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By Deshannee’ JohniceAccordingtoarecentYankelovich/Harrisstudy,“Morethan95%ofexecutivesmaintainahighinterestinlearningaboutandinvestinginnewproductsandserviceseveninadowneconomy”1.That’sgoodnewsforyou,business‐to‐business(B2B)marketers.WhileothermarketersareNightingforamodicumofconsumers’attentionandscrapingfordoublethereturnonhalfthemarketingspend,yourtargetaudience—executivesandbusinessowners—isreceptive,andyourmosteffectivemarketingtool—thewhitepaper—justhappenstoberecession‐proof.

Whitepapersareacuriousamalgamofindustryreports,magazinearticles,andmarketingbrochures.Unlikeadvertisementswhichsimplytoutacompany’swares,whitepapersconveyapositiononanissue,orproposeasolutiontoaproblem,affectingagivenindustryoraudienceinordertopersuadereaderstopurchasethewriter’sproductsorservices.Underanyeconomicconditions,whitepapershavethreeadvantagesoverothermarketingtools:(1)Executivesconsiderwhitepapersmorecrediblethanadvertisementsandpromotionalmaterials,(2)whitepaperscanbe

HOW TO WRITE A LEAD-GENERATING INTRODUCTION FOR YOUR WHITE PAPER

WHAT’S INSIDE

IntroductionUnderstanding the Introduction -Definition -Purpose -Introduction Components

Targeting Your Audience-Identify Your Audience-Identify Your Audience’s Challenges-Tailor Your Solutions-Speak Their Language

Writing the Introduction-Develop an Outline-Observe Simple Writing Rules-Edit Your Introduction

Optimizing Your Introduction

ResourcesIndexWorks Cited

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producedrelativelycheaply,and(3)whitepaperscangenerateatruckloadofqualiNiedsalesleadsonaskateboard‐sizedbudget.

Inits2006surveyofexecutivesanddecision‐makers,marketingintelligenceNirmSiriusDecisions,foundthat65%ofparticipantspreferredwhitepapersoverothermarketingtacticsatnearlyeverystageofthebuyingprocess2.ThepercentageisevenhigherforITexecutives,70%ofwhomsaytheyrelyonwhitepaperstomakepurchasingdecisions3.Whitepapersedgedoutbrochures,productdemonstrationsandadvertisementsbecausetheyoffersolutionsnotsalespitches.

Whitepapersnotonlydelivermoreandbetterinformationthanothermarketingtactics,buttheyarealsomorecost‐effective—costinglittleornothingtoproduceanddistribute.Youcancontracttheservicesofanexperiencedwriterforanaverageof$107perhour4.Youcanpurchasemarketresearchreportsforaslittleasafewhundreddollars.And,sincemostwhitepapersarepublishedonline,therearenoprinting,publishingordistributioncosts.Youcanfurtherreducethesecostsbyconductingyourownmarketresearchandwritingthewhitepaperyourself—anoptionyou’relikelyconsideringifyou’rereadingthisarticle.

Preferredbyexecutivesandcheaptoproduce,couldwhitepapersgetanybetter?Yes.Whitepapersalsogeneratemoresalesleadsperdollarinvested.DanDershem,CEOofsoftwaredeveloper,LeanLogistics,creditshislibraryofwhitepaperswithdoublinghissalesleadsatone‐sixthofthecostofproducinghiscompany’susualWebinars5.Similarly,Hoover’s,Inc.attributesone‐thirdofitssalesleadsand20%ofitssubscriptionstoitswhitepapers6.

Thisallbodeswellforyouandyourwhitepaper.But,there’sonethingworkingagainstyou—yourcompetitorsarewritingwhitepaperstoo.So,howdoyoumakeyourwhitepaperstandoutfromthepack?Howdoyougetpotentialclientstodownloadorreadyourwhitepaper?

WriteanappealingIntroduction.

Inhisbook,WritingWhitePapers,MichaelStelznerlikenstheIntroductionsectiontoa30‐secondmovietrailerforafeatureNilm.Stelznerwrites,“agoodIntroductiongivesawayjustenoughinformationtoenticepeopletogotothetheaterwithoutgivingawaythefullplotofthemovie”7.AgoodIntroductionwillenticeexecutivestodownloadyourwhitepaperandprovideyoutheirvaluablecontactinformation.

