Help Us Tell the World About Etsy

Will do... Sound like a fun idea.

cool!

i know just the spot! sounds fun, can't wait to see the final result.

This is an awesome idea! I am looking forward to the final result!

This has my wheels a turnin! How fun.

Oooh! Can't wait to see all the photos together! :D

Really cool concept; can't wait to see the results! Well done.

Will see what we can come up with by Monday. Will surely look for the final pics on Instagram when it's done.

Sounds like an intriguing idea!

Can't wait to see final result!

such a fun idea !

"Etsy is not able to credit photos at this time." So Etsy would like the sellers to take time to take photos and help promote them, but they can't take a sec to add a caption to each photo giving the photographer credit? That's not right.

How about crediting the item's seller as well? These two things would really encourage participation.

Good idea! I agree with Even above.

I agree - seller's shop and photographer's shop should be listed - otherwise, you're just frustrating people who see something they would like to purchase

Well darnit, I was super excited until I read the fine print. :-(

heck, I'll just take the photo with my item and hold a sign with my shop name on it!

Why would sellers want to promote Etsy if Etsy won't promote its sellers with a simple photo credit? That seems pretty backwards.

It's not that hard to make a list of contributors at the end of a video.

I agree.. you'd be getting lots of promotion and having lots of people see your ware, but nobody could know it was you!! So what's the point of being in it?

Sounds neat...but I don't have instagram (am I the only one? lol!), and Etsy should give credit for the photos. But the idea sounds cool!!!!!!

I like the idea of holding your own signs for captions, but seems like it's probably not the aesthetic Etsy is going for! There could be after credits, or, even better, in video click-ability to open a new window to the works...

That sounds really fun!

Great idea!! Hmmm...where oh where.

cool beans!

I'm just debating how I'm going to take a picture with my little jars in front of the huge Iowa Capitol Building... Or maybe I'll do it in the sculpture garden.

LOve this idea! I have something coming in the mail in the next day or 2! can't wait... thinking about a landmark!

I have such a great place to take a photo - now to think of the item I will to pose with.

Hmmm. So say I take one of the awesome pieces of pottery I've bought from an Etsy seller, drive down to the Golden Gate Bridge, stage a nice photo, and send it to Etsy. They've just acquired a free, professionally photographed image for use in their advertising. The seller of that lovely piece of pottery gets nothing, 'cause no one knows who made it. I get nothing, 'cause no one knows who took it. Etsy gets to polish their image as a company that's all about individual artisans (cough cough) and happy people who are happy all over the place, and, um, yeah, I think I'll pass.

It is a good idea but you forgot about the artist who"s work you are going to use for promoting Etsy. It will be more fair...

OOOOH WHAT A BEAUTIFULLLLLLLLLLLLLLL COLLECTION!!!

once again etsy is asking us to do what should be their job...hmmm?? they make it sound so awesome and wonderful then you actually read and realize they are wanting everybody to tell the world about etsy but won't bother to credit the artists??? Bulls**t!!

Hello Space Needle here I come!

I'm going to bet that submitting your own work is the key here. If I were to do this, where would I submit such a photograph, hmm?

Never mind... the answer to that just showed up on my phone.

Cool project!

Love it!!!

what a cute sounding project! I totally thought of the Golden Gate Bridge before I read the whole thing. Sounds like a plan :)

So great idea! I am from those who's idea of a local landmark, so it will be local environment project for me. :)

Really cool concept. Can't wait to see the results!

just sprinkle some etsy glitter around it and the cupcakes will oooze all over this project!! nobody has a problem with this but everybody freeks out over credit not being given on blogs and pinterest etc... and photos being used without credit beign given, interseting how if it spews out of etsy's mouth its just golden!!

Great idea!llike like like!!!

Yes Etsy we all want to know in case our picture gets to be feature, do we get credit for it, publicity anything?

cool:)

Nice I like how it opens this up to slightly more obscure places where Etsy items can be found!

Cool idea! :)

drat! the ending date is too late for my families annual road trip

good idea!

How awesome is this... great idea!

I also don't see why you can't credit the photos. You're asking people to give you free advertising, and that is disrespectful, IMO. Uncool.

Sounds fun, except for the part where you're asking for free promotional material with no incentives for me. How about you give me some free advertising first, and I'll think about it?

What? Well I love the idea and love the fact that we're selling our items to Etsy users all around the world from New Zealand to Poland to Greece to 5 blocks away from our home... without Etsy we would never have this global reach. I think this is a fabulous idea and can't wait to see the results

Benjamin plays along!

sounds fun!

Andrea, if your photo makes it, you get free advertising, right? Etsy, by Etsy item, do you mean our handcrafted items?

Interesting concept!

