                         WHAT IS MEGAPOST?
 
Megapost is a shareware uploading service.  Authors of programs send
their programs to a single place to be distributed to major bulletin
boards (BBS's) such as Channel 1, Rusty & Edie, and Exec-PC as well as
services such as CompuServe, GEnie, and Delphi.  In this way a large
number of potential customers can be reached quickly and easily.  These
authors also avoid the hassles and expense of doing it themselves.  With
Megapost, you pay the fee, send your disk, and that's it.
 
                        WHY YOU NEED MEGAPOST
 
Perhaps you planned to upload your program to a few local boards and
possibly mail your program to a disk vendor or two.  Then other folks
would do all your marketing and promotion for you, the program would
instantly spread to almost every BBS and disk vendor in the land, and
all you would have to do is relax, count the checks, and maybe write an
update every now and then.  Many authors have gone this route.  In all
but a few, rare cases, it doesn't work.  Then the authors sit and stew,
imagining that 100,000 people are using unregistered copies of their
programs.  More likely, either potential customers saw the programs,
tried them, didn't like them, and deleted them, or they didn't get
posted on BBS's and included in vendors' catalogs because of easily
fixed problems, or, most likely, they simply didn't spread!  Megapost
can definitely help you with the last two possibilities, and sometimes
even the first.  At the very least, you want to know that your program
had half a chance.  You're running a business; you don't want the
success of your product to depend on someone just happening to upload
your program to the right board; you want to be on that board right from
the start!  Otherwise, by the time that "right board" gets your program,
it will be too late, and you'll be out of business, another victim of
the myth that shareware marketing is effortless.
 
                 WHY A MAILING MAY NOT BE EFFECTIVE
 
Sysops as well as disk vendors are becoming more selective these days.
If they see anything that they don't like about your program, it will
find its way to the dreaded "reformat pile."  In such cases, you almost
never will be told that this happened or why.  Then you sit around
wondering why your mailbox is empty!  When you submit your program, I
will check it to insure that it will at least get posted for public
review.  If it has a serious problem, I will let you know so that you
can make the necessary adjustments.  I'll also make suggestions for
improvements to future versions when appropriate.  Also, in many cases,
uploading bypasses a sysop's manual review process, which decreases the
chances that your program will be rejected.
 
               WHY YOU WON'T WANT TO UPLOAD YOURSELF
 
As a first-time caller to a BBS, you'll generally be required to
complete a questionnaire and read through a myriad of rules and
regulations before you even see an ordinary BBS prompt.  Then you might
well find that you're still not allowed to upload on that first call--
or for that matter, any call--unless you pay for a subscription.  You
might also be required to complete a mail-in registration form or be
verified by telephone.  You'll also get a big phone bill.  Why not spend
more time programming!
 
                 COMPLETE DOWNLOADING INFORMATION
 
You will be sent a letter which states which boards received your
program.  You can then give this information to potential customers who
ask, "Where can I get a copy of your program?"  This saves the added
expense and bother of sending unregistered copies of your program--
simply direct the customer to one of the Megapost BBS's.  You can also
use this information to verify that the program was actually uploaded,
or include it in press releases and advertisements.  (Yes, you still
need to use traditional marketing methods too!)
 
                            DOWNLOAD COUNTS
 
After three months, you will receive a letter which states the download
counts (how many times the program was downloaded) for Exec-PC, GEnie,
Delphi, and CompuServe.  In this way you get some idea of what kind of
interest your program is generating.
 
         For additional information:
 
                              Andrew M. Saucci, Jr.
                              641 Koelbel Ct
                              Baldwin, NY 11510-3915.
                              1-800-538-8461
                              1-516-223-1879
                              Internet: 72117.241@compuserve.com
 
          Visa and MasterCard are welcomed and encouraged.
 
