| 1. Trust the experts. | | | | do best. |
| Writing is a craft, and you benefit from the | | | | 6. Continue to market. |
| expertise of a skilled writer. In addition to a solid | | | | In a down economy, businesses can compete |
| understanding of style, grammar, punctuation, and | | | | more effectively by using an outside writer. |
| spelling, a seasoned white paper writer is also a | | | | Although many companies slash their marketing |
| marketer and knows how to indirectly market | | | | dollars and stop creating papers when times get |
| your products or services by informing readers | | | | tough, this is rarely a good strategy. When the |
| and demonstrating thought leadership. | | | | market rebounds, you want your customers to |
| 2. Conserve time. | | | | remember you. Even when budgets are slashed, |
| Like any experienced professional, proven white | | | | successful companies maintain a presence by |
| paper writers are intimately familiar with their | | | | creating and distributing white papers. Even if you |
| craft and can therefore produce drafts much | | | | have reduced your marketing staff, call an outside |
| more quickly than someone who is unfamiliar with | | | | writer and keep your name circulating in the |
| the process of content gathering and writing. | | | | marketplace. |
| Since time is money, a hired writer almost always | | | | 7. Keep current. |
| writes more quickly than a writer inside your | | | | Professional white paper writers are adept at the |
| organization, particularly if that person is | | | | latest tools and trends in writing and marketing |
| unaccustomed to deadlines. | | | | and will use these skills to your advantage when |
| 3. Save money. | | | | creating a paper. |
| Hiring a professional writer can actually save you | | | | 8. Leverage local style and terms. |
| money because these writers are always deadline | | | | If you are marketing in a foreign country, trust |
| driven and will finish your project faster. In | | | | your white papers to a writer who is |
| addition to time savings, outsourcing white paper | | | | knowledgeable about the country, customs, and |
| writing may be more cost-effective than hiring an | | | | culture you are targeting. A local writer will |
| employee if you cannot keep a writer busy full | | | | intrinsically understand regional idioms and word |
| time. | | | | uses that you would not spot as a non-native |
| 4. Benefit from outside objectivity. | | | | speaker. |
| An outside writer is especially helpful in maintaining | | | | 9. Achieve aggressive deadlines. |
| a sense of objectivity about your products or | | | | In-house writers cannot always achieve the same |
| your company. Inside writers are sometimes too | | | | deadlines as a professional writer because they |
| close to a topic to ask the probing questions your | | | | are often distracted by other important tasks. As |
| readers want to know. After being inside your | | | | part of their responsibility for delivering a good |
| company for a while, writers can become jaded. | | | | product, professional writers must deliver the |
| An outside writer lends a fresh perspective and is | | | | product on time. In cases where you need the |
| sometimes better able to gauge your | | | | paper for a trade show or for a new product |
| customers’ needs. | | | | launch, hiring an outside writer is sometimes your |
| 5. Stay focused where you excel. | | | | best bet to achieve an aggressive deadline. |
| Although your lead engineer might be the most | | | | 10. Enhance your image. |
| knowledgeable person about a specific technology, | | | | Rely on a professional writer to enhance your |
| they may not necessarily be the best candidate | | | | image—especially for important white papers. |
| to write a white paper. A professional writer can | | | | No longer do you have to worry about spelling |
| leverage your engineers’ knowledge base by | | | | errors or poorly written papers that tarnish your |
| conducting a set of interviews and then weaving | | | | company’s image. A skilled writer will add a |
| this information into a paper. In this way, you | | | | professional touch to all your white paper |
| keep your employees working at the jobs they | | | | projects. |