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Story by
juln,
kutty,
magicjelly,
TechUpdates,
Vanessa
Published on May 29, 2009 in Spotlight |
Photo by |
As part of our Handmade Code series, we're bringing you news and how-to's about the innovations emerging from the Etsy Developer Community. Located at developer.etsy.com, the Etsy Developer Community serves as a hub for third-party software developers who are making neat and helpful programs for Etsy shoppers and sellers. In this edition, magicjelly presents her and juln's site, Craft Cult, which includes the incredibly useful apps The Heartomatic for sellers and The Vault for shoppers.
The Heartomatic was first developed by Julian, a.k.a. juln, back in 2007. He really only intended it for his own use, but told a few of his Etsy friends about it, too. One of them posted about The Heartomatic on the forums and word spread fast — soon there were thousands of people using it! In November 2008, Julian and I launched Craft Cult, a collaborative project. Julian is the programmer, I’m the designer, and we have lots of plans for new features. I think one of the reasons for Craft Cult’s success is that we are artists and Etsy sellers (and buyers) ourselves. I think that experience has really helped us develop tools that Etsians find useful. 
What's the basic idea of the application? What need does it fill?
The idea behind Craft Cult is to enhance the Etsy experience for both sellers and buyers. Utilizing Etsy’s public API, The Heartomatic provides sellers with statistics relating to their shop hearts, item hearts and views in a time-saving, user-friendly format, as well as providing information that isn’t readily available via their Etsy shops. The Featured page also shows sellers when they’ve been picked for Etsy’s home page, Gift Guides or in The Storque so they never need miss the excitement. We often hear people comment that Craft Cult is totally addictive!
Our utilities are a lot of fun and very easy to use, but from a more serious business perspective, they also provide shop owners with invaluable information about their shop activity that can really help when it comes to product development and market research.
We haven’t forgotten about buyers. We recently implemented The Vault, which is an archive of all the home page featured lists. The Vault is pure eye candy, very inspirational, and a great place for window shopping.
Our newest addition to The Vault is a “Share This List” button that takes you to a page where you can create an animated widget featuring items from Etsy’s home page, which you can embed on your blog. It’s a fantastic way to add some visual appeal to your blog while spreading the word about Etsy, and it’s a way for Treasury curators and sellers to preserve their moment of home page glory and show it off to the world.
Where do we go to find it? What's the URL, etc?
You can find us right here… http://craftcult.com
Who is it for? How many people are using it right now?
Craft Cult is for Etsy addicts and people who love handmade and vintage. There are a LOT of them using our site, about 45,000 unique visitors and 2 million views a month, and growing steadily. Since installing Google Analytics a couple of months ago, we’ve had over 90,000 unique visitors using Craft Cult!
How do you use it?
The Heartomatic is really easy to use, just input your Etsy username or id number and hit “Enter.”
There are tabbed sections to the Heartomatic where you can check your hearts and views, as well as check to see if you’ve been on the home page or featured elsewhere.
One of The Heartomatic’s benefits is that you can see at a glance who has hearted you, what time they hearted you, whether they’re sellers or have buyer accounts, and you can see all of your item hearts listed without having to view each of your listings. We also show you how many new hearts you have, “new” being hearts accrued in the last 24 hours. The Heartomatic also calculates a views per heart ratio for your items — that is, how many views it takes on average before someone hearts you. This information can give you great insight into the popularity of your products.
The Vault is just as easy to use. You can search the archive by member (list curators and featured sellers) or by date.
Are there any costs or further opportunities/ways to get involved?
Anyone can use our site and it’s totally free. Craft Cult serves a dual purpose because, in addition to the Etsy-related utilities, we also offer sellers the opportunity to benefit from our high site traffic and promote their shops and products. Our advertising space helps fund the site so we can devote time to customer service and developing new features, and it’s also really gratifying to know that it’s providing independent artists and crafters, who usually have a modest marketing budget, with good quality, affordable advertising. Each of our advertisers receives in excess of 10,000 impressions per day, and we hear lots of good feedback from them about the results they get from their ads. If you’d like to take a look at our advertising info, you’ll find it right here.
What should one do if there's a bug or a problem? Who should one contact?
