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Talking Product: An Update on 2009 Site Feature Priorities

2009-11-02T15:00:00-05:00

Hi friends,

Welcome to the latest installment of Talking Product. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these posts, they are part of a regular series from my colleagues and me. Our CEO, Maria, started this series last year with her Talking Shop posts. In 2009, we’ve offered more posts by disciplines: Talking Product, Talking Marketing and Talking Tech. In June, all of us got together for a talkfest that we offered up as an audio podcast to more personally communicate with all of you about what’s happening at Etsy.

I am excited to offer you this latest update that covers the last few months. It also presents an overview of our priorities for the remainder of this year and into early next year, as well as a few general Product Team updates.

As a reminder from my previous updates, our first and foremost priority in recent months has been improving the shopping experience. We believe that among the most valuable things Etsy can do for sellers is attract buyers to the site, get them shopping and keep them coming back. While there is much work ahead and this will be a constant focus for us, we’re excited about some of the changes we’ve made so far and about the upcoming features we have in the queue.

So, what we have been up to lately?

Search

As I’ve indicated in past updates, improving the search and discovery experience on Etsy has been our top priority. We’ve made important strides in our efforts to improve Etsy's searching and shopping experience. Here are a few highlights:

Now when you perform a search on Etsy, you will often see links for recent popular related searches above your results. These related searches are actual searches recently performed by Etsy shoppers. They serve as suggestions for shoppers to refine their initial search or to stimulate ideas for successful similar searches. Related searches also offer sellers ideas to effectively tag items.
We made improvements to the way subcategories are suggested during the item listing process. Now, only those subcategories relevant to an item's top-level Category are suggested as item tags. This adjustment is helping to make the Category browsing experience more relevant.
We gave shoppers the ability to filter their search results by Category. This new feature provides shoppers a quick and easy way to narrow and refine their search results. Many Etsians tell us that this enhancement makes finding just the right item on Etsy easier and faster.

Checkout

We continued to work on making Checkout as smooth as possible, especially for new buyers. Our A/B testing framework allows us to test Checkout changes with a small percentage of shoppers, to make sure the changes will be understood and actually improve the user experience, before rolling the changes out to all shoppers.

We enabled new buyers to register on Etsy as a part of the regular Checkout flow. This was an important change since previously new buyers were required to leave Etsy.com in the middle of the Checkout flow in order to complete registration. The old process often resulted in buyer confusion.
We're currently A/B testing removing non-essential elements from the header of Checkout pages to focus shoppers on completing the Checkout process.

Seller Tools

Over the past few months, our new shipping tool with regional shipping options and the ability to rearrange items in your shop moved from the beta testing phase to full launch.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

In the last couple of months, we’ve devoted a fair amount of attention to SEO. With the help of our friends at SEOmoz, Etsy developed a stronger SEO strategy and implementation plan. The most significant changes of the last few months are:

Giving sellers more control over your shop page title, Item listing page titles, and Section page titles
Canonical tags for improved search engine ranking for these pages
Updating shop URLs to be more search-engine friendly as well as changing to 301 redirects

We focused on shop and item listing page SEO and launched improvements, including tools to help sellers preview how their shop home pages and item listings will appear in Google search results. We believe that these changes are, in part, responsible for the continued strong traffic to Etsy.com.   In partnership with SEOmoz, Etsy also created the Etsy Guide to SEO.

SEO is an ongoing effort, and we'll continue to make improvements. We are grateful to Etsy sellers who actively participated in our Virtual Labs sessions on this topic and to those who are diligently using the guide to improve traffic to their Etsy shops.

Community

We recently launched a redesign of the Community Hub. The goal with this redesign was to provide clear, more immediate access to information for the Etsy community about important news, events and activities occurring on Etsy.

Many of you have asked us to communicate frequently and with as much relevant information as we can. Prior to the launch of the new Community Hub, Etsy had only one blog, The Storque. To date, The Storque has served as a resource for Etsy buyers, sellers, staff, and the general public. It showcases a lot of terrific content and information, but the content that’s most relevant to Etsy sellers is not always easily accessible. The Community Hub is a step in the direction of focusing our communications on distinct audiences. We appreciate your patience and your feedback along the way and hope that you find the new Community Hub useful.

What is in store for the remainder of 2009 and early 2010?

As the year winds down our main focus is on keeping the site stable for holiday shoppers. Starting mid-November and going through December, we will go into a bit of a code lockdown so as not to disrupt the buying and selling experience on Etsy. During this period we will only release changes that will not risk the performance and user experience of the site. This is a common practice for most ecommerce sites and one that we believe is critical. With that in mind, some of the updates below will launch before this lockdown while others will launch early next year. Also, some of the changes might only launch to a small subset of users, and then over time we’ll expand to all users. We’ll provide updates on the specific timing and plans for each of these items via the Forums, Community Hub, and The Storque as we get closer to each launch.

Search and Discovery

Many shoppers, especially those new to Etsy, don’t know what they’re looking for when they arrive at the site. Maybe they are searching for a gift, or they know they’re going to find something they love at Etsy, but they’re not sure what. In addition, some Etsy shoppers describe their search experience on the site as “overwhelming” while others describe it as “addictive.” We’re looking to convert those who may feel overwhelmed into addicts. We believe a key to that lies in enabling shoppers to refine search results in various ways.

To that end, many of the features currently in development will be designed to give visitors a better view into the kinds of unique items available on Etsy and help them more easily refine the results displayed. We know that shoppers who perform a search on Etsy are significantly more likely to buy something than those who do not use the search function.

One feature in development is what we call Search Suggestions. This means that we'll suggest relevant search queries as site visitors begin to type a query into the search bar. These suggestions will be specific to Handmade, Vintage, Supplies, All Items or the Category page from which you search. The suggestions will be derived from Etsy’s search logs and will be displayed in a dropdown box as is the practice on many heavily trafficked ecommerce sites. We believe this functionality will help shoppers more quickly and easily discover items of interest on Etsy.   We're also dedicated to improving the overall search experience by focusing on improved handling of misspelled search terms, the page shoppers see when they perform a search with no results, and more.

Checkout

We remain focused on making Checkout as easy as possible for all Etsy buyers, especially new buyers. We're working on a project we call Guest Checkout, which will enable new buyers to check out on Etsy without first choosing a username and registering on the site. This type of functionality exists on many ecommerce sites and is generally an expected option for shoppers. By introducing it on Etsy, we intend to remove hurdles in the Etsy Checkout process.

International

Many buyers and sellers have asked for an easier way to communicate prices in currencies other than U.S. dollars. We plan to introduce a currency calculator on item pages so that shoppers can quickly (and without leaving the page) calculate prices in currencies other than U.S. dollars. The actual transactions will still occur in U.S. dollars.

Google Product Search

Many Etsy sellers use their Etsy shop RSS feed to schedule uploads of their items to Google Merchant Center, for placement in Google Product Search.

