Find out how white paper marketing can add credibility and authority to your business brand. This slideshow covers the benefits of white papers for B2B sales along with five ways to come up with a good topic. As a bonus, get tips for distribution to make the most of your inbound marketing.

1. Getting Started with
White Paper Marketing

2. Getting Started with
White Paper Marketing

3. What Is a White Paper?
Quick and Useful Explanation: A white paper is
an authoritative report that businesses use as
marketing collateral. A white paper may be
created to educate customers, establish
credibility, and enhance a company’s brand
profile.
“My name is Noah Webster, and I approve
this definition.”

4. White Papers Are Part of an
Inbound Marketing Strategy
Outbound Marketing
 Cold-calling
 Email & direct mail
campaigns
 TV and radio ads
 Billboards
 Door knocking
Inbound Marketing
 White papers
 Infographics
 Podcasts
 Free eBooks and
reports
 Educational videos
 Blogs

5. The Inbound Philosophy:
Don’t buy their attention.
Earn it!
Outbound Inbound

6. 3 Things a Good White Paper
Can Do for Your Business
1. Establish credibility and grab more
“mindshare” online
2. Directly generate or cultivate leads
3. Initiate networking relationships with
high-quality referral sources

7. Industries That Market with
White Papers
 Tech Sector
 Consulting
 Manufacturing
 Retail
 Construction
 Life Sciences
 Energy
 Real Estate
More businesses are joining the trend all the time!

8. There Are Even White Papers
about White Papers...

9. Why White Papers for B2B?
White papers offer value in business-to-
business industries with a long sales cycle and
when purchasing decisions involve a great
deal of complexity.
If buyers really must make an informed
decision, a white paper can help provide
much-needed education.

10. White Papers Are NOT Ideal for
Business to Consumer Marketing
B2B response to a white paper:
 This company believes
I’m intelligent.
 If I’m going to invest in a
product or service, I
need to understand it.
 This is really helpful.
 Bonus: I can now impress
my peers with my newly
acquired knowledge.
B2C response to a white paper:
 This sounds like it’s going
to be really complicated.
 Reading is too much like
homework.
 Where are the pretty
pictures?
 I’ll just go shop on
Amazon.

11. What Should You Write About?

12. #1 Be the Answer…
Address one or more key questions your
target customer demographic has about
products and services within your industry.
Tip: Analyze your company’s social media
feeds or survey results to identify moderately
complex questions that could be answered
well in a white paper format.

13. #2 Lend a Hand...
Provide helpful information about how to
overcome a common problem.
Tip: Ask your customer
service team for ideas.

14. #3 Issue a Challenge
Say something new or controversial that will
generate discussion online and encourage
sharing and blog or magazine article
commentary about the white paper.
Tip: If you disagree with competitors about
something, that’s usually a good starting
place to find an idea.

15. #4 Tell a Story...
Explore several case studies based on your
own company’s experience to showcase
real world results along with lessons learned.
Draw conclusions.
Tip: For greater breadth, add information
from related case studies in your field (from
strategic partners rather than direct
competitors).

16. #5 Peer into the Future…
Make educated guesses about what’s next
in the evolution of your industry and the
implications for society and/or business.
Tip: Any specialized knowledge your
company has gained from being involved
in research and development is a plus.

17. Mix It Up
Create a series of white papers and rotate
through all of these 5 formulas.
Tip: Add each document to your resource
library to build even greater value in your
business website over time.

18. Tone and Style Tips
A white paper should be written in
language that is easy to understand. Don’t
get carried away with jargon or buzzwords.
Clarity is better than cleverness.
Format your white paper to look
professional and even slightly
academic (while still including your
branding).

19. Appropriate Use of Images,
Charts, and Graphs
Use images sparingly. They should add
depth or clarity to the text rather than
simply serving as decoration to pad the
page count.
Tip: Avoid using stock photography of
generic business settings and people.

20. Don’t Overdo It.
Keep it short. Six pages is plenty for
most small to mid-sized companies.
Your clients are busy. Make it easy for
them to get value from your white
paper.
Tip: You will probably get better ROI
by creating several white papers
rather than one long paper.

21. Don’t Sell in Your White Paper!
Never have a white paper double as a
sales brochure. A sale pitch kills your
credibility.
Also, readers are more likely to
share your white paper with
others if it is purely educational.
Limit sales copy to a boilerplate
paragraph and call to action.

22. Marketing Your White Paper
 Create a search engine optimized
landing page for your white paper. This
page should be part of your website.
 Provide a download link, a print button,
and lots of social media options.
 Consider embedding social sharing
buttons in the digital document itself so
readers can share immediately.
 Post an excerpt in your LinkedIn profile.

23. Lead Generation...
You may wish to offer the white paper as a
download in exchange for visitors entering
their name and email address.
Have a plan for an effective email campaign
that encourages ongoing engagement
without spamming or harassing recipients.

24. Marketing Your White Paper
Start building buzz about your white paper
before it’s published. Keep the cycle going
afterward by creating spinoff content based on
the white paper.
Blogs
Twitter
LinkedIn
Podcasts
Slideshows
Press releases
YouTube Videos

25. What Happens Next?
If you’ve written a good white paper and
put in the effort to gain visibility, readers will
share your content.
Some may even blog about the paper,
using it as a jumping off point to create their
own content and expand the conversation.

26. Results of White Paper Marketing
 Lots of links back to your site (great for
SEO and page ranking)
 Established authority as a subject matter
expert (more credibility with prospective
clients who will view you as an advisor)
 Access to warm leads for follow-up
marketing efforts

27. Are You Ready to Create Your
First White Paper?
Contact me at 682-478-7243 or email
empowermybiz@daisymccarty.com
to talk about:
Strategy
Branding
Content

28. Connect with Daisy:
LinkedIn
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DaisyMcCarty.com
Call Daisy McCarty at 682-478-7243 or email
empowermybiz@daisymccarty.com to book a
presentation, training event, or workshop.
Together, we can make your message sing!