The Nettle Blog

The Truth About Alex Jeffreys

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:13:00 +0000

=========
I'm not sure why I love writing email subjects that begin with "The Truth About..." There just seems to be something provocative and entertaining about it.

"The Death of..." is another fun one, but I figured that if I went with that I might scare Alex's family ;-)

** In a Rush? Click Here: The Truth About Alex Jeffreys **
=========

Anyway...

The first time I met Alex Jeffreys was at an IM seminar in 2006, and my first impression of him was...

Erm...

OK... Before I begin I should consider that there is a possibility that Alex might read this email and I'd hate to offend him so, Alex, if you're reading this - I love you man, but you might want to skip this one ;-)

So my first impression was, "is this guy for real?"

He was enthusiastically telling attendees (and speakers) about his imminent launch and how great it would be to JV with him, in exactly the way that usually just gets people irritable.

Without any significant track-record, Alex was making some big claims about his project and how it was going to - and I'm paraphrasing here - allow him to take over the world.

But the thing is...

** He Was Getting Away With It **

I don't know if it was his youth, the welsh accent, or just some quirk of his personality, but for some reason I found it impossible not to like this guy.

And I wasn't the only one.

Maybe what it came down to was the fact that he WAS for real, There could be no doubt, that this WASN'T a front and Alex truly believed that his website and his IM career were going to be nothing less than spectacular.

Now I'm not someone who believes that you can succeed through sheer force of will so, by the time I left the seminar, I had this background fear that things might not go as well for Alex as he believed and that the disappointment would crush him.

** I Shouldn't Have Worried **

A couple of months ago, I bumped into Alex at another seminar and found out that Alex had done $27k in sales in his first week and leveraged that success over the next year to increase his income to six figures.

He was also happily talking about his new launch in December.

Not that he needed my advice, but I suggested he should ditch the usual sales letter and just put up a video of himself talking about his product. There is no sales letter in the world that can effectively communicate Alex's enthusiasm and passion for his work.

So while his sales letter is enthusiastic, I suggest that you read it, capture in your mind the excitement and genuine passion that comes across in it..

and then multiply it by ** TEN **

Only then will you get a hint of the fun you're going to have reading his story.

Because don't think for a minute that this is just another boring, "look at what I did", report. This is the honest, warts-an-all, story of Alex Jeffreys year in IM.

Did I mention that he's giving it away for free?

===> The Truth About Alex Jeffreys

Best wishes,

=================
David Congreave

PS - If you get the free report, but decide to go for the upsell as well, shoot me an email and you can pick one of the following DVDs on me:

Spiderman 3, Sunshine, Fracture, Reign Over Me, Snakes on a Plane, Blood Diamond, Viral Video Fever

It's first-some, first-served though, so get in quick if there's something you really want.

===> The Truth About Alex Jeffreys

The #1 Traffic Secret

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:59:00 +0000

*** Click 'Play' if you want me to read this blog post to you ***

Length: 6mins 46secs

Hi

It took me two days, but I've finally caught up with all the emails and post I received while I was on vacation.

I've also managed to follow up with everyone I met at last weeks Brit Pack seminar who I intend to keep in touch with. I'm going to get 'stuck record' accusations I'm sure, but attending Real World events is still the fastest way to grow your business.

I don't want to get side-tracked from the point of this email, but I mention this because you're going to hear me referring to last week's event quite a bit over the next few weeks. It's not an excuse to 'name drop' or anything like that. It's just that I picked up so much interesting and useful information, that I can't help wanting to pass on a little bit of it.

********
BTW - that doesn't mean you can excuse yourself from getting out there and attending an event for yourself. What I share in these emails will be useful, but it's only a fraction of what you can get from actually attending an event for yourself.
********

So...

I'm going to take you on a journey that begins with a subject I had no interest in and finishes up with an opportunity for you to learn the #1 Traffic Secret.

On Saturday morning, Scott Paton gave the second best lecture of the Brit Pack event (I'll tell you about the best one another time). This surprised me because it was on a subject I have no interest in.

And there's a good chance that you have no interest in it either.

In fact, I'm so sure of it, that I'm almost hesitant to tell you what the subject was for fear that you'll take one look at it and close the email.

Hmm... what to do?

OK - I'm going to tell you what the subject was, but before I do, you have to promise not to close the email straight away. Allow me a few more lines to get to my point.

I also want you to get yourself into a mental place where you can hear the next few words WITHOUT falling asleep.

OK?

Ready for this?

The lecture was about...

...

......

.........

............

Pod-Casting.

WAKE UP!!!!!

Yeah, I know. So what?

Well, as hard as it may be to believe, so compelling was Scott's arguement, that in the space of 90 minutes I went from having ZERO interest in pod-casting, to being convinced that I absolutely MUST start producing one of my own.

But that's a subject for another time.

I'm not going to try and recreate in one email, what Scott did so successfully in 90 minutes.

I'm bringing it up because during the course of the lecture, Scott talked about the differences in the way people learn. Some people like to learn by reading, some people prefer to listen, and some people prefer to watch.

There are also some people who don't like to learn at all, but we'll leave them to watch their daytime TV shows while we get on with something worthwhile.

I know the revelation that not everyone learns the same way is not a new one, but it got me thinking about the flip-side of the arguement.

We're told to add audio or video to our pages because a percentage (40%+ according to some) will prefer this to reading.

But what about you and me?

Audio and Video material in the IM industry is still in its infancy. Most information is still presented in text format.

So if you're still struggling to get your online business off the ground, what if it's because you've not received training in a format that is best suited for you?

If I have a choice, I'll take reading every single day of the week. Consequently, when I recommend something to you, I tend to focus on written material because...

That's what I prefer.

But what if that isn't right for you?

So, to correct the problem, I'm going to try and some variety to my recommendations. Starting today.

Which brings me nicely to Reed Floren.

During a Q&A session about Joint Ventures at the BritPack event, somebody asked about JV Brokers. Only two names were mentioned by the experts and one of them was Reed Floren.

I instantly racked my brains because I knew I'd heard the name before. Then I remembered.

Literally a couple of days before I went on vacation, I had an unexpected email from Reed to tell me about a special webinar that he's putting on next week.

*************
If you're not familiar with it, a webinar is like a teleseminar, but it's presented through the internet so you often get video as well as audio. I tried one out a few weeks ago and it's very cool.
*************

Normally I would have declined because I don't to pay much attention to these kind of events. But, for the aforementioned reasons, I've decided it's time for a change.

So, mark this date in your diary:

************
Thursday, October 18, 2007 9:00 PM - 10:30 PM EDT

If you need to check the time difference, go to www.timeanddate.com
************

On this date and time, Reed Floren will be conducting his webinar and revealing his #1 Traffic Secret.

The secret that has allowed him to drive huge amounts of traffic, not just for himself, but also the marketers he's worked alongside.

People like Mark Joyner, Harris Fellman, Joel Comm, Jeff Wellman, to name just a few.

As much as I prefer reading material, I can't deny that there is a power in HEARING or SEEING information, that you can't get from an ebook.

To register for the webinar, go to:

======> www.thetrafficsecret.com/ttswebinar/

You'll notice this isn't an affiliate link. I won't be receiving a cent in commission for this recommendation so hopefully that will help quell any cynicism that may be building up ;-)

Now, registration for this webinar isn't free, but it is extremely cheap.

