The Abstract Trap: Why Abstracts Are Bad for White Papers

PaperShark

In a recent edition of the WhitePaperSource Newsletter, Michael Stelzner took a controversial stand on the issue of including abstracts in persuasive white papers.

Here is an excerpt:

PaperShark · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:29 am Post subject:

This article is posted here: http://www.whitepapersource.com/writing/why-abstracts-are-bad.html
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roshlyn · Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:31 am Post subject:

I don't like Abstracts on the paper themselves, but I've seen white paper sites, or a company's publications site, where the abstract is essential to knowing which PDF you want to download.

So I think that even if you don't put on in the paper, having one on hand for a web master can't hurt.

Stelzner · Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:23 am Post subject:

Good point Roshlyn. I believe I noted that in the article as well. Often sites like KnowledgeStorm and TechTarget/Bitipipe will want an abstract and they make sense in those circumstances.

Mike
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kateheaden · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 7:44 am Post subject:

I am surpirsed that this topic didn't stir up more discussion. Could it be that we have all secretly been waiting for permission to do away with the executive summary?

I have always felt that the ES steals a lot of thunder from the intro, and is often so similar as to be really annoying if you sit down and read the paper cover to cover.

Thanks for the permission Mike! I am dropping the ES like a bad habit. I don't think anyone will miss it.
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Stelzner · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:15 am Post subject:

Kate - It actually DOES create a lot of controversy still. You will learn that some of my peers are still proponents of it. Just keep watching... - Mike
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Appum · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:40 am Post subject:

Kate,

I'm one who strongly disagrees with Mike on the issue of the ES and employ them with my white papers.

If you order an appetizer at a restaurant, does it lessen your desire to eat your dinner? If the appetizer is great, don't you think the dinner will be equally great as well?

The use of an ES does not steal thunder from your white paper content, but the reverse. If done well it provides an incentive for your reader to read the primary white paper content.

As executives find they have a diminishing amount of time to read, the use of an Executive Summary honors that limited amount of time for your reader. A business executive shouldn't have to read four or five pages before they realize the solution advocated in a white paper isn't what they are looking for.

A writers' bias of the ES dictates the impression your customer will have as well. My customers tell me that the use of an ES has helped them improve the marketing of their solutions. I believe that if you don't have an ES today, you will be doing your customer and their marketing efforts a disservice.

You can listen to my reasons on Feb 18th, when I present "Ensuring Your Papers Appeal to Business Executives". I hope you will stop by.
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kateheaden · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:55 am Post subject:

Thanks Jonathan,

I will definitely be there. I would also be interested in what you think about TOC - last night Roger recommended tossing those as well.

I had no idea white papers could be so controversial. Makes the whole thing a bit more exciting. : )

Kate
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Appum · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:10 am Post subject:

Hi Kate,

On the issue of the TOC I agree with Roger, but because of the limited size with today's business-oriented white papers that typically range from 6 to 10 pages. With such short lengths, there is no reason to have a TOC.

TOCs are part of a bygone era when the average white paper was more of a 'tome' that was targeted to a technical professional, and where the length was in the 20-30 page range. Then the use of a TOC made sense by allowing the reader to quickly jump to a particular section.

Today, it's considered the 'buggy-whip' of the medium.

Thanks,

Jonathan
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yasdnilrg · Registered Member Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Posts: 4

Hi

I am going to sit on the fence firmly here. I come from an IT background (enterprisse software) and every manager or CxO ALWAYS wants an exec summary for any document over 1 page. The rationale is often that if they run out of time, they can at least read that much, and sound like they know what they are talking about at the meeting to discuss it. So the demand is there, and strong enough that we probably have to accede to it.

Personally I dislike this. It smacks of cheating, leads to shallow knowledge and poor decisions. Helps to feed the herd instinct, which has created many problems, not least much of the current financial crisis, the dot-com bubble.

I do agree that a teaser piece is a good idea - not only for putting on web-sites, but also I think it helps viral spread of WP's. The person who sends it on doesn't have to sit down and analyse and then write out the reasoning why they are recommending the recipient to read it - you have done that for them, and all they need to do is cut and paste the exec summary into an email.

