What is a Whitepaper?
A whitepaper is an informational document that presents an effective solution to a real-world problem.
In vague terms, it is a ‘Resume of a solution’. Your resume contains nearly everything about you; your qualifications, skills, hobbies, etc, to persuade your employer. Similarly, a whitepaper is a persuasive document that contains everything about the proposed solution.
A whitepaper is a detailed presentation of an idea that solves a particular problem. To maintain its integrity, the solution is backed by thorough research, facts, statistics, and references from credible sources.
It is an academic-style document written by industry experts. It often leverages charts and eye-catching images to reduce the monotonous tone and increase the readability of the document. This ensures readers sail through the document without any friction.
A good whitepaper highlights the following:
- How effectively the proposed idea solves a particular obstacle?
- How does the proposed idea differ from others?
- Why should one adopt the solution?
The basic idea of a whitepaper is to soft-sell an idea, methodology, or a solution to a targeted audience.
Different Types of Whitepaper
Product backgrounder
Backgrounders highlight the products' specifications and features. These are used by companies who are well established and require less marketing. For instance, Google doesn't need to publish a detailed report of their new feature. Instead, they would publish a backgrounder that would briefly explain their features. Backgrounders are the easiest to publish.
Problem/solution whitepaper
It is a detailed and informative approach to explain your solution mostly adopted by new startups and businesses. For instance - 'The World's Computer : Ethereum'. This whitepaper would start by highlighting the shortcomings of the current financial system and will propose its solution.
Summary
A whitepaper is a persuasive, fact-based, and in-depth solution to a real-world problem.
It is backed by research, expert opinions, statistics, and references from credible third-party sources. Owing to the wealth of data, it becomes one of the most celebrated mediums to amplify ideas to potential customers.
