papers as part of the decision making process and 61% share them with colleagues

Want to reach and qualify your best prospects?  Keep reading to learn how White Papers can benefit your business.

What is A White Paper?

What, exactly, is a White Paper, and how is it different from other forms of content?

Ironically, White Papers aren’t necessarily white or made of paper …

HubSpot defines a White Paper as “a persuasive, authoritative, in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem and provides a solution.”

These long-form assets combine elements of the research paper with those of direct response copywriting.  All three forms share new insights on established problems, tackle industry-specific concerns, and discuss new opportunities.

White Papers, like Sales Pages and other direct response pieces, rely on persuasive language, logical arguments, and emotional triggers to guide readers toward specific solutions.  Each contains a call to action. The author is often anonymous and may not be an expert in the field. And the success of each piece is determined by marketing metrics – not academic recognition or achievement.

Like research papers, White Papers cite references and present facts with a relatively neutral tone. Unlike sales pages, they offer only a single, soft call to action on a final page, inviting readers to contact the sponsoring company for more information.

A Growing Content Marketing Trend

Nearly nine out of ten B2B marketers rely on content marketing as a vital part of their strategy, according to the B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends— North America report from Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs.

The same report claims that while B2B marketers dedicate close to a third of their budget to content marketing (28%), the most effective marketers spend an average of 42% of the budget in that area.

Seventy-one percent of respondents include White Papers in their content marketing.

Do I Need a White Paper?

Are your prospects researching a solution? Are they searching for detailed information?  Do they need more education to make a decision?

White Papers provide answers while building authority, trust, and revenue.

Here’s how smart marketers are using them in their strategies:

• Generating targeted leads

• Qualifying leads

• Moving prospects forward in the buyer’s journey with in-depth education

• Building a reputation as a reliable and trusted provider of information

• Establishing thought leadership

• Building trust by presenting a solution to a problem without overtly selling

• Boosting SEO

More Leads for Your Business

Eighty-five percent of B2B marketers chose lead generation as their most important content marketing goal over the next twelve months, according to the B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report.

White Papers trump every other type of content except for webinars when it comes to collecting information about leads and their companies. Seventy-five percent of buyers are willing to enter personal information into a form in exchange for White Papers, according to the Demand Generation 2018 Content Preferences Survey Report.

Qualify Your Leads

Lead quality tops the list as the most important overall metric to B2B Marketers, followed by sales numbers and conversion rates, according to the B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report.

While a simple one-page PDF may only require a name and email before download, White Papers are high-value assets used to collect additional details. Required fields on a lead capture form can include first name, last name, email, phone number, position, company name, website, and/or number of employees.

Adding more fields qualifies the best leads and disqualifies those with incomplete or empty fields. Your sales team knows where to devote their time and resources in the follow-up.

Identify Your Leads

Because White Papers focus on narrow topics within an industry, they attract readers eager to find specific solutions.  A title identifying your reader and the problem you solve brings the right prospects into your network.

Fuel the Buyer’s Journey

By the time your readers have discovered your White Paper, they’ve likely reached the middle of the buyer’s journey. They’re ready to invest more time looking at solutions.

According to the 2018 Demand Gen Survey Report, 71% of B2B buyers look to White Papers when researching a purchasing decision.  You move your readers forward and guide decision-making with in-depth information and insights.

Become a Trusted Thought Leader

How do you position yourself as a reliable resource for the number-one problem you solve?

By focusing on education and research rather than sales, White Papers enhance your reputation and earn trust.  You address important questions and struggles without overtly selling. And your visitors return again and again.

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Boost Your SEO

According to the Brafton content marketing agency, companies build authority and gain priority in Google news reporting by offering White Papers. By repurposing, expanding, and sharing the content of those Papers, you can further boost your SEO potential.

How to Promote Your Business with White Papers

Offer an opt-in on your website

Make it easy to find your White Paper. Place an opt-in on your website’s front page, sidebar, header, or footer widget. Create a modal popup, website landing page, and/or independently hosted landing page.

Multiply Your Content

Whether you’re repurposing an old White Paper or generating demand for a current piece, breaking it up and sharing boosts your visibility.

Blog Posts

Break your White Paper into subtopics and create a new blog post for each. Add a link from each post to your White Paper opt-in.

Or offer your White Paper as a content upgrade to a pre-existing blog post. Do a quick survey of your archives and identify posts with subjects related to that of your White Paper. Refresh, edit, and share each post with a link to your opt-in.

