What is a white paper?

I've heard this term a lot, but I have no idea what it means. Can somebody please tell me what a white paper is?

 

Here you go Sneaky, hope this clarifies.

What is a White Paper?

The term white paper is an offshoot of the term white book, which is an official publication of a national government. A famous white paper example is the Winston Churchill White Paper of 1922, which addressed political conflict in Palestine.

A white paper typically argues a specific position or solution to a problem. Although white papers take their roots in governmental policy, they have become a common tool used to introduce technology innovations and products. A typical search engine query on "white paper" will return millions of results, with many focused on technology-related issues.

White papers are powerful marketing tools used to help key decision-makers and influencers justify implementing solutions.

Here's the full resource btw

http://www.stelzner.com/copy-HowTo-whitepapers.php

 

Another way to put it would be to state that a white paper is a highly targeted "article" (really an advertisement written in an editorial and/or informational fashion) that positions a company as the best solution for solving a particular problem.

 

i think white paper will be a term as "yellow papers" thats all i can give idea..

 

Thanks for the responses! So...when exactly would you write a white paper? Like, what do you do with it?

 

Well, I'm not a copywriter, but if I had something I wanted to promote without actually "advertising" it, I'd have a white paper written that would identify a particular problem, pain or predicament (and show why it hasn't been fixed/solved yet), show what would happen when the problem is solved, and then position myself as either the best supplier of that product/service or as an authority/expert on the matter and get people to buy my product/service.

Of course, I just woke up, so my brain clearly isn't thinking straight.

 

In essence, a white paper addresses a company's target market. It educates them in an attempt to then persuade them. It does that through this basic process:

1. You make the reader aware of a problem they face (or opportunity they're not taking advantage of).

2. You offer proof that it's a significant problem they should be concerned with (market research / stats).

3. You offer a general solution (type of product, software, etc.), and you back up that solution -- you want to convince people it's the right solution for them.

4. You offer up your own specific solution as an example of the general solution (getting people to buy specifically from you).

There can be other elements, but those are the basics for a marketing white paper. Technical white papers can introduce the specific product / service much earlier because the white paper's going to focus on explaining the technical aspects.

Basically, white papers are decision-making tools often used by technical folks and executives making bigger purchasing decisions where a brochure or other marketing collateral just won't cut it.