WhetheryouarewritingyourNirstwhitepaper,orrevisingaless‐than‐successfulone,you’llwanttobravethecomingparagraphs.Ifyoudo,youwilllearnthedeNinitionandpurposeofanIntroduction.YouwilllearnhowtotargetyourIntroductiontoyourintendedaudience,howtowritetheIntroduction,andhowtooptimizeyourIntroductiontoincreasethenumberofqualiNiedsalesleadsgenerated.

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“LatelyI’mdownloadingandreadingatleast2‐3whitepapersamonth.WhatusuallygetsmyattentionistheIntroductionsection.IreadtheNirstcoupleofparagraphsandeitherI’mhookedorI’mmovingon.Thereallygoodwhitepapersdon’ttrytosellmesomethingrightoutofthebag.I’dratherreadabouthowtheproducthasbeenusedinsimilarcompanies,andaboutsuccessfuloutcomes.Iknowatleastoneofourrecentpurchases,astory‐tellingworkshop,cametobebecauseofsomethingIreadinawhitepaper.”

Marita Scarfi, Acting-CEO/COO, Organic, Inc.

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Understanding the IntroductionAfterthetitle,theIntroductionistheNirstthingpotentialreaderswillsee,theonlythingtheyknowaboutyourwhitepaperandtheonlythingstandingbetweenyouandsalesleads.That’salotofpressuretoplaceonafewparagraphs.

Definition

TheIntroductionisabriefpreambletotheinformationcoveredinyourwhitepaper.Unlikeanexecutivesummary,theIntroductionisnotasummaryoftheinformationcoveredinyourwhitepaper.Instead,itisasortofadvertisementforyourwhitepaper—grabbingyouraudience’sattention,initiatingaconnectionandhighlightingyourwhitepaper’smostimportantfeatures.

Purpose

TheIntroductionservesathree‐foldpurpose:(1)capturingreaders’interest,(2)previewingthebestfeaturesofyourwhitepaper,and(3)enticingreaderstoprovidesalesleads.Capturingreaders’interestislikegettingthemtonoticeyouacrossacrowdedroom.Giventhattherearemillionsofwhitepapersoutthere,manyofthemwrittenandpublishedbybig‐namewritersandorganizations,that’satallorderbutonethatcanbemadelesssoifyougiveuponattractingallreadersandfocusonattractingonlythosereaderswhoaremostlikelytobeinterestedinthesubject(s)aboutwhichyouarewriting.

PreviewingthebestfeaturesofyourwhitepaperisabitsimplerifyourememberStelzner’smovietraileranalogy.Whatwillittaketogetyourtargetaudienceintothetheatre?Youwillneedtoshowyouraudiencethatyouunderstandtheirmostpressingproblemandthatyouhaveasolution.Onceyou’vepeakedyouraudience’sinterestandshownthemthepreview,you’reonestepawayfromyourgoal,landingsalesleads.

Mostwhitepapersarepublishedonlineinwhitepaperdatabasesthatrequirereaderstoprovidecontactinformationinordertodownloadthefullwhitepaper.InterestedreadersseeonlythetextoftheIntroductionandmustusethattodecidewhethertheywanttoreadthefullwhitepaperandwhetherit’sworthprovidingtheircontactinformation.IfyourIntroductionservesitsintendedpurpose,readerswillprovidetheircontactinformation—yoursaleslead.

YouhaveonlyafewminutesandafewparagraphstofulNilltheIntroduction’spurpose,soyouhadbetterwritesomecompellingcopy.TheIntroductionofagamingwhitepaperpublishedatAccenture.comisshownbelow.

Today,games,gamingandgambling–forwhichwehavecoinedthetermG3–representa$345bnglobalbusiness,eclipsingboththemovieandmusicindustries.Astheplanet’spremierentertainmentchoice,G3isnotonlygrowingbutalsochanging–rapidlyevolvingtotheimperativeofawiredworldandshiftingconsumertastes.Readyornot,playersinthesectorshouldnotunderestimateG3’spowerovertheirbusinessesortheenormousopportunitiesitrepresents.

ThisarticledescribesrecentdevelopmentsintheG3spaceandraisessomeofthekeychallengesfacedbybothincumbentandnewG3industryplayersasrecountedthroughinterviewswithover50seniorexecutivesselectedfromtheG3industrieswithintheUK.Itisaimedatmediamajorsandstartups,accessplatformproviders(web,iTVandmobile),entertainmentandchannelbrands,selectedgames,gamingandgamblingproductdevelopersandserviceproviders8.

