For example, a white paper can . . .

• Generate interest in new products
• Differentiate your products and services from your competitor’s
• Identify you as a thought leader and expert in your field
• Gain leads and sales by demonstrating market leadership
• Grow your email list and boost social media engagement
• Stimulate new ideas and innovative thinking

​Ultimately white papers, special reports, e-books and executive briefs are designed to help you win business. From the first page to the last they are full of  high value substantive content  that aims to educate your ideal customer and bring them on board.

Once written a white paper can be creatively adapted for multiple uses. For example:

• Creating valuable educational resources for your business.
• Providing up to date, evidence-based material for social media posts. 
• Creating high value content to repurpose for blog posts, teaching aids and social media content.

Many white papers these days are presented in a two-column format.

But why?
​
What benefits does the two-column format have over a single line of text?
 
In short, it’s all about how your brain scans and processes information.
​Research shows that the optimal amount of text for printed materials is just 
​60 characters per column.

More than 60 characters per column and the brain has difficulty in scanning through the text.  It’s the same principle as needing to take a visual break by adding some white space between paragraphs.

Long lines of text, just like long sentences can be harder to read.

​For technical and medical papers, a two-column layout also allows graphs, tables and other graphics to be clearly presented without taking up too much page space. That said, many companies prefer the clean and simple lines of a single column layout. That  can work very well too, just as long as the  page has wide margins, and the text runs to no more than  90 characters per line.

It’s all about helping the reader to understand your message as easily as possible.