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D.D. Johnice | May 2009
B Deshannee’ Johnice
AccordingtoarecentYankelovich/Harrisstudy,“Morethan95%ofexecutivesmaintainahighinterestinlearningaboutandinvestinginnewproductsandserviceseveninadowneconomy”
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.That’sgoodnewsforyou,business‐to‐business(B2B)marketers.WhileothermarketersareNightingforamodicumofconsumers’attentionandscrapingfordoublethereturnonhalfthemarketingspend,yourtargetaudience—executivesandbusinessowners—isreceptive,andyourmosteffectivemarketingtool—thewhitepaper—justhappenstoberecession‐proof.Whitepapersareacuriousamalgamofindustryreports,magazinearticles,andmarketingbrochures.Unlikeadvertisementswhichsimplytoutacompany’swares,whitepapersconveyapositiononanissue,orproposeasolutiontoaproblem,affectingagivenindustryoraudienceinordertopersuadereaderstopurchasethewriter’sproductsorservices.Underanyeconomicconditions,whitepapershavethreeadvantagesoverothermarketingtools:(1)Executivesconsiderwhitepapersmorecrediblethanadvertisementsandpromotionalmaterials,(2)whitepaperscanbe
HOW TO
 WRITE A LEAD-GENERATINGINTRODUCTION FOR YOUR WHITE PAPER
 
WHAT’S INSIDEIntroductionUnderstanding the Introduction
 -Definition-Purpose-Introduction Components
 Targeting Your Audience
-Identify Your Audience-Identify Your Audience’s Challenges-Tailor Your Solutions-Speak Their Language
Writing the Introduction
-Develop an Outline-Observe Simple Writing Rules-Edit Your Introduction
Optimizing Your IntroductionResourcesIndexWorks Cited
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D.D. Johnice | May 2009
producedrelativelycheaply,and(3)whitepaperscangenerateatruckloadofqualiNiedsalesleadsonaskateboard‐sizedbudget.Inits2006surveyofexecutivesanddecision‐makers,marketingintelligenceNirmSiriusDecisions,foundthat65%ofparticipantspreferredwhitepapersoverothermarketingtacticsatnearlyeverystageofthebuyingprocess
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.ThepercentageisevenhigherforITexecutives,70%ofwhomsaytheyrelyonwhitepaperstomakepurchasingdecisions
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.Whitepapersedgedoutbrochures,productdemonstrationsandadvertisementsbecausetheyoffersolutionsnotsalespitches.Whitepapersnotonlydelivermoreandbetterinformationthanothermarketingtactics,buttheyarealsomorecost‐effective—costinglittleornothingtoproduceanddistribute.Youcancontracttheservicesofanexperiencedwriterforanaverageof$107perhour
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.Youcanpurchasemarketresearchreportsforaslittleasafewhundreddollars.And,sincemostwhitepapersarepublishedonline,therearenoprinting,publishingordistributioncosts.Youcanfurtherreducethesecostsbyconductingyourownmarketresearchandwritingthewhitepaperyourself—anoptionyou’relikelyconsideringifyou’rereadingthisarticle.Preferredbyexecutivesandcheaptoproduce,couldwhitepapersgetanybetter?Yes.Whitepapersalsogeneratemoresalesleadsperdollarinvested.DanDershem,CEOofsoftwaredeveloper,LeanLogistics,creditshislibraryofwhitepaperswithdoublinghissalesleadsatone‐sixthofthecostofproducinghiscompany’susualWebinars
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.Similarly,Hoover’s,Inc.attributesone‐thirdofitssalesleadsand20%ofitssubscriptionstoitswhitepapers
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.Thisallbodeswellforyouandyourwhitepaper.But,there’sonethingworkingagainstyou—yourcompetitorsarewritingwhitepaperstoo.So,howdoyoumakeyourwhitepaperstandoutfromthepack?Howdoyougetpotentialclientstodownloadorreadyourwhitepaper?WriteanappealingIntroduction.Inhisbook,
WritingWhitePapers
,MichaelStelznerlikenstheIntroductionsectiontoa30‐secondmovietrailerforafeatureNilm.Stelznerwrites,“agoodIntroductiongivesawayjustenoughinformationtoenticepeopletogotothetheaterwithoutgivingawaythefullplotofthemovie”
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.AgoodIntroductionwillenticeexecutivestodownloadyourwhitepaperandprovideyoutheirvaluablecontactinformation.WhetheryouarewritingyourNirstwhitepaper,orrevisingaless‐than‐successfulone,you’llwanttobravethecomingparagraphs.Ifyoudo,youwilllearnthedeNinitionandpurposeofanIntroduction.YouwilllearnhowtotargetyourIntroductiontoyourintendedaudience,howtowritetheIntroduction,andhowtooptimizeyourIntroductiontoincreasethenumberofqualiNiedsalesleadsgenerated.
