Want to write a white paper for your business, but don't know what direction to take the project in? A white paper is a piece of marketing literature sponsored by an organization to describe a new or better way to solve a serious problem. Style-wise its content reads like a persuasive essay and is formatted to look similar to a magazine article, which is more visually appealing than a technical manual, yet not as busy as a sales brochure.
There are many different types of white papers out there and most white papers can be divided into three main types: technical backgrounder focused on technical benefits; business paper focused on business benefits; or a hybrid paper, which is some combination of both.
Beyond these three types there are many flavors of white papers. Each different white paper flavor is appropriate for delivering a certain set of information to a certain audience. Below I've shown a breakdown of each type of paper and what it's best used for. If you are trying to nail-down a working structure for your company's white paper, look for your audience or business proposition within the white paper flavors below.
Any of these flavors can be combined together as well. For shorthand, I've used the word "offering" to represent any product, service, technology or methodology described in the white paper.