Bly has written copy for over 100 clients that include Network Solutions, ITT Fluid Technology, Medical Economics, Intuit, Business & Legal Reports, and Brooklyn Union Gas. Awards received include a Gold Echo from the Direct Marketing Association, an IMMY from the Information Industry Association, two Southstar Awards, an American Corporate Identity Award of Excellence, and the Standard of Excellence award from the Web Marketing Association. He is the author of more than 50 books and hundreds of articles that have appeared in Express, Cosmopolitan, Inside Direct Mail, and Bits & Pieces for Salespeople. Bob conducts marketing, sales, and writing seminars for such groups as the US Army, Independent Laboratory Distributors Association, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Marketing Association. He has also taught business-to-business copywriting and technical writing at New York University.
For those who are interested in understanding the potential value of white papers to business development and customer relationships, this book and Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers are valuable resources. Opinions vary as to the origin of the genre. Both Bly and Stelzner seem to agree that white papers can be traced back to at least early in the 20th century when what was then referred to as a “white book” consisted of information published by a national government. Perhaps the most famous is the “British White Paper of 1922” (also known as the “Churchill White Paper”) in which the political conflict in Palestine is discussed. Interest in the commercial potentialities of white papers has increased rapidly and substantially in recent years and fulfillment of those potentialities has only begun.
Bly explains “how to generate more leads and sales with white papers, special reports, booklets, and CDs” a ten-step process:
His focus is always on the process of creating or increasing demand for (whatever) by effective use of the white paper. His book, therefore, is an operations manual that provides cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective explanations and suggestions as to HOW to do that.
Bly includes ten case studies in Chapter 10, “Measuring and Improving Your Results.” Each demonstrates several of the core principles that Bly had explained earlier in his book. Practical applications in real-world situations are always instructive. Readers will also appreciate the provision of “Resources” in Appendix A and “Model Documents” in Appendix B.
Absorbing and digesting the material in both Bly and Stelzner’s books will assist substantially the process by which important decisions are made when developing a game plan for producing, distributing, and promoting white papers in one form or another.
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