One of many greatest strikes a contract author could make to earn extra is to maneuver into better-paying kinds of work, like white paper writing jobs.
Whenever you go from, say, writing $20 weblog posts to writing white papers that may pay $1,500-$10,000, it’s an enormous leap.
However simply how do you could that leap? How precisely do you get into writing white papers? The place do you even discover white paper writing jobs? And what are some errors to keep away from alongside the way in which?
That’s what we’re about to find. Preserve studying.
What’s a White Paper?
A white paper is a cross between {a magazine} article and a company brochure, sharing a corporation’s often-complicated message in an easy-to-understand, formal, and persuasive method.
Most shoppers wish to learn the tutorial journal article a part of the white paper to seek out out the options to their issues—however the persuasive brochure a part of the white paper does its job too, and convinces the readers to purchase the product or use the service.
How A lot Can You Make on White Paper Writing Jobs?
The distinctive balancing characteristic of the white paper—to each educate and promote—makes it one of the vital highly effective advertising and marketing instruments. That is the rationale why shoppers are able to pay $1,500-$10,000 for a six to 14 web page doc.
It’s a good way to make cash writing!
The massive upside of writing white papers is why we did a complete coaching bootcamp on the subject over on the Freelance Writers Den. You possibly can entry this complete four-week bootcamp plus over 300 hours of different trainings by turning into a Den member.
Methods to Get White Paper Writing Expertise
If you know the way to jot down articles or advertising and marketing supplies, you must have the ability to discover ways to write white papers with slightly effort and follow.
The very first thing you might want to do is learn all you may about writing white papers from books, blogs, articles, and many others. That additionally means finding out examples so you already know what’s anticipated (take a look at this instance). Increasingly firms are posting white papers on-line to construct their authority—obtain just a few and provides them a learn.
Now begin writing…
After you be taught the method of writing white papers, you can begin training your talent on a hypothetical or actual firm. Select a business-to-business firm, as B2B tends to fee extra white papers than B2C. They normally have difficult choices and have to persuade enterprise house owners to buy their services or products.
One other concept: create a white paper to promote your writing, about how companies profit from utilizing freelance writers. Put up it in your web site as a free obtain for prospects.
Sharpen your expertise by writing white papers as usually as you may. As soon as you’re feeling that you simply’re prepared, begin searching for shoppers.
The place to Discover White Paper Writing Jobs
- Let your current shoppers know what white papers are, how they work and why their enterprise wants one. Present them the samples you’ve created. In case you can persuade them that they want a white paper, you’ll be in your means
- Search for enterprise house owners who’re getting articles or brochures written. Clarify what a white paper is and why it’s higher than a daily article or brochure. Suggest attainable matters that may be acceptable to their enterprise. Hopefully, it is possible for you to to entice them into asking you to jot down one
- Write one for much less. If it’s your first job, then it doesn’t matter should you cost much less. Perhaps you’ll not earn sufficient for all the hassle you set in, however you’re going to get a pattern that may assist you to land profitable jobs sooner or later
After getting just a few samples in your portfolio, you may search for higher jobs.
One of the best factor is to promote your companies as a white paper author by your web site, chilly calling, and different advertising and marketing strategies. Search for firms which can be concerned in fields like know-how (cloud computing, CRM, content material administration, IT healthcare), or finance (insurance coverage, banks, re-insurance).
In fact, you can too search for white paper jobs on websites like LinkedIn.
White Paper Writing Errors to Keep away from
When you’re gaining expertise, there are some essential errors you must attempt to keep away from as you enter this market.
Listed here are some errors Carol Tice, founding father of Make a Dwelling Writing, made on a white paper writing gig:
Mistake 1: Not vetting the shopper
When a writer-friend tells you, “Hey, it is a probability to work with a tremendous finish shopper that’s a Fortune 500,” I don’t find out about you, however I are inclined to get stars in my eyes.
It turned out that I’d be working in a roundabout way with this shopper, however with considered one of their accredited advertising and marketing businesses. The man who headed it was a former employees speechwriter and advertising and marketing author at this F500. As soon as once more, I used to be wowed.