Later this year, Google is changing how sellers on marketplaces like Etsy upload items for placement in Google Product Search, and we're working with Google on a solution that will allow Etsy to automatically upload items from your shops into Google Base if you choose to opt in to the program. This functionality will be launched in beta form to a small group of sellers and will gradually roll out to the entire Etsy seller community. More details on this initiative will be announced soon.

Help

As mentioned in my last update, we have been working to launch a new Help site to make it easier for our members to find information more quickly along with a new set of internal tools for Etsy's Support Team. We’re pleased to report that this is about ready to launch. Please stay tuned to Etsy’s blog, The Storque, the new Community Hub, and to the Forums for further details.

Updates From the Etsy Product Team

We’re delighted to welcome Michael Craig to the team. Michael joins us as our design director focusing on user experience design. Among other things, he will focus on creating design standards for the site. Welcome, Michael, a.k.a. mcraig71!

We’re also thrilled to welcome two new babies to the team. Congrats to Beth, a.k.a. bethela, on the birth of her very cute son, Rowan! (MCR, who heads up Etsy's Sys Ops Team, and his wife also had a boy!)

We love to hear from you. You can find the Product Team on Etsy:

Sean is sean11
Tom is kutty
Eric is ericds
Beth is bethela
Amy is amydec
KC is okaysee
Jen is jendoo
Michael is mcraig71
And I’m saralouhicks

Lastly, but most importantly, we appreciate all of your input that you provide in the Forums, Storque blog comments, and in emails to Etsy’s Support Team regarding improvements and suggestions for the site. We take the suggestions from our community as one of the greatest considerations in determining our product roadmap, and we’re personally committed to make progress against them. We understand that it may seem that many long-requested features have not been prioritized, but we want to stress that we are listening, we appreciate your suggestions, and we are making progress.

There’s more ahead so please stay tuned. I’ll be back at the beginning of the year with another Talking Product post that provides an overview of our priorities for 2010. As always, your feedback is important, so I look forward to a continued dialogue around our priorities.   Thanks!

Tech Update: Checkout Updates

2009-04-14T16:20:00-05:00

Checkout is a core experience on Etsy, one which we are working to improve. Our goals for Checkout are to make it easy for buyers to purchase items on Etsy and to reduce the occurrence of buyers who complete Checkout on Etsy but do not complete payment on PayPal.

Today, we completed the first phase of updating the Etsy Checkout process. This first phase consists of improving messaging. Our changes include:

Updating the language on each page of Checkout to better inform buyers on the steps required to checkout.
Changing the wording on the third page of Checkout. This page is now messaged to the buyer as the "Final Review" page. Also, the button to continue is now called "Commit To Buy" — driving home the point that they still need to pay, whether with PayPal or any other method.
Updating the design of the last page of Checkout. See below for a screenshot. When using PayPal, we now tell the buyer how many payments are remaining and clearly provide a payment status on each item.

Looking into the future, we are planning a number of improvements to the Checkout process. For now, we hope you check out the new Checkout as you're checking out with some great handmade and vintage items!

TechUpdates | Shopping Posts | Explore all the fun ways to shop on Etsy

Talking Product with Etsy’s VP of Product Sara Hicks

2009-03-11T11:50:00-05:00

Hi friends,

Following up on the latest installment of Talking Shop with Maria Thomas, I wanted to provide a few operational updates from the Product Team here at Etsy.

We are excited to talk about what we’ve accomplished so far in 2009 and provide a glimpse into the priorities for the rest of the first quarter of the year (Q1) and into the second quarter of the year (Q2). Consider this the start of an ongoing series of regular updates.

So, what have we accomplished in the last few months?

Web Analytics (via Google Analytics) for Etsy sellers rolled out in January.

In February we introduced the Etsy Developer Community in beta form. We believe the full launch of Etsy’s API will unleash pent-up creativity and many new exciting applications for Etsy sellers and buyers.

We also rolled out three viral marketing tools:
- The first is a “Bookmark and share” feature, which is available on every item listing page, shop page and blog posting. This feature allows you to quickly and seamlessly share your Etsy discoveries on sites like Facebook and Twitter.
- We also updated the Etsy Shop application on Facebook. The Etsy Shop Facebook application is similar to the Etsy mini but it’s specifically for Facebook. More and more buyers and sellers are using Facebook to spread the word about Etsy items and events.
- In early December we made some relatively small but important improvements to the RSS “feeds” available from Etsy. Shop feeds now contain thumbnail images, are available on every item listing page and come pre-formatted for easy upload to Google Base. Scheduling item uploads to Google Base is a great way for sellers to help Google — specifically Google Product Search — find their items. Shoppers will then be able to find sellers' items via the 'Shopping' link on the upper left of any Google search page.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, starting in November and December, you should have noticed speed improvements when searching on Etsy and across the whole site. My colleague, Chad Dickerson, posted a technology update that has more detail on some of these improvements.

And, here are a few items we said we were going to deliver but, for various reasons, we opted to defer for the time being. We haven’t abandoned these items completely, but we have shifted some priorities. When we have further details on timing for these important initiatives I’ll be sure to let you know.

We have not yet introduced new tools for Etsy Teams as Maria outlined in her November 2008 Talking Shop article. This is something we know is important and intend to provide, but as Matt Stinchcomb recently explained in an Etsy Teams Virtual Lab, we have a few more urgent priorities in front of us first (I’ll mention those in a minute).

We did not roll out the Super Etsy Mini as described in Matt’s holiday marketing plan post. We realized that the Super Etsy Mini was probably trying to do too much, so we’ve gone back to the drawing board and are working on a broader “widget” development plan.

Now, where are we headed? As Maria said in her post, “2009 is a time to keep our heads down, replenish the soil, and focus on making better the basic elements of the site.” Here are some further details on our top priorities going into the second quarter of the year:

Search

Search is our top priority for 2009. We understand that Search is vital to your business and though we expect to make changes throughout the year, we won’t launch any surprises. We will test, preview, and communicate before we make significant alterations to Search. This week, Product Manager Sean Flannagan posted an article about our plans for Search. We anticipate numerous updates to Search throughout 2009 with the goal of improving the experience for both buyers and sellers. Many more details can be found in Sean’s article and we will provide additional details, in the form of Virtual Lab events, Blog articles, and Forum posts, as we get closer to each new feature.

Payments

Yesterday we launched new functionality enabling sellers to pay their Etsy bills with PayPal. Many sellers have asked for this, and we hope many opt in (sellers, this means you can use PayPal if you want, but you also have the option to use a credit card).

We’ve also evaluated our collection policies for sellers' Etsy bills. The result of this evaluation was announced in December and will go into effect in March 2009. Etsy relies on collecting fees from our members in order to continue developing and growing our business. The majority of Etsy sellers do pay their bills promptly and in full, and for that, we are very thankful. However, there are also some sellers who allow their bills to become overdue and these new policies are intended to help Etsy collect its fees from those sellers.

