Generating quality prospects is an ongoing challenge for most business owners and marketers. More than ever before your marketing materials are competing for the attention of your prospects. How do you enhance the positioning you have in prospects' minds?

Research shows that white papers and free reports are two of the most compelling ways to attract prospects. They help people make decisions, they position you as an expert in your industry and they enhance traffic to your website if promoted properly.

What is a whitepaper?

Whitepapers are what some people call 'articles on steroids'. They present in-depth information about a problem, exploration of common solutions, and an introduction of a new solution.

Then the white paper connects you and your company with the new solution.

Successful white papers are informative and have a high level of educational data within them. They take a soft sell approach, meaning they don't mention their own company or services until well within the document.

Because prospects bring them into the company, white papers have the ability to linger and travel around the business, persuading along the way. It is not unusual for a well written white paper to make it across a dozen desks in one company. But it's not as simple as penning 500 words and sending them out.

Start today by adding whitepapers to your marketing strategy.

Identify 3 - 5 areas of expertise that you could write about.

Review your network for distribution opportunities. Who can best help you to spread your whitepaper around within your target client base?

Start researching online resource directories and ways to position yourself as an expert. There are tons of tools available for the small business owner.

Get writing. Then be sure to have a professional editor or copywriter review your work. Nothing will stop your rise to expert status than grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.

Have a professional designer typeset your work and make it really stand out. Even though it might be 'free' your prospects want to feel like they have received a valuable tool.

Post your report or whitepaper on your own website. I cant tell you how many times authors forget this critical piece.

Do these things and you'll start seeing your marketing really take off.

good luck!