Blog Post

Let’s be honest—there are plenty of whitepapers out there that no one wants to read. They’re too long, too vague, or worse, thinly veiled sales pitches.

But when done right? A whitepaper becomes your best weapon for building trust, attracting leads, and establishing thought leadership.

I’ve written (and rewritten) enough of them to know what works—and what gets ignored. So here’s my list of best practices for writing whitepapers that don’t just inform, but actually influence.

In this post, I’ll walk you through:

• How to plan a whitepaper around strategy—not guesswork
  
• The structure I use to keep readers engaged from intro to CTA
  
• Tips to make your research-based content feel like a conversation
  
• Design and formatting techniques that support credibility
  
• Real examples of whitepapers that convert (and why they work)
  

If your goal is to position your brand as the expert in the room, this is how you do it.

Authority starts with relevance. Before I write a single word, I ask:

• What does my audience care about right now?
  
• Where is the gap in current industry content?
  
• What unique insight or data do I have access to?
  

A great whitepaper isn’t just informative—it’s timely. It should answer questions your audience is actively searching for or debating with peers.

If your competitors are all talking about “AI trends,” maybe you go deeper on something more actionable—like how AI is impacting hiring decisions in specific industries.

👉 Related: Whitepaper Marketing: Strategies to Reach Decision-Makers

This might be the hardest lesson for marketers to learn: whitepapers are not sales brochures.

I treat them like a conversation with a smart, skeptical buyer. If you try to sell, they’ll tune out. If you teach them something valuable, they’ll trust you—and come back.

Your focus should be:

• Clarifying complex ideas
  
• Sharing credible third-party data
  
• Offering analysis, not opinions
  
• Presenting frameworks and models your audience can apply
  

Every great whitepaper follows a clear flow. Here’s the one I swear by:

1. Title Page
   Make it clear and specific—not poetic or vague.
   Bad: Innovation in Today’s Economy
   Better: How Enterprise Leaders Are Cutting SaaS Costs by 35%
   
2. Executive Summary
   Give the TL;DR version of the challenge, insight, and takeaway in 2–3 paragraphs.
   
3. Problem Statement
   Explain the challenge your audience is facing. Include supporting data or research.
   
4. Analysis & Insights
   Offer your perspective and unpack the problem. Introduce new frameworks or research.
   
5. Proposed Solution
   Not a product pitch—but a strategy, method, or approach grounded in logic.
   
6. Conclusion
   Reiterate the key point and guide them to the next step.
   
7. Call to Action
   Encourage a soft follow-up: download another resource, book a consult, or read a related article.
   

Want a step-by-step breakdown with examples?
👉 From Data to Story: Turning Research Into Engaging Whitepapers

Authority doesn’t mean boring.

Your whitepaper should be:

• Scannable – Use subheadings, bullet points, and pull quotes
  
• Visual – Include charts, graphs, or infographics to break up walls of text
  
• Branded – Keep it consistent with your visual identity
  
• Optimized for PDF – People will download, print, or share—make it clean
  

A cluttered layout kills credibility. A simple, elegant design invites readers in.

If you want to be seen as an authority, cite like one. That means:

• Using reputable sources (industry reports, government data, peer-reviewed studies)
  
• Linking where appropriate
  
• Avoiding bold claims without evidence
  

Bonus points if you include your own first-party data—surveys, case metrics, or customer usage trends.

This not only improves trust, but also gives your sales team something powerful to quote.

Yes, this is a formal document. No, it doesn’t need to sound robotic.

I keep my tone confident and informative but still conversational. Here’s how:

• Write like you’re speaking to a smart colleague
  
• Avoid buzzwords, filler, and overly complex terms
  
• Explain jargon when necessary
  
• Vary sentence length to improve flow
  

I’ve found that balance—authoritative but accessible—is what keeps readers from dropping off halfway through page two.

You spent hours crafting this asset. Don’t publish and forget it.

Here’s how I squeeze extra mileage out of every whitepaper:

• Turn each section into a standalone blog post
  
• Pull key stats into a LinkedIn carousel
  
• Create an infographic of the main framework or solution
  
• Share excerpts in your newsletter
  
• Film a short video walking through your findings
  

Need ideas on how to extend your reach?
👉 Repurpose Case Studies and Whitepapers for More Reach

This might seem obvious, but I’ve seen whitepapers buried on websites like a forgotten file folder.

Here’s how I promote them:

• Use a dedicated landing page with SEO-optimized copy
  
• Gate it with a short form if lead gen is the goal
  
• Share it through email campaigns
  
• Add internal links from related blogs (like this one!)
  
• Promote through social with a compelling quote or stat
  

If it’s good, make sure it’s seen.

One final note: you don’t earn trust by saying you’re the expert—you earn it by sounding like one, writing like one, and backing up your ideas like one.

When I create whitepapers, I don’t aim for volume. I aim for value. Each one should be:

• Useful
  
• Credible
  
• Well-structured
  
• Actionable
  

If you get those right, the authority builds itself.Looking for more content formats that prove expertise?
👉 Why Case Studies Are the Ultimate Proof of Performance
👉 Case Studies as Content Marketing Tools: A Complete Guide