Checkout

You will see more clarifications and improvements to the Etsy checkout process in March and throughout 2009. We understand that Etsy’s checkout process (and the text we use to guide buyers through it) can be confusing, especially because items are marked as “sold” in Etsy’s catalog in a separate step from the payment processing. In March, we will be clarifying language around this process. In the coming months we will be working to better clarify the functional elements of the overall process, including introducing inline registration (i.e. letting first-time buyers checkout on Etsy without forcing them to confirm their registration first).

Safety, Security, and Trust

We continue to focus on creating a vibrant marketplace that is built on the principles of safety, security, and trust. While it may not always be possible for Etsy to disclose its fraud deterrence practices, you can have confidence that we are doing everything to make sure buyers and sellers on our marketplace are safe and community places like the Forums, Chat, Virtual Labs remain meaningful. Etsy takes these issues very seriously and thus we continue to update our infrastructure to keep fraudulent behavior off of our site.

Showcase

In March you will see improvements to the design of Etsy’s Category pages and, more specifically, the design of the Category Showcase promotional modules at the top of those pages. Our goal is to make these promotional slots more relevant and attractive to Etsy shoppers.

In the coming months, we are looking to expand Showcase placements to other relevant areas of our site to provide more opportunities for sellers to gain additional exposure. Again, more details will be provided as we get closer to launching these updates.

Seller Tools

I know that there are certain seller tools that are critical to managing your shops. According to many of the forum threads and support emails I’ve read, being able to rearrange items in your shop should be at the top of the list. We are going to provide some tools to let you do this in the next month.

Site Performance

This is listed last, but site performance is one of the features that we always keep on our minds here at Etsy. As mentioned above, Chad’s article details our progress in this area.

There’s much more ahead so please stay tuned. I’ll be back with regular updates on what we’ve accomplished from this list and what else we have lined up for the remainder of the year. As always, your feedback is important, so I look forward to a continued dialog around our priorities. Please post your comments in this forum thread (we'll close commenting here to consolidate discussion).

Thanks,

Sara

P.S. If you want to get the breaking, vital Etsy news as it happens — delivered straight to your email inbox, then sign up for Etsy News Alerts emails. Read more about it here. Expect this as an Etsy Alert email in your inbox if you already subscribe to the list.

You can also get an RSS feed of all TechUpdates here.

Featured Buyers: Sneak Attacks from the Handmade Movement

2009-03-04T17:30:00-05:00

Do you know how to do the happy dance? You will soon! Today Michael Phipps of phippsart.etsy.com shares his inspiration for the "Sneak Attacks" community project. Read on!

After several years of filling vending machines and stacking cans of food, I quit my job so my constant desire to create could be unleashed. Now on any given day I might be climbing scaffolding to work on a mural or using a microscopic brush on a book cover painting. When my sister introduced me to Etsy that first year as a full time artist, my mind started racing with ideas, and I decided I wanted to screenprint artwork onto shirts. Having screenprinted in college and then later in a friend's studio (where my darkroom was also the bathroom for an indie rock venue), it was a natural transition. I still remember making those first few sales on Etsy. Even now, EVERY sale is a thrill, but those first several were special. The feeling back then was powerful enough to positively affect my entire day.

Several months later, the memory of that exhilaration got me thinking of ways I might help other shop owners feel the same excitement, so I started a thread in the Etsy Forums entitled "Make Someone's Day," encouraging others to find shops without sales and to be their first sale. This went on for a few weeks and was even carried on by other Etsy sellers, some of whom went on to form the Etsy Patrons Team. I also figured that if it were a thrill to get one sale, how great would it be to suddenly have a whole swarm of business in just one day?

Thus the Sneak Attack was born. I started a thread asking if anyone wanted to take part in a "Sneak Attack" and explained the concept. It didn't take long before we already targeted two shops and had two more in the works. The excitement on the part of the shop owners AND the shoppers was so great that I knew I wanted to make this a regular occurrence. I quickly threw together the bones of a web site, which included a schedule of upcoming "attacks." (The site's now been completely revamped.) The response was overwhelming. For about a month we held Sneak Attacks every weekday, but that proved exhausting! So ever since we've been doing them Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The Sneak Attacks are no one-man operation. I couldn't do this all by myself — not even close. In fact, each "attack" is sponsored by another Etsy seller or buyer, who chooses the shop and coordinates it all. They start a thread in the forums, which serves as a sort of pre-game party before the appointed time. My biggest help through all this has been VintageEmbellishment. She's done more to promote and support the movement than one could even imagine. There's a long list of others who have made all of this possible.

I'm often asked how shops are chosen as "victims" of the attacks. First and foremost, no one should volunteer to be at the receiving end of a Sneak Attack. That's about the best way to NOT be chosen. It wouldn't be a "Sneak Attack" then, would it?! The shops need to have few or no sales, have been around for at least two weeks (preferably longer), they need to have some recent activity evident in their shops, and they need to have a good amount of quality, affordable products. We sadly pass by a lot of shops because they have blurry or dark pictures, incomplete descriptions, or nothing has been added or renewed for months.

Since the end of September, The Handmade Movement has sponsored 67 attacks on a total of 81 shops, resulting in 973 sales! That amounts to about $6000 worth of products bought from these up-and-coming shops over the course of just over four months. Here are the stories of just a handful of those shops.

Rachelherzog: "I had started my Etsy shop, Tickleworm, in September 2008. I put up seven items and kept working and adding more from there. (You check your shop like you check the phone for messages when you are expecting someone to call.)

In October, I was adding items, checked back and one of them was gone — at first I thought I didn't load it correctly (operator error), but then more items were gone. I saw I had a convo message, checked it, read it, and still it took me a second...I just couldn't believe I went from zero sales to a bunch in 10 minutes. I checked the thread and was reading what everyone was saying about my items...I couldn't believe it! It felt so great! Even if people didn't buy, they were saying such nice things! I honestly had tears in my eyes! PEOPLE WERE BUYING MY THINGS, THINGS I MADE!

The 'Sneak Attack' was my big break, so to speak. It kept me making more, better, different items! So now, I return every so often to buy from a shop that is being 'Sneak Attacked' because, well, it feels so good to do that for someone — and you get a great product."

Desertnana: "For almost three years I was a more-than-merry Etsy shopper. I finally took the plunge and opened my shop, but felt like a resident of Whoville in Horton Hears a Who. Desert Nanas Retro Ranch was full of goods, and I was like a Christmas elf reading, shooting, and uploading. (On dial up, mind you...) Then on December 8th, after an hour of shooting more items for the shop, I clicked on Retro Ranch to see 5 new orders! As I read the first order, I suddenly thought 'Wait-just-one-second...Did my sister do a big sympathy buy after listening to my repeated 'Steven Colbert fist-to-the-heaven' laments...??!' But no: the buyer's name is Heather (aka Winemakerssister), and in the message to the seller, it said, 'SNEAK ATTACK.'

