Cindy King's International Business Blog » white papers

A Proven Marketing Technique

Cindy King — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:00:01 +0000

This past week several people have asked me questions about how to get business through your online presence. And it still amazes me that some people do not realize the value of online content.

You need to have content online simply to be present. Look at what is in front of you. Content. Of course there are different forms of content, but it is all content. Content creation should be big on your agenda if you want to develop your business online.

Content Brings In Business

Businesses also need to be strategic about the content they produce if they want to be better than their competitors. And this is why I’m writing today. Like everyone else I’ve been thinking about my own content plan for 2010. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe 2010 is just around the corner. Like me, you’re likely putting plans in place for next year. Better customers, more of them and so on.

I’m planning on using a proven content marketing technique next year. And it just so happens that there are some amazing marketing superstars I know putting on this really great event that will help us grow our businesses thanks to this proven marketing technique.

Before I tell you about it, I want to share a story to inspire you.

Back during the last market crash (the dot.com implosion), there was this guy—a small business owner—who really was hit hard. He lost his biggest clients, had young kids to feed and really wasn’t sure what to do.

He was thinking of spending a lot of money on advertisements. Fortunately someone told him it was a waste of time.

So here’s what he did and what happened.

He wrote a 10-page piece, sharing his tips and secrets to his craft. His friends said he was nuts and shouldn’t “give away” such great knowledge.

He ignored them.

Once his “masterpiece” went up on his website, he immediately started getting leads. The first week was 43 prospects. After 4 weeks it jumped to more than 400.

After only 8 months he had thousands of quality leads coming in, was landing huge projects and frankly had more work then he could handle.

Fast-forward to today. That document he wrote back in 2003 still brings him more than 30 leads each day (84,261 leads so far) and has helped him land millions in new business (from big names like Microsoft, FedEx and Dow Jones). And it led to a best-selling book.

His name is Michael Stelzner. And his super weapon was an educational white paper. MarketingSherpa calls him “The Grandfather of White Papers.”

And funny enough, times are tough again and the white paper is the top marketing tool used by businesses today (according to an Eccolo Media study).

Are you using educational white papers to grow your business? Would you like to know how?

About The Event

If you’re looking to attract more high-quality leads in 2010 and position your business as a leader, you’ll want to check out White Paper Success Summit 2010.

It’s a live online event that will empower you to attract quality leads and grow your business during this economic slump—all with educational white papers.

Not only can you gain amazing leads for your business with white papers, you’ll also grow your lists and establish your business as a leader.

The world’s leading white paper experts will show you how.

Here’s a sample of the presenters:

Michael Stelzner (author, Writing White Papers), Bob Bly (author, White Paper Marketing Handboo k), John Jantsch (author, Duct Tape Marketing), Brian J. Carroll (author, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale), Roger C. Parker (author, White Paper Design that Sells), Joe Pulizzi (author, Get Content Get Customers), Jonathan Kantor (author, Crafting White Paper 2.0) and many others! Together this team of “who’s who” in white paper marketing will help you succeed using practical tactics.

This is the world’s only event designed to empower marketers and small business owners to master the art of white paper marketing. And the great news is it’s a live online summit you can attend from your home or office.

Check it out here.

What’s In It For You?

First, you don’t need to be a techno-geek to create good white papers. White papers are really articles on steroids with a slant. The right person with the right direction can create a white paper that goes viral (yes, that could be you!).

Second, it’s not just technology companies that use white papers. Any business (big or small) that sells to other businesses should use white papers. For example, FedEx, Dow Jones, Monster.com, LinkedIn and thousands of smaller businesses all use white papers as marketing material. Even if you sell to consumers, white papers can be very effective.

White Paper Success Summit 2010 will help you discover the best ways to market your business with white papers. You’ll also learn how major white paper campaigns were executed and how you can achieve similar results (play-by-play steps provided).

It’s fully dedicated to empowering you. You’ll discover how to grow your business without the uncertainty of trial and error.

Yes, attending this online event (and applying the techniques) will grow your business. But there’s much more. You’ll also join a community of like-minded peers who’ll share their experiences and wisdom.

Go here now to learn more.

You can get 50% off if you act now. There are 12+ original sessions on using white papers to market your business. Be sure to check them out. I know that each of the presenters has created NEW content for this event.

