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The first step in writing a white paper is an outline, which acts as a skeleton that you flesh out with evidence and persuasion. My post last October, 4 Elements of a White Paper Outline, resulted in a large number of visits, so I’ll go into more detail in this post. As a matter of [...]
A good marketing communications writer is versatile, but don’t push it. Everybody’s talent stops somewhere. How thin can you spread your marcomm writer? Can she do a good job on everything you need, like: white papers Web content technology overviews case studies press releases corporate backgrounders annual reports blog posts SEO copywriting (isn’t that redundant [...]
What’s in your content: Marketing writing or corporate cheerleading? A parable for the marketing manager. A dear friend who does a lot of business writing once remarked, Compact, compelling copy that doesn’t fall into business jargon is tough. So much of it is fake words strung together with cheerleading. I’ve mulled that over for a [...]
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 [...]
The writer did what we told him to do when we hired him. “Write a series of technical articles to help evangelize the technology,” we said, “two to three pages each. They should introduce developers and customers to the new features they can use in programming on the platform. We need to get the word [...]
A chief technology officer and a VP of Engineering were talking about an upcoming product launch. Both agreed that the new features were a big leap forward, worthy of a white paper. “We’ll need a white paper to explain the advantages,” said one. “We need to get existing customers to upgrade, but they won’t do [...]
“Who is the audience?” “What do you want them to do after they’ve read the piece?” One of our writers systematically asks these questions at the outset of every project. It’s a bit oppressive at times – I can remember when it was refreshing – but it does keep us on our toes. She’s particularly [...]
…that is the difference between a technical writer and a technical marketing writer. Figure out which one you want before you award the project. One of our engineering directors has funded a series of news articles on a technology platform we’re rolling out. (Actually, a marketing manager is funding it, but the engineering director got [...]
1) Message. 2) Review loop. Your homework, as a client who has bought yourself a writer, is to ensure you communicate (1) to your writer, and to keep (2) as tight as you can. I could go on – and I shall do in subsequent posts – but that’s enough homework for now.