And I'm going to add a guarantee to take all the risk away from YOU and place it on to ME.

If you register for this webinar and, afterwards, you feel it wasn't worth the investment, send me an email and I will give you a full refund.

That isn't a mistake. Yes, I'm not receiving any commission for this recommendation, so I'm guaranteeing this out of my own pocket.

Still feeling cynical about this?

Then there's nothing I can do to save you - LOL

OK - I have to get back to work and I'm sure you do to, but first, please take a moment to visit the link below. I think you'll be glad you did.

======> www.thetrafficsecret.com/ttswebinar/

Have a great day! As always, if you have any questions, just hit 'reply'.

Best wishes,

======================================
David Congreave
david@thenettle.com

PS - In case you were wondering - yes I know the secret, and no I won't be spoiling the surprise. So don't ask ;-)

An Astounding Fact

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:59:00 +0000

I made it a massive two days into my vacation before I found myself sitting in front of a PC writing you an email. In exactly half an hour, my Wife is going to insist we go and find something to eat, so apologies if this comes across as rushed.

You may not be aware of this, but The Nettle is officially owned by my family's company - 'PayPerShop Ltd'. This side of the business has nothing to do with the IM industry, so I don't refer to it often.

However, this week there was a development with PayPerShop that I just HAD to include you in.

It's about training and personal development, two things I strongly believe in and that I know for a FACT have kept me in business over the years.

I made it a massive two days into my vacation before I found myselfsitting in front of a PC writing you an email. In exactly half anhour, my Wife is going to insist we go and find something to eat,so apologies if this comes across as rushed.

You may not be aware of this, but The Nettle is officially owned bymy family's company - 'PayPerShop Ltd'. This side of the businesshas nothing to do with the IM industry, so I don't refer to it often.

However, this week there was a development with PayPerShop that Ijust HAD to include you in.
It's about training and personal development, two things I stronglybelieve in and that I know for a FACT have kept me in business overthe years.

Without this, my business would almost certainly have gone undertwo years ago.
The official details are below. It refers to PayPerShop throughout,but I've been given permission to extend this offer to you as well.

==============

Please give this serious consideration.

It's a GENUINE offer and a GENUINE discount off the regular price.

If you're in a rush, just go to:

http://www.thenettle.com/-/BusinessSource

==============

Dear PayPerShop member:

Here is an astounding fact - readers make more money - a lot more!

It's true. According to a number of studies*, business people whoread at least 7 business books a year earn over 2.3 times more thanpeople who read only 1 book per year. Why exactly do readers earn so much more money?

One of the corereasons is that they have a constant stream of new ideas andstrategies they can use to help their careers, their clients andtheir companies.

The Japanese call this act of using a stream of new ideas toimprove business practices "Kaizen" and it's at the heart of theirhuge success. They constantly use new ideas to make incrementalimprovements, which over time, stack up one on top the other tocreate massive business success.

The same success principle applies to Human Resource Professionals. But where can you find a stream of new and practical ideas to helpdrive your success?

The easiest and most underutilized method is to learn directly fromthe world's business experts. Many of them have written greatbooks that offer their proven strategies and winning ideas - ideasand strategies that took years to develop and perfect. Thisinformation is just sitting there for the taking - ready to propelyou to the next level.

The problem is, who has the time to do all that reading?

A recent study** showed that 74.9% of all managers understand theyneed to read more to stay ahead of the curve, but they simply don'thave the time. And this troubling reality is directly impactingtheir incomes - not to mention their careers! There is a solution!

PayPerShop has teamed up with The Business Source to offer concisesummaries of books you need to read. Each month you will learnbest practices and powerful insights from leading thinkers such asStephen Covey, Malcolm Gladwell and Jack Welch.

The summaries only take 15 minutes to read and you get 2 summariesmonthly, so your total time investment is only 30 minutes a month! With that tiny investment you will get a stream of new ideas (inbite-size pieces) that will help make "Kaizen" a reality in yourbusiness life.

If you could use a stream of powerful new ideas to help take you tothe next level, click on the link below or paste it into yourbrowser...

http://www.thenettle.com/-/BusinessSource

As a member of PayPerShop you will receive The Business Source for70% off the retail price (a savings of $91) but only if you respondbefore October 5th, so to take advantage of this great offer go to...

======> http://www.thenettle.com/-/BusinessSource

As always, if you have any questions, just hit 'reply'.

Best wishes,

======================================

David Congreave

david@thenettle.com

* Sources: United States Department of Labor, Survey by Yahoo!Chief Solutions Officer Tim Sanders and Business Majors

** Source: Bersin & Associates Research Study - "How ExecutivesStay Informed: A Study of Resources Used and Time Spent LocatingCritical Business Information."

Launch Formula Marketing - Demo

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:39:00 +0000

Networking Nightmares

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:20:00 +0000

99% of FAILED Internet Marketers DIDN'T DO IT!.

99% of SUCCESSFUL Internet Marketers DID IT!.

Have YOU Done It Yet?

Click HERE To Find Out!

BlogRush - Guess Who's Back?

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:33:00 +0000

# Back again.

Reese's back...

Tell a friend. #

Ahem!

John Reese is one of a small handful of internet marketers that,
when they release something new, you just HAVE to stop and take
notice.

If you don't...

Well it'd be a little bit likegangster movie afficionados hearing
that Martin Scorsese is releasing a new movie... and just shrugging
nonchantly.

Not the usual John Reese product though. This is an ad exchange
model, aimed exclusively at blog owners.

Put it this way... A lot of people that don't have blogs now, will
do so just to get access to this program.

It's free to join. Go to:

======> www.blogrush.com

If you don't have a blog yet, set one up at Blogger so you can get
started. It won't cost you anything and takes about 3 minutes.

======> www.blogger.com

Checkout Austin jobs at itzbig.

The Second Piece of the Puzzle

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 10:49:00 +0000

So you have a product or - thanks to PLR Gold - you have the material to produce one very quickly. The next step is to find a delivery system that will allow you to sell it.

And this is where the problem starts. You need your website to be able to:

Sell or give away your product in a secure environment.
Setup an upsell (and downsell) promotion.
Allow customers to become affiliates of your product.
Allow you to handle affiliate commissions easily.
Integrate with a list building service (such as Aweber).

And if you're ambitious, you also need it to:

Let you split-test your sales page.
Add Promo/Discount Codes.
Provide affiliates with promotional tools.
Deliver additional material to customers on auto-pilot.
Allow customers to upgrade to a better service/product.

OK - you already know I'm going to say it, but Launch Formula Marketing handles ALL of these criteria... effortlessly.

LFM is usually promoted as a membership script (and it is), but the simplicity of its design means this is a superb choice for product launches and free give-aways (for list building) as well.

And the ability to make ALL of your customers affiliates as standard is a great way to send your website viral and bring in more traffic.

New Feature

You're going to hear this talked about a lot over the next few weeks and months, but this new feature for LFM is the perfect solution for home business owners that want to spend LESS time on the business.

LFM allows you to set content on a "timed-release", so that material or products are delivered over a period of time - instead of all at once.

The CLEVER BIT is that the timer isn't based on when the website launches, it's based on when the CUSTOMER joins. This adds an incredible array of options for your website.