My personal orbit shifted its axis, and I danced the desert happy dance! I shouted like Sally Field in her infamous 1980s Oscars Speech, 'They like me!' All of the hours and days of banging my head against walls of technological confusion were not in vain! I have customers!!! WinemakersSister was the first of this 'mysterious group' (Hautetotes, VintageEmbellishment, The Copper Cauldron, KreatedbyKelly), to respond to my mail, and I was not surprised to learn that a volunteer group of Etsy folk do this as a weekly hobby to surprise and encourage new shops!

With this wonderful burst of encouragement I went forth, forever changed by the kindness of these lovely ladies, having gained a dear friend (love you Heather) and wanting to share and give the same kind of boost to new and struggling beginners."

FartsyArts: "The 'Sneak Attack' is one of the coolest ideas to support new shops. KitsandCaboodles sponsored my 'Sneak Attack.' I am sure a lot of beginner Etsy sellers can relate when I say it takes a lot of hard work and outside the box thinking to get your shop noticed. Having a handful (or more) of people visit the shop AND purchase an item is a double bonus!! When I got the e-mail that I was going to be a 'victim' of a 'Sneak Attack,' I ran to my boyfriend in utter excitement and screamed, 'I don't know what this is but it's going to be FUN!' Once I realized what the whole game was, my eyes were glued on the clock and my finger was on my mouse ready to reset my browser!

...I am a regular visitor to the site to see who the next 'victim' is. It is a great promotional tool and so much fun to partake in as a seller and a buyer. I have participated in a past 'Sneak Attack' and the thanks you get from the seller spells happiness and it feels just great, and you get something cool for yourself too!"




Monkeysalwayslook: "I was, of course, completely thrown off guard when I finally realized that I was a victim of a sneak attack. I can't really describe the feelings I felt except amazement, joy, surprise and overwhelming gratitude. Before the sneak attack, my store only had two sales. In my feedback to my buyers I said that this little gesture brought tears to my eyes, and when I think about it now, it still brings tears to my eyes. The generosity of complete strangers and the purchases that they made gave my little store the momentum and boost that has carried on to this day. Since the sneak attack, my store has had a steady stream of sales.

Because of the boost — and more importantly, the amazing generosity — of these people, I check in now and again at www.handmademovement.com to see who is up next — knowing that just a tiny purchase can make all the difference to the store's success, and [that it brings] motivation and joy...to the store's creator. I think this is what the handmade movement is all about: sharing in each others love, hard work, and care that is put into each and every item."


warpeDesign: "Being 'Sneak Attacked' caught me completely by surprise. I'd only been on Etsy for a month and was still on the low end of the learning curve. It was a challenge to figure out how to make my cards look special and if I could catch someone's interest among the ton of other cards that were posted every day. My cards are subtle, so it's hard to make them jump out from a tiny thumbnail. The 'Sneak Attack' was a wonderful affirmation that I had something special and that I was showcasing it the right way."

WontonLove: "It was a complete surprise. I was fairly new to Etsy at the time and never did I expect such craft activism to take place! The fundamental part of the idea touched my crafty heart. It's nice to think that anyone can sneak up on you, from around the world, when you least expect it, and you get a bunch of sales to boot!"

Now it's your turn to help create more stories like the ones above (and get some cool items in the process!). Check out http://www.handmademovement.com for the schedule of upcoming Sneak Attacks and join in on the fun!

Etsy Community Projects | Fresh Shops

Featured Team: The {NewNew} Etsy Team

2008-12-03T12:17:00-05:00

What makes The {NewNew} Team so great? There really isn't enough room in this post to tell you about all their initiatives (online and real world!). This Team crafts together, shows work together, has an almost insanely active Google Group and daily updated blog, with giveaways, how-tos, member updates and more! They really have become a staple in the NYC art and craft community! Read on to get a glimpse of the amazing promotions and opportunities that the NewNew creates for themselves!

See the NewNew at The Knitting Factory this weekend! Etsy will be there with a Make & Take crafting table along with dozens of Etsy sellers from the NYC/NJ area.

Members of the NewNew came down to the EtsyLabs to show us how to make handmade wrapping paper. Check out the Storque article for more details and to download this design.

Did you get a seat in the NewNew's online Trunk Show in the Virtual Labs a few weeks ago? If so consider yourself lucky! There were almost 500 attendees to this show, clamoring for 150 seats!

Live in the NYC/NJ area?
You can catch rotating members of the NewNew Team every single Sunday at The Brooklyn Flea. They are always there showing beautiful work, facing the elements and representing Etsy!

Not near NYC? Catch the NewNew everywhere online:

Facebook
Blog
Follow them on Twitter
MySpace
TheNewNew.Etsy.com
YouTube

And of course shop theNewNew on Etsy by searching "newnewteam".

Team Tips | More Posts on The {NewNew} Etsy Team

Etsy Team Grants: Success!

2008-11-21T13:38:00-05:00

The past few months have been busy with lots of really fantastic Etsy Team events. Here's a wrap up of some of the wonderful Etsy Team Grant projects that have been recently completed, along with the sellers and their items. See here to learn more about Etsy Team Grants, and to learn how to join an Etsy Team, check the Teams Join page.

The Etsy Texas Crafters had a booth at Maker Faire in Austin, Texas, where they presented demos and gave information to Faire attendees. You can read a great blog post on the event with links to their participating members' shops and profiles here. Some of the members who lent a hand to the Team include TimaryArts, who makes crochet and felted items, like this Oatmeal Chubby Nesting Trio (on the left below), and crabappledesign, who incorporates vintage elements into her handmade items, such as this Vintage Paper Doll note card (on the right). Find more items from sellers in the Lone Star State by searching "TeamEtsyTX".

In North Carolina, the Hornet's Nest Team had great success with their "Craft Attack!" show in October. For great photos from this show, you can search "CraftAttack" on Flickr. The Team had beautiful weather, and below are items from a vendor and an organizer of the show. On the left is LazyDogPottery's Robin's Egg Blue Coffee Mug (on the left, below) and from HappyWhosIts, a Hyacynth Whypple - Hippo Hand Puppet - Crochet Amigurumi (at right, below).

EFA, or the Etsy for Animals Team, had a really great idea for celebrating its Etsy-versary. The Team organized a great ad campaign on fantastic shopping blogs, like Modish and Hostess blog. They tracked visitors from those sites by using a coupon code incorporated into the ad designs, so that they could tell how many sales the advertisements generated. You can show your support for this Team, which raises money for animal charities through their shops, by searching "EFA Team". On the left, below, is a set of Owls in Fables - Nesting Owls, by SavageArtworks, and on the right, the Offset Sapphire Ring from AlphabettiSpaghetti.

