| Workshop Minutes: Street Team Meeting 2008.5.1 |
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sarawearsskirts: starting.. now!
sarawearsskirts: :)
jillhannah joined the room
kristinalaw: yay!! Thanks!
montezumamudd joined the room
sarawearsskirts: sure, my pleasure
kristinalaw: so if I poof I am not being rude :)
TerisTreasure joined the room
TerisTreasure: Hello!
sarawearsskirts: no problem,
sarawearsskirts: hello, everyone!
sarawearsskirts: lots of familiar names in here, this is great!
montezumamudd: Hey!
jillhannah: Hello!
sarawearsskirts: hi!
misscourageous: Hello!
sarawearsskirts: we'll start in just a moment
ElenaMary joined the room
fabricstash joined the room
are you on a global etsy team?
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9 yay, 2 nay, 1 abstain
starmotif joined the room
sarawearsskirts: excellent!
starmotif: Hello!
are you a team leader or co-leader?
sarawearsskirts: you don't have to be, to be in this meeting, i'm just curious.
7 yay, 5 nay, 2 abstain
sarawearsskirts: great!
lookability joined the room
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sarawearsskirts: okay, one more
starmotif: Good day all. Hello Millie!
misscourageous: hi
do you know how to submit a question in the virtual labs?
11 yay, 3 nay, 2 abstain
sarawearsskirts: okay, great
fadingflowers joined the room
sarawearsskirts: to submit a question to the queue, in the type bar, type /ask before your question
sarawearsskirts: so it looks like:
sarawearsskirts: /ask how do i type a question
jillhannah asks, do I have time to make tea?
sarawearsskirts: only if you make some for me. :)
CreationsByRobin left the room
sarawearsskirts: okay, shall we get started?
jillhannah: sounds good!
sarawearsskirts: great
WYIMcreations: Hello!
jillhannah: (starting and tea)
starmotif: yes
sarawearsskirts: so, today we'll talk about team grants
sarawearsskirts: the new program we launched this week
daniellexo: woot!
sarawearsskirts: to give etsy teams a more formalized and organized way
alorinna joined the room
sarawearsskirts: to go about getting promo items from etsy, funds to help subsidize advertisement and event costs and other expenses teams might face when looking to promote etsy in a big way
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sarawearsskirts: we're really exctied about the program
sarawearsskirts: because it's such a great help to the teams, potentially
daniellexo: This will help spread the love!
FishOnTheWall: ask/ so Its only for BIG promos/events?
misscourageous: I love the love
FishOnTheWall: crap- sorry.
daniellexo: hehe
sarawearsskirts: (fish, great question, want to retype it into the queue? it's okay!)
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daniellexo: Ready for questions?
InspirationByFlorna: Hello!
TerisTreasure: ready
FishOnTheWall asks, Sara- who do we ask about signing up for labs for a meeting?
InspirationByFlorna: ready
sarawearsskirts: daniellexo!
daniellexo: that would be me!
sarawearsskirts: there is a form
daniellexo: or fill out the application
daniellexo: please
sarawearsskirts: i linked it from http://team.etsy.com so it's easier to find
daniellexo: http://www.etsy.com/teams_virtual_labs_ap.php
FishOnTheWall: I found it & it was easy to do!
sarawearsskirts: the grant is also linked from there
sarawearsskirts: awesome
daniellexo: Yay!
TerisTreasure asks, about the team grants... how much will Etsy give the team?!?! We we thinking of getting an add in a mag... so we are seeing some much money will come out of our pocket if we are excepted for the grant.
daniellexo: I'm excited about a team trunk show coming up in July! keep those apps rolling in guys!
sarawearsskirts: you should ask for what you need for the ad - we have a budget, and we'll allot as much as we can to as many projects as possible
sarawearsskirts: if your team is willing to pay a portion out of pocket, that's fabulous, and be sure to mention that in the application
misscourageous asks, how long does it take to find out if you're approved for a grant?
daniellexo: Teris you should ask for what you need - the amount we can give will vary. We will sometimes subsidize and entire promotion, or sometimes we will subsidize part of one.
sarawearsskirts: we'll review them on the 15th of each month, and announce them probably a week or so after that each month
jillhannah asks, what are the guidelines for getting grant money?
sarawearsskirts: the grant money should go toward promoting your team / etsy through an event, a publication, or some other creative way to hit many buyers.
sarawearsskirts: and we take into consideration lots of things -
sarawearsskirts: how active your team is, what other things your team has done, how many people the proposed project will impact...
lookability asks, is there a min number of team members who have to be involved.. does leader have to apply?
