Several months ago, a widely debated blog post was published that touted the death of the white paper in B2B marketing (I’ve provided a link to the posts and a related Focus expert Q&A.)  As a writer, the thought of the white paper going away wasn’t exactly heartbreaking because authoring one can be a long, arduous affair.  But, is this idea really accurate?   Has the white paper outlived its usefulness in today’s sales and marketing landscape?

As a marketing automation provider, we continue to receive a steady stream of requests from partners, customers and prospects for white papers and best practices.  Our white papers are popular downloads – and many of those website visitors return to the site numerous times.   So my answer is, “No. No way.  Not by a long shot.”  I do think, however, the era of the sales pitch, listen-to-how-great-we-are paper ended a long time ago.

Educational content, an interesting and empirical point of view and actionable information contribute to papers that are so much more compelling than reading endless prose that is nothing more than an over-stuffed meatball sandwich (though I do love a good meatball sub – Dedham House of Pizza rules).

Back to the subject at hand of white papers.  In order to ensure you’re spending time writing papers that are valuable and have the potential to develop a loyal readership, we’ve put together a list of our favorite white paper tips:

1.    Snap out of Clichés.  Your product isn’t the same as everyone else’s so don’t fall into the B2B “parrot” syndrome.  Words and phrases such as: innovative, market leader, scalable and cutting edge almost always make the list of Most Overused.  We’re not saying you have to abandon these words altogether – but use them sparingly and in a meaningful context.
2.    Prove Your Point. Where possible, include reliably sourced metrics.  Data points and sources can really give your paper and ideas credibility, plus graphs and charts can break up the copy.  Speaking of which…
3.    Avoid the Ambien Express. Have you ever downloaded a white paper that would perform double-duty as a powerful sedative?  Keeping technical B2B topics interesting, while retaining the crux of the message can be difficult, but it’s worth the time and energy.  Great papers are read, circulated and saved as resources.
4.    Break It Up.  Having an abstract or introduction at the beginning helps set the tone and expectations for the paper.  Additionally, descriptive headings can help keep the copy more digestible, and if the viewer is so inclined, skim-able.
5.    Substance Trumps Length.  Ever been tasked with writing a 1500-word paper, only to find you’ve covered the salient points in 1200?  Making a compelling case is more important than authoring your corporate equivalent of War and Peace.
6.    Listen to Feedback.  While you might think your paper has split the atom, it may not be resonating with viewers.  Provide readers with a way to contact you or your company with questions, comments, etc.  You may also want to turn to your social media network for suggestions about future topics.  Utilize Twitter, LinkedIn or your blog as ways to solicit feedback about current papers and get ideas for future ones.
7.    Set Your Content Free? The traditional white paper model required someone to complete a form to gain access to white papers.  These days, many websites are making their content available without requiring registration.  It’s easy to argue both sides of the coin – building an opt-in database is important but not discouraging viewers with forms is also critical.  Consider straddling the fence by making introductory level content all-access and more specific, proprietary information registration required.

We hope these tips give you actionable ways to think about your white papers so you don’t need to bury them before their time.  Think the white paper is yesterday’s news?  Please drop us a line or tweet.

It’s hard to believe how fast marketing automation is evolving – and the wealth of information available about the space.  If you have a Google Alert set for “marketing automation,” you know what we mean.

With that in mind, we’d like to give a quick shout-out to a few folks that help the rest of us think about demand generation, lead nurturing and marketing automation in new, creative or fun ways.  Each person’s name is a link to his/her Twitter account for easy follow-ability.

Disclaimer: while many marketing automation vendors are posting great information and articles about these topics, we wanted to keep the list vendor-neutral and focus on individual contributors (who are listed in no particular order).

1.    Carlos Hidalgo – with over 1,700 Tweets, you just know that at least once a day, Carlos is going to share something insightful about marketing automation, especially from his clients’ perspective.
2.    Matt Heinz – his blog “Matt on Marketing” is fresh, funny and contains tons of free tips and advice about more than just marketing automation – from lead nurturing emails to print collateral tips, his posts are worth a read.
3.    Laura Ramos – her knowledge and insights about using marketing solutions and technology to cut through the noise in complex B2B sales cycles are delivered in a clean, no-nonsense style.
4.    Jep Castelein – with the promise of helping clients uncover untapped revenue in their database, Jep launched LeadSloth as a resource center with useful marketing automation tips from an unbiased viewpoint.
5.    Andrew Hunt – his Blog “From Clicked to Closed” gives readers practical inbound marketing advice in an anecdotal style that is refreshing, informative and fun to read.
6.    David Raab – an experienced analyst with a keen eye on using the latest technologies to enhance marketing, his blog “Customer Experience Matrix” provides its readers with useful information, especially during the all-important vendor selection process.
7.    Ardath Albee – her book “eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale” is chock full of actionable information and Ardath is a talented and savvy contributor about hot topics such as marketing automation, social media, lead nurturing and more.
8.    Craig Rosenberg – so the name the Funnelholic makes us crack a smile every time, but Craig backs up his “addiction” with great tips and strategies about B2B marketing, lead generation and lead nurturing.
9.    Mac McIntosh – with 20 years of advertising, marketing and sales experience, he helps readers and clients understand the “big picture” of lead management from pre-pipeline to a closed sale.

We picked these 9 experts because they provide great information, but we know this list is far from complete.   If you’d like to suggest your favorite demand gen or marketing automation expert, please comment below or send us a tweet @NetResults and we’ll include them in a future post.  Happy automating!

B2B Marketing Examiner Camberly Bates calls Net-Results “one cool tool for managing website, tracking and activities” in her latest article, “Social media: is this listening or a new way of broadcasting?”

Camberly is an influential B2B marketer and sales professional with 20 years of experience. She currently runs a business consulting firm that provides a wide range of services “from fine tuning sales and marketing efforts to product management processes”.

Thanks for the honorable mention, Camberly!