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<\/p>\nLike other content marketing strategies, whitepapers are great resources to show your knowledge and establish yourself as a thought leader. But this longer form of content may have you wondering where to start. As a financial advisor, you might not consider yourself the most creative writer, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t produce high-quality whitepapers. Here’s how to write a white paper, what it is, and more.<\/p>\n
Before you can get started on writing your first whitepaper, you should know exactly what it is. Whitepapers are known for being informational documentation that is issued by a company to promote features of a solution, product, or service. Typically set in a PDF format and featuring 5-10 pages. Whitepapers should:<\/p>\n
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These seven tips will get you started on your first whitepaper in no time.<\/span><\/p>\n This is the first, and probably hardest, part of writing \u2013 finding a good topic. When writing a whitepaper, you want to choose something broad enough to capture your reader\u2019s attention but specific enough to make a point. Most whitepapers are 5-10 printed pages, which means you have plenty of space to fill. But make sure those pages are used wisely and not just there to take up space.<\/span><\/p>\n On that point, you should always start with an outline. Some novice “financial advisors-turned-writers” may want to skip this step to save time, but outlines are a great way to organize your thoughts. While also figuring out the direction your whitepaper is going to go in. There are few worse feelings than setting out to write something only to get lost in the weeds. An outline will help you stay focused on the points you want to get across.<\/span><\/p>\n Traditionally, whitepapers were produced by scholars and academics to convey very high-level topics. But in the marketing world, whitepapers are a little more casual. Adapt a tone for your financial planning whitepaper that is friendly yet professional. This will help you gain the attention of clients and prospects while also providing valuable content.<\/span><\/p>\n Even the most seasoned writers often get hung up on self-editing and never get a piece completed. To avoid this mistake, try to get as much down as you can in the first draft and edit later. If you edit as you go, you might end up making very little progress and getting frustrated with the process. Instead, try to edit once you have a complete draft and just focus on getting words on paper in the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n Like all content pieces, your whitepaper should be part of a bigger strategy. For example, if you are doing a big content push about tax planning at the beginning of the year, throw a whitepaper into the mix. All of your content should drive the same message and direct traffic back to your website.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been implementing a content marketing strategy in the past, good news \u2013 you won\u2019t have to start your whitepaper from scratch. You can easily repurpose blogs, emails, and social media content and turn it into a longer whitepaper.<\/span><\/p>\n One way we do this is by deciding on a topic for a whitepaper and digging through our past blog posts for information we\u2019ve already written.<\/span><\/p>\n While we didn\u2019t simply copy and paste this content verbatim, we took some of the same ideas that we saw were popular and repackaged them in a new way.<\/span><\/p>\n To get the most traction out of your whitepaper, create a marketing campaign to drive more traffic and visibility to it. This could include pushing it out on your social media channels, sending an email to clients and prospects, and running some pay-per-click or social media ads to attract new audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n You might also want to create a lead-generating landing page to house your whitepaper that requires some basic information from users before they download. With this gated content, you can keep track of who is consuming your content and use these pieces as a platform to reach out in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n Whitepapers are becoming the new norm in the world of content marketing, and for financial advisors, they serve as a great way to get information across, establish yourself as a knowledgeable resource, and generate more web traffic and leads.<\/span><\/p>\n1. Choose a Strong Topic<\/h3>\n
2. Start with an Outline<\/h3>\n
3. Write in a Fun and Professional Tone<\/h3>\n
4. Write First, Edit Second<\/h3>\n
5. Write a Whitepaper as Part of a Broader Strategy<\/h3>\n
6. Recycle Content<\/h3>\n
7. Market Your Whitepaper<\/h3>\n
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