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Expert White Paper Writing Services or eBooks: Which One Should You Choose?
Originally published May 1, 2022 , updated on July 31, 2024
Blog and social media posts are integral to online marketing success. But don’t throw out other content formats. Expert white paper writing services and eBook content development are in demand in B2B marketing, and for good reason.
Both formats offer valuable information for which readers will exchange information.
The 2017 Demand Gen Content Preferences Survey shows that 76% of B2B buyers exchange information for white papers, and 63% do the same for eBooks.
Importance of White Paper Writing Services and ebook Content Development
The 2020 Demand Gen Content Preferences Survey reiterates the importance of quality lead generation for content marketing. According to the survey, only 23% of B2B buyers don’t consult eBooks, and 18% don’t study white papers.
True, more B2B buyers share their information for in-depth reports. But why don’t these formats deliver the desired conversions?
Answer: They use the expert material in the awareness stage. They should do so during the consideration and decision-making stages.
The secret lies with the correct incentive at the right stage in the buyer’s journey.
eBooks outperform expert reports in the awareness and the initial consideration stages.
So, is one superior to the other? Let’s find out.
Read on to discover the features of each, how the formats differ, and when to use each one.
You’ll also learn more about eBook content development. Finally, you’ll discover the importance of expert white paper writing services.
What Is a White Paper?
Think of it as a proposal for a long-term business relationship.
You deliver it mid-way through the sales funnel and just before the final decision-making moment. And you use language relevant to your target audience.
The report establishes brand subject authority with a narrow focus that’s aimed at readers familiar with your brand.
It discusses a problem and shows how your company’s products or services solve it. The problem is specific to a particular industry and entails several data points.
You help the B2B buyer choose between products/solutions through in-depth analysis.
Expert knowledge and extensive research form the cornerstones of the report.
You use a factual tone and aim for objectivity rather than opinion-based analysis.
It’s text driven with visuals like charts, graphs, and diagrams to support text and enhance clarity.
The publication generates sales leads, establishes your subject authority, and proposes a solution. But it’s not a sales document and shouldn’t contain a strong sales tone.
In a nutshell—it answers the reader’s “which” question.
What Is an ebook?
The eBook is your opening incentive. Think of it as a guidebook that signals the start of your business relationship. Once you’ve established the relationship, you can also deliver more in-depth guidelines and topic discussions through eBooks.
But you can deliver several through the sales funnel with the most effectiveness during the consideration stage. To harness its value, you’ll ask the reader to exchange information or to register.
Since it answers the “how” for the reader, your tone is conversational and casual, with a broader focus. The information contains layperson and intermediate terms while you explain industry jargon.
The eBook introduces the reader to concepts, trends, and instructions during the early and mid-stage buyer journey.
At the mid-level, you cover more specific topics with guidelines, step-by-step guides, and explanations.
It’s text-based but comes with attention-grabbing images to support the text.
The language is conversational but at the level of the reader’s expertise.
You can include product reviews and repurpose information from blog posts for a broader topic. But leave the thorough analysis for the expert report.
What Do the Two Formats Share?
Although the two formats differ in their readership, expertise level, and information presentation, they share the following functions and values:
- Important for lead generation.
- Bridge the gap between awareness and decision-making stages.
- Applicable during two or more stages in the buyer’s journey.
- Create authority and establish trust.
- Encourage readers to share information and take action.
- Add value to your website.
- Help to strengthen ties.
- Turn visitors into customers and long-term clients.
How Do White Papers and ebooks Differ?
The eBook is the lighter and more junior version of the formal and authoritative white paper.
Therefore. if you know the characteristics, purpose, and format presentation of each, you’ll be able to choose between expert white paper writing services and eBooks writing services.
Let’s investigate selected aspects of each to understand the focus differences.
Purpose Differences
Expert white paper writing services aim to position your company as the go-to source in your subject field with information to help the buyer choose a product or service. The eBook content development attracts links, develops interest, and clarifies concepts.
Readership Differences
Your report readers are familiar with your brand and offering. They’re in the middle and near the end of the sales funnel and have shown a preference for your products. As a result, they only need confirmation of their choices. Your audience has intermediate to expert knowledge of an industry or topic.
The eBooks readers are just entering the sales funnel or have gained some familiarity with your offering. You notch them into becoming part of your business family and nurture the relationship.
With buyers at the awareness stage, the focus is on the layman to intermediate user. During the consideration stage, you focus on the intermediate expert.
Sales Value Differences
White papers work for products or services at the high-end price range. These reports don’t attract a lot of links and are relevant to B2B marketing. Because of the narrow topic focus and depth of research, these take longer to create than eBooks. These reports serve the decision-making process in high-end B2B lead generation campaigns.
In contrast, eBooks cover the lower- to mid-level price range products. The scope is broader. You can repurpose information and don’t need high-level subject expertise. This makes it possible to publish eBooks faster at a lower cost. These attract more links but often focus on unquantified desires. The publications offer more value for up-selling related products.
Lifespan Differences
White papers are relevant as long as a model or service is still unexplored, new or in demand. Once it’s replaced, the information loses value.
On the other end, eBooks contain evergreen information, giving them a longer lifespan and higher traffic value for the website.
Information Presentation Differences
Expert reports often have many pages, but most stick to a maximum of 20 pages, with the average falling between 7 and 15 pages.
