A Message to a Pay Sysop I want to share something with you that I think you will find quite interesting. If you are reading this you are probably at least interested in running a pay oriented BBS. If you already run a pay BBS then you realize that the most important, and unfortunately most difficult, function of that BBS is to get the user to pay. It gets a little easier if they have already paid once or twice. However the real difficulty comes with getting that caller the pay the very first time. If I may digress for just a moment, I would like to share something else with you. In the last twelve years many of the billion-dollar enterprises have become so due to a particular group of people and a particular strategy. The group: people between the age of 12 and 35. The strategy: low cost, high volume entertainment products. Think about it. What is the most successful new product in the last 12 years? Home entertainment systems, i.e., Nintendo(TM) and Sega Genesis(TM), to name just a couple. Now, what was the precursor to the home entertainment system... arcade video games. These alluring and quite remarkable machines draw you to them and ask only a quarter to see the rest of what it has in store. Let's say that you come across a video game with some of the most awesome graphics around and multi-player so you and your buds can play against one another. You've decided to play, but in order to you must first mail in a check to the company who own the video game and keep coming back until you know that they've received the check at which time you receive a limited amount of time to play. Would you be so inclined to pay much attention to that game? Maybe so, now think of everyone else who would read this senerio... would they? Who knows? The fact of the matter is this, it would take so long to be able to play that you could quickly lose interest, or if you have already mailed in checks for your favorite video game, who's to say that you will want to go through to whole process for yet another great new game that you have come across? If you think about it, this is what your callers face each and every time they come across a great new BBS. They may like it, and they will easily pay for it, but it just takes too much time and trouble to get on-line. It may also be easier to just stick with the one they are already paying for even if it may be a long-distance call. I run a BBS and think that I have solved that problem in much the same way arcade video games entices you to play. I use a 900 number. This allows the caller to quickly pay a small amount of money for a reasonable amount of time on-line. What happens is when a caller connects for the first time they get enough time to become interested. Once they are interested in the BBS I give them my 900 number so they can call and get instant time on-line. The process is much like paying for an arcade video game! The process is simple. They simply call the 900 number and receive a code. The caller then calls the BBS back and enters that code. He receives instant Membership! I know that they have paid for the code because they could only get it by calling the 900 number and thereby charging their phone. The 900 number makes a flat charge to their phone of $10.00. That gives them $10.00 worth of on-line time once that code is redeemed. The response is phenomenal! My paid user-ship had gone up nearly 600% in just a few months. I am offering BBS Sysops the opportunity to connect a 900 number to their BBS for just $250.00. It is called The Connect 900 Service. There are no hidden connect fees. I ask that you call around and ask. Most people will tell you that there is a catch, but there is none. For only $250.00 you can offer your callers the ease and simplicity of paying for your BBS on the fly. You would effectively remove the time barrier. And, you also reduce the number of checks and credit card orders to process. In conversations with other BBS Sysops running pay-for- play systems we would often get on the topic of making more money with the system or at least making it pay for itself. Usually, before the Connect 900 Service was available, we would get on the subject of instant pay. That would inevitably lead to the discussion of credit card acceptance and then to 900 numbers and would quickly end with sighs and groans about the expense and complications of each step. Credit cards offer instant pay, but, if you are smart, not instant play. Fear of fraud and misuse generally tend to only shorten the time between paying and playing. It still takes awhile. Also, some people, namely myself, are a bit wary of leaving that valuable 12 to 14 digit number in the hands of a stranger. That problem is no more.