Julian is the brains behind the technical side of the site, and he’s very helpful and obliging when it comes to customer service, so please don’t hesitate to email him at julian@craftcult.com with any tech issues. He’d really appreciate the heads up if you run into any difficulties. We’re also on Twitter and post news and updates there. Come and say hi!
What's one surprising/fun/amazing story you've heard about someone using your app? Or what is your favorite part about the app?
Every time I hear back from our advertisers that their ads are working for them, it makes me really happy. One of our regular advertisers recently emailed us to say she’s been able to quit her day job and run her Etsy shop full time, thanks in part to her Craft Cult ads. The idea that we may play a part in people’s success is so amazing!
Anything else you'd like to add?
Thank you for the opportunity to tell Storque readers all about Craft Cult!
Calling all members of the Craft Cult, post in the comments below!
| Tags | API, applications, apps, CraftCult, Craft Cult, Developer Community, developers, etsy addict, Handmade Code, programming, Seller Handbook, Spotlight, SPOTLIGHT, The Heartomatic |
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juln
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kutty
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magicjelly
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TechUpdates
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Vanessa
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191 comments Login to add your own!
daisysanddots
EmmaGordonLondon
adoreneko
For me, Craft Cult and Etsy go hand in hand. The tools on Craft Cult are very user friendly and useful. Thanks for creating Craft Cult!
HaydenJ
MomNMiaQuilts
JRoseAtelier
I would be lost without Craft Cult- it's the easiest way to see what people are looking at on Etsy!
zwzzy
f2images
Such a fun and useful tool!! As if I don't have enough online addictions!! ;)
Morado
I love craftcult! But i usually just use it for hearts...now i know what other features lie.
juicychristians
I love Craftcult!!!!! Im there basically every day...maybe 10 times per day if not more!
slinkymalinkicat
I ♥ Craft Cult too!!! I don't know where I would be without it, thanks guys!!!
PenelopeAndAnastasia
Yep...I'm with everyone else; CraftCult is on my staple list of sites I check first thing in the a.m. and numerous times throughout the day - thank you!
fromlucywithlove
freshandclean
thestapeliacompany
This is such a nice article on a great outside feature for sellers and buyers alike. Craft Cult really is great. :)
yeahhello
I love Craft Cult, as you may see... I've got my ad up there right now.. right on!
SewnNatural
TickledPinkKnits
Montagyoo
LuttrellStudio
Awesome! I love craftcult!! Thanks for a great feature on it!
PipocaHandmade
pinkdandyshop
MayaLee
I LOVE Craft Cult!!
I'm there at least once a day!
Warning! It's addictive :-)
OhFaro
raeraesisters
EJPcreations
I dearly love that site and use it everyday! Thank you so much it is so helpful!
sweetanthem
GlassElements
BlackStar
OrdinaryMommy
I just started using Craft Cult this week and I'm already hopelessly addicted! Great job!
Wenz27
Yeah, where would we be without you guys? I discovered it before the big make-over and been using it for almost a year now I guess, and I really, really appreciate you two made this possible for us! Big fat thank you Juln and MagicJelly! :)
ChelseaVanTol
I love craft cult :) their advertising services are great too!
That70sShoppe
FashionTouch
I love using The Heartomatic, lots of fun and nice way to see my stats!!!
MyWagonette
misseskwittys
I love CraftCult and visit everyday (at least a couple times!) Thanks so much for such a great and useful site.
Smiles, Karen
alisonkelleydesigns
I remember when I first discovered craft cult, I was giddy with joy! Thank you!!!
momerath
Etsy, it's nice to see you give props to CraftCult. They certainly deserve the praise!
4TheSparrowsNest
I heart CraftCult big time!!! Thanks so much for making an invaluable Etsy tool!!
Glitzer
I love CraftCult, a very great site and extremely helpful. Great article!!!
Karmacrochet
steinschmuckdesign
Jeraly
Defo loving CC - I don't know where I would be without it, even my husband is now obsessed with it!!!
allisajacobs
I'm a CraftCult addict, thank you for sharing your ingenuity!
abacusbeadcreations
CraftCult Rocks! Every morning I get my coffee and visit CraftCult, EVERY morning! I love it! So much info in one quick spot.
odiliafu
I love this site and check my hearts everyday. It's addictive!! Thanks for your effort!!
dragonhouseofyuen
thank you for this - I have been letting quite a few people know about it.
