How Can a White Paper Support Sales and Marketing?Written by Christine Taylor
How Can a White Paper Support Sales and Marketing?A white paper supports PR, marketing and sales because it works for all levels of decision makers. Engineers and executives may not be too impressed by brochures, but they are impressed by well-written white papers. (The same thing goes for trade journal articles – more about that in a subsequent piece.) Good white papers sell products because they pack a lot of useful information into a clear and readable structure. Warning -- don’t take any old brochure or product brief, print it on 8-1/2x11" paper and call it a white paper. Decision-makers hate that, don’t let this be you! Good marketing white papers contain both technical and marketing sections in a balanced format, and then throw in some other great stuff. A good white paper may start with an executive summary – my general rule is a 5+ page paper needs one – but it will follow same structure as below, abbreviated to one page. White papers should include: 1)Throw down challenge glove. Describe pain prospect is experiencing. (That you can help with, anyway!) Describe problem from their standpoint, and be sure you know what that problem is. 2)Talk about how your technology will solve their problem. Bore in on technology behind product and how it will make their lives easier. Be sure to include some technical detail for engineers and technology journalists who are sure to read it. (And who are sure to be annoyed if it lacks detail.) Many marketing white papers fail because they don’t include technical sections, usually due to one of two reasons: a)Extreme paranoia regarding proprietary knowledge. Shoot, no one is asking you to include blueprints. But if you won’t tell your customers what you’re selling because you’re afraid your competitors will find out, I suggest that you are not ready for marketplace. b)Uncertain writer. If writer doesn’t know background technology, they can’t write about it. Find an experienced technology writer and give them information they need. (If necessary, professionals will understand need for signing an NDA. Just don’t try to get them to dump their other clients.)
| | WARMING UP: TEN EXERCISES FOR FICTION WRITERSWritten by Dr. Erika Dreifus
Would you expect to wake up one morning and successfully run a marathon without any preparation? Would you think it reasonable to sit before a piano and--with little or no practice--play a concerto? Probably not. Why, then, do so many people seem surprised to discover that will to write isn't always enough to overcome blank screen or page? Doesn't it make sense that, like athletes and musicians, writers might benefit from training, too? And that includes warming up—with exercises.Writing exercises are similar to other warm-ups. They get required "muscles" moving. They introduce you into rhythm of activity--gradually. And as in other fields, they can often prove energizing and sustaining themselves. Start writing a scene for an exercise and you may find hours have passed and an entire new section of your manuscript has evolved. Such exercises and prompts can be especially helpful at beginning of a project. Let's say you're just starting to sketch out characters for a story or a novel. But today you find yourself staring at a screen or pad of paper that is stubbornly, resolutely blank. Responding to one of following questions will not only get you actively writing, but it may also help you learn something new about your character(s). 1. What is this character's name? "Joe" won't do. We need to know if it's Mr. Joe or Dr. Joe or Reverend Joe. If Joe is full first name. What's Joe's middle name. His last name. Any stories/history behind his name. 2. Where and when did character begin elementary school? Describe that first day.
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