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The purpose of a white paper is to deliver information about your business to your prospect in an educational format. You should pick a topic that will generate awareness to a problem your services are designed to address. At the body of the white paper will educate the reader on the issue, and provide a general overview of how to solve the problem. At the end of the document, you have an opportunity to pitch your services and your company as the solution to these problems. Include as much value as possible. The more value you include, the more value readers will assume your company provides in its own services. For instance, a computer repair company once created a paper called “The 14 Biggest Mistakes Home Computer Users Make that Cost Them Hours of Frustration and Over $3,700 in Computer Damages.” In this paper, the owner explained the biggest mistakes computer users make and the resulting damage that can occur. At the end of the paper, the owner pitched his computer restoration service as a solution to solving all of the problems he revealed earlier in the paper. You can use your general knowledge about problems your clients experience and you can also use online research to capture juicy statistics about whatever topic you’re writing. Writing a Killer White Paper Begins with These 5 Steps: Step 1:  Write Your Title. The title of your white paper is like the thesis of a paper. It sells your paper’s idea to the reader. Take time to make sure that your title is as specific and captivating as possible. Step 2: List Out Things That Will Add Value. You don’t want your report to be a blatant sales letter. If you do this, the reader will catch on to the fact that you are trying to sneak in a sales pitch and they will immediately lose trust in your company and what you are trying to sell them. Instead, take this opportunity to jam-pack your report with your expertise and insight. Showcase your knowledge and talents and give the reader useful tips, strategies, and statistics that they can benefit from. Step 3: Write Your First Draft Without Stopping. Simply open up Word and start spilling your thoughts out about the title you’ve chosen. Do not go back and edit or delete what you’ve typed until you finish creating from the beginning to the end. This will allow you to channel everything you want to put down on paper. You can go back later and make it all connect and read smoothly. Step 4: Edit. After you have typed everything out that you wanted to include in your report, go back and edit. Ask your colleagues, family, and friends to read over it for grammatical and spelling errors. Step 5: Plug A Call-To-Action At The End. Make sure you include an explanation at the end of your report that pitches your service and tells the reader what step you want them to take next (e.g. – call our office, schedule an appointment, visit our website, etc.). If you are offering a service that people may not yet know they need, than you should use a white paper to generate awareness around the problems your services solve.  A well-written paper will “train” potential customers on the standards they should be aware of when shopping for your services or products. Ryan Kristopher is CEO of Windows Renew, the largest network of computer consultants in the world, and an Internet Marketing consultant and social media trainer for businesses of all sizes. Read more about Ryan here .