The reports contain footnotes, references, citations, and bibliographies to credit the information sources.
Expert white paper writing services aim to present a problem and solve it through a linear approach.
In eBook content development, the information flows non-linearly and comprises guidance and promotion. The length depends on the topic and ranges from a few to over 50 pages.
Often opinion-driven as opposed to neutral analysis, these can also contain sales language.
How Do You Choose Between White Paper and ebook Content Development?
Deciding whether to use expert white paper writing or eBooks writing services is easier than you think. Answer these questions to determine which service to use:
What stage in the sales funnel? If in the awareness stage, your audience wants quick takeaways, bit-size information, and broader topic discussions. They want to know how, and the eBook works for it.
During the consideration stage, they seek in-depth discussion of a topic and help in deciding which product/company or service if for them. Here, both formats work well.
In the decision-making stage, they want information to help them choose between your firm and others. For this, go with the white paper.
Which format works better for the particular type of information? Graphs and data analysis work better in the white paper. Choose the eBook for a broader topic that you can break up into smaller discussion documents.
What is your time frame? For rapid information delivery, choose the eBook. White papers are expert pieces, requiring original information and in-depth research, which take time.
In short, choose the format based on your goals, available resources, and target audience. Here’s a quick guide to choosing the best format:
Choose expert white paper writing services to:
- Position your brand as a subject authority.
- Increase qualified sales leads.
- Build trust with your audience.
- Help your B2B buyer choose between products.
- Explain a complex topic in-depth to intermediate or expert users.
- Provide your audience with expert insights.
- Grow qualified leads.
Choose eBooks writing services to:
- Introduce a new product, service, or concept.
- Explain a complex topic in easy-to-understand language.
- Attract links to your website.
- Add motivation to exchange information.
- Offer information in an engaging and visually inspiring format.
- Increase lead generation.
- Nurture the business relationship.
How to Succeed With Ebook Content Development
The way you present information matters. If you lack the time for in-depth research, start with eBook content development. You can create short publications and answer specific “how-to” questions.
Include links to more information from credible sources. You aim for engagement. Visuals fit the purpose. Include a call-to-action (CTA) to lead the reader to more material and the next engagement level.
As opposed to the white paper, which is mostly text and presented in PDF format, you can also harness the engagement potential of multimedia for video, audio, slides, and infographics. Make it easy to share on social media platforms.
Link to your eBook offering in your email signature and add a CTA box to blog posts to direct attention to your free eBook. Don’t waste the opportunity to gather information.
How to Succeed With White Paper Content Development
The white paper provides insights on topics of direct interest to your audience. Present a specific problem and provide tangible solutions or suggestions. Although most businesses deliver text-driven pieces, you can include visuals to provide better insight. Prove the credibility of the information with proper citation to encourage further research.
Ask for the basic contact information. But if at a high level, you can also ask about the company size and industry. Draw attention to the availability of the gated material with CTA boxes in your long-form blog posts and articles.
Repurpose the content for blog posts and infographics, accompanied by the CTA box for the sign-up or registration.
How to Get Content for a White Paper
Choose a topic in which you have expertise.
Consult with your sales team on problems and concerns that prospective clients want addressed.
Browse LinkedIn and Twitter to discover which topics industry influencers discuss.
Sign up for industry reports to discover important trends and issues.
Review your company’s customer service database to learn about consistent issues and frequently asked questions.
Check to see which content pieces on your website perform well and use the information to create new reports.
Develop a logical format for information delivery. The linear approach works best as it leads the reader from the broad to the narrow aspects logically.
Stay neutral throughout.
Leave opinions for editorial pieces and support your claims with credible data.
When Is It Better to Use Expert White Paper Writing Services?
If you lack the time, resources, and know-how to create compelling and authoritative, in-depth information reports, seek professional help.
Goodman Lantern has a large team of content creators with access to subject experts. We’re here to help you research, write, distribute, and optimise the potential of research reports.
How to Get Content for ebooks
Review industry reports, your current content, and questions at Google. Consult with your sales team on common questions about your products. Repurpose your blog posts, videos, and podcasts as content. The steps include:
- Gather information: Review your competitor sites, use keyword research tools like Ahrefs and Google search results to get started.
- Identify your target audience: Create a relevant buyer persona to ensure the topic, style, and tone matches your audience.
- Decide where in the sales funnel to use the content: Choose between awareness stage (broad and basic) or consideration stage (more specific explanations).
- Choose the topic, research and create an outline.
- Write and edit, refine, and design the layout.
- Review and publish.
- Promote and distribute your publication.
Where to Get Help With ebook Content Development
Reach out to our content team for eBooks writing services to help you harness the potential reach, lead generation capacity, and value of your content.
Key Takeaways
Both products are valuable for lead generation, turning prospects into loyal customers and building brand authority. One is not superior to the other.
Therefore, the correct format depends on factors like your goals, the target audience, buyer journey, and the information you want to share.
More important–quality should trump quantity as with any other content piece you deliver.
Ease the pain of choosing and developing the right format. Let us help you choose the best format for your audience. Use Goodman Lantern’s eBook content development and expert white paper writing services.
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GL Content Team Originally published May 1, 2022 , updated on July 31, 2024
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