TheNirstparagraphcapturesreaders’interestbyidentifyingalucrativemarketopportunityandhighlightingcurrentmarkettrends.Italsotellsthereaderwhytheyshouldlisten—because,“readyornot”,somethingbigishappening.

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ThesecondparagraphidentiNiesthetargetaudience(“Hey,mediamajorsandstartups,etal”!),andsharesthebestfeaturesofthewhitepaper,namelycoverageofrecentdevelopmentsinthereader’smarketsector,identiNicationofkeychallengesfacingthereaderandinsightsfrommoversandshakersinthereader’sindustry.

Withtwobriefparagraphs,Niveinformation‐packedsentences,Accenture’sIntroductionconvincedhundredsofbusinessprospectstodownloadthe30‐pageG3whitepaper.BytheendofthisarticleyouwillbeabletoduplicateAccenture’ssuccesswithyourownIntroduction.

Introduction Components

YourIntroductionmustcontainthreecomponents:(1)asharedcontext,(2)aproblemand(3)asolution9.Thecomponentsneednotbeinthisexactorder;youmayleadwithaproblemorusetheproblemtoestablishasharedcontext.

Shared ContextToestablishasharedcontext,useabriefparagraph,aquestion,oraquotethatillustratesyourunderstandingofyourreaders’circumstancesorchallenges—whetherit’schangingdemographics,dwindlingbudgetsorNindinganewcontentmanagementsystem.

BelowisanexcerptfromIBM’sGettingSmartAboutYourWorkforce.Thewriterestablishesasharedcontextbydescribingthedirestateofthejobmarket,asituationlikelyfamiliartohisreaders.

Employeescontinuetobearthebruntoftheworsteconomicrecessioninageneration.IntheUnitedStates,2.55millionjobshavebeenlostsincetherecessionstartedinDecember2007,pushingtheunemploymentratetoa16­yearhigh,accordingtotheBureauofLaborStatistics.Mosteconomistsareprojectingfurtherjoblossesasthe

economyshedsmorethanahalf­millionjobspermonthandadjuststotightercreditmarketsandslowingconsumerdemand10.

IndeNiningthesharedcontext,thewriteralsodeNinestheproblem‐‐therecessionanditstollonemployment.

Problem YoumaydeNineaprobleminyourIntroductionbyoutliningthereaders’circumstances,writingabriefstatementoraskingaquestion.Whicheveryouselect,ensureyourreadersunderstandtheproblemyourproductorservicesolves.Youcan’tsavethisinformationforthebodyofthewhitepaperbecausereaderswillonlyprovidetheircontactinformationifyourIntroductionpromisestosolveaproblemtheycareabout.

TheproblemstatementbelowisfromDeloitte’sCrossingtheGreenDivide:

Mostpeopletodaybelievetheiractionscontributetoourchangingenvironment,andtheyhavestartedtomakechangesathometoreducetheimpactoftheiractions.Surprisingly,mostpeoplearenotexhibitingsimilarbehaviorchangesatwork11.

Theproblemhereisthatpeoplearenottakingtheireco‐friendlybehaviortowork.Thewritercouldalsohaveaskedreaderswhethertheywereexperiencingthedisconnectbetweenemployees’greenattitudesandtheirwastefulworkplacebehaviors,therebyestablishingasharedcontext,andintroducingtheproblemforwhichhewillprovideasolution.

SolutionInthecontextofawhitepaper,thesolutionisyourproduct.FormostB2Bmarketers,thesolutionistheiropportunitytoselltheirproductorservice.ThesolutioncomponentisthesalesopportunityintheIntroduction.But,itwouldbeamistaketosquandertheopportunitybytrying

The Introduction is an advertisement foryour white paper.

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topushyourproductsandservicesonreaders.Instead,relyonthesharedcontextandproblemdeNinedintheothercomponentsofyourIntroductionto“sell”yoursolution.

Thatisnottosaythatyoucannotofferyourproductasthesolution.But,ifyoudo,beobjectiveandusefactstosupportanyassertions.Thiswilladdcredibilityanddistinguishyoursolutionfromasalespitch.

TheexamplebelowisfromMicrosoft’sRoles­basedBusinessProductivitywhitepaper.ThewriterusesastatistictosupporttheassertionthatMicrosoftDynamicsisthesolutiontoamyriadofbusinessproductivityproblems.

