The following is an excerpt from the book Fifty-one Ways to Build your Community of Clients Online: How Women are Using the Internet to Grow their Business, Reach the Right Customers, and Make a Difference, by Monica S. Flores. Purchase the book online or at Amazon.

Tip 15. White Papers: Create an Online Brain Trust

In some fields, you provide a valuable service when you offer up-to-date information: a delay of even a month on time-sensitive data may mean a different outcome. Consider offering white papers as background research to web visitors who may need this information to make an informed decision. While you need not add proprietary information or trade secrets, you may want to add facts, figures, graphs, charts, preliminary studies or full-blown research papers on your field.

Query other experts in similar or related fields to provide external information that will help your consumer make a better decision. For example, a graphic designer may offer a printer’s perspective on styles, paper stock, quantities, color options, and how to prepare a document for printing.

When you offer a library of reading material, downloadable samples, or even mini-versions of your full product, your potential customers may evaluate your quality and relevance to their needs. Use HTML, PDF, Flash, or other well-known formats to make sure your files display the way you intend. Add a section of “recently uploaded reports” to your homepage or to a downloads page. The content within your resource must be your company’s original content and you must have permission (if needed) to distribute it. Protect your company’s image by adding your logo, the paper’s author, and a watermark, if desired.

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