Writing a Whitepaper

A whitepaper is an informational document typically issued by a company or nonprofit to promote a solution to a problem in an industry. Like a pitch deck, it can help gain new investors or customers for a brand by focusing on your entity’s research and solutions.

The first step to writing a great whitepaper is to come up with a subject that your prospects will really care about. It should be about something they aspire to accomplish or something that invokes fear in your reader about things that keep them up at night and really don’t want to happen. Just like all our marketing sections talk about, your topic is what should grab the attention of your reader and make them want to learn more about your research and solution by reading more.

The next step is to write a detailed outline that will guide your reader from your title, to your argument, to the conclusion you are trying to make. Within this outline, you should also address counterpoints to your argument to make it even more powerful and evoke more thought from your reader.

Another key thing you will want to do in your whitepaper is find quotes from reputable sources that back up the assumptions you are making in your argument. If you are talking about the impact of anxiety on the world in today’s age, you could cite statistics from different sources that show the increase in anxiety over time. Make sure these sources are reputable to the point that they will appear undeniable to your reader. Your quotes can be from articles in the wall street journal, from a ted talk done by a professional in the industry you are writing on or even a podcast with a reputable speaker. No matter where your quotes are from simply use them to show that the claims you are making in your whitepaper are not just your own opinion and that they are backed up by experts and research.

When writing your whitepaper, make sure that you are using the tone of a research article. Do not make it like a blog post or a press release for your brand or even an advertisement. It should focus on covering a problem and providing research and a theory or solution for this problem. As always read whitepapers from big competitors in your industry to get a good idea of what a quality whitepaper looks like and be sure to put yourself in the shoes of your reader throughout your writing process.