Industryanalystsestimatethatinformationworkersspendupto30percentoftheirworkingdayjustlookingfordatatheyneed.Allthetimepeoplespendtrackingdowninformation,managingandorganizingdocuments,andmakingsuretheirteamshavethedatatheyneed,couldbemuchbetterspentonanalysis,collaboration,insightandotherworkthataddsvalue.Byautomatingandstreamlining^inancial,customerrelationshipandsupplychainprocesses,MicrosoftDynamicsbringstogetherpeople,processesandtechnologies,increasingtheproductivityandeffectivenessofthebusiness,andhelpingdrivebusinesssuccess12.

Notethatthewriterintheaboveexampledoesnotspelloutthesolutionindetail,butoffersapreview‐‐justenoughtoconvinceyouraudiencetoprovidesalesleads.IfyouhavetroubledecidingwhattoincludeinyourIntroductionandwhattosaveforyourwhitepaper,writeitalldown.Highlightthe“goldennuggets”,thosebitsofinformationthatyouraudienceisdyingtoknow.Then,ransomthenuggets—theircontactinformationforyourgoldennuggets.

Asthesamplesharedcontext,problemandsolutioncomponentsillustrate,thereisnoonewaytowriteanIntroduction.ReadtheIntroductionsofseveralwhitepapersandtry

labelingeachoftheparts.Dothisuntilyouarecomfortablewithsomeofthetechniquesotherwritersuse.Then,choosetheapproachthatismostappropriateforyourproductandyouraudience.

Targeting Your Audience

Yourtargetaudienceisthepeoplewithwhomyoumustestablishasharedcontext,andwhoseproblemsyourIntroductionwillpromisetosolve.Generally,whitepaperstargetexecutiveswhoseorganizationsmightbeneNitfromthemarketers’productsorservices.But,you’llneedtoknowmuchmoreaboutyouraudiencetotargetthemeffectively.You’llneedtoknowwhichexecutivesinwhichrolesinagivenindustryaremostlikelytorespondtoyourIntroduction.Thisiskeytogeneratingsalesleads.

Executivesindifferentindustriesandorganizationsfacedifferentchallenges.Toomanymarketersmakethemistakeofattemptingtosellasinglesolutiontoeveryone’sproblem.ThisapproachworksformassmarketproductslikeofNicesupplies,butisuselessformarketingprofessionalservicesandtechnologyproducts,big‐ticketitemsthat,ifpurchased,mayimpactanexecutive’sentireorganization.Forthisreason,narrowingyouraudiencefromallexecutivestoonlythoseexecutiveswhoseproblemsyourproductorservicecansolve.

Identifytherightaudienceandyou’llnotonlylearnhowtogetyourIntroductioninfrontofthem,butalsohowtogetthemtoprovidetheircontactinformation.

Sowhoisyourtargetaudience?

Identify Your Audience

Youundoubtedlyhaveanaudienceinmind.Theymaybeyourexistingcustomersoryourclients’customers.TheymaybeITexecutives,manufacturingexecutivesorretailexecutives.But,whatelsedoyouknowaboutthem?

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Itisnotenoughtoknowyouraudience’sjobtitleorindustry;youmustknowwhattheydoandthechallengestheyfaceindoingit.YouneedtoknowwhetherthemembersofyourtargetaudiencecanmakepurchasingdecisionsorwhethertheycanonlyinNluencethosedecisions.Youneedtoknowwhetheryouarevyingfortheattentionofthemanwhowillexecutethemigrationtoyourcontentmanagementsystem(CMS)orthewomanwhowillmanagetheproject.TheymayhavedivergentintereststhatyoucanusetodifferentiateyourIntroductionfromthehundredsofotherstargetingeitheraudience.

Dependingonyourproductorservice,youraudience’sgender,age,interests,andthestateoftheindustryinwhichtheyworkcouldbeimportant.Young,maleapplicationdevelopersmayresponddifferentlytoyourIntroductionthanolder,femaleapplicationdevelopers.And,executivesinindustriesthathavebeenslowtoadoptnewtechnologiesmaybescaredoffbyanIntroductionthatassumestheirorganizationshaveahigherleveloftechnologicalcapacity.

What do you know aboutyour audience?