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daniellexo: The leader doesnt have to apply
sarawearsskirts: there are no set guidelines in terms of hard numbers
daniellexo: Just who ever is in charge of the promotion
daniellexo: team work!
sarawearsskirts: totally!
sarawearsskirts: if you have a team with 6 really active members, you stand an equal chance as a team with 76 members
sarawearsskirts: it depends on the strength of what you're proposing, really
misscourageous asks, if this is an ongoing program can you qualify for a second grant for future events if you've already received one (for a really active team!)
sarawearsskirts: the limit is two grants per year per team
sarawearsskirts: so consider wisely when you apply!
sarawearsskirts: but this is because we have so many teams
sarawearsskirts: and new ones each day
FishOnTheWall asks, so, is the grant money only for BIG promos/events?
sarawearsskirts: well, this is tricky to say
sarawearsskirts: we want the money to make the biggest impact possible
daniellexo: but we also want to support those of you in smaller towns
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sarawearsskirts: so if you have an event in a little town, and there will be 500 people there, and probably none of those people know about etsy
sarawearsskirts: we think that's awesome
sarawearsskirts: we'd likely support that
daniellexo: totally!
sarawearsskirts: if you're proposing an ad in a magazine where we think lots of people already know about etsy... maybe that's not as strong a use of the grant at this time
sarawearsskirts: we're trying to help teams reach new markets
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sarawearsskirts: and be successful
sarawearsskirts: and if we can't giveyour team money for one event, we'll try to provide some other form of support, like promos, etc.
sarawearsskirts: we want to help as many teams as possible
jillhannah asks, is there a proposal form? how do we propose these things?
sarawearsskirts: the form is linked from http://team.etsy.com/grants.html
sarawearsskirts: and from monday's storque article
daniellexo: here is the article btw
daniellexo: http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/etsyNews/article/team-tip-etsy-team-grants/1656/
daniellexo: for those who haven't read it
sarawearsskirts: (thanks, danielle!)
daniellexo: lots of faq's answered in there!
daniellexo: np
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InspirationByFlorna asks, can you still get grant money if some of your group is selling crafts for charity?
sarawearsskirts: the intention of the grants is to help teams promote themselves and etsy
sarawearsskirts: so if the charity group is promoting etsy in the process of raising funds for their cause
sarawearsskirts: that's probably fine
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jillhannah asks, can you give us some examples of things that grant money can and cannot be used for?
sarawearsskirts: this is covered a bit in the article, but basically,
sarawearsskirts: the big things we mention are
sarawearsskirts: advertisements in print magazines, blogs, trade publications, etc.
sarawearsskirts: and events - booth fees, etc for existing events
sarawearsskirts: and then promos - we're happy to give out as many promos as our little hands can make
sarawearsskirts: we really want these grants to enable the teams
sarawearsskirts: to do things they might not be able to afford otherwise
sarawearsskirts: to give them a boost toward shooting for big goals in terms of who they reach, etc.
TerisTreasure asks, are there any main things we should know of how to be excepted for a grant?!?! like to have a better chance at recieving one?
lookability: \ask so this has no bearing on eligibility for "craft fair" supplemental money? Or has it replaced that?
lookability: oops
sarawearsskirts: it's okay 0
sarawearsskirts: i'm not sure i understand 'craft fair supplemental money'
sarawearsskirts: what do you mean?
misscourageous asks, do we use the grant form to simply get more promo items as well?
daniellexo: Yes!
sarawearsskirts: totally
daniellexo: haha i got that one
sarawearsskirts: we've streamlined it all into one
daniellexo: (sneaky)
sarawearsskirts: ha
sarawearsskirts: lookability?
lookability: that thing where people applying to be in a craft fair could get some money from etsy (ok streamlined)
abitabite: Hello! /ask wouldn' a team have to be registered as an organisation in order to recieve a grant - that how it works if you write grant preposals elsewhere
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sarawearsskirts: yeah, this is the whole thing wrapped up
abitabite: crap sorry forgot about the hello
sarawearsskirts: this is an etsy grant, so you have to be an etsy team to get it
sarawearsskirts: it's okay!
