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 fact, I’ll give you an outline, right in this post.

It’s the outline for a technical benefits white paper I wrote some years ago; the client has given me permission to use it. You may go ahead and steal it. After all, I stole the title for this post from Abbie Hoffman’s famous Steal This Book, so it seems only fair.

Your company’s hardware acceleration technology relieves system bottlenecks by offloading compute-intensive algorithms from software running on host processors to dedicated hardware. The task is to create a paper that interests engineers in your technology and convinces them that your approach makes sense.

Summary

This is 1-3 paragraphs on what the paper covers. It answers the reader’s question, “Why should I bother reading this?”

Many marketing communications writers defer writing the summary until after the body of the paper is finished. I prefer to take a stab at one at the outline stage. It shows my reviewers what I understand they want to convey and gives them the opportunity to straighten me out if need be.

Since you plan to discuss your own technology in the paper, mention it in the summary. Don’t be coy and spring it on the reader at the end.

Acceleration Opportunity

The Market and Competitive Threat
The Application
The Algorithm

In this section and subsections, you describe the landscape and trends around acceleration technology: who’s buying it (citations of recent market data help to make this more credible), how they’re using it (e.g., for speeding up anti-virus scanning at enterprise e-mail gateways), and the mathematics behind the algorithm.

It’s a good idea to put some buckshot in the air and point out to readers the necessity of their doing something different. The essence of a white paper is persuasion, and the subtle suggestion that obsolescence awaits readers who do nothing, goes a long way toward convincing them to act.

Your Design

State of the Industry
Your Solution

You’ve led the reader to the point in the paper at which you describe your own approach to acceleration technology.

It’s useful to describe existing approaches to acceleration – e.g., sacrifice network throughput in the interest of security, throw more boxes at the problem, create a custom chip, rewrite the software more efficiently – but for the sake of balance, the reader needs to understand that there are downsides associated with each one. Each approach also meets several different factors with varying degrees of satisfaction: cost, time to market, maintainability, performance, standards-maturity, and so on.

Your acceleration technology is not the fastest hardware and not the fastest software, but it combines and optimizes the mix of the two for a new approach, and it most nearly satisfies all of the selection factors. You may also leave an out for the next generation of your accelerator, which will indeed satisfy all of today’s factors.

Case Studies/Use Cases

XML Processing
Network Security
Cryptography

If you’ve kept your readers this far, it’s a good idea to trot out instances where your acceleration technology is in use, preferably with statistics to demonstrate that it’s better, cheaper and faster than what was in place before.

Case studies within a white paper are a relief to a reader. “I’m interested only in cryptography, so I get to skip the other two. That will help me get through this paper faster.” Don’t try to make all of your case studies fascinating to all readers; just ensure that each one will resonate for its particular audience.

If you can drop names of customers, it’s a huge benefit.

Hardware Acceleration-Main Messages

Conclusion
Follow Us

Now, you tell them what you’ve told them. This is useful because some readers will cut right to the chase and read the end, then go back for the body of the paper only if the conclusion convinces them that they’ve missed something.

The main messages are a series of bullet points (preferably three) that skim the highlights of your paper’s argument. Again, these help the impatient reader qualify the paper as worthy of his/her time and effort.

Your conclusion picks up where the Summary left off, adding more detail about your technology and its real-world applications and savings.

“Follow Us” used to be “For More Information.” If your paper has accomplished its goal, readers don’t need more information from you. They want to go out to the Web and follow you to see what other information they can find about you. Sure, you give them a phone number and a landing page, but point them to your presence in social media and on blogs.

John White of venTAJA Marketing posts about technology writing from the perspective of the marketing manager. It’s dirty work, but somebody has to do it.

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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 nowadays?)

Or, do you find you need multiple writers for the different stations along your Content Buffet?

Facts of Life about Writers

A man’s got to know his limitations.

-“Dirty Harry” Callahan

Doug Clarke of Hologram Publishing posts that “Good writers, like good singers or dancers, are versatile in numerous topics, formats and genres, and are not just one-trick ponies.” In fact, most marketing communications writers become drawn to other types of content by their clients. “You did an article for a local magazine; can you write our Web content?” Six months later, the writer is hanging out a new shingle.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but as a marketing manager, you have to be sensitive to where your writers’ limitations lie, and be careful not to push them past it, or it will blow up in your face.