CORE AUDIENCE

1. Describe your audience in 3 sentences or less. Include job titles and industries.

2. What language do they speak (i.e. technical jargon or finance for dummies)?

3. What do they do (i.e. manufacture parts, sell shoes, develop software)?

4. What is their biggest problem or challenge (i.e. new technology, strict regulations or talent management)?

5. How are they addressing the problem or challenge now?

6. What’s missing or wrong with their current solution(s)?

7. What can you offer them?

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Themoredetailedyourunderstandingofyouraudience,themorelikelyyouaretocorrectlyidentifytheirchallengesandspeaktheirlanguage.

Identify Your Audience’s Challenges

Whatkeepsyouraudienceupatnight?AretheystrugglingtoNillkeyjobvacancies?Aretheyfacingnewgovernmentregulations?Aretheygrapplingwiththeimplicationsofarecenttrend?

Youraudiencewillcertainlyhavemorethanoneproblem,butyourproductorservicecan’tsolvethemall.List3‐5challengesorproblemsyouraudienceiscurrentlyfacing.Determinewhichofthemyourproductorservicebestresolves.Then,writeorrevisetheprobleminyourIntroduction.Tailor Your Solutions

OnceyouhaveidentiNiedyouraudienceandtheproblemyourproductorservicesolves,youcantailoryoursolution.Tailoringyoursolutionmeansgoingfrom“Spring4th’sHLXapplicationtakesthepainoutofperformanceevaluations”to“Spring4th’sHLXapplicationreducesthenumberofhoursHRprofessionalsspendmanagingannualperformanceevaluations”.

ThelatterismorelikelytograbtheattentionofHRprofessionalsinsearchofatimesavingperformanceappraisalapplication.IfHRprofessionalsareyourtargetaudience,andifspendingtoomanyhoursonperformanceevaluationsisoneoftheirproblems,yoursolutionisgoingtolooklikeacooldrinkofwateronascorchingday.

ThegoalhereistoNine‐tuneyoursolutionsuchthatyouraudienceknowsyouunderstandtheirchallengesandareofferingasolutionspeciNictothosechallenges.Revisethesolutioninyour

Your audience certainly has more than one problem, but your product or service can’t solve them all.

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KAYLA SAITO Proprietor/Designer, K. Saito, 27, Los Angeles, CA

Saito opened her boutique two yeasr ago. Sales are up, but the lack of quality information on overseas textile manufacturers is bringing Saito down.

Can you help?

8 D.D. Johnice | May 2009

IntroductionbyreplacinggeneralpromisesorbeneNitswithspeciNicones.Ifyouknowthepercentagebywhicherrorswerereducedafterusingyourproduct,orthepercentageincreaseinemployeeproductivityafteraclientemployedyourmethodology,stateitinyoursolution.

ConsidertheSpring4thHLXexample.Youwouldreviseyoursolutionasfollows:

Draft#1:Spring4th’sHLXapplicationtakesthepainoutofperformanceevaluations.

Draft#2:Spring4th’sHLXapplicationreducesthenumberofhoursHRprofessionalsspendmanagingannualperformanceevaluations.

Draft#3:Spring4th’sHLXapplicationreducesthenumberofhoursHRprofessionalsspendmanagingannualperformanceevaluationsby35%.

Sticktothefacts.Resistthetemptationtowritepunchylinesabouthowyourproductorserviceisthepanaceaforallthatailsyouraudience.Thesolutionyoupropose,andthewayyoudescribeit,willdeterminewhetherexecutivesviewyourIntroductionasthegatewaytocredibleinformationorasjustanotherad.

Speak Their Language

Youwouldn’twriteyourIntroductioninFrenchifyouraudiencespokeonlySpanish.But,youmightmakethemistakeofusingjargon,packingyourIntroductionwithobscureformulas,orfocusingtooheavilyontheconcernsoftheengineerwhenyouaretryingtoreachhisboss.

Speakingyouraudience’slanguageisaboutmorethantheirnativetongue;it’saboutunderstandingtheirperspectiveonanissue,understanding

what’simportanttothemandbeingabletowriteanIntroductionthatresonateswiththem.

Speakingyouraudience’slanguagebecomessimplerthebetteryouknowthem.RevisityourtargetaudiencedescriptionoftenasyouwriteyourIntroduction.