Semira...you don't get free advertising, there may be a picture with a person holding their baby wearing a beautiful dress from an etsy seller and nobody will know where the photo came from or who took it and they will not know where the item came from because their is no link to the product or mention of the shop. just a nicely curated video of handpicked items which Im sure in no way will show any kind of favoritism and nobody will be able to find the item but if they try to search on etsy they can find lots of "similar items you might like"

Great idea! The world needs to know that we are handmade and everywhere :)

Now I have an excuse to go to Californ!!!!

Theoretically this is a fun idea. However, if you're putting together the video, why are you unable to assign credit to the photographer/craftsperson? - especially if the person that took the photo describes what item they are photographing and who they purchased it from. It can't be that difficult to overlay a photo/craftsperson credit along the bottom or in the corner of each photo as it cycles through. I think that if you revamp this project with the agreement of proper credit assignment, more people will be inclined to participate. As individuals working to make a living off of what we do, being credited for our work is ever paramount and should be central to Etsy's supportive efforts.

Wow! Looking forward to seeing the final result! :)

Hi all and thank you so much for your comments. I totally understand your concerns about being credited, but like commercials, for example, this one isn't going to have credits - at least not on screen and at this juncture. What we're hoping to show is that the Etsy community of buyers and sellers is global, seeping into all kinds of corners of the world. We want to show that it's also diverse and full of spirit. Finally, what we're imagining is a fast montage, so note that the time any image will be on screen is very, very fast. All to say, we are not in any way enforcing participation but inviting you to help us spread the Etsy message.

"Unable" is weasel-speak for "unwilling." Their vision is for a montage of unique, shiny-happy cupcake people showing off their unique handmade purchases, and credits wouldn't fit the aesthetic they're going for. And they'll get what they want because for every person like me, who sees this as just another cynical way of exploiting the goodwill of its members, there will be ten others who just think it would be super-neat and fun to be included in the final ad. Etsy will have no shortage of yummy images to choose from, I'm sure. If I had the initiative, I'd make a picture for them, just for fun. I'd get a long trench coat and cover the lining with rows of steampunk octopus necklaces and Hunger Games brooches and tiny robots with clocks in their tummies. I'd photograph my subject standing in the middle of Times Square wearing a hand-knit ram's head balaclava, skants, and Hello Kitty pasties, the coat held open wide to show off all the "unique" trinkets. *sigh* A girl can dream. Anyone want to take bets on how long it will take after this ad is released for the first parody to appear on Youtube?

Very interesting!

Fantastic project !!! Now I need a model !!!

I think this is great! Sure, you won't get photo or shop credit - but Etsy is how most of us get a great deal of our business. By helping Etsy promote itself - we are in essence, helping promote our own businesses. Etsy and it's artisans function as a team - when one succeeds, the other inevitably does as well. Etsy is constantly providing new opportunities for promoting our shops. If this avenue doesn't fit for you - then no need to participate! :)

Alexa, you really think you'll be getting any increase in business from people led here by a commercial? That's a nice dream, but it's completely divorced from reality. The only winners in this proposition are Etsy and the resellers that dominate the first 30 pages of any given search.

This Is A Very Interesting Proposition.

You're missing a business opportunity here, Etsy. Isn't the point of this ad to get people to buy more on your site? Wouldn't the best way to do that be to actually give them a way to FIND the seller who made an item that caught their eye? You don't even have to put credits in the video itself. All you have to do is link the video to a page on your site where the stills are available, with the photographer's name and a link to the seller's Etsy shop underneath. You'll get more participation, better photos (no decent photographer is going to waste time for no credit), and higher sales conversion, which is what advertising is all about in the first place. Win-win.

Thanks for you feedback, Jessica. Etsy's marketing has worked for me so far. I never said I was going to participate in their video - I just think each business owner has the opportunity to weigh pros and cons and decide what will work for them, and what won't. What Etsy has created is simply an opportunity - not a mandate. I have a degree in Business Marketing and and I don't believe what Etsy is doing is detrimental to Etsy shops and their owners... but, to each their own!

Thanks for your response Beth, but I don't understand it. You're right that there are no credits in a commercial, but in a commercial the producer, actors, prop person, set designer, etc, etc gets paid for their time. If we are not getting credit nor are we being paid I don't see how Etsy regards this as fair.

I think this will be fun! Regardless of credit. Etsy has done much to uplift, encourage and support me as a business owner; More so than any venue I have sold on over my 7+ years of online retail sales. If a photo of my knob in front of Hitsville, USA (Motown) will help them in any way, then darn it I'm doing it. I guess community isn't a language understood by all.

Ooh, now here's an interesting project! The beautiful thing about Israel is that there are SO MANY landmarks to choose from. But then there's the downside - finding the time to get to them! Still, it makes a good excuse to go sightseeing!

