Part 4: 'Why a White Paper Can't Be a Dry
Technical Treatise'
Dear Nam,
ALL people make buying decisions based on emotion.
Not logic.
Yes, this is really, actually true. Engineers,
accountants, executives, attorneys, housewives, and
ministers - and butchers, bakers and candlestick makers -
We all fundamentally make all of our decisions based on
emotion, not logic.
Logic supports our emotions and is used to justify
our decisions after we have made them. Logic plays
a part, but emotion is the core ingredient.
Some people think emotion has no place in busi-
ness-to-business (B2B) marketing. Those people
are likely to tell you that your white paper should be
'just the facts ma'am.'
Sorry: They're absolutely, 100% totally dead wrong.
You can use those people to write instruction manuals
and employee handbooks, but keep them out of your sales
and marketing department. This sort of thinking is exactly
why most business-to-business marketing is so DULL.
The Cardinal Sin in all business writing is to be boring!
OK, so how do you use emotion in a white paper?
When I write a white paper, I use a 29-point content
checklist. 15 of the points specifically address various
aspects of using emotion. We don't have time for all
15 but I'll give you three right now:
1) The introduction should suck 'em in.
Having a hard time writing that first paragraph?
This is going to make it a whole lot easier for you.
Begin with The Conversation That's Inside The
Reader's Head - Right Now.
There is an *emotional* reason why the person
asked you for this document. What is it? What
are they irritated about? What are they worried
about? What opportunity are they trying to
capitalize on?
If that person were to launch into a rant
right now, what would they say?
Start with that. It'll suck 'em in instantly.
2) Agitate.
You're not done yet. Once you've reinforced
the conversation inside their head in step one,
take it a step further. Tell them about even
*more* problems they'll have if they don't
consider all of the data. Tell a horror story
or two, if that's appropriate. Point out a few
more problems they probably haven't thought of
yet.
3) Have a call to action at the end. Explain
that there may be consequences for putting
this off. The clock is ticking, but they can
schedule a consultation with your company in
which you will review the five most critical
success factors in this kind of project, blah
blah blah.
Note: The call to action is NOT a call to buy
your product. It's a call to take the very next
step in the buying process. Maybe that's a
phone consultation, or a strategy review, or
some kind of evaluation. It's probably not
a purchase order - so don't ask for one then.
Please understand, there's a difference
between emotion and hype. Your message doesn't
need to sound like late night television in order
to provoke emotion. You need to figure out what
your customers love, and what they hate, what
keeps them awake at night, what gives them ulcers
and what catastrophic events they dread.
You need to observe what aspects of their job
they're emotional about, and design your products,
services, and white paper to address those felt needs.
You want to balance your sales message
and emotion with credible factual data, so you
build a strong, persuasive guide that people can't
stop reading.
Tomorrow is Part 5:
'Why Promoting Your White Paper is More Important
Than the Paper Itself.'
Perry Marshall
http://www.perrymarshall.com/whitepaper
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