Sunday, June 14, 2015

Break Into the Education Arena with a Well-written, Research-based White Paper


Are you interested in expanding your product or service to the education field, but not sure how. A well-written, research-based white paper might be your solution!

Before we look at opportunities to use white papers in the education arena, let's take a look at the anatomy of a white paper. Broken down into its most basic parts, a white paper consists of a problem, a solution, and credible proof to support your solution. Sounds simple, right?

How you weave these three components into one cohesive document, though, will dictate the effectiveness of your white paper. You see, a white paper isn't just about promoting your product or service; it's about providing quality content to potential customers that will establish your company as a leader in the education industry. Once you can do that, you can tap into the $500 billion spent annually in the education field!

Here are five ways you can promote your business to the education sector with white papers:

  1. Let's say you are an admissions recruiter for a college or university. You can write a white paper explaining the decisions, and subsequent challenges, one might face when choosing which college to attend. In this document, you will also provide specific solutions to these challenges, focusing on the unique aspects your college or university offers.
  2. Does your company provide strategic reading interventions for young learners? Write a white paper detailing the reading process, highlighting specific strategies that will help students at each stage. Of course, these strategies will be aligned with what your reading interventions provide!
  3. With the education field ripe for technological tools and resources, companies offering digital experiences, such as class blogs and online presentation platforms, can write a white paper detailing the challenges of getting teachers and staff on board. In this paper, showcase how districts and administration can overcome these resistances with step-by-step training and tutorials, both of which your company provides!
  4. An online assessment company, looking to attract the attention of a K-8 school district, can write a white paper on the importance of differentiated assessment. Since your company's online assessment tools take into consideration the variety of learner styles, you are promoting your service by putting together a well-researched white paper that justifies the use of differentiated assessment plans.
  5. Are you a marketing company that wants to tap into the education field? Targeting your ideal client with a well-written white paper might be just the in you are looking for. Districts and administrators aren't necessarily interested in the marketing process, though, so you will want to reach out to them with a document on how an online marketing campaign can help them increase their student enrollment.
What you do with your white paper is equally important as how you craft it; so next week, we will discuss how to disseminate the white paper you have just written. 

Do you feel you need assistance writing a white paper to help your company break into the education field? A professional freelance copywriter, especially one with first-hand experience in education, can help. Feel free to contact me to see if we might be a good fit!