Writing the Introduction

Formanypeoplewritingisakintopublicspeaking—it’scausefortwitchingandsweating.Ifyouareamongthosewhodreadwritingforpublicconsumption,you’llNindsolaceinthewordsofJosephWilliams,authorofbest‐sellingwritingguideStyle.Williamswrote,“Evenbadwritersgetreadiftheymotivatereaderstomaketheeffort”13.Tomotivatereaders,Williamsadviseswritingabouttopicsinwhichtheyaredeeplyinterested.Youknowyouraudience,youunderstandtheirproblems,you’vegotasolutionandyou’respeakingtheirlanguage.WritingtheIntroductionwillbeassimpleasdevelopinganoutlineandobservingafew“Quick&Dirty”writingrules.

Observe Simple Writing Rules

Goodwritingisnotaboutsqueezingasmanypolysyllabicwordsaspossibleintoaparagraph;it’saboutusingwordsyouraudienceunderstandsandcraftingsentenceswithasubject,averbandanobject.

Goodwritingisaboutsentencesthatconveyideassimply.It’saboutparagraphsthatNlow,usingspell‐check,gettingfeedbackandediting,editing,editing.

Youarewritingforbusyexecutives,notEnglishprofessors.Topleaseexecutives,youneedonlywriteaboutaproblemthatplaguesthem.Youneednotwinanywritingawards.

Speak their languageland their business

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Develop an Outline

YoumayoutlineonlytheIntroductionortheentirewhitepaper.Youmayneedtooutlinethewhitepaper’scontentinitsentiretytodecidewhichinformationtoincludeinyourIntroductionandwhichtosaveforthebodyofthewhitepaper.

UsetheIntroductioncomponents—sharedcontext,problemstatementandsolution—asyourthreemainheadings.Then,listkeypointsundereachcomponent.Expandeachofthekeypointsintoasentence(s).Noteanyexamplesorconnectionsyoumightusetotransitionbetweensentencesandheadings.

Expandyouroutlinebytreatingeachpointasit’sowntopic.Writeafewsentencesoneachtopic.Writeonesentencethattieseachpointtothenext.Repeatforeachofyourkeypoints.Giveyourselftwohoursandwriteasmuchasyoucan.Donoteditasyouwrite.Beforeyouknowit,youwillhavewrittenyourIntroduction.

Edit Your Introduction

Editingisthebestpartofwriting.Thinkofitasselectingscenestoincludeinamoviepreview.Youhavehoursoffootageandplentyofsexy,funnyscenesthatmightgrabyouraudience’sattentionandgetthemexcitedaboutseeingyourNilm,butyoualsoneedtosavesomethingforthetheatre.Strikingabalancebetweengivingenoughawayandsavingenoughforpayingcustomersisatrickytask.HaveyouincludedenoughinformationinyourIntroductiontomakeanexecutivewanttopaythecostofadmission(hiscontactinformation)?Didyougiveawaysomuchinformationthathedoesn’tneedtopaythepriceofadmission?

OnceyouaresatisNiedwiththescenesyou’veselected,considertheNlow.Ifyouremovesomeoftheinformationyouinitiallyincluded,doesyourIntroductionstillmakesense?Willitmakesensetoyouraudience?

Editingisaboutslicingandsplicing,soitispossibletogotoofarandendupwithachoppy,incoherentjumbleofsentences.RepairyourIntroductionbyreorganizingyoursentencesandparagraphsandwritingnewtransitionsentences.Next,usespell‐checktoNindandNixspellingandgrammaticalerrors.Toomanymisspelledwordsinthespaceofafewparagraphssignalsthatyourwhitepaperandthesolutionyouaremarketingareofpoorquality.

Afteryouhavecompletedyourinitialedits,askfriendsorcolleaguestoreadyourIntroductionandprovidefeedback.Skipthegrammarandspellingquestions;askthemwhethertheyunderstandwhatyouhavewritten,whetheritmakesthemwanttoreadyourwhitepaper,andwhethertheywouldprovidetheircontactinformationforthepleasure.

Makethechangestheysuggest.Then,repeattheprocesswithdifferentpeereditors.Whenyou

You are writing for executives,not English professors.

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QUICK & DIRTY RULES OF WRITING

1. SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT2. Plan extensively.3. Write now. Edit later.4. Keep it simple.5. G.P.C. (grammar, punctuation and

capitalization)6. Don’t send a paragraph to do a sentence’s job.7. Don’t be stingy with spell-check.8. Check your flow.9. Edit. Edit. Edit.10. Don’t be afraid to outsource.

