TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Reader Analysis From:arroxaneullman -at- aol -dot- com To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Fri, 18 May 2007 17:56:25 -0400
baj357 -at- gmail -dot- com asked, "How do you obtain information about your readers? For example:
Do you observe your readers during certain tasks? Do you interview them? Do you talk to support? Other?
In a perfect world I would do all of the above and more. In reality, I can only communicate directly with a handful of our customers at a time. I do talk to Tech Support, Field Engineers, on-site Trainers, product Integrators, Sales and Marketing, and others who have regular contact with out customers. But, the nature of our industry causes our customers to be spread out around the world and not easily accessible.
To bridge that gap, I send out quarterly customer e-newsletters and we have occasional, targeted online or mailed surveys. Unfortunately, most of our users are not the ones who open the postal mail or receive email from us. But that's another issue for another day.
Of course, the best feedback I can get is happy phone support guys. If they aren't getting Stupid Questions as often, then something is working!
:)
Arroxane
________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
Now shipping: Help & Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help & Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
