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Do Fictional Stories Help To Pull In Readers?
By Michael Stelzner
Expert Author
Article Date: 2007-06-07
Does it make sense to begin a white paper or other important marketing document with a short story to pull in readers?
This very question came to me recently from Kippy:
I am writing a white paper about a technology/system for ensuring high quality inspection of integrated circuits (chips) used in the automotive industry.
I would like to use a "stage setting" introduction, one short paragraph in length, to quickly pull in my readers and emphasize the human safety factors involved.
I know my in-house reviewers (who are all "dry," non-nonsense engineers) are going to ask me to delete it. I'd like your opinion as to this approach's effectiveness in white papers.
Below is the first draft of the intro paragraph to give you an idea of what I'm thinking of using.
"Imagine. You are driving home alone after a late meeting. It's dark and the roads are deserted. Suddenly a cat darts across the road, escaping a pursuing German Shepard. You instinctively hit the brakes hard. Thankfully your car is equipped with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) that keeps you from skidding out of control. Thankfully it activated. Thankfully you will be home with your loved ones in a few minutes." Hi Kippy;
Thanks for your question!
Unfortunately, I have to side with your in-house reviewers.
Remember that you do not have a captive audience with a white paper.
Unlike a presentation to an auditorium full of people, white papers are documents that can have very high abandonment rates.
While your intention of engaging the readers right away is the right idea, your approach is not.
Realize you have mere seconds to grab people's attention.
If they cannot relate with what you write in the opening paragraphs, the most important part of the paper will never make contact with those that matter.
An alternative approach would be focus on the needs of the reader of the paper.
This is most likely someone in the R&D department of an auto manufacturer.
Perhaps appealing to their need to (a) keep up with the competition on safety features, (b) improve driver safety, (c) fill in the blank…
Identify the problems or needs of the reader as the first priority. Save the story for another marketing program.
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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