Create a SlideShare

Summarize your White Paper content in an outline and create a SlideShare for LinkedIn.  Provide a link to your opt-in in the description of each SlideShare. Avoid overloading each slide with too many details.  Use strong graphics and captions to make your viewers hungry for more.

For best practices in SlideShares and other visual presentations, take a look at these guidelines from LinkedIn:

Share Your White Paper in your LinkedIn profile

List your White Paper as a publication.  Add it to the media section of your personal information section. Include it in an appropriate job history description.  Share your piece in any relevant groups in which you can post content. And offer your paper to connections who will benefit from your research and insights.

Link an infographic to your opt-in

Hire a designer to create an infographic based on your paper or do it in minutes with a template.

It’s easy with Canva.  Log into your account and choose Find Templates (if you don’t have account, grab one for free here).  In the list of templates, choose Infographic. Once you pick your design, it’s time to customize.  Add and subtract elements.  Change the text and font.  And switch the colors to match your brand.

Now share it with the world!

Create a video trailer

Turn key messages from your paper into an attractive video trailer. Offer a link to your opt-in in exchange for access to the full video (you can do this with Wistia).

Here’s an example of a trailer for one of my blog posts – from Danielle Nocon:

Send an Email

Share your new White Paper with email.

Has a segment of your list members previously downloaded similar resources?  Are list members making purchasing decisions?  Have they paid for products or services similar to one you discuss in your paper? Let them know your resource is now available.

Write and distribute a press release

Are you offering fresh insights on a timely subject?  Announce the publication of your paper with a press release and distribute it to relevant industry media.

Run a PPC campaign

Find the keywords your prospects are using when they search for answers you provide. Then drive traffic to your White Paper opt-in page with text ads.

Test your White Paper as a webinar

Have a White Paper that’s not performed well on a topic that’s still hot? B2B copywriting expert Steve Slaunwhite suggests testing it in webinar form.

Submit your piece to a White Paper database

When you’re ready to retire your White Paper as a lead magnet, submit it to a syndication site like https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/insight

What to Look for in a White Paper

Although White Papers tend to be more formal in tone than blog posts or eBooks, they don’t have to be overly complicated, boring, or unreadable. Design yours to keep your people on the page.

Write the Way You Speak

Engage your readers with conversational writing.  Ask and answer questions to bring readers into the dialogue. Avoid awkward phrases. And create sentences that flow naturally – without tripping up the tongue or making your reader gasp for breath.

Make it Readable

Scrap overly complex sentences. Eliminate unnecessary and overused words. And replace jargon and scientific terms that don’t contribute meaning to your message.  As one of my professors, Dr. Eugene Helm, used to say, “Aim for the writing style you find in the Atlantic Monthly or the essay at the back of Time Magazine.”

Design for Visual Appeal

Make your paper scannable with bold titles and subtitles. Break up long passages with well-crafted subheadings, quotes, and bullet points.  Support your message with charts and featured quotes. And splash it up with gorgeous graphics in your branded colors, because white papers don’t have to be … white.

Create a Winning White Paper Structure

What makes a strong White Paper structure?  Include some or all of the following elements:

Title Page – Your title determines your reader.  To attract the right prospect, make it specific and compelling.

NOTE: Even though the focus is on education rather than sales, your White Paper must match your business brand. Include your logo on the front page. Select colors and design elements consistent with your logo and website. 

Table of Contents – Placed before or after your abstract, the Contents page provides a brief outline of your subheadings.

Abstract – This short summary highlights the main points of your paper.

Introduction – Introduce your topic and theme.

Sources –   List sources you used and cited in your work.  You’ll boost authority and provide resources for further study.

About the Author – If you provide the author’s name, include a short bio.

About – Give a brief summary/description of your business.

Contact/Call to Action (CTA) – Asking your reader to “Click Now” or “Act Quickly” sounds spammy in a White Paper.  Don’t do it.  Instead, direct readers to your business with a CTA like “Learn more” or “For more information, call …“

Remember, if you created a robust opt-in form, you now have their email, phone number, and any other business contact information you asked for. They’ll hear from you again.

Conclusion

White Papers are star performers in the B2B marketing arena. They attract and filter leads. So you enjoy high quality prospects – making it easier for you to stay on budget, eliminate wasted phone calls, and increase revenue.

How will White Papers deliver the marketing results you want?

For more information, contact Judy today: