Available now, due to Tim's "secret weapon":

PC help, questions answered,
how-to videos and free ebooks

Plus: Free book for having a look – normally Ł5.99 ...

Hello,

Picture this - has anything like this ever happened to you:

You're using your PC and need to, let's say, set up your anti-virus program. You know it's important to have it set up right, or viruses could slip through the net. But you don't know how - and when you try to work it out, it drives you mad...

But for a small group of people, it's as simple as this:

You go onto the Inner Circle website, type in your special password, then type "anti-virus" into the search box, and voila! You get an article entitled "How to install and set up your anti-virus program", all explained in plain, simple English.

For other topics you might find a video I've recorded showing you what to do instead. Whichever is better for that topic, to make it easy & simple... and to take away the frustration.

But what if there's something in the article you want to ask more about... or anything else you're having trouble with?

Well, again for a select group of people it's easy...

Click on the button marked "Clubroom" (no need to type the password in again - it remembers it) and type in the question that's niggling you. Any other member of the Inner Circle can answer it if they like - or you can wait until I (or my "secret weapon" - more on her in a moment) check it later that day. We'll give you a simple answer in plain English.

And if you have more questions or annoying problems with your PC after that, just ask about them too.

But as I say, only a small group of people have it this easy. Why have I limited it to just them?

Time.

It takes quite a lot of time to answer all the questions and to maintain the website. The more members, the longer that'll take. That's on top of the time to write the articles, record videos and write a few special ebooks, only for Inner Circle members. And...

I just haven't had time to do all that for more than a few hundred people. So I put strict limits on how many members I'd accept. And I had to turn away people who wanted to join, regardless of how popular it was with the existing members, who had this to say:

Brilliant - problems are immediately solved with the Clubroom, without waiting for an engineer to come out, or a Ł30 Fee and the Articles and videos stretch your knowledge and your computer confidence - Thanks!
Carol Wilson

Prior to joining the Inner Circle I had to pay for every major and minor computer problem to be resolved. Over 12 months, this cost me a great deal, and my computer was shut down many times due to my uncertainty about what to do. The Circle illustrates how many problems you can get and how to solve them. It’s a fantastic service and via Tim and his staff we all learn because each problem and solution is posted on the circle pages. There are also helpful Videos and information sheets on how to use your computer. Worth every penny for beginners and I would think more experienced computer users. Also circle members try to help each other via the comment and question pages which are subsequently checked by Tim and his staff.
Jim

I think it's great and found the books and videos really helpful.
Anne

What a boon the clubroom is. Problems which were bugging me can now be aired on the clubroom and answered. The video on flash drives prompted me to buy one and from there to load it with some family photographs which I particularly wanted to keep.
David Crookes

The people in the office thought I was daft. "Why not just recruit someone to help you with it, then get lots more members?" they'd say. But I was adamant. Too many supposed computer experts simply can't explain things clearly and simply - and they always use confusing jargon. And I wasn't having anyone like that involved.

But then I found my "secret weapon"

What changed? Well, last year I took a fortnight off when my son was born. So I asked Georgia (one of the handful of people who answer the phone and pack orders of books for me - she also happens to be a bit of a whizz on computers) to look after it while I was off.

I was gobsmacked when I came back! You see...

I'd expected her to pick up the idea from me and do a reasonable job... but not only had she done a great job, explaining things nice and clearly and taking the time to make sure she'd really understood people's questions. She'd also had even more people write in saying "Thank you - that was so helpful" than I get! So...

So I did a bit of an experiment and asked her to carry on helping. She's been answering most of the questions we get (unless there's one that would be better answered by me for some reason), while I write the articles, record the videos and write the odd ebook.

It's worked brilliantly - and she's carried on getting lots of "fan mail" from all the people she's helped.

For example:

Dear Georgia
I was much surprised to receive your rapid response, which I have already tried. IT WORKS! In this day and age such promptness is a rarity. I've just had a cuppa for recovery. I have struggled to perform this procedure and now I can.

