by Jennifer Gibbs

Created on: September 30, 2010

If you’re looking for a fast and effective way to increase your web traffic or boost your subscriber base, about the best thing you can do is provide visitors with access to a free, downloadable white paper. Knowing this and doing this, however, are two very different things.

While white papers sound rather intimidating, professional and beyond your grasp, nothing could be further from the truth. No matter what you do, or who you do it for, your business has multiple opportunities to write and publish a white paper that will leave your readers begging for more.

Here are a few simple tricks, tips and tactics that can make your white paper dreams a reality:

White papers don’t have to be very long. As a matter of fact, some of the best white papers are under 5 pages – formatted! That means that by adding in graphics or other “wing-dings”, you can easily keep the total word count under 3,000 words. White papers should be focused around one specific thing. The point here is that you aren’t trying to write a book, you’re just writing a “Special Report”. Focus on one thing, talk about it in detail, add in a conclusion and a call to action and you’ve got a white paper in hand. White papers can be built on a successful blog, article or web page that you’ve already created and just want to beef up and add on a few bells and whistles.

Don’t forget that when it comes to writing a white paper, you don’t have to do it yourself. You can actually hire on a work-for-hire freelance writer to write, edit and format the content for you and simply publish it in your name. That’s not plagiarism, that’s the joy of ghostwriting! By making your white paper “gated” content (meaning that the person downloading your digital paper first has to provide you with their first name and email address), you can not only entertain and entice new traffic but also build your subscriber base.

Offering your white paper for free is a great way to boost your traffic stats and encourage new people to visit your website. Never be afraid to use a great white paper as an incentive for bringing “fresh blood” to your site. Look for popular news headlines, celebrity gossip or other attention-grabbing details and find ways to tie those headlines or stories to your particular business and industry. When the two meet, you’ve got the beginnings of a highly popular white paper! Hunt down a HOARD of statistics and facts that you can incorporate into your white paper to increase your credibility. These also make great text boxes or can be turned into graphic tables or charts that will increase reader attention and interest.

If you want to write a great white paper, make it a point to start downloading other relevant white papers that already exist for inspiration and guidance. While you should never “copy” someone else’s white paper, using it to come up with ideas and formatting guidelines for your own masterpiece is a more than acceptable practice. Learn from the pros! Finally, be sure to offer your white paper as a PDF document. Not only are PDF documents easier to protect from plagiarism or stealing, they’re also more professional and more trusted digital download than .exe eBooks.

Writing a white paper doesn’t have to be intimidating! With a little inspiration and courage, you can transform a great idea into the most powerful component of your marketing mix.

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