Good to hear about the advertising success aswell.
cosmicfunpalace
It is awesome possum. Thanks for putting the spotlight on Craft Cult.
princessdoodlebeans
ooooooh, I'm loving it!! Thanks for passing this useful tool on.
dottylotty
LoserPetShop
bethtastic
I have always loved this site---it's so helpful to see when and what is becoming popular...yay craftcult/majaba!
redyellowandblueink
I found craft cult through google analytics. I have to admit I was a little confused when I first saw it-had not heard of it. I was suspicious when prompted to log in with my etsy store name for some weird reason. But I went for it and totally love it! It is soooo nice to go onto craft cult and see all the numbers right there in from of me, visits, hearts. Sometimes it's nice to go somewhere other my etsy home page just to look at numbers. Also interesting is I do click the adds sometimes, which is something I just about never do anywhere else on line...hmmmm....maybe its because I enjoy craft cult so much as a helpful tool that I am not annoyed by it's advertising but rather see it as a part of my business world being an Etsy seller.
SusanKJewelry
KatyScudieri
worksofwhimsy
Love CraftCult--I don't know how sellers managed without it.
MarthaLand
Thanks so much for this article. I've heard of Craft Cult but didn't know much about it. I have a feeling it will be just as addicting as checking Etsy every 5 minutes to see if I made any sales or have any new convos!
LoveForEarth
phydeaux
Craft Cult is the best - absolutely invaluable tools for Etsy sellers! A huge thanks to Julian and Karena!!!
SundraSandrusi
travellingcircus
Fantastic article! This is great b/c I didn't even know this was around?!
BowWowBeds
StudioCherie
Thanks for publishing this series, Etsy. Everyone should know about the great tools and sites available. Craftcult is the bomb.
aBreathofFrenchair
I find CraftCult very valuable! I use it every day, and very much appreciate all the hard work that went in to make it a success!
PinkLizzyfromAus
AnniesWearableArt
ablemabel
mykonos
TheFancyLamb
I love craftcult. It's nice to hear a little bit from the folks who are actually behind it. Thanks for the great report!
MelroseFields
boygirlparty
gretchenmist
this is such a handy site ~ i love it. i've not yet used the vault, but am going to now!!
jurgitahandmade
treasurefield
2007? Has it really been that long since I first fell in love? ;)
3 cheers for juln & magicjelly!
I love the vault, tooooo...!
PotatoBenevolence
I use CraftCult all the time for my shop's stats at my fingertips, and I love the sites design and friendly creators!
Thanks for showing one of my prints.
HandKnitHugs
OneEcoTree
I am also a gigantic fan of CraftCult. I am on there at least 10 times a day. SUCH a fantastic tool & glad to see they're making new additions to the site.
HibouCards
Thanks for the article. I'm already addicted to Craft Cult! I check it all the time and it is a very useful tool for my shop! thanks!
Xenotees
I love me some Craft Cult! Thanks for making such an essential tool for us guys! It is enormously appreciated by so many people here!
retrothreadz
Thanks so much for taking the time & creating craft cult I am just as addicted to it as I am Etsy
SomewhatHip
I'm a craft cult fanatic! I was so happy when the vault was opened recently! Thank you so much for this wonderful tool set!
voleurdebijoux
SparrowsNest1
ZABRINAS
I came across craftcult through Google Analytics. I am addicted to it! I check it everyday. In fact I am advertising my shop on it right now, and already see a difference in the number of people going to my shop.
plainbananas
This was the most informative article! I'm already a fan. Thanks!
birribe
I use craftcult daily it´s such a great tool to check your shop- and items heart. Thanks to the creators of it!!