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LatelyI’mdownloadingandreadingatleast2‐3whitepapersamonth.WhatusuallygetsmyattentionistheIntroductionsection.IreadtheNirstcoupleofparagraphsandeitherI’mhookedorI’mmovingon.Thereallygoodwhitepapersdon’ttrytosellmesomethingrightoutofthebag.I’dratherreadabouthowtheproducthasbeenusedinsimilarcompanies,andaboutsuccessfuloutcomes.Iknowatleastoneofourrecentpurchases,astory‐tellingworkshop,cametobebecauseofsomethingIreadinawhitepaper.
”
Marita Scarfi, Acting-CEO/COO,Organic, Inc.
 
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D.D. Johnice | May 2009
Understanding the Introduction
Afterthetitle,theIntroductionistheNirstthingpotentialreaderswillsee,theonlythingtheyknowaboutyourwhitepaperandtheonlythingstandingbetweenyouandsalesleads.That’salotofpressuretoplaceonafewparagraphs.
Definition
TheIntroductionisabriefpreambletotheinformationcoveredinyourwhitepaper.Unlikeanexecutivesummary,theIntroductionisnotasummaryoftheinformationcoveredinyourwhitepaper.Instead,itisasortofadvertisementforyourwhitepaper—grabbingyouraudience’sattention,initiatingaconnectionandhighlightingyourwhitepaper’smostimportantfeatures.
Purpose
TheIntroductionservesathree‐foldpurpose:(1)capturingreaders’interest,(2)previewingthebestfeaturesofyourwhitepaper,and(3)enticingreaderstoprovidesalesleads.Capturingreaders’interestislikegettingthemtonoticeyouacrossacrowdedroom.Giventhattherearemillionsofwhitepapersoutthere,manyofthemwrittenandpublishedbybig‐namewritersandorganizations,that’satallorderbutonethatcanbemadelesssoifyougiveuponattractingallreadersandfocusonattractingonlythosereaderswhoaremostlikelytobeinterestedinthesubject(s)aboutwhichyouarewriting.PreviewingthebestfeaturesofyourwhitepaperisabitsimplerifyourememberStelzner’smovietraileranalogy.Whatwillittaketogetyourtargetaudienceintothetheatre?Youwillneedtoshowyouraudiencethatyouunderstandtheirmostpressingproblemandthatyouhaveasolution.Onceyou’vepeakedyouraudience’sinterestandshownthemthepreview,you’reonestepawayfromyourgoal,landingsalesleads.Mostwhitepapersarepublishedonlineinwhitepaperdatabasesthatrequirereaderstoprovidecontactinformationinordertodownloadthefullwhitepaper.InterestedreadersseeonlythetextoftheIntroductionandmustusethattodecidewhethertheywanttoreadthefullwhitepaperandwhetherit’sworthprovidingtheircontactinformation.IfyourIntroductionservesitsintendedpurpose,readerswillprovidetheircontactinformation—yoursaleslead.YouhaveonlyafewminutesandafewparagraphstofulNilltheIntroduction’spurpose,soyouhadbetterwritesomecompellingcopy.TheIntroductionofagamingwhitepaperpublishedatAccenture.comisshownbelow.
Today,games,gamingandgambling–forwhichwehavecoinedthetermG3–representa$345bnglobalbusiness,eclipsingboththemovieandmusicindustries.Astheplanet’spremierentertainmentchoice,G3isnotonly growingbutalsochanging–rapidlyevolvingtotheimperativeofawiredworldandshiftingconsumertastes.Readyornot, playersinthesectorshouldnotunderestimateG3’spowerovertheirbusinessesortheenormousopportunitiesitrepresents.ThisarticledescribesrecentdevelopmentsintheG3spaceandraisessomeofthekeychallengesfacedbybothincumbentandnewG3industryplayersasrecountedthroughinterviewswithover50seniorexecutivesselectedfromtheG3industrieswithintheUK.Itisaimedatmediamajorsandstartups,accessplatformproviders(web,iTVandmobile),entertainmentandchannelbrands,selectedgames,gamingandgamblingproductdevelopersandserviceproviders
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TheNirstparagraphcapturesreaders’interestbyidentifyingalucrativemarketopportunityandhighlightingcurrentmarkettrends.Italsotellsthereaderwhytheyshouldlisten—because,“readyornot”,somethingbigishappening.
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