High-quality content, targeted at your ideal customer, is a critical part of inbound marketing. Search engines use it to rank your website and web pages. The content attracts visitors and keeps them coming back. Content is also critical for converting visitors to leads, and leads to paying customers. Two of the most popular forms of content, besides blogs, are eBooks and white papers. Some people make the mistake of thinking these two are the same thing, just with two different names. Although both are downloadable documents, they are distinctly different.
Differences between eBooks and White Papers
What are the differences between eBooks and white papers?
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Ebooks offer ideas presented in smaller chunks. It offers a quick read that is still informative. White papers, on the other hand, go into deeper detail on a single idea. It offers a deeper read, presented in a long linear fashion.
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Ebooks focus on concepts, report trends, or outline ideas. White papers focus on in-depth discussion and give relevant data.
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Ebooks are visually rich. They break up text with graphics, call outs, and bullet lists. White papers contain more text, and use very few graphics.
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Ebooks read like a casual conversation between peers. White papers read more like an expert presenting information to a less informed audience.
Knowing these differences allows you to select the right content format for your needs. Both offer certain strengths you can leverage for your content marketing needs.
Selecting the Best Format for your Business or Organization
Answering these questions will help you decide which format best suits your needs:
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What is your goal with this piece of content? Ebooks are great for marketing to consumers. White papers are great for positioning yourself as an expert in your field.
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Do you want to offer the audience a concept, an idea, or a trend? Or do you want to go into detail on a single subject? Ebooks allow you to present a concept, an idea, or a trend in a conversational tone. White papers are a good platform to show your depth of knowledge about a particular subject, usually in a formal tone.
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Can you present the topic visually? Ebooks work great with short bursts of text interspersed with graphics, charts, and bullet lists. White papers are great for discussing details in longer paragraphs of text.
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Who is your intended audience? Ebooks work great for marketing to a B2C audience. White papers work well for showcasing detail information to a B2B audience.
Questions and Final Thoughts
Want to learn more about eBooks and white papers? Download our free Internet Marketing eBook and see what you think. We can help you and your company create an eBook or white paper on a variety of topics specific to your expertise.
