It's tough to create a strong white paper on the cheap. The writing phase often requires research, SME interviews, and strategic planning—and copywriting fees can reflect that. Once you add in graphic design and layout, you’re looking at what might seem like a big investment for a single piece of content.
 
But for tech companies and other businesses that sell high priced solutions and services, the return on that investment can be huge. 

A well-researched, well-written white paper (on a relevant and important business issue!) can help convince scrupulous prospects to make big purchases. It can give IT teams the ammo they need to get leadership buy-in. It can help differentiate your company and position your leaders as experts. And at the top of the marketing funnel, a white paper can alert and educate prospects about an emerging business issue they should be looking to address.

A good white paper is a terrible thing to waste; milk it for all its worth*.

Rather than developing a white paper as a standalone piece, why not surround it with a powerful posse of complementary content? Develop accompanying content that promotes your white paper; dives deeper into key themes; highlights experts; and sparks new discussions. Here are six examples:

1. Create a high-converting landing page that makes it easy to grab the white paper (i.e. non-gated or painless opt-in).
2. Record short video pieces with any SMEs, partners or clients that contributed to the research—and add a link to the white paper at the end. Consider sharing your videos on LinkedIn and other social media channels.
3. Repurpose your white paper into a multi-part blog series—and link to it from within the blog posts.
4. Host a webinar on the same topic as the white paper. Offer a free download of the white paper as incentive for signing up for the webinar (or include a link to the white paper at the end of the webinar).
5. Create an infographic that relates to your white paper (include a link to the white paper at the bottom). Promote your infographic on social media (share it on LinkedIn; link to it on Twitter; pin it on Pinterest; post it on Facebook)
6. Create a “light paper”--a bite-size handout that summarizes the key takeaways of the white paper (and whets readers' appetite for more). Include a CTA to download the white paper.
   

*What's the correct way to write this phrase? Is it "for all it's worth" (contraction: milk it for all it is worth) or "for all its worth" (possessive: milk it for the inherent worth within it)? There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer, and now I can't stop obsessing about it. Which way do you think is correct?

"I want to be a B2B technology copywriter when I grow up!" -- said no kid ever. Not many adults think of copywriting as a dream job, either. At a cocktail party, the conversation generally goes something like this:

Random party guest: “What do you do for a living?”

Me: “I’m a freelance copywriter, and I work mainly with technology companies.”

RPG: “Wow! You must see so many cool futuristic inventions. Where’d you go to law school?”

Me: “Sorry -- no, I’m not a copyright lawyer. I’m a marketing writer.

RPG: “Oh… so you write ads and stuff?”

Me: “Not exactly. Most of my clients are technology companies, and I work with them to create all types of content to help them market their products and servi ---.”

RPG: “Zzzzzzzzzzzzz….”

I know. I should come up with a more “attention-grabbing” explanation of what I do. Believe me, I’ve tried. I keep telling myself that next time the opportunity arises, I’ll just say, “I’m an ice sculptor.” And see where that takes the conversation.
 
If you’re reading this blog, however, you already understand what a copywriter is. With that part out of the way, I can finally cut to the chase and explain WHY being a “copywriter-that-specializes-in-tech-marketing” really is a great career that kids should aspire to be when they grow up.
 
5 reasons to be a copywriter-specializing-in-technology-marketing:

1. Avoid Alzheimer’s. Due to the fast pace of the tech industry, technology copywriters (and especially freelance copywriters working with multiple clients) are constantly tasked with writing about products and services they know very little about. Which means you need to be willing and able to dive in and learn new things—fast. And the more you do it, the better you get. Lifelong learning keeps the brain in shape. This job lets you work out your brain on the daily! 
2. Feel loved. Being a tech marketing writer is not an easy job. And it’s most definitely not a glamorous job. There’s a lot of time spent sitting on your butt at a keyboard or poring through documents. But if you do the job well, clients will appreciate and value your work. You may not get the fan mail you would if you were a writer for TV or movies, but you still get warm, fuzzy, adoring messages from your clients. Like this one:                               <input type=”copywriting” name=”white paper project” value=”10” />Nice work, we are all doing a happy dance.<br />
3. Keep up with the kids. I may be the dorky mom to my budding teen, but I’m no Luddite. I can still “tech” my daughter under the table.
4. Stay flush. Because technology companies typically sell higher priced products with relatively long sales cycles, they often need a steady flow of marketing materials and content. If you can create effective copy that helps your clients attract more customers and sell more products, you’ll generally be well compensated for the value you deliver.
5. Keep on truckin’. As a writer, you can keep working until the day you die. Or as long as your brain holds up (but as noted in point #1 above, that shouldn’t be a problem). Not that you have to work until you die, but it’s nice to know you can thrive in your career until you decide you're done. 

Believe it or not, copy written about technology CAN be easy to read and understand. Here's the key: Use words people know, and kick the geek-speak and marketing mumbo-jumbo to the curb (notice I didn't say, "Laymanize the manuscript").

Of course, the main thing is to know your audience. If you're writing a brochure to promote all the killer iPhone games your company has created, and you'll be handing it out at YodaCon2017: The Mobile App Design and Development Expo, feel free to mention objective-c and XCode; talk about your adherence to scrum methodology; or explain how your engineers use plists to make your games more data driven and flexible. Otherwise, stick to plain English.

How many times have you read the homepage of a company's website and come away without understanding what, exactly, it is they do? Cloud computing companies come to mind, but it happens all the time, in every industry imaginable. Often, the problem stems from a desire to come across as a smarty pants ... I mean ... a thought leader. But heavy use of industry jargon and highfalutin language isn't smart; it's distracting.