10 D.D. Johnice | May 2009

areNinishedediting,yourIntroductionshouldbereadyforitspublicdebut.

Optimize Your Introduction

ThedifferencebetweenobtainingcontactinformationandgeneratingqualiNiedsalesleadsisthattheformerNillsyourdatabasewiththenamesofexecutiveswhowanttoreadyourpaperbutdon’twanttobuyyourproduct,whilethelatterNillsyourdatabasewiththenamesofexecutiveswhowanttoreadyourpaperandaremorelikelytobuyyourproductorservice.

Ifyouaccuratelytargetyouraudience,identifytheirchallenges,speaktheirlanguageandtailoryoursolutions,yourIntroductionwillbebetter

thanmost.But,generatingqualiNiedsalesleads,notjustcontactinformation,willrequireadditionalsteps.

First,targettheaudiencethatneedsyourservicesmost.Desperatepeopleactquicklytoalleviatepain.ConvinceyouraudiencethatyourIntroductionholdstheirrelief.Withyourtargetaudiencenarrowlyinsight,focusonthesharedcontextcomponentofyourIntroduction.Ensurethatthesharedcontextyouestablishedcreatesasenseofurgency.CitingrecentnewsheadlinesornewresearchNindingswillmakeyourIntroductionandwhitepaperamust‐readforyouraudience.

Peddling the panaceadestroys your credibility.

OPTIMIZE YOUR INTRODUCTION

Cater to the desperate.Market relief, not products.Sell scalpels not machetes.Ransom “golden nuggets”.Pack the facts.Ditch the sales pitch.Hitch your Introduction to a star (i.e. a popular news story or rising trend).Feed the search monster (He likes keywords).Go where the eyes are (Hint: white papers are not popular on MySpace).

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HitchingyourIntroductiontoapopularnewsstoryhastheaddedbeneNitofgivingitaliftinInternetsearchresults,makingiteasierforyouraudiencetoNindandmorelikelytobesyndicatedtootherpublications.

Next,ensuretheproblemisstatedassimplyaspossible,andthatyouarenottryingtosolvetoomanyproblemsinasingleIntroduction.

Withthesharedcontextandproblemstatementcomponentscovered,youcanturnyourattentiontoyoursolution.Peddlingthepanaceadestroysyourcredibilityandscaresoffpotentialreaders,so,wherepossible,usestatistics,casestudiesorquotestosupportyoursolution.

HoardkeydetailsbutteaseyourreaderswithexcitingpromisesorbeneNitstocome.Remembertoransomthe“goldennuggets”.

Finally,scrubyourIntroductionofeventhefaintesthintofasalespitch.Whitepapersareprizedfortheircredibility,nottheirpromotionalspin.Yes,youareultimatelysellingaproductorservice,butyouaredoingitindirectlybyofferingasolutiontoapressingproblem.H

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RESOURCES

Sample White PapersAccenture.com

Bitpipe.comDeloitte.comDMNews.comZdnet.com

Online Writing HelpThe Owl at Purdue Writing CenterWhitepapersource.com Books Writing White Papers by M. StelznerThe White Paper Marketing Handbook by R. Bly

12 D.D. Johnice | May 2009

Index

AAccenture Accenture.com,3CCoreaudience,6Cost‐effectiveness,2DDanDershem,2Deloitte,4GGoldennuggets,5,11HHoover’s,2IIBM,4Introduction componentsof,4 deNinition,3 editing,9‐10 optimizing,10‐11 purpose,3 writing,8ITexecutives,preferences,2LLeanLogistics,2MMicrosoft,5OOutline developing,9 expanding,9PProblem,asIntroductioncomponent,4QQuick&DirtyWritingRules,8RResources,11SSaleslead,2ScarNi,Marita,2SharedContext,asIntroductioncomponent,4

SiriusDecisions,2Solution asIntroductioncomponent,4‐5 tailoring,7Spring4th,7,8Stelzner,2,3Style(book),8TTargetaudience identifying,5 identifyingchallengesof,7 speakingtheirlanguage,8 targeting,5WWhitepaper advantagesof,1‐2 deNinitionof,1Williams,Joseph,8Writingrules observing,8‐9WritingWhitePapers(book),2YYankelovich/Harrisstudy,1

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