Solving top 3 challenges while repurposing webinars into whitepapers

I am sure you are neither new to the concept of repurposing nor it is your first time converting a webinar into a whitepaper. However easy it sounds, creating a compelling piece of repurposed content is notoriusly hard. Here are my tips to solve 3 major challenges associated with repurposing an archived webinar into a thought paper.

1. Decision to transcribe or go beyond just transcribing:

Any freelance content writer can do the job. But frankly, you might be better off not using the same concept as that in the webinar. You don’t want your audience to get this feeling that they have heard the same pitch before.  Little tweaks.

Every webinar has one core message around which the whole webinar pivots. But it is also true that there are at least 2 or more takeaways that are important but not given stage time. So, they tend to become ‘hidden’ during the webinar. Use these other takeaways as the pivot for the paper. Automatically, the so called transcription will mimic a new thought paper. It is like showing the same room but from a different window.

2. Finding the ‘Best’ resource

You have 2 options – hire a copywriter or get it done internally. This decision to build or buy will be dominated on whom you consider more competent to deliver results based on what you are expecting from this exercise. The last thing your thought leader wants is to make the paper look like a written speech.

How to identify the best resource for this:

1. 1. Ask her/him to share at least ONE thought or opinion on the subject he/she is writing about
2. 2. Say something and wait for a reaction from the resource. For eg. – Say that MySQL is terribly expensive. The reaction will tell you what to do next.
3. 3. You may have no choice if you decide to ‘build’ this internally. But if you’re buying – get to read the writer’s thoughts. Not having a blog should not be acceptable. Since you’re buying – the writing should impress you. Period.
4. 4. Ask the resource to identify the other less-stressed-upon takeaways of the webinar. His/her answer will decide for you.
5. 5. Ask the writer to share thoughts on how the whole webinar will be reshuffled to bring home the point of the newly identified takeaway

3. What else to add to the paper without climbing Everest

Since you’re wanting to make the paper stand out, you might consider adding some titbits of info and stats that bring the taste in the paper. Remember – the core content will anyways come from the webinar’s presentation. These small pieces enhance the reading experience. A lot will come from the polls and surveys you have conducted during the webinar. If you have invited a guest speaker from the industry or your customer – tidbits from this section will add weight.

To make a paper from a webinar really shine out – get associated with some portals that talk about that industry. Get the news. Sometimes an industry can be overwhelming. Break down the large news items into smaller chunks and consume. Always have opinions.

GoldTip: Ask your thought leader to share all his notes and rough work he did for the webinar. You’ll be surprised at the wealth of info he’s collected.

Next time I’ll tell you what to do when you’ve overcome your challenges and started building these papers. Marketing this content is itself a pretty draining exercise!