Mass Emails to Distributors Should NOT be Obvious!

by Chris Malta

"arlier"today,"I"was"talking"with"one"of"the"thousands"of"Wholesale"Suppliers"we"list"in"our"Product"Sourcing"Directories.
"
Our"Wholesaler"database,"OneSource,"provides"Internet"Retailers"like"yourself"with"personally"verified,"legitimate"Drop"Ship"Wholesale"Suppliers"who"will"send"single"products"directly"to"your"customers,"from"their"warehouses,"for"you."This"eliminates"the"need"for"you"to"buy"Wholesale"products"up"front,"and"stock"and"ship"them"yourself."It"also"gives"you"access"to"verified,"legitimate"Wholesale"Suppliers"who"will"sell"to"you"in"BULK"quantities,"at"very"low"minimums."This"allows"you"to"get"into"the"Bulk"Buying"market"for"very"little"money.

We"here"at"Worldwide"Brands"know"ALL"the"Suppliers"we"list,"personally."We"are"in"contact"with"them"constantly."We"talk"back"and"forth,"using"phone"and"email,"and"give"each"other"feedback"on"issues"we"think"are"important."This"helps"us"to"continue"to"provide"you"with"the"best"information"on"Wholesale"Suppliers"available.

So,"I"was"talking"with"the"owner"of"one"of"these"companies"today,"and"he"gave"me"some"feedback."

In"OneSource,"there"is"detailed"contact"information"for"each"of"the"Wholesale"Suppliers"we"list."That"information"includes"the""mail"Address"you"should"use"to"contact"them"about"setting"up"an"account"if"you"want"to"sell"their"products.

This"Wholesaler"forwarded"me"an"email"he"had"gotten"today"from"one"of"our"new"members."At"the"top"of"the"email,"as"at"the"top"of"most"emails,"was"this"Distributor's"email"address,"in"the""To:""field"of"the"email."

Here's"an"example:

To:"WholesaleAccounts@SomeWholesaler.com
From:"InternetRetailer@My"CommerceStore.com
Sent:"Today,"10:24"AM
Subject:"Opening"a"Wholesale"Account"with"your"Company
Well,"in"this"email's""To:""field"was"the"email"address"of"the"Suppliers"I"was"talking"to."That's"all"as"it"should"be;"it"was"an"email"from"an"Internet"Retailer"asking"about"setting"up"a"Wholesale"Account"with"this"Wholesale"Suppliers's"company.

However,"ALSO"in"the"To"field"of"this"email"were"the"email"addresses"of"something"like"two"hundred"other"wholesale"companies.

Now,"it's"obvious"what"the"new"Internet"Retailer"who"sent"this"email"did."He"patiently"gathered"email"addresses"from"a"couple"of"hundred"of"the"Drop"Ship"Wholesalers"listed"in"OneSource,"and"sent"the"same"request"for"a"Wholesale"Account"to"all"of"them"at"once,"in"a"mass"email.
There's"nothing"terribly"wrong"with"doing"that."It's"not"a"good"idea,"since"you"really"should"research"what"products"you"want"to"sell"first,"and"then"contact"only"those"companies"that"sell"those"products."But,"this"Internet"Retailer"wanted"to"jump"ahead"a"bit"and"gather"info"on"opening"as"many"accounts"as"he"could.

So"what's"the"problem?

The"problem"is"that"he"let"the"Wholesaler"see"that"it"was"a"Mass""mail.

Most"people"don't"understand"that"it"takes"time"and"effort"for"a"Wholesale"Suppliers"to"set"up"a"Wholesale"Account"for"you."If"you're"selling"online,"and"you"want"to"sell"the"products"of"a"particular"Wholesaler,"you"go"through"their"process"for"setting"up"an"Account,"which"is"almost"always"free"to"you."

However,"it's"not"free"to"the"Wholesaler."They"have"to"pay"an"employee"to"process"the"account"for"you."Somebody"has"to"sit"their"in"their"office"and"fill"out"your"information"on"their"computer"system,"so"that"the"Wholesaler"can"open"your"Account."

That's"part"of"their"business,"and"they"really"don't"mind"the"time"it"takes."As"far"as"they"are"concerned,"they're"getting"a"new"Internet"Retailer"to"work"with,"and"that's"just"great.

BUT!"When"it's"obvious"to"the"Wholesaler"that"you"are"writing"to"hundreds"of"Wholesalers"at"once,"it's"also"obvious"to"them"that"the"time"they"spend"setting"up"your"Account"is"probably"wasted"time."If"you're"emailing"hundreds"of"Wholesalers"at"once,"that"means"you"are"not"focused"on"what"you"want"to"sell,"you"do"not"really"care"which"wholesalers"you"are"getting"Accounts"with,"and"you"have"not"taken"the"time"to"become"familiar"with"that"Wholesaler's"web"site,"products,"and"Account"Setup"procedures.

