"3 Reasons Why Your White Papers Might Fail to Bring in New Business "

Winton Churchill offered three “Reasons Why Your White Papers Might Fail to Bring in New Business” in a White Paper Source post that’s no longer online. But his reasons are still relevant.

I list his reasons below and give my take on how they apply to the investment business. 

•  “#1. Preaching to the choir“: For example, if your white paper pitches municipal bonds to high-net-worth investors who’ve been getting professional advice, they probably already have munis in their portfolios. Maybe it’s time to seek out the newly wealthy or do-it-yourself investors.
• “#2: Cradle to grave“: Don’t try to cover your topic from A to Z because you’ll lose your reader in a morass of details.  With munis, that might mean focusing on the potential tax benefit and relegating your caveats about AMT paper to a sidebar.
• “#3: Company-focused instead of issue-focused“: As the author says, “Too many white papers boast.” Ironically, that’s a quick way to lose credibility. It’s far better to offer valuable information, then end with an enticement for your prospects to contact you.

Do white papers that make these three mistakes turn you off?

April 23, 2018: This post was updated because Churchill’s article is no longer available online.