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Landscape accessories are details which may have no functional purpose, such as surfacing or enclosure, but do have definite visual effects. Accessories also help express individual tastes and preferences. Major accessories, however, should not be afterthoughts; they should be planned as the design evolves. Accessories add character and dimension to a garden, but poorly selected and placed accessories may spoil an otherwise well-designed landscape.

Many landscape accessories are available. Much of what is available, however, has little or no aesthetic value. To determine whether or not to use an accessory in the garden, ask yourself these questions: (1) Does it have practical use? (2) Is it beautiful in itself? (3) Does it fit or relate to the overall landscape design? Probably the most important of these three questions is the last one.

Garden furniture offers a real opportunity to add utility, color and beauty to the landscape. Comfortable and attractive items are now available in a wide variety of low maintenance outdoorfurniture.Outdoor furniture must be large enough to be practical and must be in scale with its surroundings. Built-in furniture has the added value of being permanently in place and enhancing the overall design. Occasionally the surface of a retaining wall or raised planter can serve as a seating area. The living terrace is the most usual place for outdoor furniture. An interesting piece of driftwood, tree roots or limbs, boulders or rocks provide interesting substitutes for good sculpture. These items are easily blended with the design and may be readily available.

Birdbaths are often used in home landscapes. To be useful they should be shallow, not exceeding 1 1/2 inches in depth, and contain fresh water. Bird houses and feeders should also be selected on the criteria discussed earlier.

Other accessories, such as stained glass, relief sculpture, outdoor chandeliers and plant containers are finding their way into the well-designed landscape. A stained glass window, partially enclosed in an outdoor area, or a burning outdoor chandelier may be added for interest, illumination and possible insect-repelling qualities. Hanging or conventional container plants can add a great deal of interest. With the current trend to return to natural materials and handmade workmanship there is an almost limitless variety of accessories available for our use. The temptation to "overdo" has never been greater. Like other fine things, garden accessories should be used with considerable restraint.

Outdoor lighting can add a great deal to the attractiveness and usefulness of the landscape. Specialists often recommend two separate lighting systems: one for functional and safety purposes and another designed to be beautiful and interesting. Dimmers, low voltage units and other special lighting equipment have become popular and add versatility to outdoor lighting. When placing outdoor lighting for beauty only the effects of lighting should be seen; the source or fixtures are usually hidden in the ground or in tree branches.

Good landscaping is a major investment in time and money. Many people feel that they obtain double enjoyment by including well-designed outdoor lighting to increase the hours of pleasure from their outdoor environment.

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“You can earn a fortune on the internet if you continually build targeted lists to sell to”

It’s true – and I spent $200 on a very expensive course before that sank into my head. Then I went away and earned a lot of money (and still do).

Now I’ll show you how you can use the technique you have just learned and not only whip up a frenzy of bids for your auction, but build a highly targeted list who will buy from you again and again (and again).

How? It’s easy;

This time instead of offering your eBook to the winner of the auction, offer it to EVERYONE THAT BIDS ON THE AUCTION! Just make it clear that everyone who wants the product agrees to sign into your opt in newsletter.

If you have a targeted product that is of interest to people in that category, they will bid on it (sometimes just to grab the eBook). This can whip up a real stir sometimes and get a flurry of bids to your product.

Send the book to all the bidders, and if possible make them sign up to your opt-in newsletter list before they receive the gift.

Keep in touch with these “leads” – you have already built up a positive relationship with them. Most have got a great product from you without even paying anything. They like you now and trust you. Will they buy from you in the future? If you offer them something of interest…you bet!

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The project message board allows you to communicate with prospective programmers about your project. The programmer may also want to ask you some questions about the software so that they can bid accordingly, or give advice as to improving your project. It is vital that you read through all messages posted on your project message board. Here is a screen shot of my project message board (see next page) for the Auction SOS! Project. Again, I have blanked out the prices and any private information.

I apologise for the quality of the picture, especially if you have a small monitor! You should be able to make out the text, but its not important if you cant. All I really wanted to show you was a quick screen shot of the message board.

