3 simple procedures that brought a white paper back from the dark side
A successful graphic design firm came to me with an emergency.
Cradling the near-lifeless body of a white paper, they asked whether there was anything I could do to help.
This wasn’t a white paper for a client. It was their own white paper, which they planned to distribute to clients, demonstrating thought leadership on green design best practices.
Like a much-loved velveteen rabbit, the white paper had been tended to for weeks, a process that seemed to have had the unfortunate effect of making things worse.
Now, with just a week to go until clients would start expecting the white paper, they realized it wasn’t anywhere near finished. They weren’t quite sure what to do about that. But they knew they had to do something. And they had less than a week.
I donned my gloves and turned on the lamp. An engaging, readable writing style indicated a strong, steady pulse. But its lack of a cohesive structure or title gave it a sickly appearance. It resembled a series of loosely-knit-together case studies. Inner organs on the verge of spilling out. Not pretty.
This white paper was in no shape to be trotted out in front of clients and prospects. If we didn’t act quickly, it might be too late.
I wasted no time in putting together a proposal. When they accepted, I suited up. Snacks were arranged by my work station so I could operate and eat without interruption. A sturdy Sigg bottle, filled with fine Oakland tap water, kept me well-hydrated.
Then I began the operation–a series of 3 simple procedures.
1. First, I looked at the white paper from the reader’s perspective. The primary benefit people seek to gain from a white paper is getting new ideas to help them solve their problems and overcome their challenges.They seek insider information. Things they can’t find on the street.
With this principle in mind, I gave the white paper a title, “What’s Green Got to Do with It?” and a subtitle: “How to Incorporate Sustainable Design Practices Into Your Overall Marketing Strategy.” Already the color was starting to come back into its pages. A simple title structured around the problem and how to solve it guided the structure for the rest of the piece.
2.Secondly, I restructured the rest of the white paper by writing an introduction, a description of the challenges–and the opportunities–an overview of the solutions, and then a few examples of approaches they and others had taken. This is where the existing case studies fit in quite nicely. I also wrote a conclusion that included a call to action.
3.Finally, I added headlines throughout, breaking up the copy with bullet points and boxes to make it easy on the eyes. Scanners would be rewarded, not punished. I also added a touch of polish by editing the 10-page document from head to toe.
Today,the white paper has just finished production and is ready to be presented to clients. The firm now faces the good problem of how to get their baby in front of as many eyeballs as possible. They provided expertise and did the research; and, with a little help from a skilled copy surgeon, they can now be seen as thought leaders by clients and prospects alike.