What are White Papers?

By Diane Boos, reviewed by Lynn Gottlieb

I thought I knew what a white paper was until I took Lynn Gottlieb's Writing White Papers class through Bellevue Community College's Continuing Education program. I was wrong. Not all technical papers are white papers. White papers solve a problem.

Examples of white papers are easier to find than to define. White papers always contain marketing and technical elements in a format, determined by the purpose of the paper and the target audience. White papers are not promotional advertisements. Everything in the white paper is truthful. White papers are not specifications, but do contain technical information.

Purpose

Usually the purpose of the paper is given to you by the client, along with information about the target audience. However, this isn't always the case. If the purpose isn't clear, ask the client questions until it is. The purpose determines the audience.

Audience, audience, audience

Just like all technical writing, the target audience is the key. Every paper begins with a thorough analysis of the primary and secondary target audience and market. This is extremely important for white papers because if the content doesn't fit the audience, it fails. Being aware of the secondary audience and market is one way white papers differ from usual technical writing.

Most marketing audiences are comprised of business decision-makers, while technical audiences are the technical decision-makers. If the purpose is to provide technical information, then the technical section has the highest concentration of information. A marketing audience needs less technical and more marketing information.

White paper format

There is no set format for the information in a white paper; however most papers follow one of two general forms.

Decision-Maker's Information	Formats Normally Used For
Decision-Maker's Information	Technical Audiences	Marketing Audiences
Marketing	Abstract	Executive summary The problem
Technical	The problem statement Understanding the product's design How the product solves the problem	Previous approaches and solutions; how they work Your solution How your product or service implements your solution
Marketing	Conclusion	Costs and benefits of your solution Recommendations

The intended purpose determines the document format and target audience of the paper. Most business decision-makers look at information in the first and last sections, while technical decision-makers look at information in the technical section.

Skills needed for writing white papers

White papers need to be clear, concise, and easy to read. The marketing information needs to be presented in a manner so that technical audiences can grasp the information. The same is true for the technical information. Many a time, the marketing audience passes the paper to its technical people for an evaluation of the technical section.

The paper should be visually pleasing with lots of white space. All graphics should relate to the information and be intelligible to both the technical and non-technical audience.

The information must be truthful. Remember, many a time, white papers are used as references. As a white paper writer you need the ability to:

Grasp complex topics quickly
Interview marketers and subject matter experts (SMEs)
Conduct research

In addition, the usual skills for designing your information and organizing your project are needed.

References:

Ian Hayes, What Makes a Good White Paper

Michael A. Stelzner, How to Write a White Paper - A White Paper on White Papers

Examples:
Bitpipe's First Annual White Paper Awards

(This article is used with permission of the STC Puget Sound Chapter's Sound Off! newsletter. The article has gone through minor editing as per Indus publishing style and policy. Diane Boos is a member of the Communications Committee. Lynn Gottlieb is Writing White Papers instructor at Bellevue Community College, USA.)

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