How to Plant Your White Paper on MarketingPower.com

James Heckman
Director of Publishing
MarketingPower.com
311 S. Wacker Dr.
Suite 5800
Chicago, IL 60606
312-542-9070
jheckman@marketingpower.com

-> Reach
170,000 registered users

-> Heckman's background

Heckman has a journalism background; he spent seven years as
reporter for a variety of publications including Marketing News.

He came to MarketingPower.com as a consultant when the site was
being launched, putting together Best Practices marketing papers
in order to have content. He came on full-time to manage all
content for the site.

His favorite part of the job is the unpredictability, the chaos
of it. He says, "It's fast-paced with 18,000 things going on at a
time and I'm balancing how to decide which of those to push down
the road a few inches."

-> Current editorial coverage

Heckman's primary responsibility is the Web site which publishes
articles and newsletters in a variety of marketing topics ---
these are all drawn from previously published industry material.

However, Heckman is actively seeking authors for the Best
Practice papers that he publishes online each month.

The Best Practice papers provide marketing information and
techniques in areas such as email marketing, strategy, branding,
sales, and PR. For a complete list of topics the white papers
cover, see http://www.marketingpower.com/live/howto.php

"Either someone has a new job responsibility and they don't have
much experience or they need more information on a topic," says
Heckman. The papers give marketers enough knowledge that they can
go find more information and further develop their skills.

While the Best Practice papers started as introductions or
overviews, Heckman said they are beginning to branch out into
more moderate and advanced topics. Topics they're looking for
now include:
Marketing research
CRM
Email campaigns
Public relations
Sales - intermediate and advanced level tactics

Ranging from 2500 to 3500 words, the papers are "meaty enough
that you're getting a good bang for your buck as far as
education, but not so long that you won't want to read them
online," Heckman says.

-> More details on what your white paper should be like

Heckman describes a typical paper's content, "What are the steps
I need to go through to make sure that your research is accurate,
valid, and that the results will be useful. Then examples of this
is what company x did that worked well."

Heckman says you should try to write in "Internet-style: short,
to the point. More than one comma in a sentence and you're being
long-winded. Use two to three sentence paragraphs. No passive
voice. No academic-style writing. No fancy language.

"A great paper should hit you over the head with a sledge hammer.
It should be clear and straightforward, with bullet points,
checklists (such as 15 things to make sure you consider when
developing a new marketing program.)"

While Heckman doesn't like papers with many illustrations, he
says, "Occasionally if there's a chart, it must be a simple with
big enough print that it can be read on-screen."

Last but not least - your paper can't read even remotely like
sales material or include even a slight pitch for your services.
Your expertise should stand on its own as a subtle pitch.

-> How to pitch your paper for inclusion

Don't just send a white paper you've already written -- Heckman
generally prefers to work a bit with the author to develop a
paper for the site.

Start by sending Heckman an email telling him who you are, what
your expertise is, and "why on earth a reader would want to read
a story from this guy."

And, instead of just pitching one idea, try offering Heckman a
choice of two or three - it may improve your chances of getting a
"yes."

He says, "What we want are people who are industry experts,
really know what they're doing, and who have a broad industry
outlook." However, he's not looking for stories on a specific
software or marketing program.

As you can imagine, Heckman gets a lot of pitch emails. He says
the best ones are the shortest, "I don't have time to read
through intricate details." You've got about 20 seconds to get
his attention, so be clear and to the point.

Heckman also recommends that you follow-up via email about a week
or so after your first pitch. "But not in obnoxious manner.

Email me saying hey I sent you this pitch, is it something you're
interested in pursuing? Sometimes things fall through the
cracks."

What not to do: don't follow-up on phone. Heckman uses his email
in-box as a filing system for editorial plans ... and he can't file
your phone call for future reference the way he can file an
emailed pitch. That's why if you do call, he'll probably just
say, "Email me."

-> Deadlines

"I publish when they get in and when they're done. I'm shooting
for four per month."

-> Pet peeves

"The thing that gets me most (happens more with press releases)
is over aggressive follow up. They say, 'hey I sent a press
release did you get it?'"

"If they follow up every couple of weeks, that's actually
helpful. If you politely nag me enough, you're more likely to be
published."

-> How you can meet Heckman

He's always open for lunch. Call or email would be fine. He
doesn't tend to go to conferences, or travel much.