For example, let's say you have a course on cooking chinese food that you've broken up into 12 lessons. Just upload the material into your website and set it to release lessons at two week intervals. Now anyone who joins gets the material delivered gradually over a six-month period.

You can now offer...

A 6 month course on cooking chinese food for $37 a month.

With this option it is far more likely that the customer will USE their purchase. It's much easier to learn when lessons are delivered in bite-size pieces, rather than all in one go.

Launch Formula Marketing has been built from the ground up with internet marketing in mind. That's why it can cater for such a large number of ideas and business models.

And the speed at which you can put a website together with this script is amazing - even if you're not very techincally-minded.

But, even if you're a complete technophobe, you could easily hire someone on Elance to install and customise the script for less than a couple of hundred dollars.

Stop for a moment, look back over this page, and do the maths. Getting a functioning, customer-ready, affiliate-ready, commerical website up and running can be done in days, NOT weeks or months. And it can be done at only 1 or 2 percent of the amount it would cost you to start an off-line business.

Ready to go? Click below:

Click Here to Purchase Launch Forumla Marketing

Inside PLRGold 5

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:20:00 +0000

This Is What You've Been Waiting For

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:03:00 +0000

=====> www.thenettle.com/goto/plr-gold-5.html

Transferring to Aweber

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:57:00 +0000

Visit Aweber.com

** Looney Marketer **

I've turned down several JV requests for fire-sales this year, but I accepted this one for two very specific reasons. See if you can figure out what they are (all will be revealed tomorrow).

=====> Looney Marketer

** Templates In a Box **

If you're interested in the template package at the above link, but aren't bothered for the rest, you can purchase this by itself at the link below.

=====> Templates In a Box

ExitGrabber Demo

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:13:00 +0000

Visit ExitGrabber Website

The Real Question Is...

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:10:00 +0000

====
QUICK GUIDE TO THIS BLOG POST

In case you're wondering, the subject line is one that trained media specialists used when they're asked a question they don't want to answer. They just say, "The real question is..." and then say the question they really want to answer. True story. But irrelevant to this email. Ah, the weekend beckons and so does that 8-year old bottle of Bacardi :-P

====

I just got a question from one of my readers and I thought it was worth sharing with you as well.

Essentially, this person wanted to know whether it was worth getting the "Diamond" upgrade to The List Bandit, or whether it was worth sticking with the "free" version.

I could be cute and say that the DVD bonuses are worth the price alone. They are, but that's not a helpful answer.

So, instead, let me share my stats with you.

Direct Referrals - These referrals as well as any of their future referrals will form part of my List Bandit list.
*** 17 ***

Bonus Leads - For referring 17 people I am awarded an additional 350 leads in my List Bandit list.
*** 350 ***

Upgrade Leads - Diamond members get 1500 bonus leads added to their list.
*** 1500 ***

Co-Reg Leads - These are the ads that you see when you log-in. These leads go directly to my Aweber account.
*** 12 ***

Bandit Bonus - This will change every day. It could be anything from 5, to 5,000 to 50,000.
*** 36 ***

This means that after just 48 hours, I have a list of:
*** 2,015 ***

As my number of referrals grows, so will my bonuses and my co-reg leads.

How many people will I have on my list after one month, three months, or six months down the line?

Aside from changes to the Bandit Bonus or the occasional cancelled membership, this number can ONLY go up.

So the answer to the question of whether or not you should upgrade, comes down to whether or not you are..

ACTUALLY, going to use The List Bandit.

If you're going to upgrade and then forget all about it... don't bother. That would just be a waste of money.

But if you're confident that you WILL use The List Bandit and you want to start building a list of this size for yourself...

Then GO for it!

http://www.thenettle.com/goto/listbandit.html

Have a great weekend and, as always, please feel free to reply to this post if you have any questions, comments, criticisms, jokes, accusations, poems, rants, or anything else you can think of. Response guaranteed.

Best wishes,

======================================
David Congreave
david@thenettle.com

PS - Don't forget - When you join The List Bandit (free or Diamond), send me an email and I'll make sure you get my exclusive report on how to get the most out of The List Bandit. The report I'm offering is an exclusive one and I won't be making it available anywhere else. Once I've given it out to my readers, I'll be deleting the original.
http://www.thenettle.com/goto/listbandit.html

PPS - Have you read the latest issue of The Nettle Magazine?
Just go to http://www.thenettle.com/latest.php

Great San Francisco jobs are at SanFranJobs.

The List Bandit - I Caught The Boat

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:23:00 +0000

====
QUICK GUIDE TO THIS POST

Writing blog posts is much easier when you've just had a coffee. See if you can work out at what point during the writing of this post that the caffeine kicked in...
====

I'm still about 24 hours behind it but, for a UK marketer, I guess that's about average.
So... let's go back to 2003 where all these gurus are promoting the virtues of list-building and I'm thinking,

****
"Man, that sounds dull. I mean, sure, you can probably make a lot of money that way, but I'm not just about the money. I want a business that is real and exciting and... oh look, the electric bill just arrived."

****
No, this isn't a blog post about selling out. This is an post about why - after four years - I decided to get serious about list-building.

Two reasons:

1) In all the time I've been on-line, the effectiveness and strategies have changed but the core idea of building a profitable list has remained the same. And it's rare that you can say that in the IM world.

2) What my uninitiated brain failed to appreciate until recently, was the side-effect of having a list of people to email... Communication.

Whatever I do with my online business now and in the future, I am and always will be, at heart, a writer. It's the work I enjoy the most and obtain the most satisfaction from.

And what a writer wants - even more than money - is for someone to read his work and respond favourably. Whether it made them laugh, or cry, or think, it doesn't matter. As long as there is a reaction.

It's nice to receive commission cheques for my work, but one of the things I enjoy most about list-building is when someone reads my work and then writes back to me.

It doesn't even matter to me if they don't buy anything, as long as they enjoyed what I wrote.
So let me take this opportunity to thank everyone who has taken the time to reply to one of my emails or blog posts. Please be assured that it is appreciated.

That said, if you want to continue to hear from me, it wouldn't hurt to accept one of my recommendations from time to time ;-)

When I first learnt about list-building, I assumed that it would be fairly easy to do and, as it turned out, I was right.

But the danger of thinking something is simple, is that it becomes easy to put it off until another day. List building is one of those things that is best started sooner rather than later. Even if you don't have a lot of time to PUT INTO IT NOW, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A SYSTEM UP AND RRRUNNING.

Fortunately, getting a lead capture system going has never been easier. And whether you are completely new at this, or you just want to add to an existing list, then Gary Ambrose's new program is absolutely superb.

Please just stop for a moment, because whatever you've already heard about The List Bandit has probably been very misleading.

The List Bandit has a solid system at it's core, but what has me really excited about it is a new facility that, until now, has been criminally underused.

In fact, it's my guess that the majority of people that register for The List Bandit over the next few months will completely overlook this.

And even those that don't overlook it, will still get it wrong.

OK - I've just looked over my last few sentences and it looks for all the world like I'm about to say... "and you can find out the secret for one low payment of..."

*** RELAX ***

I'm going to share all of this for you without charge.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Coffee is great for getting the writing juices flowing, but it has the side effect of creating waffle.