To pick up Johnathan's menu analogy - don't we all hate those menus that write a book about each dish? All the ingredients with a plethora of superfluous adjectives and adverbs, then step by step through the cooking process - like "tenderest cuts lovingly simmered in a fragrant jus". Eugh! But at the other end of the spectrum just the name of a dish, particularly if in a foreign langugage, is not enough.

So where is the happy medium? Probably in saying enough to outline the story you are going to tell, but not enough to tell the story.

Enjoying the summit hugely!

Lindsay

meryl · Valued Member Joined: 09 Oct 2005 Posts: 7 Location: Texas

One thing about white papers is they get around within a company if they're seriously looking into something. This means executives and senior management may find a copy in their inboxes or on their desks. They generally prefer a 1-2 page summary of the whole thing.

So why drop it? If you don't have it at all -- you risk losing the crowd who wants it. If you have it -- then the ones who don't want it have no trouble flipping through the pages.
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Gordon Graham · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:15 pm Post subject: It's not going to happen...

My favourite kind of menu shows a picture of each dish, and its name, so I don't have to read much.

I've always felt that it's unrealistic to think everyone in our many audiences is going to take the time to read all our wonderful words right to the end. People read like that in the 19th century, but they don't today.

Busy people skim, scan, and skip their way through documents... especially if they are reading on-screen. To believe that all our target readers can somehow be enticed to studiously pore over a 6-8 page document is delusional. Do you do that? And are you a C-level executive with an entire company depending on you?

I say this as a former journalist who has written close to 1,000 magazine articles on technology... as hard as I worked on my lead and my sexy intro, I know for a fact that many people just glanced at it and then flipped the page.

Watch how people operate in offices. We all have too much to read, too much to remember, too much to do. Executives have something like two weeks of work sitting on their desks at all times. To think that a couple of clever paragraphs is going to convince anyone to take half an hour from a 10-hour day to read a white paper from start to finish --- unless their boss explicitly told them to check something out --- is just not realistic. It's not going to happen. Deal.
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Appum · Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:05 am Post subject:

If you think about, almost every source of information in today's culture has been steadily moving towards 'abbreviated' version of that information. For example:

The Half Hour News Program has been replaced by "Headline News"

Newspaper readers no longer read lengthy articles, but skim headlines

The 30 second commercial has been replaced by the 15 second commercial

Newstories have been replaced by the 'soundbite'

Long email messages are now either 'Texted' or 'Twittered'.

I realize that this is disheartening for a white paper writer who may feel 'slighted' because the reader does not honor the lengthy amount of time that commitment may have been spent slaving over the content in an eight to ten page paper.

But feelings aside, not understanding the time and attention constraints of today's executive reader is simply wishing and hoping for an altered state of reality that isn't there.

Even in a study that Mike referenced on his blog:

http://www.writingwhitepapers.com/blog/2009/03/19/new-study-3/

The study shows that the participants in the study believe that the best white papers should have:

* A tight, to-the-point abstract (80%)

What more can I say? To not accept this by such a wide margin is to not accept reality.

BTW- this concept is why I have created a newsletter that looks into this very aspect of white papers called "Short Attention Span Marketing Tips". If you would like to learn more you can visit the link on my blog.

Thanks,

Jonathan
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Yura · Registered Member Joined: 12 Nov 2009 Posts: 1

Just curious, if you include an executive summary, wouldn't it make sense to briefly mention the actual ways the reader can improve his business, rather than hint on them?

This way, the targeted audience that'd appreciate the tips, would continue reading the article. Those, who think they won't find value in it, would abandon it. This way, there won't be any disappointment among those, who got to the middle of a whitepaper to discover that they know the actual tips hinted at in the summary.

What do you think?

Thanks.

Stelzner · Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:48 am Post subject:

Yura,

Maybe you should simply write an article? I think someone who is super busy will not read the entire paper if all the main meat is in the executive summary.

You must ask yourself, "What is my objective?"

Is it to satisfy the immediate interest of the reader and possibly send them away quickly or to lure them into wanting to read more.

Mike
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Michael A. Stelzner - Publisher
Founder of WhitePaperSource & SocialMediaExaminer.com

email: mike@whitepapersource.com
my book: Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged
blog: Social Media Examiner
twitter: http://twitter.com/Mike_Stelzner