Why Can’t Thought Leadership Marketing Be Sexier?
By: Sean Smith
Tags: Digital Marketing, Thought Leadership, Influencer Marketing, LGBTQ, Infographics

Recently the NYTimes published an article about how half-dressed, young straight influencers are acting gay, even touching one another on TikTok to generate more traffic. The article even used the term homosocial — hmm.

Gay-baiting fans on social media is nothing new and certainly not news. In my estimation, it’s one of the lowest forms of content marketing, ranking even lower than clickbait in the hierarchy of digital marketing.

It's called being a thirst trap.

Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, I wrote a very long story on Medium about thought leadership marketing. (It was a 14-minute read).

In my essay, I made the case that right now companies, marketers, and writers are overlooking the single most effective way to connect with their audience and drive engagement.

Not surprisingly, almost no one read it. (Crickets). That’s okay: live, and learn.

A large part of my journey as a Medium writer is still about learning to connect with readers on their terms — not mine. This week, I’m trying to tell the same story and make it more interesting to other people.

So, not to be outdone by a bunch TikTok thirst traps, using Canva, I boiled-down my 14-minute screed to a full-frontal 16-point infographic.

I hope you find it useful.

By the way, my original title for this article was “Anatomy of Thought Leadership White Paper — How to Create an Ideal White Paper,” but the Coschedule headline analyzer said that it was too boring.

Download the New The Anatomy of Thought Leadership Marketing White Paper

How to Create an Ideal White Paper (in 16 Easy Steps)

1. Topic — Appeals to the audience you want to attract

The biggest mistake most people make when writing white papers is the same one I make when writing for Medium: writing for themselves.

Good white papers are not advertorials. Rather they explain a topic of interest to your audience to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the challenges they face.

In short, the goal is to establish your authority on that topic.

2. Title/Subtitle — [Topic] for [Audience] (educational, keyword-rich)

Even though white papers can generate tons of leads, they are not lead magnets. Therefore, white paper titles should not be sensational; you won’t need the headline optimizer.

Instead, white paper headlines should be written for search engines and the intended audience.

For example, “AI for Wealth Management” is a subject area that people are likely to be curious about. You can refine the topic by adding an explanatory subtitle that makes it more timely and audience-specific, such as “A Guide to Top Disruptive Fintech Trends, 2020 and Beyond.”

Skilled researchers use the keyword “white paper” when searching for authoritative content, so be sure to use it in your title or SEO description.

3. Cover — Not overly designed (varies by audience)

For white paper covers, less is more. Over-designing white papers make them look like clickbait or marketing brochures. Below is an example of a cover design I did for a client.

Cover design by Virtù b2b

4. Branding — Minimal (name, logo, tagline, URL)

To convey maximum authority, branding should be extremely limited in white papers. Save your branding guidelines for other types of content marketing. White papers are about education.

Don’t worry, the readers will know who you are.

5. Table of Contents — Includes sections, page numbers, hyperlinks

It sounds like a no-brainer, but a ToC makes it easy for readers to quickly scan the white paper and hyperlinks to find the parts they care about the most.

6. Introduction — Optional by CEO (why this topic, why now)

Some white papers include an introduction, often written in the voice of the CEO (or another company leader), to frame the conversation. This can be a very effective way to explain why this topic, why now.

I would caution, however, there is no faster way to discredit your white paper than to allow the introduction to devolve into self promotion.

7. Summary — Short executive overview of entire paper

An executive summary encapsulates the arch of the narrative and key takeaways. Additionally, well-written summaries can be picked up by search engines looking for concise explanations of complex topics.

8. Body — 3k-12k words, written for audience’s educational level

White papers can vary significantly in word count, but most are in less than 5,000 words or 20–pages.

White papers longer then 20 pages are usually considered eBooks.

Likewise, the writing style should be appropriate for the attended audience. Highly technical or scientific white papers may be written in a more academic style. Whereas white papers intended for a general audience should be more accessible; avoid jargon and terms that are likely to confuse readers.

9. Sections — Use headers, short paragraphs, 50–72 character lines

Using section headers visually propels the narrative and helps readers digest new information more easily by framing larger concepts.

Likewise, shorter paragraphs can breathe air into the potentially dense subject matter.

10. Graphics — Optional graphics (charts, images, illustrations)

Like other design elements, avoid overdoing it with charts, diagrams, and images that don’t enhance the narrative.

Don’t add superfluous graphics to increase the page count — that’s just shoddy.

11. Citations — Cite to authority: Links to original sources

White papers are intended to be expository rather than opinion-based. Therefore, well researched white papers cite numerous authoritative sources, including primary and secondary research, expert opinions, and published literature.

For small companies, citing credible sources lends immediate authority to otherwise unknown brands.

According to Neil Patel, search engines also favor long-format, research-based content.

12. Pull Quotes — Use quotes to draw readers back into the text

Let’s face it; reading is time-consuming. According to a recent Write STUFF article by Jim Woods, “We already know online readers are skimmers.”

“We already know online readers are skimmers.” — Jim Woods, How Much Is A Reader’s Time Worth In The Medium Partner Program?

Interesting pull quotes can interrupt skimming and draw readers back into the content.

13. Bibliography — Follow a style guideline (Chicago, APA, other)

Bibliographies demonstrate actual research. Taking time to format your bibliography properly shows professionalism and lends an academic authority to business content.

Example citation to online source from CitationMachine.net

Fortunately, thanks to online citation tools like Citation Machine, formatting citations in APA, Chicago, MLA style is no longer the drag it once was. Simply enter the source URL, chose your preferred format, and voila!

14. About — Opportunity to introduce your company

After the bibliography, it is perfectly acceptable to say a few words about your company. Indeed many readers want to know who published the white paper. Where appropriate, short author bios can add meaningful content and additional authority to the white paper. When outside writers are used, unless they themselves are recognized thought leaders, authors remain unnamed.

15. Offer — Include a CTA (Learn more, Contact, other offers)

In my experience, it is also acceptable to include an offer or call-to-action (CTA), as long as it is included after the white paper as a ride-along. CTAs can be as simple as a toll-free telephone number or email address to a more elaborate offer, such as a pilot program or free trial offer.

Including a logical next step, such as a free consultation, can generate substantial leads and new business opportunities.

It is not uncommon for authoritative white papers to generate hundreds of highly qualified sales leads. In fact, so-called evergreen white papers can generate leads and business inquiries for years after publication.

Loved by sales teams, white papers are the gift that keeps on giving.

Paired with a comprehensive social media strategy, it’s not uncommon for companies to see a 10x ROI on white papers.

16. Footer — Company’s copyright ©, URL, page numbers

Don’t forget the footer! Besides page numbers, that little © symbol is a stealth marketing reminder at the bottom of every page of who published the white paper. Coupled with your URL, it’s really all the bragging you need to do.