6 Tips to Make Your White Paper Interesting

So many people without an original thought in their head re-hash other people's thoughts and think this is enough to create 'thought leadership'. Not surprisingly, many white papers turn out to be ineffably dull.

At least The White Paper Pundit is doing something about it.

In 5 Ways to Create a more Engaging Introduction (http://www.whitepapercompany.com/blog/?p=4638), he returns PR and marketeers to the basics of good journalism and writing: remember to engage the reader.

The tips are familiar to most journalists and editors.

They include:

1) creating compelling headlines,

2) recruiting authoritative sources to back up your position, and

3) relate the heading to that expert endorsement.

4) use graphics to underline your point - and get your key message to those that skim, rather than read. And the more visuals that do that, the merrier.

5) Plus a highlighted sign off that encapsulates your key message.

6) I'd add using sub-headings and captions to echo the key points, but that's probably implicit in the earlier points.

As ever in communications, it's a case of picking one line through a story and making everything else serve that line. Broadcasters do that all the time, even when they show two opposing sides of a question.

You will have spotted that I've just done a re-hash with a little extra content from my own editing experience. But hey - this is a blog, aiming to pass on thoughts from the coalface rather than any pretensions of 'thought leadership'.

I'll save that for the white paper...

Look out for the Giant Avatar of Portobello!

Being a creative agency, it's great having The Big Things on the Beach public arts project on our doorstep to stimulate our senses.

PHPR has been a garden gallery host in one of their previous events and we are always intrigued by their installations. Now a 6 metre high inflatable sculpture that 'captures the spirit of Portobello" is on its way. It is Grennan + Sperandio's Giant Avatar of Portobello - the second of three Imagine Porty Prom public arts commissions by Big Things on the Beach for their 2010 offering.

The giant Avatar launches on 1st May at 2pm at the Portobello Public Art House at the foot of King's Road - EH15 1DX. It will appear the following day on the beach 2pm-6pm at Pitville Street. On Monday 3rd May it will be outside the Bank of Scotland in Portobello High Street from 10am - 2pm. If the weather is poor it will be inside the Portobello Town Hall.

The first Imagine Porty Prom commission earlier this month was Michael Pinsky's Stroke - projected images on the Portobello swimming pool at night. It was an ethereal experience, made all the better for involving a host of local people.

http://www.bigthingsonthebeach.org.uk/

PHPR provides up to one week's time a year in support for the arts, education and community projects as part of its CSR policy. Our MD is a volunteer adviser for the Travelling Gallery, arranged through A&B Scotland's Board Bank.

PHPRtv now up on YouTube

A couple of posts ago, I said that I would make a "PR for technology" video. I made the promise when I found there were no PR for technology videos on YouTube when I was playing with Google's Wonder Wheel.

I've finally launched PHPR's own TV channel on YouTube with the above PR for technology video. After years of clarifying messages for technology companies, I'm using the video to urge for clarity at the top end of technology communications to communicate with end users more effectively.

Like me, it's short and sweet - well, short, anyway!

PHPR collect VIBES awards 2009 certificate at Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh

Being good PR people, we spun our VIBES news round our contacts and have ended up seven positive results: several of which are really promising meeting requests.

There is also another agency wanting to know how to get the VIBES, so we've pointed them to the VIBES site where it's easy to download the entry forms and all the practical notes on the different award categories: http://www.vibes.org.uk/enter.htm

Plus Margot Grantham, the Scottish director of the excellent Athena network for women sent me a flyer with useful info regarding free recession-busting workshops in Edinburgh for small businesses run by the Business Environment Partnership alongside the City of Edinburgh Council. We are more than happy to pass this info on. The leaflet says:

As part of their Economic Resilience Action Plan the City of Edinburgh Council are working with the Business Environment Partnership to run a series of free workshops at the City of Edinburgh Council Chambers. Upcoming workshops are designed to give practical ideas to cut utility bill costs and understand current & future environmental legislation that may have a financial impact on your business.

Demystifying environmental legislation. What SME’s need to know to ensure compliance – 26th January 2010

Understand your utility bills to cut costs – 25th February 2010

They point out that a 20% cut in energy costs represents the same bottom line benefit as a 5% increase in sales....

The ‘One-Stop-Shop’ provides free tailored advice to any Edinburgh-based company from a microsized start-up to a larger SME. Advice ranges from Government funded grants & loans, resource efficiency, green marketing opportunities to legislation with the aim of identifying cost saving or new sales opportunities for businesses.

Find out more about the workshops or their free advisory service at http://www.thebep.org.uk/ The lady dealing with registrations is called Amy.