4 Questions before Stretching a Marcomm Writer

Here are four questions it’s perfectly fair for you to ask before nudging your marketing communications writer one step closer to his limitations (especially if you’re not sure of what you yourself are getting into):

1. “Can you describe a project in which the format was new to you, and you delivered content that made the customer happy?” Let’s face it – I need the content, and you know writing, but I’m trying to reduce my risk. Tell me a story about when you went through this before, and convince me that you’re up to it; otherwise, I don’t want to chance it.
2. “Can you show me a sample from that project?” Slam dunk if he can, and still iffy if he cannot. He should be able to give you something to allay your concerns, or else point you to another writer.
3. “What method will you follow in writing this?” (Not, “Do you have a method?”) This is part of how he should persuade you that he’s up to the task. If he has written all of your press releases, but never done a case study, ask him how he would plan to go about it.
4. “What do you need from me to write this? Are you able to help drive the project, or do I need to do that?” How much support do you need as marketing manager to drive review loops, work with the designer, birddog subject matter experts or customers, and generally get things done on a project with which you’re not familiar? Somebody – either you or your writer – is going to have to run the project, so you’d better make sure that your expectations line up with those of your writer.

I recommend that you get satisfactory answers to these questions before you dive into the other important questions:

1. How long will it take?
2. How much will it cost?

If you’re not comfortable basing your business decision on the answers to the first few questions, then great answers to the last two questions won’t do you much good.

John White of venTAJA Marketing posts about technology writing from the perspective of the marketing manager. It’s dirty work, but somebody has to do it.

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilspicys/ / CC BY 2.0

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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 couple of years and can finally weave a parable around it.

In short, my response is:

You say “fake words” and “cheerleading” as if they were bad things.

Here’s why.

Sporting Event = Game + Cheerleading

I’ve taken to attending football and basketball games at my sons’ school of late. It didn’t take me very long to develop a deep appreciation for the role played by the top-flight cheerleading squad in these sporting events: they cheer, kick, jump, form pyramids, turn somersaults, sell raffle tickets and generally spice up the evening. They’re a show unto themselves, really, and I can easily forget about the game I’m supposed to be watching, for all the talent, energy and acrobatic skill they display.

Cheerleaders are unflappable. Regardless of the team’s plight or good fortune, their tone is upbeat, emotionally engaging and designed to make you feel good about being there. It’s a job they do well, and we spectators need them to do it for us. They don’t put points on the board, but it’s great performing nonetheless.

Meanwhile, on the field or the court, the game is in one of three states:

1. It’s a wipeout, and we’re winning.
2. It’s a wipeout, and we’re losing.
3. It’s a close game, and it’s making us nervous.

The marvelous thing about cheerleaders is that, regardless of the state, they’re doing the same thing. Sure, maybe they’re doing the touchdown cheer less often in state 2, but they’re still cheering almost constantly, with smiles on their faces, pom-poms in their hands and high kicks in their legs.

Why?

Because their voice is an important part of the game, too. Other people have the job of scoring points; cheerleaders have a different job.

Writing and Cheerleading

As a marketing manager, you’re responsible for telling your organization’s story and starting the conversations that Sales will continue. But you can’t use the same voice or tone for every story and conversation. (If you do, you must be tired of it.)

What if “fluff” and cheerleading are an important part of your game, too?

Think of the marketing pieces you put out: white papers, press releases, case studies, technology overviews, market research, annual reports, corporate backgrounders, and all of the copy on your Website. Can you honestly look at all that content and say that it’s pure game, pure fact, pure attempts to persuade prospects with may-the-best-company-win objectivity?

Sure, you give your writers access to your executives, to industry analysts, to your internal data and research, and they give you back valuable content that Sales can use to persuade prospects and beat your competitors.

But fess up; you’ve also got some corporate cheerleading in there, haven’t you? A little rah-rah-sis-boom-bah-go-team-go that puts a sunny face on things, even if sales are tanking and your technology is under scrutiny by the European Union?