As I said previously, this is a place for you to get to know your programmers. Make sure that you ask them any questions you may have BEFORE you accept any bids. It's no good starting the project and then finding out that the programmer doesn't understand a certain part of your specification. I also find it very helpful to ask for examples of the programmers past projects as this gives you an idea of the quality of the programmer and the sort of projects they have worked on previously. If they have worked on similar projects in the past then there is a good chance they will do a good job with your project.

It's also important to look at the prices you are being quoted by the programmers. You should find that the prices are within a similar region. If you find that one programmer has made a bid with a really high price then it may be worth sending them a message via the project message board asking them if they would consider lowering their price to fall in line with the rest of the bids. This has worked for me on a number of different occasions.

Once you have communicated with the programmers about your project it's time to accept a bid. Use the methods I described above and choose the programmer that you think will provide you with a high quality application within your specified budget. Once you have accepted the bid from a programmer you will each receive the other's contact information. This is the first time in the project that you will be given the programmer's details (everything beforehand needs to have been discussed on the project message board).

In my experience, when a programmer gets your contact details they will send you an email with a brief outline of what they will be doing, how long it will take and which payment method they prefer etc. I can't really give you much advice in this regard as it all depends on how your selected programmer chooses to work. I find it a good idea to ask for “project updates” once a week from your programmer, that way you can keep track of their progress and address any concerns that may arise.

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You want to make the most of the traffic you're getting on your website. So why not ensure that every visitor to your Web site is offered a free subscription to your newsletter within moments of arriving?

At least this way, until your sales process is a converting visitor to customers, you can capture the names and e-mail addresses of these valuable leads! Make certain that your directions are clear. "We offer a free newsletter" vs. "Subscribe to our free newsletter." If you don't provide clear take-action statements, they're going to leave.

Plus, to add a little viral marketing to the mix, include special "pass it on" suggestions at the bottom of every newsletter. This way, readers are encouraged to share articles with close friends and associates, driving more traffic to your Web site and generating even more subscriptions.

You could even post your subscription offer in your signature file when responding to posts in newsgroups and chat rooms.

A compelling newsletter offer paired with a simple "pass it on" strategy like this will not only allow you to squeeze the most value out of every visitor to your Web site, but also give you an opt-in list of targeted leads ready and waiting to purchase from you!

A newsletter should contain valuable information, not just sales copy - otherwise interest will quickly drop off and you'll be getting a number of un-subscriptions.

Worse still, your newsletter will be deleted as soon as it arrives, leaving you with a valueless list that only sucks up your time and resources and does nothing to increase your sales.

One of the successful attributes of a website is to maintain a newsletter by which you can keep in contact with your web visitors in order to maintain a reliable and long term relationship with them through your regular email to those opt-in subscribers. It will help them to remember your website and increase your web traffics in the long term.

The days are long gone where a catchy buzz marketing campaign could be launched and you could just sit back, watch it take off and start raking in the profits.

Users are getting more knowledgeable and opportunities are getting slim. Now you are going to have to use your know-how to make viral marketing campaigns work.

Viral Marketing is all about information and the information has got to be good, timely and relevant. One effect the Internet has had on the world is that it is teaching people how to be effective searchers, as well as, savvy searchers. Information has become a commodity on the Internet much like coffee beans and oranges are in the brick and mortar world.

If one site charges you for the information you are seeking, while another site gives away that information for free, which site will you most likely use? This means that when it comes to your viral marketing campaign, the better the information you distribute to your users, subscribers, and website visitors, the better your chances are for success.

Newsletters are a perfect example of informational marketing. You are giving something of value for nothing. That value could be hard-to-find knowledge or it could be you…yourself.

After all, individuality is something that can never be a commodity. Knowledge is power and if it is free, well then it is free power and that is pretty cool. You have to rely on what you have and what you know to move that marketing virus along.

Fill that newsletter up with great information…always exceed expectations. Viral marketing is more “grassroots” now than it has ever been before. Hook onto a feeling like prestige or drive with something like a contest or a giveaway.