Royaljewellery
lovejujube
dbabcock
This has been a wonderful tool for me. And, I've advertised there too with good results. Thank you both for sharing it with the rest of us!
zeropumpkin
FlowerPress
TheCottageCheese
I love craftcult! I check it almost daily, and find myself checking out a lot of the sponsoring shops. Thank you for such creating such a fantastic too for etsy'ers!
allthingswhite
jenniferladd
I love CraftCult! It's addicting! What a helpful little site!
fineartstoneware
Corbaecreative
moonstr
minouette
I am also addicted to the heart-o-matic and have been for a long time. I am really happy that etsy is keen to work with & write about other sites which can enhance the etsy experience... this is a healthy thing and good for all!
lovelygifts
AmericanGirl51
selflesh
NYCrochet
I check my CC every day (sometimes more)! I like to see the item hearts!
Iammie
AnvilArtshop
I use CraftCult everyday, but didn't know it was created by Etsy sellers too. A big THANK YOU for your site!
flapperdoodle
It's called "cult" for a reason... checking the site is a daily ritual, and I'd be lost without it!!
KOALACaddie
Thank you for sharing these tools. They are wonderful. I am especially impressed by your affordable advertising opportunities.
prettytheory
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the site! I started using it several months ago! It is a great way to check my store's hits! Thanks so much for all the great work on it! Thank You Thank you Thank You! :)
erinkeys
Oh yes, I admit I am a craft cult addict!!! Love the site! Love the new Treasury countdown calculator as well!!! Keep it up!
ArtWhimsPaper
Thank you so much for providing us all with this information! It is so much easier to track my hearts on particular items than clicking on each individual item in my shop! Love it!
yalipaz
I love craftcult!! It is such a super site and Julian is so great. I already advertise with them for a few times and going to in the future. There isn't a day passing without me checking my hearts on this wonderful site. Thank you Julian for creating such a helpful site :)
pouch
heidiburton
Been using this religiously, it makes being an Etsy seller more fun, easier, and more informed. Thanks guys for sharing this free app with everyone :)
truLuxe
TianaCHE
I love Craft Cult! And use it all of the time! Thank you for creating!
SweetPeaFabrications
wickedminky
amazing! this will be so useful! didnt even know if it until today!! wowwww!
thanks!!
sealmaiden
mksupplies
undertheroot
siiri
ixela
Mattamorphis
artwithallie
How did I not know about this site before?!
Off to check out the advertising info.
Thank you cult leader!!
3squares
love getting this information in such a condensed, easy-to-understand format. thanks!!
photoglassworks
EviesToolEmporium
I check in on your site once a day! It is perfect! Thank you for all your efforts!
Michelle-
art2theextreme
I check it every day. I do not know what I would do without it!
harvestmoonbyhand
What a great tool to use! Thanks for providing it. Found it to be easy to use and quite informative.
bubblesandbloom
clodaghmolloy
Use this everyday would be very lost without it. Great application
Urbanknit
WickedDarling
Love Craft Cult!!! So addictive...but a great and useful tool for Etsy sellers! I actually enjoy looking at the ads...unlike most online ads. Thanks for a great site!!!
TurnitoverTreasures
cloud9designstudio
CraftCult rocks! I get a lot of traffic to my Etsy shop from there. I love checking my stats in the tools they offer. Great job y'all!!! Thanks for offering us a useful and simple website the help create success in our shops! :)
ilovehearts
Thank you, CraftCult. I have been looking for quick stats on views and hearts. Perfect!
JesseMosher
masaoms
JulieWebb
OnTheRound
I got to craftcult every day! great article and great site! <3 <3 <3
DalkullanJewelry
blissiful
appreciate Craftcult. Firstly it has very useful applications and when I tried advertising with craftcult my sales had raised quickly ;-)
308thstreetdesign
Wow! I've been looking for something like this for so long! Thank you!
PoorRobin
straynotions
shopgoodgrace
I, too, LOVE this site! So nice to learn a little more about it AND the folks who created it. :)
fireinthehand
Looks like it would be so cool! I have tried to log on with my shop name and my number and it doesn't recognize it though. What am I doing wrong?
blynkenandnod
it seems to be down, today. it usually works fine for me, but i'm having similar issues.
Luna66
anotherbrightidea
I'll join in and say that I check craftcult every day also. Very useful resource. Thank you!
cutiestuffs
jensingh
PetitPlat
I'm addicted to this website!
I check my hearts so many times a day :D
It's really useful also to see which items don't get hearts and where I can improve things!
