When White Papers Get Poisoned (and 3 Antidotes)

“White paper” covers a multitude of formats, and it’s rare to find two people who take it to mean the same thing. Poisoned white papers harm the publisher more than the reader, but there are antidotes.
I’ve looked at a half-dozen documents called “white papers” in the last few days and marveled at the variety among [...]

Castrating Your White Paper in 1 Easy Step

Step 1: Cut off its graphics.
The writer was not happy.
“I put a lot of time, thought and effort into the graphics I used for that white paper, and the client pulled out every last one of them before publishing the piece. It’s an eight-page wall of text now. What a waste!”
She showed me her final [...]

When Graphics Get in the Way

Graphics and diagrams are at the heart of good marketing communications, but your writer can’t always make them work for a written piece.
The deadline loomed, and still I had no more than an outline from the writer. “What’s taking so long?” I asked.
“I think I have writer’s block,” replied the writer.
“You don’t believe in [...]