I'm 600 words in and I still haven't told you what The List Bandit is. I'm making the dangerous assumption that you already know and that's just not fair. So, in brief:

- The List Bandit is a free membership site
- You tell other people about it and begin building a list of people to email
- A random drawing is made daily, giving you the opportunity to win a mailing list of thousands
- It's extremely easy to use
- It has two, very cool, additional features that can build your list VERY quickly

This is one of the rare times when I got to see behind the scenes, ahead of time. I promised Gary that I wouldn't tell anyone about this which, to be honest, has been really hard to do.

***
By the way, that isn't a fake, "my friend Gary", name-dropping thing. Gary told me about this during an instant message conversation which is how I got to hear about it.
***

And the thing is, after the Brian Edmondson story, I'd love to be able to product a similar kind of result with my own - relatively small - list.

So, whether the idea behind The List Bandit excites you or not, please take 2-3 minutes to visit the website and complete the free registration. It's dead easy to do and it would really help me out.

And, to show my gratitude, next week I will send you a free copy of a special report I am putting together that will show you how to set up your List Bandit system, from start to finish. If you want to get the most out of your membership, then you'll find this really helpful.

You will also receive "give away" rights to the report so that you can use it to help build your own list.

To get in line to receive this exclusive report, just click the link below and scroll to the bottom of the page to find the registration link. Once you've done that, just send an email to david@thenettle.com and let me know you've done it.

http://www.thenettle.com/goto/listbandit.html

I hope you enjoy building your own list and thank you, in advance, for your support.

There's a new issue of The Nettle Magazine on its way next week, but this should keep you busy over the weekend.

http://www.thenettle.com/goto/listbandit.html

Best wishes,

======================================
David Congreave
david@thenettle.com

PS - The report I'm offering is an exclusive one and I won't be making it available anywhere else. Once I've given it out to my readers, I'll be deleting the original.
http://www.thenettle.com/goto/listbandit.html

PPS - Have you read the latest issue of The Nettle Magazine?
Just go to http://www.thenettle.com/latest.php

15K in 7 Days - I Missed The Boat

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:06:00 +0000

====

QUICK GUIDE TO THIS BLOG POST

Chance that this post will give you Deja Vu: 100%

====

QUICK GUIDE TO THIS BLOG POST

Chance that this post will give you Deja Vu: 100%

====

QUICK GUIDE TO THIS BLOG POST

Number of people that will email me to tell me that I "accidentally" duplicated the top part of the post: 27

====

I was three days late last time.

This time, I reckon I'm just over a week behind.

So if this article gives you a sense of deja vu, then please accept my apologies.

I'm not sure who this frustrates more - ME for feeling like I'm lagging behind, or YOU for having to read about something you've probably already heard about.

It probably frustrates ME more because I can guarantee I'll get less clicks than if I'd emailed you a week ago.

Whereas at least YOU get to read something new about something old.

*** By old, I mean about 10 days - That's about six months in Internet Marketing years and about two and a half months in dog years ***

Erm, where was I?

Oh, yes... Remember the last Nickel Mania?

It was a recording of Gary's seminar about how to profit from, even small lists. The content was fantastic, and it cost me less than $10.

It's too late to get hold of that now but, almost as good, is an audio recording of Tellman Knudson interviewing Brian Edmondson about how he managed to make 15k in affiliate sales with a list of only 1286 people.

The methods Brian used are similar to the ones Gary Ambrose talked about in the Nickel Mania DVD and I can testify that they do work. I've had more click-thrus and a higher conversion rate since I began to put them into practice.

The interview may not be quite as detailed as the Nickel Mania DVD, but it makes up the difference by being a really interesting story to listen to.

Brian comes across as a really nice, genuine guy and - although the quality can be a bit scratchy sometimes (it's never inaudible) - listening to the audio was actually a really enjoyable experience.

If you have a list (in any niche) or want to start building a list this is an excellent - and inexpensive - place to start.

http://www.thenettle.com/goto/15kin7days.html

So why am I ten days behind in telling you about this and so - consequently - missing the proverbial boat?

1) I needed to find an hour or so to actually listen to the audio so I could see if it was worth telling you about.

2) I ran out of time and Friday and if I'd decided to post then, it would have come out something like,

"Hi - Look - You Click Please"

http://www.thenettle.com/goto/15kin7days.html

Let me know what you thought of it and look out for a special blog post later on this week about Gary Ambrose's new website. I got a sneak peek at this one a couple of months back and it's been worth the wait

Best wishes,

======================================
David Congreave
david@thenettle.com

PS - Even if you're not building a list at the moment, make sure you take a look. It's worth it just to find out how to pronounce "Knudson". Imagine how much it would suck to meet Tellman Knudson at a seminar, only to say, "Hi, good to meet you Tellman K... K... Kooonoo... Nudsoo... erm... Hi."

http://www.thenettle.com/goto/15kin7days.html

PPS - Apparently, the introductory price is only for the first 500 people. And since it's been out a while already, (again, sorry about that) I'd suggest getting hold of this soon. It's ClickBank, so the usual refund policy applies.

http://www.thenettle.com/goto/15kin7days.html

PPPS - Have you read the latest issue of The Nettle Magazine?

Just go to http://www.thenettle.com/latest.php

Get Google Ads Free - Review

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:26:00 +0000

Get Google Ads Free (GGAF) is probably the strangest product I’ve ever reviewed or recommended.

The sales copy is weighted down with hype, the general Adwords tips are average and the e-book uses about a quarter of it’s 80+ pages to convince you to become an affiliate.

But this is still an essential product.

The ‘secret’ technique is genuinely clever but, more importantly, it opens up a whole raft of ideas and uses for Google Adwords that you never would have considered otherwise.

Within days of reading GGAF, I had formulated two concrete marketing plans based on the authors technique, both of which will go directly into helping me build my list.

If you have even a vague interest in Google Adwords or, indeed, any kind of Pay-Per-Click, then this is a very exciting read. At $67 it isn’t over-priced and, as it’s a Clickbank product, the 8 weeks money-back guarantee is sound.

If you’re not interested in Google Adwords then, at the very least, take a look at the sales page. It’s brash and it’s implausible, but it’s also one of the most compelling sales pages I’ve ever read.

The only real criticism I can level against GGAF is that the technique described will take practice to perfect. To assist, I’ve written a short supplementary article that will show you how to adapt the technique for any niche and, at the same time, eliminate any financial risk.

To obtain the article, just purchase "Get Google Ads Free" using the link below and then forward your receipt to david@thenettle.com

Click Here to Visit Get Google Ads Free

ProFatCat - Special Discount Coupon Code

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:20:00 +0000

The latest Pro Traffic Exchange or Pro Advertising Network, depending on your preference has a hook that, while not mind blowing, is at least a step in the right direction.

The idea behind a Pro Traffic Exchange is that all the members have to pay to join and, consequently, you can be sure that your advertising is going before people who have already demonstrated that they are willing to spend money on their business.

ProFatCat is built around this principle, but their USP is that you can obtain an 80% discount - but only for the first couple of months. The discount voucher I've obtained for Nettle readers will expire, so if you're interested then click the link below for more instructions.

And, in case you were wondering, yes I had to pay for the privilege of being able to offer you this discount.