Remember, the experts teach the sessions live (and it’s all online). These are big names, including Michael Stelzner, Bob Bly, John Jantsch, Brian J. Carroll, Roger C. Parker, and Joe Pulizzi. And here’s the cool part: you don’t need to leave your home or office!

As a way of saying “thanks” for checking out the summit, there’s a gift just for marketers (valued at $42) waiting for you here.

My Second White Paper Success Summit

This is the second White Paper Success Summit I’ll be attending. And I’m really looking forward to it. I enjoyed the lively community and interaction with other peers. I learned a lot last year. And I want to keep my skills current. There are different types of content, different forms of viral ebooks and reports. And I want to know what is working today so that I can craft a great content plan for 2010.

I’ll hang out in the member forum quite a bit. I learned lots there last year and made several good business acquaintances. Please reach out and say hello if you do join.

European Versus American White Paper Marketing

Cindy King — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:00:07 +0000

White Papers For International Sales

As a content marketer I appreciate the important role white papers play in business-to-business lead generation. But I have worked in two different cultural markets, North America and Europe. What is interesting is there seems to be two different white paper marketing environments.

Are white papers used in the same way on both sides of the Atlantic? Well, let’s have a look at some of the differences I have noticed.

First let me clarify:

This is about white papers for business and is not about white papers written by the European Union and other government bodies.

This is only about white papers and not sales brochures.

White papers are informative documents that do not include sales pitches.

They vary in length, generally about 10 pages long, and there is a strong trend towards shorter white papers. Companies produce them to inform and educate their potential buyers.

White papers can be written for different audiences, not only engineers, but also for people with different roles in the buying decision. And they can be written to be used at different times during the sales cycle, to address the different questions clients have. They are often used in web marketing campaigns.

Cultural Differences In European White Papers

No recognized structure. The first thing you notice about the white papers written by European businesses is there is not a clearly defined format for a white paper across Europe.

There are all sorts of lengths and some can be very long compared to North American white papers
There are often “half-breeds”, or white papers with a soft sales pitch, or ones that are half technical guides

They are called all sorts of different things in the different European languages that vaguely translate back into “report”.

More formal. The white papers you come across in Europe are usually more formal than American white papers. But this is changing – see the current trends below.

Less marketing. As a marketer, what I notice most about European white papers is that they are usually written for a very technical audience and are limited to targeting one specific part of the sales cycle. There is simply less marketing done with European white papers.

Possible Reasons Behind These Differences

Of course, there might be a few cultural reasons behind these differences in white paper marketing:

A stronger need to be sold to in person
More in person meetings and presentations to fulfill the role of white papers

But these differences might also be due to a delay in “catching up” with marketing tactics used within the stronger consumer-oriented American society.

Current Trends In European White Papers

Moving towards the American model. European companies are adopting the American format of white papers more and more often. I hear this from European marketing managers. This is one of the reasons why I think the Europeans may still be “catching up”. In addition, the large international companies probably influence the white paper practices used in the smaller companies.

Less formality. Although this depends on the industry, there is a clear trend towards less formality. European white papers used to be very stiff and formal. But they are imitating North American white papers more now, and talk to the readers much more than before.

Many companies asking for International English. In-house writers contact me regularly to ask how to write in “International English“. Many large European companies have already taken steps to address the challenge of writing in English for broad international audiences. And many more are realizing the need to make their content easy to understand and free of as much misinterpretation as possible across cultures. Wondering what this is all about? Then have a look at: What is International English?

For example, one of the biggest challenges in British English is their use of the word “should”. Most non-Brits translate this simply as a conditional sentence. The trouble is that Brits often use “should” as a polite recommendation or an order… where there is absolutelyno “condition” intended at all.

What Is Lacking In European White Papers?

The one area where I think European white papers could learn something from the American white papers is in the way they are used within a marketing strategy.

Less strategy. In Europe, white papers are not always planned as strategically as in the US. Although there may be cultural reasons for this, European companies could probably improve their white paper marketing strategies. One way would be in targeting their content to answer more specific questions at the different stages of the buying process.

Less web marketing. European companies do not seem to think of including white papers as often as American companies in their web marketing campaigns. Now, this is a broad generalization and probably linked to stronger web marketing practices in the US. But there is also the question of smaller local markets in the European countries and the cost in creating white papers.