Can you be that honest with your marketing communications writers? Can you tell them, “That report you wrote last month was dead-on objective, but this needs to be an upbeat piece on how our product is making life better for soccer moms. Don’t mention our ongoing patent litigation; just paint a favorable picture. It’s what we need right now.”

More crucially, when your colleagues start making snide remarks about “fluff pieces,” can you take the heat?

Yes, you can. As a marketing manager you’ve done your job by providing both objective and “soft” content. Just tell the cynics the parable of the football game and the cheerleaders.

John White of venTAJA Marketing posts about technology writing from the perspective of the marketing manager. It’s dirty work, but somebody has to do it.

photo credit: avinashkunnath

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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 draft to the client, and the version as published. She was right. They had castrated it by cutting out four informative graphics from a 10-page paper.

“They must think people read white papers as if they were the Dead Sea Scrolls,” she continued. “They don’t read them, they skim them. I use the graphics as eye-hooks to give readers places to park their attention for a second. They’re a big part of the persuasive element in any white paper. Without graphics, people’s eyes glaze over.”

I started to go through the published version but had to stop because I could feel my eyes glazing over. It hurt.

The Why of Graphics in White Papers

In “Punch Up Your Writing with Graphics,” Kevin Gault quotes two prominent marketing communications writers on the topic:

“There’s a connection between visual appeal and comprehension. We’re attracted to visually appealing and pleasing design elements, and making a white paper more visually appealing helps readers grasp important messages about products.”   -Jonathan Kantor, The Appum Group

“Words have to be read, but visuals provide instant communication. Properly used, graphics let you add a visual element to your message. They can engage readers by visually telling a story.” Roger C. Parker, author of Design to Sell

Did the writer ask why the client had castrated the paper removed the graphics?

“The marketing manager said that none of the other pieces in this part of their content library uses graphics, and they wanted to maintain consistency.”

When Writers Care Too Much

A point of order: I deliberately avoid the term “copywriter,” because it sounds like “hired gun,” somebody with no skin in the game, who is merely writing to keep the wolf away from the door. In fact, most business writers I’ve worked with put a great deal of themselves into their work and take proverbial pride in ownership of their product. Occasionally, this pride goes unrequited – or altogether spurned – when the client shoots himself in the foot. But hey, the words belong ultimately to the client, and the marketing communications writer who learns to deal with such setbacks will last longer in the profession.

The Moral

Good marketing communications writers go beyond telling your story to telling your story in a way that people will want to read. Graphics are a big part of this, so don’t castrate your white paper by cutting them out.

John White of venTAJA Marketing posts about technology writing from the perspective of the marketing manager. It’s dirty work, but somebody has to do it.

photo credit: Flynn Wynn

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“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 out about this, so we’ll put the articles on the developer Web site. We’ll give you the topics, and you do the rest: interview the engineers, talk to the product managers, write it up, circulate drafts, edit it and submit it to the Web team.”

That was about all we told him, and he did all of that, for several months. He delivered reliably and on time.

Turns out that what we told him to do is not what we wanted him to do.

“There’s too much fluff in the articles,” observed the VP of Engineering. “We need more meat instead of muffins.”

The writer was perplexed. “I’m doing what you told me to do, but if you want me to turn up the technical heat, I will. But I assume that, if you just wanted pages of technical language, you’d have the Documentation group do this. You hired a technical marketing writer to help persuade people to work on the platform, right?” He underlined it.

Right.

“Can you give us something more technical, yet not turn the content into a user guide?” we asked.

“Sure. I just need to know whether you want meat, muffins, or meaty muffins,” he said. A good way to put it. Must be why he’s in marketing.

The articles got deeper and the VP of Engineering became more pleased. People started reading them more, and spending more time on them, according to our Web logs.

Moral: When you hire a writer, be sure to explain how shallow or deep you want the content to be. Meat or muffins. Corporate cheerleading (I always enjoy envisioning that) or something that a developer will pass on to a colleague, maybe even retweet.

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“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 it without a good overview. They’ll just be confused and ask us a jillion questions.”

The other agreed. “You’re right. We also need to get the attention of people using competing products, though, and prospects new to the space.”

