Description
Document that gathers information that is used to write a whitepaper. This document is commonly shared with marketing managers, subject matter experts, editors, illustrators, and other people who are part of a team that is creating a whitepaper.
Text Document
Ok to Copy and Use, NOT OK to Publish or Sell
Whitepaper Writing Worksheet
Title
What is the full title of the whitepaper. Start with draft title and revise.
<Problem Statement> <Audience> <Keywords>
Whitepaper Objectives
Sales Leads
Number of desired leads for <product or service>
Education
Number of people who need to be educated about the whitepaper topic.
Brand Impressions
Number of people who will see the whitepaper and/or its branding information.
Research
Types of information that should be gathered from whitepaper engagement.
Engagement Tool
Owner
The name of the company or person who will own the whitepaper.
<Copyright Owner Name>
Producer
The name of the company or person who will product the whitepaper.
<Whitepaper Producer>
Authors
Name of authors or "company" if no individual authors.
<Whitepaper Author>
Key Topic Areas
What topic area is the article related too
Look at topic list <Google Docs Link>
Primary Topic Area
Key category or topic that the whitepaper relates to.
<Primary Topic Area>
Secondary Topic Areas
Secondary category or topic areas that the whitepaper relates to.
<Secondary Topic Area1>
<Secondary Topic Area2>
<Secondary Topic Area3>
Audience
What are the top 3 audience types
Audience Type 1
Industry/Job types
Key challenges
Key media channels they use
Audience Type 2
Industry/Job types
Key challenges
Key media channels they use
Audience Type 3
Industry/Job types
Key challenges
Key media channels they use
Problem Statement
What is the key issue or problem the article relates to
Shocking Factoids
Research and find some facts or information that is likely to be shocking and relevant to the reader.
Search for the topic and statistics.
You may also add the key words shocking, surprising, unforeseen, or other interesting qualifiers.
For example, writing an article on how to fix bad reviews, search for:
“Bad Review Statistics” or “Surprising Bad Reviews”
At least one surprising factoid can be included in the opening paragraph to help the reader to understand that reading the article is likely to be valuable to them.
Try to find shocking factoids that have:
1. Credible references – Government agency rather than according to Bob
2. Exacting numbers – found that 81.2% avoided buying products because of bad reviews rather than 80% (sounds made up!).
Pain Points
The top 3 bad things that happen if the reader does not solve the problem
Pain Point 1
Pain Point 2
Pain Point 3
Solution Promise
How will the article help the reader to solve the problem
Questions
What are some of the key questions that the readers are likely to have about this article topic.
Questions can come from slides.
Reference Articles
Search for key phrases (e.g. questions) and list at least 3 related article on beginning of search.
May be helpful to find one or two new articles for each slide that you add.
Keywords
What words are related to the article topic and problem statement
Primary Keywords
Top 2 to 4 keywords.
These will be helpful for searching and should be used in the title and beginning of the article content.
Secondary Keywords
Additional related words – 10 to 20
These will be helpful for searching and for inclusion in article content
Whitepaper Sections
Whitepapers should have sections (groups of paragraphs). These can be options, steps, or other categories.
They may start with a section introduction (set of criteria) that will be discussed in each section.
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Images
Typically 1 image for every 2 pages.
Diagrams
Diagrams that will help the reader to understand the article.
Photos
Describe a photo that may attract interest for the article.
Get permission to use photo.
Reference Resources
Are there any resources that can be linked to from this article that will help the reader. This can include lists, tips, step by step guides.
Will these resources be located on the QIC Learning website or are they available on other websites.
All reference links will go through QIC Learning website to allow us to redirect them if the destination link is inappropriate.