Cultural Differences Will Always Remain

Even if many European white papers become similar to American white papers in format, the cultural differences will always remain. These cultural differences effect both the written communication and the style.

Have a look at Jonathan Kantor‘s very interesting article Comparing U.K. & U.S. Government White Papers. Jonathan Kantor is the founder of The Appum Group, “The White Paper Company“, and he is also the author of the White Paper Pundit blog. His recent article compares white papers written by the governments of these two countries. You can see the cultural differences in communication styles between these two English speaking countries. In this article, Jonathan shows us how cultural differences can influence the style of white papers.

Do you have any examples of white papers where the style is unexpected?
Do you think white papers should have a standard format or more variety?
What cultural differences have you noticed in white paper practices?

The Best Sales Tool In A Slow Economy

Cindy King — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:10:11 +0000

White Papers For International Sales

Interested in learning more about White Papers for lead generation? I am attending the:

White Paper Success Summit 2009 – 3rd – 25th February 2009

And Tweeting about it. So…

Follow my Tweets this month @CindyKing

Ask questions on Twitter by using the hashtag #WPSS09

Join all of us on TweetChat.com in the WPSS09 chat room

Should this interest you? Yes, if you want to develop your business and make more sales.

Get Focused On Real Business Needs

There is lots of talk about how slow or difficult the economy is. You can also find lots of advice. The real question is:

What are you doing about it?

The rules of business do not change. They are the same everywhere and at any time. In order to sell something you need to offer something of value to someone who needs it. Life still continues in slow economies. The needs may change.

Rough economies seem to sweep away businesses that are no longer relevant to the current economy. If you find yourself trying to sell something that no one wants anymore you do have a problem.

But is your product really obsolete?

Business-to-business sales cycles seem to lengthen in slow economies. Sometimes this creates an atmosphere of doom and gloom. This is when you need the right sales tools to show your potential clients why they still need what you have to offer.

An Essential Sales Tool

One of the best sales tools you can use is a White Paper.

White Papers are lead generation tools.

This means that they explain the reason why clients should buy your product. They help your clients make the decision to buy your product by talking them through their fears, their hesitations.

White Papers move your clients forward in their decision to buy your product without using hype.

An International Business Development Tool

White Papers are also very strong international sales tools.

Trust is one of the biggest barriers in cross-cultural marketing. White Papers are one of the best tools to establish credibility and thus build trust.

The fact that White Papers give a more unbiased outlook compared to standard sales material also make them favorites for international readers.

And of course, it is easy to use White Papers in an international web marketing strategy. In fact, they often become a key pillar for other web marketing tactics.

White Paper Success Summit 2009

This is also why you can now see the White Paper Success Summit 2009 logo here in the left sidebar. Yes, I will be attending this event. I write White Papers for targeting international markets.

This summit is web based and runs throughout the month of February. Hundreds of White Paper writers from all over the world attend to learn and stay up-to-date on current best practices.

Here is the schedule of the White Paper Success Summit 2009 presentations:
3rd February – Starting at 2am my time here in Paris which is 8pm US EST

Event Keynote: Creating the Ultra-Persuasive Marketing White Paper – Michael Stelzner

4th February – Starting at 9pm my time here in Paris which is 3pm US EST

The 10 Deadly White Paper Mistakes and How to Avoid Them – Gordon Graham
Helping Your Clients Succeed With Proven White Paper Marketing Techniques – Bob Bly

11th February – Starting at 9pm my time here in Paris which is 3pm US EST

Enhancing the Success of a White Paper With Design – Roger C. Parker
The Alluring White Paper Opening: Why Everything Hinges on the First Words – Michael Stelzner

18th February – Starting at 9pm my time here in Paris which is 3pm US EST

7 Steps to Getting Great White Paper Clients – Steve Slaunwhite
Ensuring Your Papers Appeal to Business Executives – Jonathan Kantor

25th February – Starting at 9pm my time here in Paris which is 3pm US EST

Leveraging Strategic Partnerships to Grow Your Business – Peter Bowerman
Roundtable Discussion: Surviving as a Freelance White Paper Copywriter – Michael Stelzner, Gordon Graham and Jonathan Kantor
How to Leverage Free Content for Marketing Success – Bob Bly

Stay Tuned!