“I think it’s a really compelling technical story. If the paper’s done right, Sales could probably use it for lead generation, we could hand it out at trade shows, maybe get some trade magazines to pick it up.”

“There’s a lot we could do with it. We could use excerpts in blog posts and collateral, follow up with case studies and syndicate it.”

“Good idea. So, when are you going to write it?”

“I’m not going to write it. Why don’t you?”

“I don’t have the time.”

“Neither do I.”

Silence.

“I know: let’s have the tech writers do it. Let’s talk to Tech Pubs and see whether they can cut us a writer for a few days. We can push them some graphics and text, and they can re-purpose some of the product documentation.”

“OK. Then we can do a technical review on it and get it out there.”

- – - – -

These two engineers have noble goals. They understand the value of a good technology marketing piece – in this case, a white paper – and how it can help them explain their technology to prospects. They’ve even been kissed by the marketing muse, judging from the way they want to use the paper.

So, what’s wrong with this picture?

They’re forgetting about the important difference between a technical publication and a technology marketing piece:

Persuasion

Both groups of writers need to inform, and they need to deliver technical information and details accurately. But technical writers don’t need to persuade anybody of anything; the customer has already bought the product. Marketing writers work long before the purchase has taken place; their stock in trade is persuasion.

These engineers require a writer who is able to deliver information in a balanced way – so that the reader doesn’t feel insulted – yet simultaneously unveil the advantages of the company’s product and persuade the reader to take the next step: pick up the phone, register for a demo, subscribe to a feed, pull out a credit card.

It isn’t that technical writers don’t know how to persuade like this; it’s that they’re unaccustomed to doing it in user documentation.

The moral: Leave your documentation to Tech Pubs, and your persuasive pieces to Marketing.

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“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 manic about the second question.

“If you don’t have a clear, specific call to action at the end of the piece, you’ve wasted an opportunity to capitalize on the reader’s attention,”  she intones. She’s right, but we still manage to squander the chance most of the time.

She’ll write a business-to-business case study or white paper, and draft a “For More Information” section at the end with a link to a newsletter sign-up, or a podcast, or a landing page for a demo of the product. None of which exists, but any of which is relatively easy to cobble together.

“Too much work,” says the Web group.

“We’d have to feed it with new content,” say the folks in Marketing.

“Never mind that; we just want them to buy,” bawls Sales.

So the 24-karat calls to action in the draft degenerate into a link to a verbose product page or – ack! – a link to the company’s home page or – gasp! – a phone number.

It’s like a Bridge to Nowhere. Sink time, money and effort into good, persuasive content in a Web medium, then ask readers to follow up the way they did in 1977: by calling a toll-free number.

What calls to action do you use? Are they a hard sell in your organization?

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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 to pick the writer and is picking the topics for most of the articles.)

In a meeting yesterday over a draft of the seventh article in two months, I saw the light begin to go on for him.

“You know, we need to stop and think about these articles,” he said. “My boss tells me the ones so far have been a little bit ‘too slick,’ but this latest one is a much deeper dive into interfaces and newfuncs and libraries. This is a really different kind of thing, isn’t it?”

Uh, yes. It is.

I kept hearing the f-word – fluff – applied to the first six articles, usually from people with an engineering background. (In fact, I posted on it.)

• I looked at it as technical marketing content; they looked at it as confetti.
• I was being mindful of the role of persuasion in getting people to adopt the platform; they want to dive in and start writing code.
• I’m focusing on the external audience that doesn’t know what the platform is for; they’re thinking about people who breathe the same exhaust as they do and want to reduce memory footprint while enabling statically linked window management.

“I need you to strategize some more about these articles before we do any more writing,” he said to me. “We need to start answering a couple of basic questions, like ‘Why should I want to register and download the kit?’ and ‘Why should I move to the new platform from the old version?’”

I wish I’d thought of that.

He told me that the marketing manager had wanted to hire a writer who was a a real writer, but he had wanted somebody who knew the platform and knew this building and the people in it, which is how we ended up with our current writer. I think we’re all bouncing back and forth between wanting a technical marketing writer and a technical writer, between needing to persuade readers and assuming they’re already convinced.

Have you run into this? Do you cut it with the same knife?

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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.

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