Click Here to Get Your Special Discount Coupon Code

StomperNet - 30 day trial for $1

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 10 May 2007 15:02:00 +0000

I don't usually do "cut and paste" emails or "swipe copy" as it's sometimes known. In fact, I can't remember ever doing this before.

I'm making an exception because Andy Jenkins is a wonderfully entertaining speaker and it translates into his emails really well. There is not much I could say that would sum up this offer better, so here it is in full:

====================================

From: Andy Jenkins - Personal.

This is really gonna be a personal message from me. And personal messages are where I'm most comfortable, so it's likely to be pretty long.

Yeah, every once in a while, I've got to come out of teaching-mode and do some marketing, but not right now.

And actually, one of the reasons why I've kept StomperNet closed since October is because marketing is difficult for me.

Okay, I know you're probably laughing, or about to hit the "Report Spam" button on your email client. Just bear with me a few minutes and give me a chance to explain:

First, I'll put my money where my mouth is. Search Google for "I hate Internet Marketing".
See who's #1? Yep, that's me. So there. :o)

Second, I have NOT opened StomperNet for 7 months because StomperNet is focused on TEACHING people how to create Internet Businesses (not marketing itself) - and believe it or not, that takes a lot of resources.

So my decision was to focus on the training, and let the marketing of StomperNet fall by the side of the road.

I mean, I've still got my eCommerce Stores, motoring along, making great bank for me and my family. But that was a Set It and Forget It kinda thing.

For example, when someone is shopping at <http://a2armory.com>, and they got there by searching Google for Medieval Weapons - since my site is #1 and #2 in Google, that person who searched that phrase is probably gonna show up.

Getting them to buy is just an applied function of doing lots of conversion testing.

So, to me, it's been pretty automatic once I figured out how it works - Lather, Rinse, and Repeat. Just like Shampoo.

Like with European-wall-tapestries.com. . . Search Google for "Wall Tapestries" and there we are again, # 1 and #2.

And if you've seen any of the eye tracking videos that we've released, you know that we test the heck out of that site. As a result, our conversion is pretty good (heh) there, too.

The point is, it's always been far easier for me to RUN an Online Business and to TEACH people HOW to create and GROW an Online business - than it has been for me to MARKET that fact that I TEACH.

Ya know?

At this point, you're asking "Where is this going?" Not entirely sure, but here's what I think I'm trying to say:

Once you know what works online, it's a simple thing to keep doing it until you get your desired result.

But - FOR MOST PEOPLE, knowing what to do STILL eludes them.

Here's one thing that I DO know - FOR SURE. I know this because I've not only asked, but also because I've seen it happen (I've been doing this for 7 years now). . .

A dedicated person who is willing to LEARN and, more importantly DO -DOES NOT have ANY greater chance of success than a person that does nothing - UNLESS they know the RIGHT things to do.

Pretty obvious, right? So, that's the RUB. Knowing the RIGHT things to do in order to succeed.

And how do you know what the right things are? You test. You try. You keep track of your results. You improve, you refine, and you do it again.

And after 7 years, I've got it down. Mostly because I move so fast that I can fail a lot. And to me, failure is just a test result. :o)

But, most people don't have 7 years worth of patience. And that's totally cool. I can dig that. And they usually don't deal with FAILURE too well either (I'm used to it).

And let me just tell you something - That's NOT the answer. Spending 7 years and going through failure after failure is NOT how you succeed. It's how I made it, but it's not how you have to.
In fact, I don't recommend it.

I've learned a LOT about creating a real, sustainable, REPEATABLE business model using the Internet as a sales mechanism. And I keep track of the things that worked, and when I DID teach other people how to do, it worked REALLY well (Imagine that).

Here's my point: There exist TESTED, PROVEN methods of creating income online that work over and over again.

And if you've tried, and I mean REALLY tried to make money online and have failed, it's NOT because you were not sincere in your efforts.

It's because you didn't know exactly what to do.

Here's one of my favorite, ALL TIME sayings that Sydney Johnston and I made up about 3 years ago:

"There are no secrets - there are just things that you DON'T know yet".

And that's the truth. No matter what ANY sales letter says.

You're tired. I know that. You're tired of being marketed to. You're tired of spending the time you could be spending with your family and friends on trying to find the formula that's going to set you free.

You're tired of being made a bunch of promises, spending a bunch of money, bearing the brunt of dirty looks from your kids while you sit in front of your computer looking for a "better way".
You're tired of having to explain to your friends, just one more time, why you can't meet them for dinner because "I just got this new page generation tool is going to make it so I can BUY you dinner whenever you want". if you can just get it to work.

And then, you get ticked off. And you quit. Because you can't get it to work. Oh, it "functions". It just doesn't work.

So, here we are.

What now?

You're an Entrepreneur. You know you are. I know you are. And so does everyone else that's ever sent you an email with a link that leads to a shopping cart.

You're hooked. On what's "next", or what's "New, and Improved".

And guess what? StomperNet is NEITHER of those things.

Neither is success.

Yep - I'm gonna get kicked out of the Guru Club for saying that. So what? Don't care. Cause it's true.

StomperNet is NOT "The Magic Bullet that will help you instantly discover massive wealth while you sit on a beach sipping blue and red fruity drinks with those cute little umbrellas".

But it works.

It makes Entrepreneurs into successful Entrepreneurs. It takes "Magic", flushes it down the toilet and replaces it with "Science".

It takes "Instant" and replaces it with "Consistent".
It takes "Discover" and replaces it with "Repeatable".

And it leaves Fruity Blue and Red Drinks at the bar because they give me a headache and make me sing Karaoke.

All kidding aside, if you're not where you want to be, there are 2 reasons:

1. You haven't really done it - you read your eBooks, or look at your software, and that's about it. You get bored, another product launch comes along, and there's still room on your Visa so..

2. Or, you're really doing it - but it's not working. You can't see what it's supposed to look like, the instructions are unclear, or worse, just plain wrong.

And your Visa is starting to creak from the strain.

Both reasons are foul.

So, let me tell you what you should do about it.

Stop.

Don't throw good money or good time after bad. Move on.

Promise yourself that you're going to treat your business the way that it deserves to be treated - with the same respect that you have for your hard earned treasure and unrecoverable precious time.

And start working ONLY on those things that make sense. Start working on business strategies that have LONG TERM VALUE. Start working on a concept that you can GROW - OVER TIME.

I know how to do this, so let me see if I can help. Really Help.

Here's what I mean: Brad and I have been around - a long time. Our businesses are totally web-driven, and they have grown every single year since we started them. We jointly have 164 employees, 35,000 square foot of office and warehouse space, and do over 30 million dollars in sales per year. NO, that's not profit - its sales (just to avoid any silly arguments in the public forums).

The point is, we know how to do this. It's not a fluke. We've done it over and over, and the Entrepreneurs that have joined us have done it better and more consistently than most any others than we know.

Our success is simply the application of a set of activities that we have refined. And we apply them over and over. And low and behold, they work.

StomperNet is a combination of that experience, and its also much more. It's a Brain Trust of the best Traffic, Conversion, and Business Building experts that work online.

But, it's expensive, and it's vast, and it's overwhelming to people that don't know what the right activities are.

And I know that. Cause I'm not living on a beach, drinking red and blue drinks.

The point is, I have a possible answer for you.

Tomorrow at Noon, StomperNet starts a program called StomperSIMPLE, and it welcomes Entrepreneurs like you to try it for $1.00.

