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I have a somewhat different solution in mind that I'll explain for you
below, following my rationale.
> * The help system can be recognized as a main source for
> information about PCM, so clients will see help as a portal to the PCM
> user community; no internet access needed.
If the help system points to an online newsletter, then *of course*
they must have Internet access for that link to work.
I, too, agree that a newsletter is *not* the format for best aiding
the user to get "help and support." For one thing, new users may come
on at any arbitrary time in future and wouldn't know to look through
all the newsletters to find needed answers.
I also believe that linking to it in the help system would be a
mistake; it sets the commitment to produce it in concrete (at least
while the present version of software is being used in the
field)...even if you should happen upon a better solution later.
Most companies strictly limit client contact that tech writers have--I
have found it about as easy as pulling my own teeth to get this
clearance, even to inquire about the client needs. By contrast,
marketing is usually a favored location for direct customer contact.
If there are ongoing requirements to amplify your "help and support"
for users, you might simply issue a new version of the help system
that users can download and install...since it seems the original one
needs adjustment if such help and support is necessary beyond the
original help system.
By creating another vehicle for this kind of support, you admit that
the original documentation and/or training materials are
deficient--and a newsletter is an open admission of same, and not a
particularly good means of correcting it.
Customers often don't have the time even if they have the interest to
wade through more training materials. By upgrading the help and
training files to improve them, the users receive better help and
support when they need it and not simply when you choose to issue it.
A self-installing help file that overwrites the original would seem a
far more elegant solution to me.
I would regret having a "pitched battle" over turf within an
organization, especially when the unspoken message of what you seek
seems (if you'll excuse my bluntness) not to have been well thought
out.
Finally, a slipstream upgrade to the help docs as I suggest could be a
feature that marketing can use as a differentiator to customers: "We
never leave well enough alone in our commitment to support..." yadda
yadda...
Thus, instead of a "pitched battle" you remain within your normal
province of work and the other folks also get some new "ammunition" to
fire at customers and prospects. In the end, this would gain allies
rather than opponents.
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