Francis M. Ardi
B2B Marketing Copywriter

 "Delivering what is meaningful to your potential customers." 

Take your company out of the current recession!

"Discover What Makes White Papers  
  Such Effective B2B Marketing Tools"

 
  • Your company web site delivers concise and comprehensive information about the company and its products and services.
     
  • Many potential customers will want detailed information about a specific product or service and the solutions they provide.
     
  • White papers explain the underlying ideas behind the solution your company provides in a way that is meaningful to decision makers.
     
  • Use the request form at bottom to request sample white papers and see how the 'implicit persuasion' writing style can be more effective than using overt sales rhetoric.

To All Company Sales and Marketing Personnel: 

   Industrial and commercial decision makers are constantly looking for solutions to problems.  From the company president seeking to stay ahead of the competition to engineers and managers looking for new ways to improve productivity.

   Solutions your company would provide with its products or services.

   Open minded as they may be, they're quickly turned off by what appears as pure sales rhetoric.  These individuals are generally over marketed.  

What makes white papers special - the soft sell approach...

   What sets white papers apart is they're are basically informative.  They read more like an article or a report.  White papers don't rely heavily on hype or "you language".  Nor do they use expressions like order, bonuses, special offer, etc. 

   However, like a sales letter, there is emphasis on making and proving claims of benefit.

   Details of what exactly is a white paper are in the right column of this page.

White Papers have been specially developed
for marketing to companies and business firms.

   In contrast to consumer marketing literature, where the reader is the sole buying decision maker, white papers work better where purchasing decisions are made by groups or committees.  

   The final purchase decision is made after a sales presentation by the vendor company's representative.  Therefore the white paper's purpose in generating inquiries and sales leads fits well into the overall business to business sales cycle.

Distribution of White Papers

   White papers nowadays are distributed over the internet as .pdf documents.  They are usually downloaded from your company's web sight to serve potential customers who want to read more about your company's solutions.  

   They are also distributed by web sites specializing in distribution of white papers.  Such sites are bitpipe.com, knowledgestorm.com and whitepapersource.com.   These sites are designed for search engine queries for information on the topic the white paper is about.  This leads searchers directly to specific white papers.

   If you want to make your white papers available from your company's web site, it would be best to use a request form to collect visitor contact information from the site visitor requesting a white paper.  Bitpipe and WhitePaperSource use capture forms to collect particulars from site visitors requesting specific white papers.

 

Proper Formatting makes White Papers easier to read.

   Your potential customers will appreciate a well-formatted white paper that is scanable, has illustrations in the right places and subheads to indicate what each section is about.

 I don't just write your white papers.  I also...
  • format your page as a regular letter or two-column pdf document

  • add your logo, photos and graphic elements as illustrations

  • prepare title or cover page

  • convert the Word or Desktop Publisher document to a .pdf file
    (you will receive both the .pdf and the editable word or publisher file).

  • develop an executive summary* of the white paper for use in a lead capture form on your company's web site.

* An executive summary is like an advertisement for your white paper.  It could be placed on your web pages or in Bitpipe, etc.  It is a paragraph or to that compels the reader to enter contact information and receive a copy of your white paper.

You'll have only one service provider to work with and you'll have your white paper a lot sooner - ready to give your customers the information they need to make the right decisions.

You'll also be generating inquiries and sales leads a lot sooner.  Use the inquiry form at bottom of this page to request your samples and more info.

Popular White Paper Formats
Illustrated below are two popular formats used for white papers.  Choice is basically a matter of preference, though there are some advantages about which to choose. 
For example, the two-column format is useful where you would want to add quotes from authoritative sources.  The two-column format is also more scanable.

Standard Format where all components (main text, illustrations, tables, quotes) are inline. Also known as a letter format. Two-Column Format where the main body text is in the larger right column and the narrow left column is used for items like table of contents, pull quotes anecdotes, and illustrations.
Use the form below to request two samples of white papers I've prepared.  There is an example of each of the two formats illustrated above.
 

Magazine Format - Recommended only if document is printed on paper.

The Magazine Format, where the text is split into two columns of text of equal width, the text matter continuing from the bottom of the left column to the top of the right, as is typical in magazines.
This format is not recommended for documents that will be read on a computer monitor since it requires extra scrolling.
Papers in this format are more difficult to scan since an entire page (a whole page of the document) might not display fully and you need to scroll up and down for each page. 
It is useful only if the white paper is to be printed on paper for distribution as printed matter.

Magazine Format

 
  To your success,
  Francis M. Ardi

To inquire about having a white paper written, or to simply view 
examples of white papers I've written for various clients, 
please fill the form below and click on "Submit Request".

 

 

What is a White Paper?

White papers are sales documents that combine the elements of an article or report and a brochure or a promotional booklet.  
The main purpose of a white paper is to generate sales leads and inquiries about a company's  products and services.
White papers are focused on a generic solution to a particular problem.  No mention of the product or service by name early on.
This appeals to the idea that people don't want to be sold to while they are seeking solutions to their problems.
The call to action is usually limited to providing contact information of individuals charged with marketing of a company's products and services.
By explaining the science behind the solution in a way meaningful to the customer, white papers are written in a style that is implicitly persuasive. 

 

Alternatives
to the term
'White Paper'

Since the purpose of a white paper is to deliver information to company decision makers, they're often called something else - including but not limited to:
 
+ Special Report
+ Technical Review
+ Guide
+ Information Package
+ Prospectus*

* Popular for promoting companies as investment opportunities.

These documents are available from a capture page on a company's web site where the reader enters name, company name, position with the company, email address, phone number (best time to call), etc.

The data collected is used as sales leads or inquiries to follow up on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Request for Service or More Information

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Privacy Policy - Any information you provide will be used exclusively by Francis M. Ardi.  Your name and information will not be sold, rented or otherwise distributed to any third party or other organization.xx

 

 

 

Francis Ardi

12406 Oro Valley Trl
Austin, Texas 78729  U.S.A.
Telephone: 1+ 832-656-3721
Fax: 1+ 512-697-8295

 

 

  

 

Copyright © 2007 by Francis M. Ardi.   All Rights Reserved