She's become my secret weapon! Far better than the all those supposedly highly qualified PC experts who can't say anything in plain, simple English!

So I've decided to let more people join the Inner Circle. With Georgia helping I can cope with far more members. There'll still come a point when we have to say "enough". But for now, we can allow more people to join. (That's fair warning that although you can join now, I can't promise it'll still be available later on.)

So exactly what do you get once you're a member?

Inner Circle Members get access to help in all sorts of ways:

There's a whole range of articles - and I add new ones regularly (and keep the ones there up to date). All the articles are in plain English to make them really easy to understand - and unlike my newsletter articles they have plenty of pictures of the screen so you can see exactly what to do.
There's also a host of videos - showing you exactly what to do if you want to, say, sell on eBay, show other people your holiday photos in the best way or sort a nagging email problem. Like the articles, I add new ones all the time - and like the articles they're only available to members.
There's the clubroom, where you can ask questions about PC problems, make comments and reply to other people's questions. All members can ask questions and reply, so you might get answers from several people - and I read this regularly so you can get answers direct from me here, as well as from Georgia.
There's nothing to stop you browsing through the questions other people have asked, either. Several people have commented that they learned some useful tips by looking at the answers to other people's questions: "I had that problem too - I never thought to ask about it but now I know what to do!"

This is strictly only for members - otherwise we simply wouldn't have time to answer all the questions of technical help we'd get. This will be the only way to get technical help from me.

Does that sound useful - all that advice & help plus your questions answered?

Well, that's not all...

You also get:

A selection of my books you can read online or print out. Some of these are books that are available elsewhere (once you're a member you'll be able to get them here - without paying anything). But some of them are books I've written specifically for the Inner Circle. They aren't available anywhere else - the ONLY way to get them is to be a member.
You'll also get a list of great programs you can download for free - and where to get them from. I keep this up to date so as new free programs come out, I'll list them here. And I've tried out every program on this list, so you know it is worth having.
And finally, you'll also get access to my journal - where I write quick notes about things you should know about in the computer world. If there's a new email scam to watch out for, a new article you really should read or simply a new version of a useful program out that you might want, I'll tell you about it here. It's not like the newsletter - this is more off the cuff - my inner thoughts.

You get a lot, I know. But don't be put off by how much there is. You only need to use the bits you want - and you can always come back to the rest later on.

Like nothing I've done before

You might have read my newsletter (don't worry, by the way, I'll carry on with that and it'll still be free).

This is quite different from the newsletter. You'll get access to more videos and articles - and instead of them arriving in your email at a certain time, you'll be able to choose when you look up and read a particular article or watch a particular video. Plus you'll be able to ask questions whenever you like.

A few facts you should know before you make any decisions:

When you ask a question, Georgia or I might not answer it that very minute - we might not be at the PC! But you won't have to wait long - it's not like sending a question to me for the reader's question in the newsletter, seeing if I include it in the next issue and waiting several weeks for the issue to come out. We'll be checking it each work-day at the least.
You don't need a fancy super-duper PC. All you need is a PC running Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. If you're not sure which version of Windows you have, it should appear on the screen each time you turn the PC on, while it's loading.
You also need an internet connection - and ideally it should be broadband of some kind or other, whether it's wireless, through a phone line or cable.

Oh, I suppose I ought to tell you the price!

I spent quite a while thinking about this. I don't want to charge over the odds. But I also need to make sure it's a fair amount - after all, making sure you get the videos, articles & ebooks you need takes a good deal of time.

So I started by looking at what you'd pay if you got a PC tutor to go over all the things included. That would cost at least Ł30-Ł45 per month (at Ł15 per hour), possibly more.

