Why do you need a White Paper?

If you have an ICO do you need a white paper?

Yes.

Will people read it?

No.

Well some will read it, but some people also bought One Coin and Ripple, so it’s not a very good argument.

So why do you need a white paper then?

That is actually quite complicated question to which no has an exhaustive answer, except that it’s an industry standard. Interestingly, for an industry so young as ICO it’s incredibly established already. First ICOs had white paper, so everyone else followed them. Probably because the great father Bitcoin also had a white paper, but Bitcoin at least at first was more of an scientific than a business project. Scientific projects indeed all have white paper that explain their theory, but this was not a standard for business projects, at least until the ICOs came.

General purpose of ICO white paper is to explain your non-existing business potential and technology in as complicated words as possible. So that even a genius will not understand it and think that you are smarter than him.

That’s what most old-school ICO experts are after. Also these people are the pickiest in ICO industry and will make huge noise about you not having or having a crappy white paper. So you should write one to please them.

For an industry so young as ICO it’s incredibly established already.

How hard should you focus on your white paper?

You should make it professional enough to pass the critics of so-called ICO experts who ask only about it and also if you plan to get listed in ICO websites and receive good ratings there. That’s about it. Most people will just want you to have it, but will never even open it.

Make sure you understand that white paper will not bring you a single sale.It may reduce sale, but it’s not your sales pitch. Your sales pitch is your website and you should mainly focus on it. If you want to have any success with your ICO sale your business ideas need to be explained in one sentence. If you think the white paper will explain it you are failing miserably.

People are extremely inpatient on the internet, people who have used internet daily for the past 20 years are even more impatient. You will get their attention only for few seconds and in these few seconds you need to deliver to the what are you all about. This is why the message has to be short. If you think people will actually waste an hour on your white paper, you are beyond crazy.

Your ICO business idea need to be explained in one sentence.

Why do you need a White Paper? was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.