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Writing White Papers to Make Some Green
By Elizabeth Creith
We're all looking for a way to pay the bills without selling
our souls. White papers are one of the best-paid forms of
corporate writing, with experienced white paper writers earning
$5,000 to $7,000 per paper.
So what, precisely, is a white paper?
Gordon Graham, one of the top three white paper writers in
the world, says it's a persuasive essay, commissioned by a
company and intended to help readers to understand an issue,
solve a problem or do their jobs better.
A white paper is usually a business-to-business document which
a prospective buyer of a product or service will read before
the sale. It reads rather like a cross between a brochure and
an annual report.
Most white papers are 2,500 to 3,000 words long, five to seven
pages, plus a brief executive summary, and take a week or two
to write.
If you can research facts, find references, do interviews, and
spin a mass of material into a persuasive argument, you have the
skills to write a white paper. A background in journalism is
excellent preparation.
What does a white paper cover?
Some are product backgrounders, providing comprehensive details
of a company's product or service. Some are numbered lists,
such as "Five Must-Ask Questions About Integrated Scanners".
The most common type of white paper provides an overview of an
industry-wide problem, examines the traditional solutions and
their limitations, and recommends a new solution.
Unlike advertising copy, a white paper doesn't make a sales
pitch. The solution offered isn't "the Acme Scan-o-Matic", but
"an integrated scanning system". The white paper is intended
to generate leads and get mindshare. It introduces a solution
in generic terms, and prompts you to contact Acme for more
information.
How much money can I make writing them?
A beginning white paper writer will probably start low, doing
the first one for about $1,500. With every paper – and more
experience – the price can be bumped by about $500 to the top-
level range of $5,000-$7,000.
Where do I find clients?
White papers are commissioned by relatively high-tech industries,
producing goods or services which are complex, expensive or both.
Industries such as software, engineering, insurance and financial
services use them. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
sometimes also need them.
If you already have business-to-business clients, they're probably
doing white papers. Ask if you can have a shot at their next one.
Offer them the beginning price in exchange for a recommendation.
Then move up – don't undercut.
Don't have such a client? Look in fields where the product or
service is innovative, technical and expensive. Think of
equipment manufacturing (from construction to surgical), textiles
(who wrote the white paper for Gore-Tex?), and the ecological
movement. Start with your strengths, but don't be afraid to
branch out.
You can scout existing white papers on the Internet and offer to
improve a weak one, or rewrite it to include later innovations.
Offer a free one to an NGO in exchange for a glowing reference,
or write one for yourself (a "buzz piece") and post it on your
website.
Most white paper writers have all the work they want. If you
have the skills and master this format, there's work in the
field for you, too.
To find out more about white papers, see the discussion
forum at www.whitepapersource.com
Also check out the FAQ at
www.thatwhitepaperguy.com/faq.html
You can download Gordon Graham's free report "How to Pick the
Perfect Flavour for Your Next White Paper", an excellent
overview of white paper types, at
http://www.thatwhitepaperguy.com/report-how-to-pick-the-perfect-white-paper-flavor-register.html
BIO
Elizabeth Creith is a full-time writer living and working in
Northern Ontario, distracted occasionally by her husband, dog
and cat. She blogs about writing, art and life at Elizabeth
Creith's Scriptorium -
http://ecreith.wordpress.com/
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