Actually, we welcome you to try BOTH StomperNet and SIMPLE for a month - for a dollar.
SIMPLE stands for Specific Instructional Methodology to Learn Ebusiness.

What it's NOT is magic.

It's Science; it's Step-By-Step Analysis of Markets, Competition, Sales Messaging, Content Creation, Testing, Measurement, Organic Search, Paid Advertising, and Continuous Process of Improvement.

And it works.

But I do not, will not, need to convince you that it does. Because you can decide for yourself, if you make 2 commitments:

1. Learn it.
2. Do it.

That's it.

There's videos and written instruction for every step. There's a SIMPLE Headquarters where you can track your progress. There's a community forum where you can ask advice. And then there's the rest of StomperNet that you poke around (understatement) if you get bored.

But you won't. Because you'll be building your business.

People keep telling me to put my money where my mouth is.

Okay - try it for a dollar.

When it works, you will want to STAY. If it doesn't, you will not.

Either way, we both win.

Because either way, we both learn.

And that's my fancy "Reason Why" sales copy.

Yep, everyone will tell me what a lousy pitch this letter is. They'll all say that I "Went Past the Close", or that I didn't "Add to the Value Proposition", or that I forgot "Feature, Advantage, Benefit" copy.

So Sue me. They freaked out when the first StomperNet sales letter lead with a headline that said "This Space Intentionally Left Blank".

Then they freaked out again when the next sales letter lead off with "This Space STILL Intentionally Left Blank".

Because it's not about the marketing.

That's not what this is about. It's about proving it.

It's about the results.

I know you've read the rumors about how Brad and I reinvest the profits from StomperNet back into the company. I also know that's about impossible for most folks to believe.

That's fine.

It's a pretty simple thing for smart people to do a little bit of research (right on the Internet) to find out the truth of it.

But at the end of the day, I've got 7 years online doing what I do. Me, the 20 fulltime Staff Members of StomperNet, the 8 full time Faculty Members, the Part Timers.

. . . we're all ready to step up to the plate.

And for a buck, you can stand there with us and we'll run the bases together.

You don't need to trust me, by the way.

Leslie Rohde, a faculty member of StomperNet and among THE BEST SEO and Business Tacticians in the world, likes to quote a movie line to me:

"First we try, then we trust".

So, do that. Try out StomperNet and StomperSIMPLE for a Dollar.

Then you don't have to trust anything. . .

. . . but the results.

The Dollar Trial Opens Thursday May 10th at Noon Eastern and will close well before the weekend starts.

Here's the link:

http://www.thenettle.com/goto/stomper2.html

Yeah, this is one of those moments. Cause it's not about the Dollar.Is it.

See ya inside.

Andy Jenkins

P.S. This email does not require a P.S.

Stompernet Re-Opens - Do Not Miss This!

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:39:00 +0000

Stompernet re-opens in quarter of an hour:

For Full Membership go to:

StomperNet - Full Membership (limited availability)

To register for the $1 trial, go to:

StomperNet - $1 trial (limited availability)

A full report is below but, if you're seriously interested in Stompernet, go to one of the links now because this is going to sell out fast..!

To put this in perspective, when I signed up for the launch last year, it took me an hour to get all the way through the sign-up process because the servers were massively overloaded.

But, boy, am I glad I made the effort.

Before I get into it, let me begin by stating that StomperNet is the single most valuable recommendation I have ever made - and maybe will ever make.

I don't even mind if you want to use someone else's affiliate link because they're offering better bonuses. The most important thing is that if you're in position to do it, get hold of StomperNet with both hands now.

In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, however, if you do join Stompernet through my affiliate link I can offer you:

- A link from each of my business related websites (1 x PR5 and 2 x PR 4).
- IM and email consultation regarding anything to do with Stompernet and/or SEO. The Stompernet forum might make this redundant, but I'm happy to offer the extra support.
- Free access to my forthcoming marketing course (worth approx $300).

So why am I getting all rabid over StomperNet?

Well it's nothing to do with the affiliate program. It's quite simply the most incredible training resource I have ever encountered and I am absolutely convinced that it will keep me in business for the rest of my life.

If I'm not careful I could write pages and pages about Stompernet, so I'm going to try and summarise as much as I can. If you want me to elaborate on any portion of this blog post, just email me at david@thenettle.com

WHY STOMPERNET?

I got involved with Stompernet because I wanted to give my main website www.paypershop.com an SEO makeover. Our search engine traffic was dipping and I wanted to stop the rot.

WHAT KIND OF TRAINING DID STOMPERNET GIVE YOU?

To begin with, about 15 DVDs (each 3-4 hours long) about SEO and E-Commerce.

What made the DVDs so incredible is that Andy and Brad weren't just showing me how to optimise for the search engines now, they were showing me how to reverse engineer ANY search engine and figure out why and how they rank websites the way they do.

In other words, no matter how much the search engines change, I will always have the knowledge to break the results down and formulate a plan to optimise my website.

The words you're looking for here are "Future Proof".

HAS THE STOMPERNET TRAINING WORKED?

When I started my website was getting 20,000 visits a month. At it's lowest it dipped to about 15,000.

After absorbing the opening modules of the DVDs I completely re-designed PayPerShop to utilise as much of the information as I could.

Just a couple of months later and my traffic hit a new peak of 25,000 visits in one month.

I now have #1 rankings in Google for:

payroll news
payroll articles
payroll forum
payroll press releases
payroll tools

If you check these out you'll notice in most cases I have positions number 1 AND 2.

This is not an accident. Stompernet teaches you how to do this.

And this has been accomplished by applying just a fraction of what I've learned so far. I still have plenty more work to do with On-Site and Off-Site and I'm thrilled to think what I can achieve in the future.

BUT I DON'T HAVE MY OWN WEBSITE YET

A lot of new Stompers didn't. That's why Andy and Brad created stacks of original content for people who are just starting out with their new business.

They've hired more new people than I care to count and they seem to have training modules (video and audio) on just about every IM subject you could think of.

In fact, Andy and Brad had to purchase their own dedicated Google software to sit on their secure server just to help us find what we needed. The depth of what Stompernet has to offer is mind boggling.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Dear me, yes...

Seminars - Two down and two to go. I couldn't get over to the US to attend in person, but I still got the full events on DVD to watch (about 12 for the first one and 16 for the second) - which takes my DVD collection to over 40.

The Forum - No forum can match this. You can get answers to just about anything, except you hardly ever get the squabbles and negativity that are a common occurence on regular forums. Some of the experts who man the forum have an incredible amount of knowledge and experience to share - and they're willing to do it because they've been hired full-time to train Stompers.

Nearly every week, I see a sales page for a new product and I think 'Don't need it, it's covered in StomperNet'.

I'm not saying I never buy new IM products, but StomperNet just seems to cover so much of what you need.

Ultimate Link Exchange - Nothing comes close to this - nothing. I already have over 200 (non-reciprocal) links. And these just aren't any old links...

I'm really not supposed to say much more about this, but the expertise that's gone into this is just mind-boggling and, again, it's only just begun to get moving.

I'm going to stop because if you don't already know that StomperNet is the best training investment you'll ever make, then nothing else I can say is going to convince you.