“Man, this man should know *precisely* what he’s doing,” I assumed.
What I didn’t discover out? He’d only in the near past give up the corporate and arrange this company…and had no expertise working an company. He’d by no means had writers working underneath him earlier than. He hadn’t written white papers both.
That turned out to be one thing he sucked at. In the midst of my undertaking, everybody he had employed as a “staffer” for his little company give up.
He would have his employees minions give assignments to the writers—and guess what? It was like an enormous sport of phone.
Virtually each single factor I used to be advised, from deadlines to wordcounts, turned out to be mistaken. A whole lot of frantic rewriting ensued.
Takeaway: If I’d requested round about this man, I may need discovered he was a legendary prima donna—and would have hassle delegating writing work.
Mistake 2: No direct shopper contact
Every little thing I did on this white paper writing job got here down secondhand. I couldn’t even have advised you who on the huge firm this company reported to.
I’d obtain phrase trickle-down model, about who to interview about what. Then, after I interviewed them, I’d be advised I didn’t ask them the precise issues, or that I wanted a special supply. These sorts of miscommunications are an epidemic in businesses that hold their shoppers near the vest.
In his efforts to maintain us from poaching the shopper work (not even attainable with this firm, since they solely used just a few accredited businesses), he would parcel out elements of tasks to completely different individuals. You by no means knew who else may be touching completely different elements of your identical elephant. The outcome: chaos.
Takeaway: I ought to have gotten readability off the bat on who I’d be reporting to for this white paper writing job, who was on my undertaking, and who I’d have the ability to entry.
Mistake 3: Skipping the analysis
I principally labored with what I used to be handed, as an alternative of doing my very own analysis to be taught extra concerning the kinds of charity applications I used to be documenting. I may need had higher backup concepts for interviews, or applications to match it (favorably) to, if I’d taken the time.
Greater than as soon as in the midst of the undertaking, I used to be sitting round for days on finish, after which having to do a rush job on an interview, the place I most likely might have extra shortly discovered sources alone and simply requested for approval.
Takeaway: Don’t sit along with your palms folded ready for information out of your shopper—do your personal legwork, so that you’ve got extra to work with.
Mistake 4: A key query omitted
One huge query I actually want I’d requested is, “What’s your writing course of like?”
In any case, I’d by no means written a white paper earlier than. So I didn’t notice that I wanted just a few key issues:
- Approval of every of my sources from higher-ups
- A signed launch from every of my interview topics
- To let every interview topic learn their copy earlier than turning it in
- To acquire inventory images from my topics
Lengthy after a few of my interviews, towards the tip of the undertaking, I used to be out of the blue requested to “flip in my releases.” To which I replied, “What releases????”
I’d by no means been given a kind or advised my interviews needed to fill it out…however out of the blue, I regarded like a clueless idiot. It had been weeks since a few of my interviews, and it was further work to dig a few of them again up and get them to log out.
Takeaway: Discover out what *all* the weather are which can be your “deliverables” within the undertaking—and be certain you get them as you go. Don’t go away paperwork to the tip.
Mistake 5: Working in circles
One of many issues that was dangled in entrance of me on this white paper writing job was the thought of overseas journey. Their program is international, and so they have been together with some tales from different international locations.
When it was strongly hinted that I would snag considered one of these assignments, I turned my life the wrong way up to expire and get an expedited passport. Which, in fact, turned out to be a complete waste of time. In reality, I by no means left my home, even.
Takeaway: Don’t chase phantoms on a gig. If somebody’s hinting you may have to do one thing for the undertaking, get extra particulars and discover out if it’s actual, earlier than losing time.
The excellent news is that the undertaking did ultimately get completed…and it got here out actual good. I bought an excellent clip out of the deal. It was undoubtedly price doing, regardless of all the issues.
However I want I’d taken a extra thorough angle to scoping this out earlier than I dove in. Then, I may need had a smoother highway and ended up getting extra white paper writing gigs for this shopper, as an alternative of getting a relationship that went down in flames.
Because it labored out, it was a very long time earlier than one other white paper writing job alternative got here round.