How does an e-book differ from a white paper?

E-books and white papers are the two most popular types of content in the digital world. Since they share the same format, it is easy to get confused between the two.

Are they interchangeable? Which one is right for your business? What do they stand for? 

These are all common questions most marketers have who are looking to publish a long-form of content.

Differences Between e-book and White Paper

1. A white paper is a piece of content that is used for targeting prospects at their decision-making stage. On the other hand, e-books are best to target prospects at their awareness stage.

For example, “5 Marketing Automation Tools For Businesses” is good for an e-book as it is supposed to help users who are looking for marketing automation tools.

On the other hand, “Hubspot vs Zoho: What To Choose” is more suitable for a white paper as it will help users in their decision making if they are deciding to choose between Zoho and Hubspot.

2. White papers provide more research, facts, data, and address a specific problem, written mostly by experts or a group of experts.

On the other hand, ebooks are simple and written formally (can also be casual in nature) without being rich in research, can be written by non-experts.

3. White papers work mainly in the B2B segment, on the other hand, e-books are mostly used in B2C marketing.

4. White papers are usually shorter than ebooks. It can range from 1000 words to 3000 words (5 to 12 pages). On the other hand, e-books are longer than a whitepaper, range from 10 to 200 pages.

5. The focus of the white paper is on content and research, on the other hand, apart from the focus on content, e-books are designed in mind with the aesthetics as well.

The goal of e-book and white paper are the same – help your visitors and convert them into leads. However, they should be used according to your business type, your goal, and your audience.

Is there any other difference between white paper and e-book? Let me in the comments section below.