If you decide to become a Stomper, email me to let me know (no matter which affiliate link you use) and I'll send you a virtual high-five.

For Full Membership go to:

StomperNet - Full Membership (limited availability)

To register for the $1 trial, go to:

StomperNet - $1 trial (limited availability)

They're Out There

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:39:00 +0000

Issue #35 of The Nettle Magazine is now available:

Articles:
They're Out There
Get Google Ads Free Reviewed
Do You Have The "Whatever It Takes" Attitude?
Success With Integrity
Five More Tips For a Better Business Plan
Free Gifts:
Hosting Secrets Revealed
Free IQ
Cool Report
Entertainment:
Disturbia, Premonition & Night At The Museum reviewed
Competition - 1 X $50
Competition - Special Edition DVD (Night At The Museum)

To get your free subscription to The Nettle Magazine - Click Here

Experience.com provides information on entry level jobs and internships.

The Death of One Time Offers

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:53:00 +0000

I've been re-structuring the homepage of The Nettle so that the life-time subscription offer is on the front page. I had intended to add a one-time-offer, but then I decided to try something original.

Probably a little crazy, but original nonetheless.

Let's just say it'll either catch on quickly and in a few months everyone will be doing it (and selling scripts that do it), or in the near future people will look at me and give that sad little shake of the head reserved for ex-convicts and Pauly Shore.

I'm not going to spoil it for you. Go to www.thenettle.com and click on the link at the bottom to see something that is most definitely not an OTO.

The new bartering system is a fun story, so if you want to tell people about it, just send them to:

www.thenettle.com/index.php

Alternative recruitment advertising methods include podcasting jobs.

Are You Findable?

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 11:30:00 +0000

Issue #34 of The Nettle Magazine is now available:

Articles:

Are You Findable?
Viral Friend Dominator Reviewed
How to Improve Your Conversion - Part 2
Writing For Profit - Part 4
Boost Your Business With a Plan
Free Gifts:

How to Blog For Cash
Using & Understanding Traffic Exchanges
Viral Friend Dominator
Entertainment:
Music & Lyrics, Pan's Labyrinth, Breach, Hot Fuzz, Children of Men & A Scanner Darkly reviewed
Competition - 1 X $50
Competition - 2 x DVDs (Children of Men & A Scanner Darkly )
To get your free subscription to The Nettle Magazine - Click Here

I Feel Tired - More on Modafinil and Narcolepsy

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:58:00 +0000

I don't spend enough time marketing The Nettle Blog so the number of regular readers is relatively small and I rarely receive any comments.

So I was very pleased to receive a comment from a Narcolepsy sufferer (Aumriff) in response to my post about a possible Narcolepsy diagnosis and the Modafinil pills I've been prescribed.

You can read it here: Narcolepsy and Modafinil

Thanks for your comment Aumriff. In response to your question I have never suffered with Cataplexy which is probably why this is the first time in 7-8 years of consultations that I've never been treated for Narcolepsy.

If I do indeed have Narcolepsy it's certainly not a typical case.

In my research on Narcolepsy (thank you Wikipedia) it seems that Cataplexy is fairly common among Narcolepts, but not always present. The symptoms mentioned on Wikipedia are:

1) Nighttime sleep does not include much deep sleep, so the brain tries to "catch up" during the day, hence EDS.

Very familiar with this. EDS is a frequent problem and slows down my ability to do just about everything. When it's severe I also begin to lose interest in just about everything - even activities that I usually enjoy.

2) May visibly fall asleep at any moment (such motions as head bobbing are common) .

Never had this which suggests my condition may not be as severe as most Narcolepts. I have however, become accustomed to fighting the urge to doze. A lot of the time I know that if I put my feet up on the sofa I could be asleep within minutes (sometimes even seconds).

I used to do this a lot, but these days when I feel that bad I get up and walk around, drink strong coffee, etc. Fighting the urge to sleep can make me feel ill, but it allows me get more work done.

When I've had a long spell of bad sleep I take time off work and doze in front of the TV.

3) People with narcolepsy fall quickly into what appears to be very deep sleep.

My wife can testify to the fact that I can begin dreaming within moments of falling asleep. She often bemoans the fact that I can seem to fall asleep instantly at night (she sometime struggles to fall asleep) - although it doesn't mean I'm going to feel rested by the morning.

4) They wake up suddenly and can be disoriented when they do (dizziness is a common occurrence)

Not sure about this one. I would often wake up feeling dizzy and ill when I slept during the day which is one of the reasons I stopped taking naps.

5) They have very vivid dreams, which they often remember.

This was actually the first of my symptoms 10 years ago. Not always nightmares, but very vivid dreams that seemed to be unusually long and tiring. It would be common for me to suddenly - during the day - recall a long and vivid dream from the previous night in one, sudden brain dump.

This was very unsettling and I can echo Aumriff's comments about thinking I was going mad.

Another strange effect of the dream recall is the inability to place these dreams in chronological order. I can recall a dream vividly, but I can't remember if I had the dream last night or years ago. This probably sounds strange, but sometime it seems as if the dream has always been in my memory, but I suspect that it is still a dream that I only had the previous night.

I've had a couple of instances of sleep paralysis (usually during daytime naps, hence my reluctance to take them). I know that they're supposed to be harmless, but at the time they're worse than any nightmare.

Coming back to the Modafinil, it's still early days, but the first couple of weeks have left me feeling quite positive. My EDS has been considerably less than usual and the last two days were the first time in about 18 months when I felt NO daytime sleepiness whatsoever. And it's certainly the first time in years that I've had two such days back to back.

I still occasionally have trouble getting off to sleep and I sometimes feel quite 'wired' by the time I get to late afternoon. My pulse seems to be slightly up during these periods (this could be my imagination) and a couple of times it's been strong enough that I would describe myself as jittery.

I get the sense that these are the days when I've slept badly and would usually be very tired, but the Modafinil is masking the effects. I think it's important that I remember that just because I feel alert and awake mentally, doesn't mean that body isn't tired.

Just because I'm having extended spells of FEELING well, doesn't mean that I can start ACTING as if I am well. I'm too quick to take on busy and activity-filled days when I have a good day.

I'll post again in a few weeks and let you know if the Modafinil is still working. If anyone has any questions they'd like to put to me, please leave a comment.

Is It Legal to Copy Your Own CDs on to an MP3 Player in the UK?

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:53:00 +0000

Yesterday I brought my wife an MP3 player and we started thinking about whether it was illegal to rip the music off a CD that we've previously purchased and then download it on to the player.

I was under the impression that it was illegal to copy a CD (even if it's one that we already purchased) on to an MP3 player, because I'd heard it was illegal to copy music from one format to another even if it's for your own use.

Most people wouldn't (and don't) worry about it, but we don't like the idea of breaking any laws. Consequently, I set out to research the issue and try and get a definitive answer.

Before I discuss my findings I should point out that I'm not a lawyer or a copyright expert. You'll have to draw your own conclusions about my findings.

Ok, here we go.

The first website I found was a BBC News article from October 2006. It said, in part:

"A think-tank has called for outdated copyright laws to be rewritten to take account of new ways people listen to music, watch films and read books.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is calling for a "private right to copy".

It would decriminalise millions of Britons who break the law each year by copying their CDs onto music players. "

That sounds fairly straight forward, right? It's illegal, but most people do it anyway.