The Boston Handmade Team had a commanding presence at Boston's SoWa Open Market the weekend of October 16, and it was wonderful! They distributed business cards that were made up for the Team, and everyone loved the cards. They used the promotional cards to chat up Etsy, their shops and why buying handmade is important to everyone. Congratulations on your success at the market, Boston Handmade! Below is a Needle Felted Lobster, from Team member CozyCottageCreations, and a Poppy Princess Vintage Necklace, from Glamourpuss. Find more items from this Team by searching "BostonHandmadeTeam".

Thanks to all the wonderful Team members who make these fantastic events happen! We're looking forward to some exciting Team Grant events in the upcoming months. To find more information on Team Grants and learn how your Team can apply, be sure to check this Team Tip.

Team Grants | Featured Teams | Team Tips

Featured Team: Natural Kids Team

2008-11-19T15:34:00-05:00

This week's Featured Team, NaturalKids, makes sweet, wholesome products for your little ones! We love the way these toys inspire creativity while staying true to their natural materials. You'll find these items are crafted with a lot of love, and it seems this affection pours into their Team as well! The NaturalKids Team has a great website and blog to promote their work and also holds weekly promotions in the Forums. We love how they've created their own co-operative advertising program within the Team and have ads running on parenting websites! To learn more about this Team (including how to join) check out their Team Profile. To see all the products made lovingly by NaturalKids Team members, simply search "naturalkids team".

BeneathTheRowanTree | lalaspequenos | pupa

Young Reindeer

pupa loves the camaraderie within the Natural Kids Team. "Being part of Natty Kids is always inspiring! Crafting can get lonely, so it's nice to know there is a very fun, supportive group of fellow crafters out there."

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The Maple Wood Triangle Teether

"We love making handcrafted wooden teethers in our little backyard in Ohio! We love the Natural Kids Team because they are so wonderful and talented and it is a perfect place to interact and connect with other artists. I am thrilled to be a part of this magical team," says member littlealouette.

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Latte

woolies is the leader of this incredible Team. She explains how they work together: "We have a promotion thread going at all times. We make Treasuries that feature each other's work. But more than that, we support each other, and many members have become close friends. We mentor each other; if there are situations that we are unsure of, we know that we can come to the team for help. This also applies to non-business related stuff!"

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Three Little Birds, Shapes and Colours

BeneathTheRowanTree says that, "Being part of the Natural Kids Team speaks to me as a parent and as an artist. I love working with natural materials and feeling their life and energy, being connected to the source. Even more than this I love to place natural items in my daughter's hands, and the hands of other children, and watch their faces light up and their imaginations take flight with the possibilities of what they are holding, warm and soft and gentle, in their hands."

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Becky, a sweet 16-inch Waldorf doll

I had to include this doll by FaerieRebecca who named her after a Teammate! "Becky aka TheSingingBird (who came out to visit me at a craft show recently) oooo-ed and ahhhh-ed over the doll, so I had to name the doll after her when I listed her here on Etsy!" Rebecca is also a Team Leader of the Natural Kids Team and is inspired daily by "...the most generous, cooperative spirit in this Team!"

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Gnome Woods Playscape

WhimsicalMom "Being a Mommy is the most wonderful experience I have ever had and playtime is the best! My mission is to create whimsies that will spark not only a child's imagination but parents' as well. We all need to play:) I really enjoy making toys that come to life in a child's hands and imagination..not with batteries."

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Newborn Noonie

lalaspequenos creates these cozy Noonies to keep your babe warm and gnome-y. "The use of natural products is an integral part of my designs. The Natural Kids Team embraces that philosophy and provides me with support and encouragement to keep doing what I love!"

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Wooden Gnome Rainbow Memory Game

mamakopp not only makes lovable toys for children, but a lot of them have an educational element. She explains, "Learning is so much more fun with gnomes!" She loves making items for children. "I just love being part of heirloom toymaking; it's the best job besides being a mother." You can see the love for natural materials in her work!

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Butterfly Design Cotton Acorn Hat

butterflydesign says, "I love being a part of the Natural Kids Team because they celebrate the joys of childhood and the earth all in one Team. And we only have one of each, shouldn't they be celebrated?"

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Mushroom House Set with Flowers, Walkway and Pixie

LittleElfsToyshop uses natural materials to create little worlds for children to immerse themselves in. She says, "In a world where everything is made of plastic, buzzing with beeps and rings, perhaps returning to a simpler way of life is just what is needed. With my toys, I try and bring back simple, imaginative play using natural materials to excite a child’s imagination. In so doing, these toys are better for the environment and for your children, as well."

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rainbowLotusNaturals | birchleafdesigns | BellaWinter

Want to see a full interview with this Team? Sign up for the Teams Mailing List here.

Featured Teams | More Natural Kids Posts | Handmade Kids Series | Children's Gift Guide

Featured Team: Full Time Etsy Crafters Team

2008-11-05T16:49:00-05:00

We've always been inspired by those crafters who take the plunge to create full time! When we saw many of these brave crafters come together to form their own Team, The Full Time Etsy Crafters, we wanted to support them and show the rest of Etsy how they are helping each other. Sharing business tips, woes and advice is one of the many perks of being on an Etsy Team! If you are interested in joining up with like-minded artists, have a peek at all the Teams and you just might find a new community!

[Full Time Etsy Crafters Team, L to R: MewPaperArts, rachelaustin, dennisanderson]

Birthstone Silver Wire Wrap Ring

muyinmolly started this Team after her own Quit Your Day Job article. "I established this Team hoping to provide a place for experienced and successful full time Etsy sellers to exchange ideas. I had been very active in the Etsy forum since I started. As my business grew, I noticed that I couldn't find resources for starting a full time Etsy business. I knew there were more like me looking for social connections with other full time crafters. I love how the members are full of positive energy. "

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Organic Coffee Sling Bag

thewren has a great collection of eco-friendly bags and accessories! Keep your eye on her blog to see what motivates this artists! Read her Quit Your day Job article.

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Coconut Lime Verbena Soap Bar

dennisanderson says about his Team, "Being self employed, I find it's always great to get others' perspectives, as it gives us a chance to look at things a little differently!" Have a look at Dennis' Quit Your Day Job article here!

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Sock Yarn - Merino/Tencel

FearlessFibers says of her Team, "Whether I'm looking for someone to talk to about a marketing idea or strategies to thrive in a rough economy, or just looking for an ear from someone who is living through similar ups and downs of building a small business, it's nice to know I'm not alone. Although I love every minute of what I do there are times when I feel quite isolated, working long hours on my own with little human interaction beyond customer communications. It's just nice to have a place to go to connect with others in a similar situation."

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100 Custom Promotional Scratch Off Cards

kittycrossbones AnyLynn, the artist behind this shop, says, "The team is a collective group of great artisans able to make a living off of our craft/hobby and on Etsy. We love to share ideas on how to improve and get the word out about Etsy and our group." See her Quit Your Day Job article here!

