[Resources, Ideas, Tips] Improving response to business-to-business, high-tech, Internet, and direct marketing...

***Ideal length for white papers***

White paper guru Gordon Graham says the sweet spot for white papers is 6 to 8 pages of content. Add a front cover, contents page, and about the company and you're up to a total document of 10 or 11 pages.

But what about those who say that readers want much shorter white papers today?

"Many marketing people today want to achieve the impact of a great white paper, without making the investment to develop one, and without asking their prospects to deal with a substantial document," says Gordon.

"But I don't believe there's any shortcut." Graham says that anything with less than 4-5 solid pages of content is hard to call a "white paper" because there just isn't the space to develop much of an argument. He adds, "The trouble with a 2-3 pager is that it almost always becomes a brochure or data sheet, without much capacity for reframing an issue, redrawing a market space, or helping a business person understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.

"To me that's the real definition of a white paper. So I'd say for sure, cut the flab and make your white papers as concise as possible. But don't think 3 pages is going to do the same job as 6 or 8."

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***What you need to know about keywords and PPC advertising***

The more popular the keyword, the more cost per click (CPC) it's going to have. So it's very important to do your keyword research before you start selecting your keywords as you're setting up your campaign.

The lite version of Keywordspy.com is free, but you can also upgrade to the full version and see more results and have more capabilities for a monthly fee.

Google used to have its Keyword External Tool, which has since morphed into Google AdWords Keyword Planner. You need a Gmail account to
access this free tool. Either of these tools will allow you to enter keywords or keyword phrases and then view popularity (actual search results), as well as what the average CPCs are.

This is important for your keyword selection and bidding.

You can also type in your "core" or focus keywords and get additional ad group/keyword ideas. To help refine your search terms, you can also choose broad match, broad match modifier, phrase match, exact match, and negative match.

Source: Wendy Montes de Oca, Target Marketing, 7/29/14.

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This post appears courtesy of Bob Bly's Direct Response Letter. Bob Bly is the author of 70+ books and the man McGraw-Hill calls America's top copywriter.