That's fine, but it doesn't help those of us who want to stick to the laws of the land. Although this seemed fairly conclusive, since I didn't get the answer I was hoping for, I kept searching.

Next I found a reference to MP3s on Birmingham.gov.uk . That said:

" - It is also legal to create MP3s from your own CDs and store them on your computer.

- Remember that, while it's legal to create MP3s from music you already own, it's illegal to swap these with your friends or post them on a Web site without permission. "

That seemed to contradict the BBC News article? But when it says "your own CDs", does that include commercial CDs? Obviously it's illegal to swap MP3s or post them on the web, but this seemed to be saying that it was ok for your own use.

This was the answer I wanted, but who should I believe? The BBC, or Birmingham local government?

I kept searching. Next up - Which.co.uk . The consumers guide to everything.

"It's illegal to copy ('burn') a CD of copyrighted material. This includes loading tracks on to an MP3 player or making a compilation CD.

UK copyright law forbids you from copying music from one format to another, even if you bought the original."

That fits in with the BBC website and matched what I had heard anecdotally.

But the Birmingham.gov.uk website still haunted me. Surely the government should have the last word on the matter? Or was I just hopeful?

My last stop was direct.gov.uk . This is the governments one stop site for public service information and is compiled by the Central Office of Information. It had this to say:

"If you've bought a CD in a shop, you may want to copy the songs onto an MP3 player or make a copy of the CD. Generally speaking, you can make a copy for your own personal use, you will not be breaking the law. You can also lend the CD that you bought to your friends if they want to listen to it.

However, it is illegal to make copies of CDs and give them to your friends or to sell pirate copies of CDs for a profit."

HANG ON! Forget the questionable punctuation for a moment, this is a very clear statement to the effect that copying CDs you've purchased legally on to an MP3 player is absolutely fine and IS NOT breaking the law.

But what strange wording! "Generally speaking... you will not be breaking the law."

To me that sounds like, "Technically copyright law forbids it, but it's an outdated law and we're going to change it soon anyway and no-ones going to prosecute you for doing it."

This sounds like the kind of thing your mate down the pub might say to justify doing something he knows he's not supposed to.

Or maybe not. Perhaps it's really the case that the music industry insists this is illegal when, in reality, the government believes that if they tried to prosecute someone under this law, it wouldn't hold up to scrutiny.

Maybe applying an old copyright law to modern music technology is not as clear cut as the music industry would like us to believe.

So what's the answer? Well, as I said earlier, I'm not an expert and you have to decide.

But what it boils down to is whether you want to follow the counsel of the media, or the government.

If anyone has useful insights on this matter, please go ahead and post a comment.

Sources:
Direct.gov.uk - Film and Music Piracy
Which.co.uk - MP3 Players
Birmingham.gov.uk - A Guide to MP3
BBC NEWS | UK | Copying own CDs 'should be legal'

Narcolepsy, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder and Modafinil

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:28:00 +0000

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may recall some earlier posts that mentioned by ongoing efforts to battle a sleep disorder.

You can read the earlier posts at:

http://www.thenettle.com/blog/2005/06/sleep-tight.html

http://www.thenettle.com/blog/2005/06/two-nights-in-sleep-laboratory.html

http://www.thenettle.com/blog/2006/09/marketing-techniques-in-food-allergies.html

The latest development is that my sleep doctor at the sleep clinic in Middlesbrough gave up on finding a solution and transferred me to a new doctor who had recently moved to the sleep clinic from another hospital. Apparently, this new doctor is very good at diagnosing sleep disorders.

I had my first meeting with the new doc on Monday and after reviewing my history, he came to the conclusion that the limb movement during sleep was something of a red herrring - in which case I may not have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder after all.

To my surprise he said it was more likely I had a form of Narcolepsy.

This surprised me because I associate that affliction with falling asleep unexpectedly. I may feel like doing that a lot of the time, but I've never actually done it.

Obviously not a typical case of Narcolepsy then. After doing my own research I was interested to discover that this typical view of Narcolepsy (as usually presented in movies) - that of falling asleep unexpectedly - is just one symptom. According to Wikipedia, only 20-25% of Narcolepts have ALL the symptoms.

Apparently, while most people take at least an hour to go into REM sleep, Narcolepsy sufferers go into REM sleep within minutes. And then out of it again. And then in it again.

This results in a lot of memorable dreams, insufficient deep sleep, fragmented sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness.

These symptoms at least, are very familiar to me. I can begin dreaming almost as soon as my eyes close and many nights seem to be an endless succession of exhausting dreams and nightmares.

There's no cure for Narcolepsy, just management, and my doctor recommended a drug called Modafinil.

It works on the brain to keep you sharp and alert and so counteracts the sleepiness and sluggishness that comes with the illness.

The really cool things about Modafinil is that, although it acts like a stimulant or an Amphetamine, there are no dependency issues and there is no "crash" after the drug wears off.

Sounds a little too good to be true, right?

The catch is that the drug is extremely expensive. My local GP who, thankfully, prescribed the drug without complaint, pointed out that the months supply she prescribed would cost £120. I dutifully paid my £6.65 prescription contribution and left the pharmacy with the vague impression that I had just mugged my chemist.

Do a Google search for Modafinil and you'll find some interesting articles about it. Apparently some people pay a lot of money to use it recreationally. Want to party all night and still get up for work/school the next day with no ill effects? Well that's how some are using it.

Sounds pretty unhealthy to me, but it gives you an idea of the potency of Modafinil.

Yesterday was my first full day on Modafinil (one in the morning, one at noon).

The sensation was very strange as I felt tired on some level, but I still felt extremely alert and ready for anything. I actually cruised through what was a very busy day.

There was no instant buzz as you might experience with drinking strong coffee - the effect seemed to creep up on me slowly - but the effects lasted all day and into the evening.

I'll have a better idea of Modafinil's efficacy after a couple of weeks, but my first impression is that these are going to be very helpful.

One interesting side-effect is that I found myself talking a lot more than usual. A lot more. I'm not a 'chatty' person by nature, but yesterday I couldn't seem to shut it off. I finished up with a sore throat from speaking equipment that isn't used to such a workout.

The less wanted side-effect is that it took me a while to fall asleep after going to bed. I don't know if this is the result of a busy day, or an effect of the drug, but I'll see how it goes.

Anyway, I hope you found this moderately interesting. I'll post again in a week or two and let you know how it's going.

How To Deal With Nuisance Customers

noreply@blogger.com (David Congreave) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:06:00 +0000

Issue #33 of The Nettle Magazine is now available:

February 2007 - Issue #33

Articles:

How To Deal With Nuisance Customers
Using & Understanding Traffic Exchanges - Part 5
Writing For Profit - Part 3
Net Marketing Exposed Reviewed
How to Improve Your Conversion - Part 1
Free Gifts:

Blogging & Google Adsense Report
PC Protection Guide
Entertainment:
Children of Men, Letters From Iwo Jima, Snakes on a Plane & Thank You For Smoking reviewed
Competition - 1 X $50
Competition - 2 x DVDs (Snakes on a Plane & Thank You For Smoking )
Competition - Free Customised Article and Submission by UK Marketing Expert

To get your free subscription to The Nettle Magazine - Click Here

JobCentral provides an article on Minnesota nursings jobs on its site.