Marketing experts certainly already know how to write a white paper rich in information and arguments. But what about the white paper’s design? There is no point in writing great content if it is not good-looking.
Especially when we talk about this type of content, the design really matters. To perform better, it is essential to choose an eye-catching white paper template.
That is because white papers tend to be long and linear — unlike e-books, which are broken into smaller chunks. So, to stimulate deep reading, the template must be at the same time attractive and inspiring, impressing your audience and then improving engagement.
Do you want to know where to start? Start by reading this article and learning more about white paper as a smart marketing strategy.
What is a white paper?
First of all, let’s understand what a white paper really is and how it works. In the business world, white papers are in-depth informational reports, often used to explain a complex concept or to give a persuasive solution to a problem.
They are research-based and tend to be a valuable resource for discussing a specific position.
In other words, we can say that white papers argue that a certain position is the best way to solve a particular problem.
In the marketing universe, they work as a powerful tool to influence the decision-making processes of current and prospective clients. That’s why they must be so attractive.
The main focus of this type of content is to build trust with the audience, generating credibility and making the company authority on this topic.
Through good arguments — and design! —, white papers show readers that the company is reliable, experienced and an expert in a given domain.
Why should it be a part of your strategy?
White papers are informative, educational, and dynamic, reason enough to use them as part of your marketing strategy. However, for effectiveness, they must combine good arguments and good design, even because the visual language also informs.
Together, these aspects make the content more interesting, which is extremely valuable when dialoguing with your stakeholders and customers.
Thus, when potential customers search for qualified information to help them understand a concept or solve a problem, you will be able to provide them a useful white paper, giving what they need and, consequently, generating new leads.
This will make them turn to you again in the future. After all, by reading the content, customers come to see your company as an authority on your segment.
What are the benefits of white papers?
Attracting, converting, and retaining your audience — this is what good white paper can do for your company, especially when they are built interactively.
In this kind of content, you can incorporate questions, assessments, calculators, and videos, among other tools, to create a truly personalized experience for your audience, by offering targeted information. We sum up the main benefits of white papers bellow.
Reinforces brand authority
Well-written and research-backed white papers make your company gain trust with readers, building brand authority and credibility.
However, marketers who produce them with an assembly-line mentality turn the content poor, depersonalized, and uninspired.
An attractive and fancy design can help brands narrow this gap and work for better results by turning content at the same time beautiful and persuasive.
Presents info in an attractive way
As you have seen, the design really matters when making interactive content. So, besides choosing a good white paper template, you should use good visual elements, such as high-quality images and graphics.
Always remember that a successful white paper is one that offers a pleasant reading and a memorable experience.
It is easy to create
If you choose the right template, you will certainly not have difficulty creating the content, even if you have never done this before. In that sense, you do not need to have brilliant artistic skills.
You just have to count on a good platform, which provides a wide variety of available templates for you to use in a functional and quick way.
How to make a white paper?
Now that you already know the importance of the white papers’ design, you must be wondering where you can find good templates to start your content, right?
With ION Interactive platform’s Quick Start Cloud, you have a built-in collection of prefabricated interactive experience templates that can be branded, customized, and launched without development — many in under an hour.
In this platform, you can create interactive content such as white papers without tech-savvy resources or developer coding, from over 1,500 combinations of available data-driven logic.
This means that you have endless possibilities to create attractive content and to bring your brand to life.
We listed below some of the ION Interactive’s white paper templates to quickly start your content.
Easy white paper
The easy white paper is an interactive and engaging multiple-chapter white paper. Each chapter page is unique, to provide visual interest and to bring attention to your key content.
Chapters include things such as images, tabbed and accordion content, clickable reveal tiles of short content, and even a “true/false” quiz-style question.
Calls-to-action is included to complete a form in order to download the PDF version of the white paper. Each page is shareable, with Twitter and Facebook icons.
This easy white paper quick start is available in variations of 2-6 chapters for maximum flexibility.
Basic long page white paper
This basic long page white paper brings life to your static content through a seamless scrolling and browsing experience. Peppered with interactive components such as animations and quizzes, this white paper is perfect for engaging your visitors, providing them with calls-to-action along the way.
Easy long page white paper
This easy long page white paper is a long scrollable page that includes several interactive content elements including accordions and reveals tiles that help break up long content into easy to digest elements.
It is designed to be easy to launch, regardless of your skillset. Use this template to showcase key information from a more robust white paper as a way to entice users to complete a form to gain full access.
White paper with segmentation and quizzes
The white paper with segmentation and quizzes begins on image-focused navigation that encourages users to visit the topic or chapter that best meets their interests.
Interior pages of the experience include several interactive content elements, such as quiz questions, reveal tiles, and animations to capture users’ attention.
With these white paper template options, it will not be difficult to make content that really performs. And the best part: with an impressive design that will favor the persuasive strength of your content.
Do not forget that, like blog posts, presentations, e-books, and other kinds of interactive content, your white paper’s success starts with good design.
If you want to learn more about interactive content, read this article and discover 3 ways to personalize your content with interactivity!