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Winter Wonderland Stationary

MewPaperArts loves the help she can get from her Teammates. "It's so easy to get wrapped up in the minute details of running a business — having a whole group of Etsians at all levels of their business is an ideal resource. Here you can get business tips on starting up, growing up and keeping things running smoothly." See her Quit Your Day Job article.

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Set of 3 - Holiday Pear Ornaments

"I love the forum that Molly set up; it's great to see what other people are doing and sharing our struggles, ideas and inspirations," says Mike from mudpuppy (who is all over Etsy right now!).

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Atomic Symbol for Silver Necklace

nicholasandfelice are excited about the future for their Team! "We've been full time crafters for over 20 years and it's great to have others who are in it for the long haul to share our experiences with and learn from. There's a camaraderie amongst those of us who do this full time for a living. Since we don't actually have coworkers (besides our business partners) to talk to about the job, it's great to feel like you have others out there in the same business who can relate."

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Hackett - Orignal Painting

You guessed it, another Etsy seller featured in the Quit Your Day Job series! rachelaustin was able to quit her day job after a year and a half selling on Etsy, and is an inspiration to fine artists!

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Little Vine - Peyote Beadwoven Bracelet

time2cre8 has had over 3,500 sales! We think she has amazing talent — look at the fine beadwork in her pieces!

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[Full Time Etsy Crafters Team, L to R: muyinmolly, kittycrossbones, FearlessFibers, nicholasandfelice]

Are you a full time Etsy crafter and want to join this inspiring Team? Contact Muyinmolly or Bsartstudio!

Quit Your Day Job | Featured Teams | Team Tips

Featured Etsy Team: EtsyKids

2008-10-22T11:23:00-05:00

The EtsyKids Team is one of Etsy's largest Teams, with about 500 members! We are thrilled with their ability to stay organized, support each other and hold fun events and promotions. For instance, The EtsyKids Team is having a BOGO (Buy One Get One) sale, which will be Friday, October 24th and Saturday, October 25th, 2008. With over 175 EtsyKids shops participating, there's sure to be tons of great deals! For a list of all participating shops, see the EtsyKids blog. Each participating shop will have its own BOGO offer, so be sure to check individual shop announcements for the details. Check it out!

[EtsyKids with their kids, L to R: thecleverkitty, bfbeads, chalkydoodles]

With Halloween just a few days away, we thought we'd show you some of the great costumes and accessories the Team members have created.

Spooky the Sock Dog

doodlebugfinery has a great selection of handmade kid's products like sock dogs, felt food, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, onesies and tees! This sock dog would be a great gift for the little one this Halloween!

View item | View Shop | More kid's toys by the EtsyKids Team

Pirate Girl Tunic and Black Bloomers

RaeGun's Pirate costume is too cute! She also has a french fry costume! Her bloomers are so sweet.

View item | View Shop | More costumes by the EtsyKids Team

Sweet Owl Hat

pinkalligator's crochet hats (and models) are scrumptious! Check out the Pig, Brown Cow, and Elephant!

View item | View Shop | More cute hats by the EtsyKids Team

Pumpkin Pillowcase Dress

Check out this little pumpkin eating a banana by seworiginal! Jennifer, the artist behind this shop, wants to let you know how much she enjoys being a part of EtsyKids: "So many great original items that you would never find elsewhere! Also this group of artists are so inspirational to other artists and mommies and children as well. We are all so different..but we help each other and even collaborate on ideas."

View item | View Shop | More costumes by the EtsyKids Team

Baby Skeleton Costume

smallthreads skeleton baby costume is amazing! These appliquéd bones could turn the chubbiest tyke into a bony little skeleton.

View item | View Shop | More costumes by the EtsyKids Team

Kitty Cat Baby Costume

My favorite part about shopping the EtsyKids Team tag, is getting to see all these adorable munchkins. Look at this little number by mytreasuredheirlooms. What a fur ball!

View item | View Shop | More kid's costumes by the EtsyKids Team

Glow in the Dark Halloween Dress

This glow in the dark dress by sarahbearoriginals would make part of a great (and safe) witch costume. Quite a steal for only $22.99! Aimee (the artist behind this shop) loves being a part of this Team; "I had to take an early maternity leave and they were super sweet to let me hang on as a member until I was able to get back on my feet. I feel that the Team is there not just to support our businesses but also to support each other on a personal level. I'm just excited to be a part of this talented group!!!"

View item | View Shop | More kid's costumes by the EtsyKids Team

Felted High Top Baby Shoes

These awesome little booties were made by the leader of the EtsyKids Team, thecleverkitty. Shannon writes, "The glue that holds our team together is that our members all love to create things for children. Many of us have children (or grandchildren) of our own, so we love to share pictures, tell stories, and give and receive advice from one another."

View item | View Shop | More cute hats by the EtsyKids Team

Glow in the Dark Viking Hat

How smart is this? rsislandcrafts used glow in the dark yarn for the horns on this viking hat! Now you can easily keep an eye on your little viking while he or she goes door to door on Halloween night!

View item | View Shop | More cute hats by the EtsyKids Team

[EtsyKids' sewing away L to R: RaeGun, Odannysgirl and smallthreads]

Thanks, EtsyKids Team, for banning together to make our kids cuter! Want to learn more about the EtsyKids Team? Be sure to check out their blog or this Storque article! Want to see a full interview with this Team? Sign up for the Teams Mailing List here.

Featured Etsy Team: Boston Handmade

2008-10-08T14:00:00-05:00

Each week we feature a Local or Global Etsy Team that catches our eye. Boston Handmade has always been a great resource: not only within the group, but also to other Teams. We're in awe of the work they have done to promote buying handmade! They are always sharing skills, knowledge and enthusiasm... and for this, Boston Handmade, we salute you! (Insert trumpet solo)

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team? What's the glue that holds your team together - location, craft, etc.?

Boston Handmade is a locally based team with members located throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The group was founded in March 2007 by Jessica Burko (aka ReclaimedToYou). Burko’s interest in developing the group was to gather local Boston area artists, craftspeople, and artisans who were actively engaged in selling their handmade work on Etsy. Gathering like minded, independent, creative people to work together towards reaching their common professional and artistic goals was the original driving force behind Boston Handmade and continues to be the focus of the group.

[Boston Handmade Photography Workshop]

What does your Team do to help each other?

Our group originally came together to lend support, share information, and promote the handmade life utilizing our wide diversity of skills and experiences. Members of Boston Handmade lead skill-share workshops, share supplies through swapping events, carpool to shows and team gatherings, and no one hesitates to post art, crafting, supply, advice or questions to our email list. The biggest help we each provide to one another is being available and active in the group.

[Boston Handmade Knitting Workshop]

How does your Team promote Etsy and each other's shops?

We have a blog featuring each member of the group with links to individual shops, and a link to search for Boston Handmade Team items on Etsy. All members of our group regularly contribute articles to the Team blog, and we publish new content seven days a week, sometimes more than once a day. We also post a list of individual blogs maintained by our members, and our blog address is linked from Team member sites. Additionally, we produce several Team-only shows during which we tell everyone all about Etsy and happily distribute Etsy promo items.

