Every great white paper in the financial services industry starts with one great central idea or thesis. Unfortunately, the corollary to this also is true: if you don’t have a strong unifying thesis at the outset, your white paper is probably doomed.
The purpose of a white paper, or any form of thought leadership, is to articulate your expertise and show how your unique perspective on market dynamics, economic trends, or regulatory developments can help your clients capitalize on investment opportunities. While most investment bankers, portfolio managers, financial advisors, attorneys, and consultants have deep expertise, often these professionals struggle to turn their insight into a narrowly defined thesis to guide the white paper. With many of the clients I work with, they know what topic they want to cover, but they don’t know what angle or point of view they want to take on that topic.
If you are thinking about your next white paper and having a hard time finding an angle for your story, here are three techniques that professional financial writers use to create a compelling thesis when writing white papers:
1. Address your clients’ most common questions or misconceptions
The best place to start is with your audience. Remember, you’re not writing for your peers; you’re writing for your clients and prospects. The purpose of the white paper is to help the target audience understand the reality of a situation better, and usually the reader will come into the paper with his or her own set of questions or misconceptions.
These questions and misconceptions are the perfect place to start when thinking about how your expertise can add value for the reader. Once you’ve determined your higher-level topic, think back to recent meetings with clients and prospects and identify 1) common questions that came up about the topic and/or 2) sources of confusion or misunderstanding about the topic.
For example, let’s say you are an investment banker, venture capitalist, or private equity investor, and you’re working on white paper ideas about trends in today’s capital-raising environment for small business owners. There are certainly a lot of different things you could focus on within this broad topic, but the approach that will be the most valuable for your target audience is the one that addresses their pain points.
Rather than just talking about fundraising trends in the abstract, use your white paper to directly answer questions you often receive from business owners who are looking to raise capital. Or, you could identify the things that business owners don’t understand about the fundraising process or current market conditions, and use the white paper to debunk these myths. Either way, you are showing that you understand where you audience is coming from—and that you are the sort of advisor or investor who understands the needs of business owners.
2. Point out where other commentators get it wrong
One rule that I have for my clients is: “If your article or white paper doesn’t advance the conversion, then it’s not thought leadership—it’s thought followship.” When it comes to topics that are already generating a lot of conversation, it may seem like a challenge to add anything new to the conversation. But adding a new perspective is not as hard as you may think.
Do some research to find other white papers and articles on the topic, and then look for any holes, imprecisions, or outright inaccuracies in those pieces. Often clients will complain to me that articles in the mainstream media or trade publications aren’t accurately describing the reality of what’s going on in their industries. Whenever I hear these complaints, I say, “Great! That means there’s a huge opportunity for you to set the record straight.” Doing so shows that you have your finger on the pulse of what is happening out there on the front lines of your industry.
In the private wealth management industry, for example, a lot of ink has been spilt since November about what President-elect Donald Trump’s election will mean for investors. If you want to show that you have a unique perspective on equity markets, write an article pointing out where the “herd” may be wrong. And if you’re afraid of looking like a contrarian, let me remind you that Berkshire Hathaway, the company run by famous contrarian investor Warren Buffett, recently topped $250,000 a share.
3. Tell the rest of the story
When I was a kid, I loved Paul Harvey’s radio program where he would tell stories featuring little-known facts about famous historical figures. Harvey would always conclude his essays by saying, “And now you know the rest of the story.”
When it comes to thought leadership, a good way to focus your paper is by pointing out what most people know about a topic—and then telling the rest of the story. Looking backwards, you could talk about the historical forces or trends that led to the current market conditions that are generating so much attention. Or, looking ahead, you could describe the opportunities and challenges that are likely to occur once the current trend begins slowing down or reversing itself.
For example, an institutional asset manager may want to publish a white paper on how China and other emerging market countries could be affected by an increasingly protectionist U.S. trade policy. Rather than talking about U.S. trade policy only in the context of the current political landscape, include a section that examines how foreign markets performed during previous eras when economic superpowers raised tariffs or implemented other protectionist policies. Or, you could conclude the paper by projecting what market opportunities could arise when/if the pendulum begins swinging back in the free-trade direction.
By using any of these three techniques, you shouldn’t have any problem creating a compelling thesis for your next white paper.
About the Author
Scott Wentworth is the founder and head financial writer of Wentworth Financial Communications. He and the team of writers at WFC have helped companies across the financial services industry write investment-grade white papers, bylined articles, and other forms of thought leadership. He believes that if Paul Harvey were still alive today, Harvey would have the No. 1 downloaded podcast.