That sounded a lot to me, so I had a look around to see if there was anything similar to the Inner Circle. There isn't anything exactly the same, but a company called Agora offer something a bit similar (www.windows-solutions.co.uk/free-issue/) though it doesn't have the videos or one or two of the other bits. They charge Ł11.97 per month (and once you're past their trial period, you're tied in for 12 months).

Better, but I still felt I should be able to make it a bit cheaper (and I hated the "tie-in").

So I thought about what else you might spend money on every month. I thought about the Sunday paper - which costs me Ł2 a week - or Ł8 a month.

And I decided it should be no more expensive than the Sunday paper. In fact I went for just Ł7.99 per month. Or, looking at it another way, about 27p a day.

When I told Dad about this he thought I'd flipped. He thought I should charge more, given how much I'm including. And when he found out that the Agora version is Ł11.97 and doesn't include everything mine does, he really thought I'd lost it.

But I've stuck to it. I want my version to be the best and the cheapest - despite the business gurus telling me I should either go for best or cheapest. Nuts to them.

There's one thing I haven't told Dad though - my risk free promise

It's like a test drive.

If you are interested in joining the Inner Circle, but you're not sure if it's worth it for you, here's what you can do:

Join now and see what you think of it for 30 days. If at any time in those 30 days you decide you'd rather not be a member, let me know and I'll refund everything you've paid. Not just the time you haven't used, your whole subscription. So it'll have cost you nothing at all.

And of course there's no tie-in. At any time after the 30 days you can leave the Inner Circle and you only pay for the time you have been a member - no minimum term or anything sneaky like that.

I'm confident you'll want to stay a member - but the choice is yours.

One more thing - free gift just for having a look

My latest book is "Simple Ways to Make Your PC Easier to Use". It's normally Ł5.99 but you can have it without paying a penny. If you join the Inner Circle, I'll send you a copy in the post free, gratis and for nothing. What's more, you can keep it whatever you decide about the Inner Circle - whether you stay a member or cancel in the free trial period.

This 56 page book covers all sorts of tips that make it easier and simpler to use your PC. Tricks to do things more quickly & easily, settings that make your PC work the way you want it to instead of the way the manufacturer dreamed up and even a few tips on how to physically set your PC up to be more comfortable to use. Things every PC user should know, whatever you use your computer for.

You get everything straight away - instant access

Join now and in a matter of minutes you could be reading one of the articles, watching a video or typing a question into the clubroom. You don't have to wait. (You can even start reading the free book online instead of waiting for the post if you like - or read one of the other ebooks you can access free once you're a member.)

What does this mean for you?

It means you can get the technical help you need. Get your questions answered. Find out anything new you need to know about. And print out new books from me without having to pay for them (quite legally!) - books non-members can't get their hands on at all. You can try it out without committing yourself at all - and you can cancel if you decide it's not for you.

So best sign up now

As soon as you join, you can access it all - and we'll send your copy of Simple Ways to Make Your PC Easier to Use in the post to you straight away, along with your copy of the Members' Handbook. Best act now.

Just click the button below and you'll be taken to a page where you can join online. Or if you don't like using your card online, give us a call on 01229 777606. Either way, within minutes, you'll be a member of the Inner Circle and have access to all the help the other members have.

Yours

Tim Wakeling

PS
Don't forget, you get the free book (normally Ł5.99) sent to you in the post straight away once you join - and you can keep it even if you leave within the 30 day free trial period. A sort of "thank-you" for having a look.

PPS
Remember, if you're not sure, it's like a test drive. You can try out membership for 30 days. If you decide it's not for you, leave and we'll refund your first month's membership so you've paid nothing. Even after that there's no "tie-in" or leaving fee or anything sneaky like that!

Not sure?
Have a look back at the list entitled Inner Circle Members get access to help in all sorts of ways and see if you think any of that could be useful. If so, why not join and see if it's helpful during the 30 days - you've got nothing to lose by trying it. After all, the worst that can happen is if you decide it's not for you and you get a free book!