[Boston Handmade's Marketplace! Sponsored by Etsy!]

Tell us a bit about a current or past Team event or promotion.

Our biggest event to date was this summer's Boston Handmade Marketplace held in June in Somerville, MA. We had enough space at this show site to include all Team members who were able to attend, and we were thrilled to have room to invite other Etsy sellers from Massachusetts. The show had live music, twenty-eight exhibitors, and was a fantastic day for all of us!

Does your Team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

On Sunday, October 12 (10am-4pm) we will be exhibiting as a group at the Boston's South End Open Market. There will be more than 25 members of Boston Handmade showing and selling original one-of-a-kind and limited edition works in textiles, wood, ceramics, paper, jewelry, photography, fine art, and more! We are so thrilled to be able to present our work together like this in such a well known and prominent venue.

Many thanks to Jessica and the Boston Team for working so hard together! Did their story inspire you to join an Etsy Team? Check out our informative Teams section for all the info you need!

Featured Etsy Team: Etsy MetalClay

2008-10-01T12:30:00-05:00

This week we're featuring a Team that is really motivated and on its way to being a huge force in the Etsy jewelry world! The Etsy MetalClay Team is working hard to promote the art of precious metal clay and each other's shops. We wanted to introduce you to this interesting and relatively new medium and Team! Much thanks to Team leader LoraHart for collecting these answers and being a positive member of the Etsy Teams program!

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team? What's the glue that holds your team together - location, craft, etc.?

Although our members are spread far and wide geographically, we're definitely united by our love of all things metal clay. The Etsy MetalClay Team (also known by our Team tag — EMC team) is made up of a great group of talented jewelry makers who are, coincidentally, smart, supportive and heart warmingly enthusiastic.

Metal Clay is a relatively new material that not many folks are aware of, and we're really dedicated to introducing it to as many jewelry
lovers as possible. It mixes microsopic particles of metal with an organic binder and water. Fire it at extremely high temperatures so the binder and water are incinerated and all that’s left is beautiful, solid silver; gold or bronze — and it’s a completely green material. It's good for the earth and good for your jewelry box! Our goal is for this alchemously beautiful technological breakthrough in jewelry fabrication to capture the hearts and imaginations of the entire world! Mwahhh hahhh hahhh!

What does your Team do to help each other?

It's amazing to me that in our short two months of existence, our members have collaborated to create a web site; blog; many team Treasuries; a logo and a Team buyers' profile at Etsy so we can use the Etsy Mini feature to showcase our work on the web site. An Etsy shop is in our future, but still a ways off.

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

Ah, I'm a little challenged in the computer realm. I'm an old fogey and definitely haven't explored all that Etsy Teams has to offer yet, but I do get the daily EtsyTeamsSuperstars digest (although I'm a lurker for the moment), which has been really helpful, and we're due to have our first "live" chat via the Teams room in the Virtual Labs later this month.

How does your Team promote Etsy and each other's shops?

Many of us also have personal Blogs on which we post our Etsy triumphs. I've made Etsy Minis of my favorites, used Etsy seller's images in a monthly Blog Carnival I participate in (with full credits and links), and of course referred to my own shop numerous times. When the Team blog is up and running, it will be all Etsy, all the time!

Tell us a bit about a current or past Team event or promotion.

We're just in the planning stages of figuring out a Trunk Show or another Etsy event. I know that Etsy has a full schedule, so it'll probably take place at the beginning of 2009: a great way to start the New Year! In the meantime, we're looking for other dedicated metal clayers to join our happy throng. We jury interested shops at the end of every month and I'd love to invite Storque readers to convo me if you'd like some more information.

Do you have any suggestions for new Teams or sellers who might be interested in creating their own Team?

I started the MetalClay Team because I saw a screaming need for it. The Teams Profile page showed jewelry groups for metal fabricators, beaders, designers and those who just plain love bling, but nothing dedicated to metal clay. If there's a hole in the Etsy Teams profile that speaks to someone's heart, they should look for other buyers or sellers of that craft and discipline or specific location and begin a conversation.

Does your Team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

We sure do! Three members of the Team will be featured in a 2009 calendar called "The Art and Design of Metal Clay Jewelry and More". Jennifer Smith-Righter of WearableByDesign; Liz Hall of LizardsJewelry and myself, LoraHart were really thrilled to be included. The calendar is available at HollyGage.com

See more work from this Team by searching "EMC team". To find out more about Teams, make sure you stop by our Teams hub here!

Want to learn more about Teams? Check us out! See you next week for another fun Feature on another great Etsy Team!

Featured Etsy Team: Bookbinding Team

2008-09-24T15:04:00-05:00

I was surfing the Teams Blog Ring one day when I came across the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team (BEST)'s blog. I just love it when I see a Team sharing like this — not only with each other, but with the world via their blog. As I dug deeper, I found they were not only highly skilled in the art of bookmaking, they were a tight knit group supporting and promoting each other and Etsy. Read on to see how they do it...

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team (what's the glue that holds your team together: location, craft, etc.)?

Our craft! The Bookbinding Etsy Street Team (BEST) is comprised of members from all over the world, united together because of our mutual love for bookbinding. For the most part our members are bookbinders and sell their creations on Etsy, but we also have members who simply appreciate bookbinding. Our goal for the Team is to have a caring and supportive community where we can discuss ideas and learn from each other. And then after we have everyone on Etsy drooling over the rich variety of handmade books our Team is offering, we shall conquer the rest of the world!

What does your Team do to help each other?

We always try to be supporting and encouraging to our members. We know it's difficult to start and maintain a small business, and since we are scattered across the globe and aren't able to be physically there for each other, we definitely try to figure out ways to connect online. We try to make the Team fun; for example, we have events like our Team Book Swap, where members create books and then receive a random swap back! This past swap was based around the theme of "Travel"... some fantastic books were sent in!

How does your Team promote Etsy and each others' shops?

Phew, let's see! We have a Team Blog which we use to post about Etsy Team Events or our many Member Features. We list all of our members' blogs on the page, and anyone who submits an article gets their Etsy Shop Mini displayed at the top of the blog! We make Team Treasuries using our Team tag, bookbindingteam, to search for items to include. We try to organize Team Sales, which we promote in the Etsy Forums. We have a Team Shop; the sales go towards advertising our Team online. And right now we are currently working on our second Business Card Swap, where we create little packets full of our members' business cards, which we include along with packages to help promote each others' shops!

How does your Team connect with each other?

We have a Yahoo Groups forum which is our main form of communication with the Team. Members can discuss any problems they have with binding, questions about their Etsy shop, upcoming BEST events, etc. We also have a
Flickr, Myspace, and Facebook group, and we hold Team meetings in the Etsy Chat Rooms.

Tell us a bit about a current or past Team event or promotion.