I have to thank you a lot, without it I would be half as good :)
CityChicCountryMouse
I love Craftcult! I'm an addict and check it everyday! Great article!
pandoraslocker
I LOVE craftcult.com. I used weekly, if not daily. I've also advertised on there twice with actual results.
LittleAdorables
Thank you for Craftcult !
I use it Daily to see what is happening at my shop.
Makes it so easy to check everything all at one time.
vilte
northwindstar
Craftcult is totally amazing! I'm so hooked on it and just love all the important info at a glance. Thank YOU so much for this neat Etsy toy!!!
westwindcreations
wish I had found this earlier. I started here in Feb. and just found this now. It is great.
HighDesertRose
Julian and Karena go the extra mile with their fine customer service.
My traffic, hearts and sales are ALL up this month after placing a 1 month ad as a foray into advertising.
Much continued success to J and K at Craftcult!
visionquest
Craftcult is an invaluable tool for sellers. being able to easily track views and item hearts REALLY helps in knowing what the etsy-public DOES like and doesn't so much..
tahnk you!!!! :o)
jennytrinh
fancibags
I have been using the Caftcult site for about 6 months and would be lost without it. I have also found many new artists from the ads. Thanks Etsy for bringing it to everyones attention.
softboiled
Perfect! I was just wondering about a graph of all my hearts. Thanks!
AscendingPeculiarity
This site is probably the best thing since sliced bread! I am so, so, so, grateful. Thank you for creating it you wonderful little techie dolls.
Nancenet70
i heart craft cult! i find it so much easier to see who hearts new items
and i definitely visit the craftcult sponsors....as i'm appreciative of this free service
AND
i see lots of beautiful things!
LindaJayDesigns
This is soooo cool. Thank you so much for sharing your Craftcult with Etsy sellers and shoppers. You have created an amazing website, and one that I will return to frequently.
AlphieBug
Wonderful idea and so easy to use... Thank You.. Im already addicted ;0)
kittybblove
Craftcult is one of those etsy third party tools that are just so priceless and addicting to use. love love love :)
shannonbatescreates
This is a fabulous and fun resource!! I can feel a new addiction coming on... :)
Thank you for sharing!
velvetraven
zingdesigns
Oh be still my beating analytics heart! Just yesterday, I was wishing there were a way for me to track things like hearts that Google analytics just doesn't handle. I'm brand new to this (5 days and counting) and have been totally enthralled with what Google provides, but even in such a short period of time, wanted the little info holes plugged. This plugs them. YEY! Go Craftcult! Where's that Favorites button? What should I wish for next?
Intres
PawPawsWorkshop
moncy3
This is great! I love seeing who hearts me!! I used to do it manually of Fridays. T-i-m-e s-a-v-e-r!! :P
prendasbyenid
linsjewelbox
TheNightjar
i love that the Vault has a "share to you blog" feature- thats great!
dancingintherains
I am addicted already =) I am very happy that I can check whether my product was feature on the front page and to thank the person who included me in his or her list. Thank you craftcult!
KuDum
sakizome
secondstartotheright
This is great! I love being able to see the number of hearts for individual items, it lets me know what buyers are getting excited about! :)
embot9000
MosaicTileBuffet
I'm so thrilled to have this information! It IS so fun! Technology is wonderful, isn't it?! So are the people who know how to create it!
AtomicLivin
I LOVE Craft Cult! When I do a showcase or list new items, ect., I like to keep tabs on my new views with their Heart-O-Matic.
I love all of the features there and visit on a daily basis!
I've done a couple of their sidebar ads and gotten great responses from that, so, I will definitely being doing more of them!
Thanks to Juln and Magicjelly for a great site!!~
Robin
katiemagoo
StarsandRobots
kinaloon
Tina669
AzitasSurprises
i love CraftCult- i check mine frequently. definately recommend to everyone!
kreatedbykaren
I am so glad to find this! It is addictive and so much fun.
LondonParticulars
Julian you are AWESOME! This is a great article introducing and explaining Craft Cult but I have to say that the real beauty is in how intuitive and incredibly helpful the site is! It is a beautifully simple, clear, concise and does exactly what it promises! HOORAY!!! WELL DONE!!!
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