Defining Problems for White Papers

1. Who is your ideal reader for the white paper?

2. What problem do you want to help them solve? (or, what needs do they have?)

Examples:• They’re not in an ideal situation because they lack something.• They have specific challenges related to this thing: people

problems, process problems, quality problems, “absent” problems (issues that occur when something is missing).

• If they understood this thing better, they’d be able to do (something) better.

• They’re stressed out by a problem and need a way to understand or solve it.

• They confuse this thing for another thing (and that creates problems for them).

• They have overlooked important information.• They are misinformed about this thing (that’s

important/significant to them) because it typically gets wrongly portrayed.

• Other problems…?

Once you determine the problem that you want to help readers solve, you’ll have a clearer understanding of your white paper’s objective.

But that’s just the beginning!

Your white paper needs to convince your readers that they have a problem by providing EVIDENCE that the problem exists, and that it’s a problem for them specifically.

Giving a Problem Presence

• Make the abstract concrete through repetition, accumulation of detail

• Amplification (divide the whole into its parts)• Demonstration• Presenting and responding to possible

objections