What is a White Paper

When speaking of specific types of papers frequently used nowadays, a white paper is one worth specific attention. This type of paper possesses its own special features and characteristics that help to distinguish it from other papers.

As for the start, it is worth admitting that it is a company or not-for-profit organization that usually issue white papers. Accordingly, one should understand that not every person can prepare and publish this paper since its nature requires the existence of the specific issuer as mentioned before.

Next, the process of writing a white paper foresees following a specific purpose. As a general rule, such a purpose has close ties with the nature of the paper’s issuer. More specifically, companies or not-for-profit organizations prepare such papers in order to highlight or promote the specific features of any solution, product, or service (depending on the kind of activity common for the issuer). That is why white papers are nothing but sales and marketing documents. The interested people or groups of people (usually customers) analyze them since they reveal the description of something that is important for them. Consequently, a well-written white paper may lead to the increase in sales. Thus, it is an example of a marketing tool.

Finally, it is worth keeping in mind that if the white paper fails to persuade a potential customer to buy a certain product/service or choose a presented solution, then its author(s) were not successful enough when writing it. Here comes the last distinctive feature of this paper – its quality clearly depends on the sales results it may provoke. In other words, there is no necessity in estimating the quality of the white paper just after the moment it was completed. Only the feedback from the side of the customers may truly evaluate it.