I will be Tweeting live during the event. Yes, I think learning how to use White Papers is an essential sales tool in today’s economy. Instead of worrying about not getting sales, do something about it. Learn more about lead generation tactics that work in all economies.

Follow me @CindyKing this month and read more about White Papers.

White Papers For International Lead Generation

Cindy King — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:00:18 +0000

White Papers For International Sales

As an International English Copywriter I like to keep up-to-date with North American copywriting practices. That’s why I’m spending this evening listening to over 3 hours of an informative webinar.

It is the Copywriting Success Summit 2008 organized by Michael Stelzner from the White Paper Source.

In fact, this is the first event I have attended of its kind. You get the value of a 2 or 3 day live day event without the travel and hassle of hotel rooms. All of the attendees listen through the web or by phone. Content is delivered in several sessions at one time. For me here in France it is in the evenings. This maintains a good learning level without the travel.

Tonight’s presentations are given by Peter Bowerman, Michael Stelzner and Casey Hibbard.

Listening to these presentations tonight highlighted the strong reasons why companies targeting new foreign markets should create specific White Papers for these new markets.

International Lead Generation

White Papers are a great lead generation tool. They can easily be used online. And they are also a great communication tool for live events, conferences and exhibitions.

International business development based on web marketing needs strong lead generation tools. And there are not many strong lead generation tools available when targeting foreign markets primarily through international web marketing.

This reason alone is why companies selling abroad need to use White Papers.

White Papers Go Viral

White Papers have great viral potential with the right online marketing.

And this viral potential is even more valuable if you are developing a new market with limited content available to target your new audience.

All online marketing can be tracked. This means you can calculate the results your White Paper brings to your business. Another great advantage when discovering new markets.

Adapting White Papers To Specific Cultural Behaviors

Now…

Let’s take this a little bit further.

Imagine you take a closer look at the cultural behaviors for the country you are targeting. And imagine tweaking your White Papers to appeal more to your specific foreign market.

This makes your White Paper a powerful international lead generation tool.

And what are the different cultural behaviors to look for?

There are 5 different scales of cultural behaviors:

Individualism/Collectivism
Femininity/Masculinity
High Uncertainty Avoidance/Low Uncertainty Avoidance
High Power Distance/Low Power Distance
High Context/Low Context

When writing a White Paper for a specific culture, you can take all of these different scales of cultural behavior into account. In writing your White Paper. And also in how you format it and how you market it.

By adapting your White Papers for specific international markets you can generate more international leads.

Let’s Write Write Papers

Many of my French clients believe it takes months and months to write a White Paper. They are surprised when I say I can easily write one a month for Get International Clients.

It does take a lot of work. But this is where good copywriting skills come in.

According to this evenings summit:

Businesses spend on average 50 hours over a period of months write a White Paper.
A copywriter spends on average 25 hours over 4 weeks to write a White Paper.

Writing a White Paper involves:

A series of interviews
Research
Writing

In today’s world of information overload the best length for a white paper is between 6-12 pages. And the tendency is towards the lower number of pages.

And the price? The average price for a 6-10 page White Paper is over $4000. But you need to compare this with the value of what you are selling.

White Papers provide credibility and authority. These elements are usually missing when targeting new markets.

Are you interested in a White Paper for an international audience? I write for both European and North American companies and I work closely with both North American copywriters and French writers. Contact me to find out more.

Cindy King's International Business Blog » white papers

A Proven Marketing Technique

Content Brings In Business

About The Event

What’s In It For You?

My Second White Paper Success Summit

More on White Papers For International Sales:

More on International Lead Generation

European Versus American White Paper Marketing

Cultural Differences In European White Papers

Possible Reasons Behind These Differences

Current Trends In European White Papers

What Is Lacking In European White Papers?

Cultural Differences Will Always Remain

More on White Papers For International Sales:

More on International Lead Generation

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides

The Best Sales Tool In A Slow Economy

Get Focused On Real Business Needs

An Essential Sales Tool

An International Business Development Tool

White Paper Success Summit 2009

Stay Tuned!

More on White Papers For International Sales:

More on International Lead Generation

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides

White Papers For International Lead Generation

International Lead Generation

White Papers Go Viral

Adapting White Papers To Specific Cultural Behaviors

Let’s Write Write Papers

More on White Papers For International Sales:

More on International Lead Generation

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides