RP>There are so many boards, and their ads are almost identical i.e., "We
RP>have tons of files, messages and games."  Well, here's a news flash: so
RP>does every other board in your city!
RP>Callers pay for content -- nothing more. If you offer essentially the same
RP>services as every other board, you're doomed.  It's not possible to run a
RP>"something for everyone" type of system and make it profitable because it
RP>puts the sysop in the position of having to compete head-to-head with the
RP>Internet and the mega-BBS's.
Richard
Thank you for your comments and I could not agree with you more! We are
a little unique in that to many we seem to be a general interest system
(excluding the internet account we sell). We really cater to very
diverse groups of callers. We cater to clubs(amateur radio, chess,
gamers) and we make sure that our files, and forums are active and up to
date. We also carry thousands of other things for the general caller who
over time gets to appreciate our offerings and in particular our
service.
That is one thing I left out of the original post - SERVICE. We have a
help line, we even go to callers homes to assist them when all else
fails. Our policy is to accept NO payment until everything works to the
callers satisfaction. This is what sets us apart and it is working well
for us.
You are right about the ads all being the same. We placed an ad in a
local PC users group newsletter and it took 3 months before we got real
activity from it. What they said was that they wanted to try us out
first(free trial) and then see if we were still in existence a bit
later. Very interesting comments. Now that ad (which we were originally
going to make smaller) is going to stay exactly like it is since it is
generating calls.
Glad to hear from you and appreciate your comments. I would like to hear
from you and others regarding advertising. WHat has worked, what has not
your online systems going.
       John
       Cybercat Online
       sysop@cycat.com
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