7 Tips For Writing Effective White Papers

White papers are an excellent way to showcase your company’s abilities and to prove to prospective clients that you can solve their problems. These documents - first used by governments to argue for policy decisions - are natural vehicles for businesses who want to foster trust and introduce themselves to prospective clients.

Why? Because a white paper is not an overt sales tool. It seeks to educate and persuade. By making a case for a company’s strategies, it supports and validates them. An effective white paper can help a company establish itself as a “thought leader.”

The development of a white paper is a demanding and time-consuming process. Specialized knowledge and writing ability are essential. For these reasons, many of my financial services clients - pressed for time and short of internal resources - are asking me for help.

Here are seven guidelines to bear in mind when formulating a white paper:

1. Know the audience. Who is going to read your white paper? What are their key concerns? White papers should help people make decisions, so it is critical to know as much as you can about your audience so you can focus on what’s most meaningful to them.

2. Do the research. Preparation is essential to effective white-paper writing. Conduct detailed interviews with the experts and read everything you can on the topic, including technical data.

3. Keep it short. An effective white paper can be as short as four or five pages, but it should never exceed 12 pages. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to wear out your welcome with your target audience.

4. Identify problems, offer solutions. Your white paper should lay out the problem faced by your target audience and demonstrate how you can help with it. That means you must take a position, argue for it, and present compelling evidence that you can do what you say you can.

5. Focus on the benefits. Your readers don’t care how great your firm is or how smart your people are. They want to know how you can help them solve problems or address challenges. Make sure your readers see how they will benefit from working with you.

6. Provide an executive summary. Put an abstract at the beginning of your white paper. Your readers may not have the time to read the entire document and will appreciate having you hit the high points in an executive summary.

7. Be realistic about the time commitment. Build time into your schedule for fact-finding and research, as well as interviews with subject-matter experts. Remember, the white paper will have to make a case for your strategies or solutions, so it pays to invest time in good writing.

Use white papers to demonstrate your depth of knowledge and expertise. In the process, you can win new business and strengthen your existing relationships. Take advantage of the opportunity to leverage this powerful marketing tool.

© Eve B. Rose, ABC, CIMA®

Eve B. Rose, ABC, CIMA® is a writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience in marketing and organizational communications. In addition to marketing brochures and other collateral, she writes white papers, shareholder report commentaries, newsletter and magazine articles, and management communications - among other things. To learn more about Eve and her services, visit www.everose.com

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Why Take An Online Parenting Class?

There are many reasons to take an online parenting class. We all know that children do not come with an owner’s manual. There are plenty of resources for parenting advice and parenting tips. There are books by the hundred’s and let’s not forget all the free advice from other parents, friends, relatives and last but not least mom. It can be a parenting nightmare sifting through all that advice and make it fit your particular child and situation. As a parent, it is important to feel confident in how you are parenting your children and not feel so guilty if some advice you are given, just doesn’t work for you.

“What we’ve done with experts in parenting is to tell people that they don’t know anything, and they have to rely on somebody that’s done this and done that. We undermine some of the greatest wisdom we’ve had handed to us: what we know intuitively. I’m not saying that the experts are wrong. I just think that this attitude has weakened the self-confidence of parents.” - Mary Morgan widow of Dr. Benjamin Spock

Perhaps you find yourself wanting to learn some new ways to handle some new behavior problems that have developed in your children. Maybe you children are moving into new stages and you feel like you could use some help dealing with your toddler’s growing independence or your school age child’s lack of motivation in school or your moody teenager who doesn’t want to spend time with the family anymore. Taking the time to improve your parenting skills is time well spent and online parenting classes can be just what you are looking for.

Finding a parenting style that fits your values and gives you a structure in which you can effectively discipline and guide your child toward becoming a happy, responsible adult can be confusing and difficult. Having access to a real person who is trained in a positive parenting style and is effective in teaching it, can be expensive or may not even be available in your particular geographical area.

What if find yourself involved in a custody dispute while going through a divorce? Or maybe you or your spouse have an anger or addiction problem that are impacting the family and children and the courts have required you to take a parenting class.

Even if you can find an in-person class in your area, it may not fit your schedule. Having to juggle your work schedule, set up a babysitter on a regular basis and drive to a location it can turn into a logistical nightmare. And, you have to listen to what may be boring lectures, or what if you find that the parenting style being taught is something that you just cannot get behind.

Taking a parenting class online will not only train you to be a better parent, it can also help you fulfill the obligation of completing a parenting class for the courts or a custody dispute.

Phyllis Grannis is co-owner of LifeMatters.com. Learn about a positive parenting style which is available through online parenting classes. Take the stress out of parenting and become confident in your role as a parent.

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