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08.15.08 Do You Do Interviews When Writing White Papers?  By Michael Stelzner Let's say you've been tasked to create a white paper (or an article, blog post, ). Who should you interview in the process of preparing to write? This is an important question. It came up while I was training a group of engineers on writing white papers. Let me address it here First, are you doing interviews at all? If you're not, you should. The best content is inside someone else's head. Just think about all the time you spend reading and researching as part of your daily job. Now think about the experts you need to speak to. They have access to information you could never expect to find on your own. So to the question: Who do I interview? The first thing to think about is this, "What do I 'not know' and who has the knowledge I seek?" As you prepare your project, a number of names will likely cycle through your mind.
When I do a white paper, here's the types of folks I enjoy speaking to: • Salespeople: These folks know how to best position messages for maximum uptake with customers.
• Product directors: These people tend to be responsible for the product, have thought about the industry issues and understand the needs of their customers. • Marketing: Marketing people are sometimes guilty of drinking a bit too much of their own Kool-Aid, but can be excellent sources of information. • Book authors: These guys (and gals) live on PR. Try getting a quote from them. • Bloggers: The folks behind industry-specific blogs often have amazing access to information and people. Be sure not to overlook them. Who am I missing? Lets hear from you... Comments About the Author: Visit http://www.writingwhitepapers.com/blog/ for extensive resources on crafting compelling white papers and applying creative marketing tactics. Michael A. Stelzner is the author of the new book Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged and has written nearly 100 white papers for companies such as Microsoft, FedEx, Motorola, Monster and SAP. |
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