Gordon Graham

How White Papers Have Evolved

The term "white paper" arose early in the 20th century in Great Britain. It was used to distinguish shorter government briefs and position papers with white covers from longer reports and policy books with blue covers. One of the earliest white papers ... Read >

Tips for White Paper Planning and Budgeting

White paper writing is a bit like project management, where time, cost and scope are the three main variables affecting the paper's outcome. Keeping to a project's budget, managing the breadth of the content and getting it all done on schedule can make... Read >

Why Write A White Paper?

In general, vendors publish white papers for two main reasons: either to gather leads, or to stake out a position as a leader in their market space. According to one study, vendors publish white papers for all the following reasons: -Gather leads for ... Read >

How to Define Your White Paper Audience

Understanding who your white paper audience is, and why, when and how they read a white paper, can help you create a more successful document. The goal of the white paper writer should be to appeal to as many different types of readers as possible, kn... Read >

What Defines A White Paper?

There no "rules" or universal standards for what makes a white paper, so many people use this label very carelessly. By my "classic" definition, a white paper contains useful information to help people understand some relatively new, complex or expensive ... Read >

How to Choose the Right White Paper Flavor

Want to write a white paper for your business, but don't know what direction to take the project in? A white paper is a piece of marketing literature sponsored by an organization to describe a new or better way to solve a serious problem. Style-wise its c... Read >

What Is a White Paper?

Ask any 10 people the question, "What is a white paper," and you'll likely get twelve different answers. Here is the best short definition I've ever found, after years of looking: a white paper is a persuasive essay. A white paper is a piece of mark... Read >

How to Avoid White Paper Design Pitfalls

Nothing undermines a good white paper faster than amateurish, uninformed design. If you're not sure how to design a white paper, read on. The white paper you save may be your own. A white paper is neither fish nor fowl, if you've ever heard that expre... Read >

6 Free Places to Publish White Papers

Written a white paper and want to get the word out about it? Of course, you already put it on your website, e-mailed your prospects, told your sales force and notified your channel partners, right? Now, for another $5,000 to $10,000 or more dollars, yo... Read >

Six Deadly White Paper Diseases

Too many white papers today are falling victim to a global pandemic. An afflicted white paper becomes so feeble it can't raise its voice to be heard in a crowd. Sometimes it's even trampled underfoot. And all because the white paper is missing some key el... Read >

Six More Deadly White Paper Diseases

A previous article, Six Deadly White Paper Diseases, looked at six germs that afflict the format of a white paper. Now let's look at six more diseases that can eat away at the content of your white papers. These six diseases are just as dangerousâ€"pe... Read >

How Many White Papers Are "Enough?"

Marketing people often wonder how many white papers their company should publish. How many white papers are really "enough?" The correct answer, of course, is "that depends." One of my clients asks me to write a white paper every time his sales force c... Read >