14 June, 2018

Do you know the difference between a Whitepaper and an eBook?

If we would have to ask ourselves what’s a Whitepaper going deeper on its concepts, style, extension, tone and narrative, from the content marketing optic, It could be hard to differentiate it from an eBook. Both can be presented on similar formats and, even if It’s true that the eBook has an informative objective and the Whitepaper has a technical one, this aspect is not a determinant fact so it creates a diffuse barrier Nevertheless, it’s very important to differentiate them clearly and precisely since they are going to accomplish different objectives and they’ll get into action on different stages of a content marketing strategy.

What’s a Whitepaper?

The real definition of a Whitepaper will be found if we attend to its objective. In that sense, a Whitepaper is a technical document which objective is to inform and convince focusing on displaying a problem and how we solve it through our solution.

How can a Whitepaper and an eBook interact?

If we learn to differentiate between the two types of content and assimilate their different functionalities we’ll avoid the mistake of making eBooks that pretend to be everything. An eBook can be the entrance door. More than contributing with a solution It can be a very powerful tool to drive the target closer and to see that he has a problem or a need. Once this target is conscious of its need, we convert this target into a lead contributing with a direct and precise solution through the Whitepaper. If we confuse both types of content we’ll reduce the impact that each one is supposed to have, trying to incorporate into an eBook deeply technical aspects and solutions that will make it lose its appeal and giving the Whitepaper some kind of commercial tone that drives it out of the main focus.

How to write a Whitepaper?

When we ask ourselves how to write a Whitepaper we must focus on two aspects that make the difference. It’s a more technical content that goes deeper into the subject. The first point that will help us guarantee its success is that the writer must be a qualified professional in the subject to be treated. While in an eBook we can play with a more casual style without having to go deeper into details, the Whitepaper will go deep into technical details that, if they’re not handled properly, it will be noticed immediately. The subject is concrete. One problem one solution, what usually turns into a shorter solution. Even though we could find documents that approach different problems and their solutions and that present a wider extension, it’s not recommendable for a marketing strategy because the lead will search the solution to a concrete problem. It presents an structure perfectly measured with a title and index, in which you develop the introduction to the problem, then the body educates the reader about the problem you give details about the solution and then you expose a concrete case or example and how it’s been solved, finishing with some precise conclusions. A content based on contextualization that allows the reader to go deeper into the subject, with plenty of links that makes it easier to deepen until the level the reader is looking for. The style should be professional, sober and rigorous. The technique aspects will be treated with the needed explanations for the different types of readers, using specific terminology with its proper explanation not leaving anything as obvious. The most recommended format keeps being the portable format on PDF, but the dynamic infographics are imposing on this field because of its capacity to structure the information and complement it with all types of documents and files. Once we’ve explained what’s a Whitepaper we can go forward to a differentiated strategy with an eBook.