There's"a"very"good"chance"that"most"of"the"Wholesalers"who"see"that"list"of"hundreds"of"email"addresses"in"the"To"field"are"not"going"to"bother"responding"to"you!

In"other"words,"you're"shooting"yourself"in"the"foot"before"you"even"get"started"with"your"online"business.

If"you"MUST"Mass""mail"a"group"of"Wholesalers,"for"Goodness'"Sake,"use"the""BCC""field"in"your""mail"Program!

For"those"unfamiliar"with"it,"BCC"stands"for""Blind"Courtesy"Copy"."That"means"that"there"will"only"be"ON"""mail"Address"in"the"To"field,"and"the"rest"of"the"addresses"will"be"hidden"from"the"recipient.

If"you"don't"have"an""mail"Program"that"allows"BCC,"get"one!"Microsoft's"Outlook""xpress"comes"FR"""with"Microsoft"Internet""xplorer,"and"it"has"this"feature."If"you"have"Outlook"express,"and"you"don't"see"the"BCC"field"when"you"Create"a"New""mail,"look"in"the"Help"files."You'll"find"it."Same"goes"for"other""mail"Programs."If"you"don't"see"a"way"to"send"BCC's,"check"your""mail"Program's"Help"files.

Now,"a"little"bit"about"how"BCC"works."When"you"send"an"email"to"a"lot"of"people"using"BCC,"you"put"ON"""mail"Address"in"the"To"field."Then"you"put"all"the"other""mail"Addresses"in"the"BCC"field."The""mail"will"go"out"to"the""mail"Address"in"the"To"field,"and"all"the"other""mail"Addresses"in"the"BCC"filed"at"the"same"time."However,"everyone"who"gets"that""mail"will"only"see"the"one""mail"Address"in"the"To"field.

Okay,"I"know"what"you"may"be"thinking"at"this"point."What"if"the""mail"Address"you"put"in"the"To"field"isn't"the""mail"Address"of"the"Wholesale"Supplier"who"gets"the""mail?

That's"obviously"going"to"happen."When"you"send"a"Mass""mail"to"200"people,"and"you"put"one"of"those"people"in"the"To"field,"and"199"of"them"in"the"BCC"field,"that""mail"is"only"going"to"look"right"to"one"of"the"Wholesalers!"All"the"others"are"going"to"be"wondering"why"they"got"an""mail"that"was"sent"to"a"different"distributor,"right?

Well,"chances"are"that"the"Wholesaler"isn't"even"going"to"look"at"the"To"field"if"there's"only"one"name"there."It's"not"an"obvious"thing,"and"chances"are"no"one"will"notice,"or"even"care"if"they"do"notice."If"it's"a"slow"day"at"some"particular"wholesale"warehouse,"someone"might"notice,"though.
So,"there's"something"else"you"can"do"to"'mask'"your""mail."
Go"into"your"Address"Book,"and"set"up"a"New"Contact."Name"the"New"Contact"something"like""Preferred"Wholesale"Supplier"."In"the"New"Contact's"""mail"Address""field,"enter"your"own""mail"Address.

Then,"when"you"send"your"Mass""mail,"put""Preferred"Wholesale"Supplier""in"the"To"field,"then"put"the""mail"Addresses"of"all"200"Wholesalers"in"the"BCC"field."

That"way,"each"Wholesaler"will"get"an""mail"that's"addressed"to""Preferred"Wholesale"Supplier","and"they"won't"see"any"of"the"other"Addresses"you"sent"to."Of"course,"you'll"end"up"getting"a"copy"of"the""mail"too,"because"you"are""Preferred"Wholesale"Supplier","but"at"least"that's"a"good"way"to"verify"that"it"went"out"properly,"right?

Don't"worry"if"this"all"sounds"too"technical."It's"really"not"hard,"and"a"good"look"at"your""mail"Program's"Help"Files"will"fill"in"the"blanks"if"you're"not"sure"about"how"to"do"this.

Again,"Mass""mailing"distributors"asking"for"accounts"is"not"a"good"idea."You"really"need"to"spend"time"figuring"out"what"you"want"to"sell"first,"and"then"just"email"those"distributors"who"carry"those"products."But,"you"may"have"other"reasons"to"Mass""mail"people,"and"this"approach"works"well"for"them"as"well.

If"you"absolutely"must"Mass""mail"Suppliers,"this"little"trick"is"worth"learning,"believe"me."You"don't"want"to"alienate"your"product"suppliers"before"you"even"start!

BIOGRAPHY:

Product Sourcing Radio is Created and Hosted by Chris Malta and Robin Cowie of WorldwideBrands.com, Home of the Internet's Largest Source of Genuine, Factory-Direct Wholesalers for online sellers. Click Here for more FREE E-Biz & Product Sourcing info!