Writing an engineering white paper is one of the most time-consuming, challenging tasks you can face, but it can also become very rewarding as well. The truth is that writing a good engineering white paper doesn’t have to be problematic or challenging. With the right preparation and focus, you will have no problem creating a valuable engineering white paper. It all comes down to having the right planning and also making sure that you optimize your writing process accordingly.
Identify the main objective of your engineering white paper
When you write a white paper, you want to narrow down the objective that you need to focus on. Do you want to generate leads? Maybe you want the white paper to support the launch of a new product? Or maybe you want this to bring you more social attention? All of these are some great ideas and reasons why you want to create a good engineering white paper. But at the same time, based on the objective you choose, your white paper might look different.
Narrow down your audience
Once you have an objective for your engineering white paper, the main focus has to be on defining the target audience. Who is the ideal reader for the written paper you are writing? What do they expect from your content, what do they need, what problems are they trying to solve.
Knowing these things will give you a lot more confidence and guidelines, and in the end, it will help eliminate any potential worries that can appear. When you know who you are writing for, you can adapt the white paper to address them directly. Another good idea is to define your secondary audience, those persons to whom you are not speaking directly. You are still addressing their concerns, and that alone is a very important aspect to take into consideration.
What type of engineering white paper do you want to create?
There are different types of white paper you can focus on. The first one is a problem/solution white paper, which is suitable when you identify an issue within the industry and then you start creating a case for your particular solution. These are more suitable for executives because they want to understand what’s wrong in the industry and how they can solve that problem as quickly as possible. You can also use such a white paper as a way to educate the sales team on product efficiency and how partners can access all these great benefits.
You may also consider having a product white paper. This one is designed to share info on the benefits and features of the product in question and how the product can be used to fulfill user requirements. This is the type of white paper you want to use specifically for something like a product launch to help educate people about the benefits and value provided by your product.
Choosing the right topic
It’s a great idea to write down all the topic ideas that come to mind, and you can also ask your audience about certain topics too. Brainstorming topic ideas requires you to focus on compelling, high-quality, and professional solutions, and it can bring in a vast array of benefits. Depending on the white paper style, you might end up going for a different style, format, and topic. Make sure that you keep notes on the topic ideas and if possible, create sub-topics for those white paper ideas that seem the most plausible.
Gather as much input as you can
The research process is one of the things that will take a lot of time when you write an engineering white paper. Not only do you want it to be very well documented, but you also want to show your prowess and knowledge too. If you can gather some input from stakeholders and SMEs, then that’s certainly a great thing to take into consideration here. Avoid any rush and remember to collect online links, research papers, everything that you deem important to know.
Finalizing your white paper
Once you have all the information ready, your focus has to be on finalizing the engineering white paper and sharing all the relevant input. What we recommend you to do here is to take your time, include all the information you have, and also share your point of view where possible. Creating a great white paper can be a challenging and demanding task, but it will also help you stand out in your field. Not only that, but the engineering white paper can also inspire and even assist other people in the industry, so it can be extremely helpful.
After you finish the white paper, you do want to go through proofreading and ensure that your content is high quality and ready to be published. Working closely with an editor or actively taking time to proofread yourself is extremely important. It’s still a good idea to have someone else read through the content, just to prevent any bias.
It’s imperative to take any ideas into consideration, as even the simplest ideas can make your content amazing in the long run. As you can see, writing a great engineering white paper is overwhelming, yet with adequate preparation, you can make it work. Don’t worry and instead focus on creating the best content you can, while also using all the data and statistics you have on hand.
If you don’t have time to create your own engineering white paper in-house, reach out to the expert writers here at Engineering Copywriter today.
