How To Plan for Writing a White Paper
Getting Started
The good news is, in our previous steps, we have already covered three of the six initial points that you should look to achieve, as part of The Six Point Planning Framework, as outlined below. Next, we will explore how we build on those points to drive the final stages of research that will help set you up to write your white paper easily.
Why Follow a Framework?
When writing for business, the language and style must be concise and well-organized.
Therefore, having a structured approach to the research will pay dividends later as it will ensure that when you come to write the white paper, it will naturally be more concise and better formulated. Doing this work upfront removes considerable time and effort further down the line.
It also means that you can focus your activities on the important areas that will move the project forward in a meaningful way. Without following a structure, there is a danger that many strands of thought can come into play, or different activities are pursued without focus, and this impedes overall progress which can make a white paper stressful to write and deliver.
This Six Point Planning Framework is our guidance based on many years of experience in delivering such projects, however it can, of course, be adapted to suit personal preferences – the key point is, have a framework to follow.
Formulating a Viewpoint
It is crucial to form a viewpoint based on a hypothesis of something that you wish to test in the marketplace.
From the world of science, a hypothesis is an observation made on limited evidence that provides the starting point for further investigation.
You will find that your company, if it is developing and offering innovative solutions to problems, will have many hypotheses about why certain features or approaches to a problem are the correct answers. It sits in the DNA of the company and will be articulated in company messaging or as unique selling points within the sales team, for example.
Therefore, you need to speak to subject matter experts within your own organization to establish these points, if they are not immediately evident, as well as consulting the messaging handbook, if available. Usually they are, but it is worth speaking to subject matter experts at this point anyway, as you will want to ensure that you form a hypothesis on a topic that is tightly linked to the broader organization’s viewpoint.
For instance, a company selling AI-based data cleansing services might form a simple hypothesis such as, “Incorrect data is costing businesses more than they realize.” The vital point is, it must be a concise statement that can be tested against viewpoints or data that can be obtained from the market. In this case, for example, a survey of the audience might be set up to extract a view that the wrong projects are being prioritized and that not enough is being done to tackle inaccurate data.
It is worth noting that, at this point, it is a hypothesis and it will either be validated or proven incorrect. In most cases, the research backs up the hypothesis, because it often relates to the reason why a specific company, product or service exists.
If the results are not conclusive, you may have to refine the hypothesis in order to be able to write the white paper – but, just, as in the science world, the white paper is effectively a write up of the results that you find related to the hypothesis that you set out to test.
The 3 What’s
Once you are happy with the subject matter and the hypothesis and angle you wish to take, it is important to take a pause to consider the three “what’s.”
- What are we talking about?
- Why are we talking about it?
- And, most importantly, what is the benefit of knowing this?
The first point will be answered by an extended version of your hypothesis, which would include the context of hypothesis and more information, such as a point of validation.
The second point would be a statement derived from your initial research, which summarizes your findings on how important the issue is in the market.
The final point is based on your research regarding the likely most important objective of your audience, such as to increase efficiency in their business, to reduce costs, to minimize a certain risk or other such concerns.
It is worth articulating the answers to these questions, as they will be useful when briefing others, such as subject matter experts when introducing a call on the topic. It will help to set the context and prepare them to answer questions in a way that most helps you in your research. Or, if you are setting out to write a survey, these answers will provide anchor points around which you will want to formulate your survey questions.
Story Arc
While conducting your initial research, and having answered the three what’s, you’ll start forming a view on the likely structure your white paper is to take.
Think about what your initial research has uncovered, and as you build on this with further interviews and investigation, organize the information around the points in your story arc.
The story arc is vital to ensuring the engagement of your readers throughout, so we will focus on story arcs specifically when we consider how to write up the white paper. However, you should have an idea of the main topic, the hypothesis and roughly three points that will illustrate your hypothesis with evidence to come in the main body of the report.
Let’s take our example of data cleansing and the hypothesis, “Incorrect data is costing businesses more than they realize.”
Hopefully, our initial research has provided some guidance on themes that we can use to test the hypothesis, so our first attempt at a proposed white paper story arc might be:
- Incorrect data is costing businesses more than they realize. There are hidden costs that are frequently not considered.
- The cost of fixing inaccurate data
- The cost of inaccurate reports based on inaccurate data
- The costs of poor decision-making based on inaccurate data
Now, this may not be where the final write-up lands, but it is important to note that as well as testing the hypothesis, you are also testing your understanding of the sub-themes that will contribute to your argument. What it does mean, is that you have a structure for conducting your research.
Once you know the proposed story arc, you can put forward an initial introduction for the white paper, bearing in mind that this may be adjusted as you carry out more research. The introduction (along with a proposed title and synopsis) in its first iteration will build on the points found during the research for the first five pillars and explain how this will be explored through the story arc:
