5 Ways to Create Relevant White Paper Content

Stats. Figures. Resources. When you see a white paper, you want your readers to think credibility. One of the keys to writing a great white paper is to include lots of quality content. So before getting started, the Content Marketing Institute offers advice on how you can gather information you’ll need to suit your purposes. For the complete article, written by blogger and director of immittcopy Mitt Ray, visit www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/06/4-tips-forfantastic-white-paper-content.

Ask the experts
Many people jump straight into researching content themselves, and then conduct interviews. Speak to the experts first. Ask the marketing experts, product developers and subject matter experts what resources you should review. Find out about their competitors. Ask them what marketing materials they’re using. Ask about the subject’s most popular and trusted news resources, etc. This will make it easy to identify opportunities, provide ideas and meet unmet needs in your white paper content. After you read everything, interview your experts again. This will help clarify any questions and give you information that can help you dig deeper into the subject.

Head to a white paper distribution service
Popular white paper distribution services like CNET and Trade Pub can help you widen your field of research, and learn more about the market, topics, audience and competition. Pour through all the citations in the white papers you read, and list resources that might be a good fit.

Find the best of what’s available on these services
Many of these services have loads of white papers. With some white paper distribution services, you can view papers by popularity. There’s a strong chance these papers achieved their popularity because they were well written and contained the most useful information available. Because some white paper service users rate their white papers on usefulness, you can find strong examples of what potential readers want in a quality white paper. Check the name of the company and/or author who created the highly rated papers, and look for reputation, credibility, etc.

Get additional help from the search engines
Search the subject and related keywords on your favorite search engine. This will help you find the basics about the topic and help you prepare for your interviews. After the initial interviews, conduct a more thorough search on white papers and more advanced content. You also can research the most popular search terms on Adwords, and then search those terms on the search engine. This will help you see what your audience is searching, and who your competitors are.

Competitors’ content
Searches can help you find out more about your competitors. After you perform a search, check which companies are dominating the search results, what services they provide, what white papers or other marketing materials they make available, etc. Using this information, you can write a white paper that’s similar to theirs, or you can create something different.