On the same day that Microsoft unveiled its new Bing search engine (see upcoming post), Google has announced Google Wave, a new in-browser communication and collaboration tool that is set to change the way we work together online.

Delegates at the Google I/O Conference last week were treated to an introduction to Google’s new market-leading product/platform, due to be released later this year – just click on the screen below to watch it.

In brief, Google Wave is a real-time communication platform that combines aspects of email, instant messaging, online meetings, social networking, web chat, wikis, polls and project management in one in-browser communication system. Business colleagues or friends can come together to discuss topics or share information and files.

You can see more about Wave at About Google Wave or Mashable. Some of the key capabilities and extensions include:

• Real-time: you can see what someone else is typing, character-by-character.
• Text, Photos, Maps, Polls and more: you can share all these and more.
• Playback: You can playback any part of the wave to see what was said.
• Embeddability: Waves can be embedded on any blog or website.
• Applications and Extensions: Just like a Facebook or Twitter application, or an iGoogle gadget, developers can build their own apps within waves – anything from bots to complex real-time games.
• Wiki functionality: Anything written within a Wave can be edited by any other participant.
• Simultaneous Translation: As well as an automated spell-checker (‘Spelly’), there is even a robot called ‘Rosie’ who can translate simultaneously between 40 languages!
• Gadgets & Robots: Google’s Wave Gadgets Tutorial and Wave Robots Overview outline what is available and what could be developed.
• Open source: The Google Wave code is open source, to encourage developers to produce new applications and extend functionality. Thus, for instance, you can combine Twitter ‘tweets’ into a ‘twave’, and so on.

I/O Delegates were given access to the beta version of Wave, to help Google develop both the platform and applications for it. Google has deliberately developed Wave as an Open Source application, so there are likely to be a myriad of new applications available by the time Wave formally launches – and over the following months!

So, all-in-all, within the year, Google Wave is likely to become a hugely powerful – and free – open-source collaboration platform with many, many applications and extensions.

Just watch the presentation above and let your mind imagine how on-line interaction and meetings are likely to evolve – and the host of extensions and applications that will be available very shortly – with Google Wave!

And just imagine the whole new ways you will be able to develop leads for your business and then interact with your prospects and customers…!

Join the Wave!

Only a very small proportion of visitors to your website will buy straight off – experience shows that most will require 6 to 7 contacts before they’re ready to purchase.

So how are you to arrange to be in contact with prospects on a regular basis? The answer is by email. And this is why the whole objective of the initial landing page of your website must be to BUILD A LARGE EMAIL LIST of prospects and customers.

Once you have an email list, you can make regular contact with your prospects and customers and begin to make SERIOUS MONEY.

So how do you capture email addresses? List-building expert Duss Rogers offers you the following suggestions…

1 – Offer A Freebie

You have to give in order to get. If you want people to offer up their email address, you`re going to have to offer up an incentive – it’s known as an ‘ethical bribe’. Nothing works better than something that`s complimentary (you spell that F-R-E-E). You can give away no-cost reports, books, software, or even sample pages or chapters of a book.

2 – Use Pop-Ups

Pop-ups are one of the most common methods you can use to capture email addresses and build your email list quickly and with ease. Simply construct a web page containing code for a form and set the page to open (pop up) when visitors ENTER OR EXIT your site.

Make sure the pop-up offer is something that`s valuable enough to motivate visitors to take time to give you their contact information. Your offer can be a complimentary report, download, or ebook that arrives instantly through your autoresponder to their email inbox when they give you their email.

-Tip: If you need a pop-up, you can find one free by doing a search on Google for “free popup generator”. Many browser systems now block pop-ups but there are many systems which still work well.

3 – Use Postcards

If you have a mailing list that contains snail mail (street) addresses, convert it into an email list by sending out a postcard and inviting people to VISIT YOUR WEBSITE to receive a gift of some kind — a report, a discount coupon, etc. Visitors don`t have to pay in order to receive their

gifts, they simply need to enter an email address.

- Tip: In the US, postage is much less expensive for a postcard than a standard-size letter. (Not only are they economical, postcards are more likely to get your message across since the consumer doesn`t have to open an envelope.)

4 – Subscriber Box On Every Page

This is a clever trick that so many people overlook. Put a RESPONSE FORM ON EVERY PAGE of your website offering a newsletter or other freebie. This will increase the number of email addresses you capture exponentially.

Why? When search engines index the pages of your website, a visitor may come directly to a page other than your home page.

If you only have a subscriber box on your home page, you`re missing the boat, not to mention the thousands of visitors who bypass your homepage.

5 – Contests

Contests very often prove to be a good way to generate traffic and buzz for your business. Create a contest and put a form on your site or in a pop-up box. The entry “fee” is their email address.

-Warning: Not all the people who sign up for your contest are good prospects. Many are just contest “junkies” — people who are only looking for freebies and have no intention of buying a product or service.

-Warning: If your prizes are cash or large-ticket items, you should be sure to check with local agencies to make sure you`re not violating any contest laws.

6 – Display Your Autoresponder Address

Most people give their website link when they place solo ads, ezine ads, or other marketing messages. To be one step ahead of the game in collecting email addresses, LIST YOUR

AUTORESPONDER ADDRESS instead of your URL. This way you can capture email address and funnel them into your follow-up sales letters.

7 – Just Ask

If you`re chatting with a prospect on the phone or a potential customer stops by your place of business, don`t be shy: ask for an email address or business card (which usually includes their email address).

Okay, you know what you want…you know what you need. It`s time for you to set your traps and CAPTURE THOSE EMAILS!

John Thornely
© John Thornely www.johnthornely.com 2008

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