Lisa your knob comment (perhaps unintentionally) was hilarious! Now after that good laugh I think I would like to take a photo of my favorite item in my favorite part of town in my favorite country that I call home. Not for credit, or any other reason than it could be fun YES FUN people! And knowing Etsy i think the end result will look pretty cool. Even if for just a fleeting second it might be neat to see a tiny glimpse of me amongst all the other passionate crafters and grafters that helps make up this wee community. I'm in! PS: keep a look out for a cute wee bird house by the beach. Thats mine. Credit taken ;)

It's a community, folks. We just want people to get here and shop here, right? I think just having the world wide exposure, the low overhead, and getting our works flooded into the google search engines is enough to say, "this is pretty sweet -thanks Etsy, now...power to the people." Lets pull together and get some great shots.

I just want to add another thought as well. Sometimes marketing is done by a name alone with no merchandise attached. Some of the most recognizable brands don't sell anything at all, but you'd recognize them on site. It works both ways. A trademarked style can be recognized just as easily without the name attached. How often have I described something to a friend that I wanted her to know about only for her to blurt out the name/brand, that I was unfamiliar with. But I could still walk into a store and find it by site. A brand can be developed and recognized by site, and not by name, so we shouldn't let this be too much of a hang up. Having our works brought to the forefront seems like an opportunity to be seized. That's all.

Damn that fine print! When trying to find out more about this project I went to Etsy's Flickr site and looked at the Group Pool images, they show credits written in white at the bottom. Foolish me, I thought a picture was worth a thousand words and that this was a representation of how the photos were going to look in the video. I was going to go through the hassle of driving to the beach here in Myrtle Beach during the dreaded tourist season and take a photo in front of the ocean, too much work for no recognition. I am all for supporting Etsy and their mission, if they wanted to use images that I already have in my shop I would be fine with that. This project would actually take time and money for me to participate in and with the hundreds of thousands of sellers on this site the chance that I would actually see a return on my investment is slim to none. No need to slam me if you decide this project is for you, best wishes to those who want to participate.

I think we should keep this project in mind during our summer vacations and snap shots along the way, luckily for me I can go on my roof and start with a fabulous shot of the manhattan skyline and have fun with it if it's selected for the final cut...and who knows where Etsy will take this, maybe it will morph into a curated board or a stumbled on it or another platform for buyers to search in the future. Etsy has continued to expand its reach since I joined and I see that reflected in sales and viewers, I plan to fully support this effort and other opportunities that come along. Thanks Etsy!

Fun way to get people in the know involved, everyone needs to know Etsy!

Jason and Andie says: "A brand can be developed and recognized by site, and not by name, so we shouldn't let this be too much of a hang up." Huh? You do realize that that kind of brand recognition is almost exclusive to HUGE companies with HUGE marketing campaigns, right? Even the big resellers here can't manage that.

I think this is a cool idea. Credit or no credit- I'm in!

Brilliant idea!

I like rushgirl2112's suggestion: "You don't even have to put credits in the video itself. All you have to do is link the video to a page on your site where the stills are available, with the photographer's name and a link to the seller's Etsy shop underneath."

Voting for this one too. rushgirl2112's suggestion: "You don't even have to put credits in the video itself. All you have to do is link the video to a page on your site where the stills are available, with the photographer's name and a link to the seller's Etsy shop underneath."

Cool idea!

In Molly's studio we are so happy with the Photo from Benjamin at the Mt St Michel on top of this article. Waiting for my first sale, I made a happy dance! Now it's time for the little one to have a big adventure on his own. So Benjamin is for sale in my shop now. ( Shameless self promotion ;) We wish you all the most dreamy travels.

Great idea!! We are in London rain right now...but will try to get a good photo!

What a great idea. I will be at Ayers rock in the red centre of Australia in a few weeks to late for the deadline. Another time.

Come on guys it is not always about credit and fame . It is simply about being part of the whole and at the end it will be a win / win for everyone. This world is too serious for it's own good. Enjoy the ride on this planet.

Great fun!

Love the idea, so I went out and made a photo. Submitted it yesterday to the Flickr group, but it didn't show... I also posted it on Instagram, so I hope I'll still be able to join in on the fun :-)

Submitted! And perfect timing, I just finished 3 amazing upcycled fairy costumes and have been planning a photoshoot for them!

I added my photo on Saturday, June 16, but it hasn't appeared among the submitted photographs.

Me too. I also added mine, from Jerusalem, yesterday. Hope it shows up in the Flickr group soon.

I think the flickr group is moderated. (and it is weekend now)

This is such a great idea! I can't wait to see what you end up with!!

I added mine from Athens, Georgia! :)

Sounds fun! Count me in!

Great idea. I love selling and buying etsy . Look for something fun from the great state of south Dakota.

Great idea! I'm in! I look forward to seeing the video!

Great Idea and perfect timing as we just visited Mt Rushmore. Hooray for South Dakota!!!

Just peaked on the Flickr page. What a nice variation of photos. It really gives an Around The World feel. =^x^=

When will the video be out? I'd love to see it!