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Capturing Business Leads With White Papers
By Michael Stelzner
Expert Author
Article Date: 2010-01-21
If your objective is to help businesses capture a lead, close a sale or establish themselves as kings in a crowded market, here's some things to avoid:
1. Don't lead with the product pitch: In today's economy nobody likes to be sold to. Rather they prefer engagement. That typically means start by building affinity with readers.
You can do this by talking about things they care about, such as problems and trends. This draws people into your work and allows you to eventually make the pitch.
2. Avoid verbose writing: Pacify the skimmer. Use short sentences rather than long prose. Try bolding key items and make sure your work is like butter melting on warm toast. This takes time but ensures that the skimmer is engaged.
3. Don't assume they're just like you: Too often writers assume that readers understand the terms and "inside the beltway" talk that goes around. However, there's no bigger turn off to readers than terms and phrases that are are foreign.
Always ask yourself, "is this phrase something the reader will understand?" If not, kill it.
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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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