How to Put Your White Paper Out There

Last tip I described what a white paper is, and isn’t, and why it should be an important part of your marketing mix.

Let’s suppose during the intervening holidays you got ambitious and crafted what you believe is a formidable white paper that can help bolster your product or service.

How then do you unleash it on your target audience?

Many trade magazines publish white papers (if they’re not overtly self-promoting) as articles—an invaluable source of free publicity and an explicit endorsement of your expertise.

Of course, you'll want to feature the white paper on your website.

And include a link to it, with a brief description of its contents, in your emails, on social media, your LinkedIn company page, and in other correspondence.

Or send out a press release announcing its publication, making it an event in itself.

White papers also make great handouts at trade shows, on sales calls, or in press kits. Or throw them in an envelope and snail-mail to a list of your prime prospects and customers. You see the kind of legs white papers can have. Use your imagination.

White papers are like Pillsbury all-purpose flour. You can bake them in virtually any format you want…to fulfill any function.

So let’s get cookin’. Next tip, I’ll show you how to write a killer white paper that will satisfy your audience’s appetite for objective, usable information.