sarawearsskirts: we won't be giving grants to individual sellers
sarawearsskirts: only sellers demonstrating they're part of a team
abitabite: for tax purposes i mean
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sarawearsskirts: the sums of money given won't be large enough to bear tax implications
abitabite: you cannot accept money or fees for membership for that mater unless you register an organisation (legally)
sarawearsskirts: and most of the time, we'll be paying the organization (publication or event) directly
sarawearsskirts: so most of the time, we won't be giving money TO the etsy team
sarawearsskirts: but paying a fee on their behalf
InspirationByFlorna: registering is easy really
sarawearsskirts: since they are promoting etsy
misscourageous asks, even if we've gotten grant money? will the promos count as a second grant?
sarawearsskirts: since there are new teams all the time
jillhannah: I've decided to become an outlaw just so I don't have to deal with legal minutia(sp?)
sarawearsskirts: we'll probably ask teams to limit their promo requests to twice a year
sarawearsskirts: since promos do add up in terms of costing money to produce and ship around the world
sarawearsskirts: so ask for what you might need for a couple months when you apply for promos
jillhannah: 14,000 dog t-shirts in various sizes
sarawearsskirts: yes
sarawearsskirts: by all means
sarawearsskirts: dogs need clothes
jillhannah: for EtsyChai
sarawearsskirts: the storque knows all about it this week
misscourageous asks, I'm assuming promos previously received aren't being counted?
jillhannah: yes (so loving pet week, btw)
daniellexo: no misscourage they wont
sarawearsskirts: we're wiping the slate clean and starting the program fresh
misscourageous: thanks!
sarawearsskirts: this has been great! are there any more questions?
daniellexo: or ideas?
TerisTreasure: when you say that you would like a video or something documents from the grant... how would you do that with an ad in a mag?
daniellexo: *chirp*
TerisTreasure: hey hey I dont type the fastest! haha
daniellexo: just a report on how the ad worked for your team would be good enough in that case
sarawearsskirts: for the ad, you can maybe try to gauge how your sales were affected by the ad?
sarawearsskirts: just some feedback on the success of the grant, is what we're looking for
misscourageous asks, our team has applied for a grant for a local farmers market, if the fees were already paid by a team member could they be reimbursed w/ grant?
sarawearsskirts: we could discuss this - if it was a strong proposal this is probably something we'd consider
misscourageous: great
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sarawearsskirts: excellent!
FishOnTheWall asks, would team biz cards count? to distribute at craft shows?
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sarawearsskirts: honestly - if you think it's a good idea, i'd recommend filling out the form
sarawearsskirts: we're pretty open to ideas at this point
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sarawearsskirts: and if you don't get this grant this month, you can always apply again
FishOnTheWall: we make fliers for our Holiday promotion-- but shipping would be brutal to have them mass printed- so no way the iindividuals could split funds?
sarawearsskirts: we want to spread it to as many teams as possible
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daniellexo: Also - here's a tip!
daniellexo: If you can collect a few dollars from each member of your team ...
daniellexo: for something like a postcard.
daniellexo: it might be best to do that instead of applying for a grant
daniellexo: you might want to save your grant opportunites for something more exciting
daniellexo: (and costly)
sarawearsskirts: good point
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alorinna: like our own ad in bust, etc? :)
sarawearsskirts: also, if your team has done things collectively, like printing promos, we're excited to see that on the app
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sarawearsskirts: an ad in a well read magazine is a great idea
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jillhannah asks, so it's monthly?
sarawearsskirts: yep
TerisTreasure asks, is there a way to make ourselves stand out to get the grant besides just filling out the app? like if we put it in video or something?
sarawearsskirts: no, no video is necessary, just be articulate, and list all the reasons your team is awesome and the awesomeness you'll make with the grant
jillhannah: naked pictures of attractive male members
sarawearsskirts: make it easy to read - ie, choose your words well!
jillhannah: or female?
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misscourageous asks, will you be doing a storque article on grant funded success?
sarawearsskirts: YES
sarawearsskirts: i'm looking forward to these!
sarawearsskirts: and they'll help you all get an idea of what we're shooting for with the grants, i think
misscourageous asks, so maybe we pay the booth fees & have the banner made & you fund the local newspaper ad?
sarawearsskirts: yes, something like that is great -
misscourageous: oooh, so not only $$$ but notoriety as well :)
jillhannah: mmm...notoriety...
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sarawearsskirts: we want to know your Team is willing to contribute time, talent, a little effort and possibly some funds, also
sarawearsskirts: the idea of the grant is to help with something your Team might try to do regardless
misscourageous: got it
sarawearsskirts: because it's a goal your Team has set
sarawearsskirts: awesome!
sarawearsskirts: should we all get back to work, if there are no more questions?
sarawearsskirts: :)
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