We recently hosted our first ever Online Trunk Show! Because we are a Global Team and it's not really possible to gather everyone together for a physical trunk show, we decided to have one online at the Virtual Labs on Etsy so that anyone could participate. It was a very enjoyable experience and a definite success. We can't wait to do another one!

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

The spirit of the Team, the compassion of our members... it definitely makes the Team program wonderful. Earlier this year we hosted our first Charity Fundraising Event, and it was very touching how many of our members were willing to donate their items to help those in need. There are so many fantastic people to meet here!

Do you have any suggestions for new Teams or sellers who might be interested in creating their own Team?

If there are people interested in being a part of your Team, just go for it! Find members who are willing to work hard for the Team and try to delegate so that nobody gets burnt out and it remains a fun and enjoyable process for everyone. Come up with rules that work for your Team and your goals, but always be willing to adapt as new situations arise!

Does your Team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

Summer is coming to a close and we're now looking forward to hosting a Halloween contest! Members will be creating items based off of the theme of "Halloween" and uploading them to Etsy by October 20th. We will then post a poll on our Team Blog and ask everyone to vote for their favorite item. On Halloween, the book with the most votes would be virtually awarded the 2008 Zombie Award for the BEST Halloween book! We hope you will all vote, stay tuned to the Team Blog for more details!

[Maiko at the EtsyLabs]

Much thanks to Maiko, aka flurrsprite, the leader of this Team for sharing these answers with us and leading a great Team! Want to see more BEST books? Search "bookbindingteam"! Want to learn more about Teams? Check us out! See you next week for another fun Feature on another great Etsy Team!

Etsy Teams Digest: Local Teams!

2008-09-19T11:00:00-05:00

Support your Local Etsy Team by checking out some of these upcoming events! Location based Etsy Teams are sellers and buyers who team up based on where they live to encourage their local communities to buy handmade! These dynamic groups of Etsy members are passionate about educating their friends and neighbors about their craft, meeting and networking with other crafty people where they live.

Here's a glimpse of what some Teams are up to in this month. If you're interested in finding a Team where you live, you can check out our list of existing Etsy Teams, learn how to join or start your own!

The CT Etsy Team will be holding their Shake 'n' Bake Indie Craft Fair on October 4, 2008. The show will feature over a dozen Etsy Sellers including soapers, crafters, jewelers, vintage clothing sellers and more. This creative Team has paired up with Trash American Style, a mobile purveyor of fine quality records, LP's, and other hard to find musical goodies for the event, and will also boast a bake sale! All the vendors will be baking delicious treats as a fundraiser. 50% of the money we earn will be donated to Escape to the Arts, a local YMCA community art program located in Danbury, Connecticut. For more information on this wonderful, active Team, check out their Team blog!
As the Arizona Crafty Burrito Collective continues to grow, they are at the important stage of organizing their group to provide the best support and networking possible. Since the temperatures remain extremely hot in the Arizona desert, it's been a great time of year for the Crafty Burritos to get fully prepped for the Holiday Season. They're gearing up for the First Friday Art walk in October, where they'll be spreading the word about Etsy and their Team.
All the details have been set in place for the Uber Crafters of North Central Worcester County's first Holly-Day Craft Fair! Mark your calendar for November 29, 2008 and bring a canned good to help those in need in the community. The Uber Crafters are a small and fairly new Team, located just outside Boston, and they're excited to get together for this holiday selling event. For more information on this Team's inaugural show, check their Facebook blog or member EttiandOttisAdornment's blog.
The NC Triangle Team has had quite a month! Check out their recent featured Team article here in the Storque, and they were also recently featured in the local News & Observer in North Carolina. On Saturday, September 27, 2008 a member is holding a Fall Boutique Open House, where 13 members will be selling their wares! Sellers include VintageScraps, KarensSoaps, BellaMiaDesigns, Scatterbox, SydneyAustinDesigns, FadedBlues, PhroggyDee, CinnamonSpice, Vintage2Creations, TrashyBroad, JessiJeanJewelry, BibsBurpsAndMore, and RippasCustomSilver. Visit their Team blog for more information.
Fifty-four shops will be participating in the European Street Team's upcoming Secret Santa game. To learn more about this International Team, check their Team blog.

Support Etsy Teams by searching "Team", and to learn more about the Etsy Team program, please join us in our weekly round table workshops, held in the Virtual Labs each Thursday! You can also find information about Etsy Teams at http://team.etsy.com.

Featured Etsy Team: North Carolina Triangle

2008-09-17T15:20:00-05:00

It's such a great feeling when you connect with new people who share the same interests. It's even more exciting when you can meet in person. This week we noticed one of those magnetic Local Teams, North Carolina Triangle. Looks like they really support each other both online and off. We're excited to introduce you to this enthusiastic bunch of Etsy sellers and buyers!

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team (what's the glue that holds your Team together: location, craft, etc.)?

The NCTriangle Team is made up of members in and around the Research Triangle Park (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). We have Team members that joined so that they can grow their business through learning from others, and we have members who joined for the social outlet that it offers.

What does your Team do to help each other?

Sharing ideas/problems/solutions/craft feedback
Sharing past show experiences and feedback
Biz card/promo item swaps
Featuring each other on our personal blogs

How does your Team promote Etsy and each other's shops?

Our Team promotes Etsy by reaching out and spreading the word about Etsy. Recently an article was published in the Raleigh-Durham paper, The News & Observer. The article went into detail about what Etsy is, what a Team is, and specifically featured our Team. It was a great way to spread the word about Etsy and our local Team. Since the article was published, our Team has gained 10 new members. Seven members were already on Etsy but did not know about the Team, and three that were new to Etsy because of the Team!

We promote each other through card swaps, Treasuries and general support. At each meeting we hold a card swap. Then when we send out packages we include a couple of cards from fellow Team members as "shops that we recommend." We put together a lot of Team Treasuries as a way to gain more visibility on Etsy. We also support each other by recommending Team members to friends and family, supporting each other on personal blogs and the Team blog. Each member tags their items with the tag 'NCTriangle Team'. We use this tag to pick items to feature on the Team blog, Treasuries and any other promoting.

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

Supporting each other has been the most important part of our Team. We have so many Team members, each with different needs and wants, that it can be overwhelming at times! Having a Team forum has been key to keeping the Team together. It is difficult to plan events for a Team with 125 members, so we do not have as many events as we would like. Having the forum keeps us together in between meetings.

I am seeing more and more Etsians that are joining because they are looking for a social outlet. They are looking for others that share their love for crafting. We have 8 to 10 members that are buyers only, as they craft as a hobby but they are not interested in selling.

Other members (myself and the other leaders) are here to meet and socialize with others as well as promote our shops. We are looking to learn from each other and have an active support group with other small business owners.

Do you have any suggestions for new Teams or sellers who might be interested in creating their own Team?

As a leader, I suggest that they learn to delegate: As the Team grows, so will the group's needs. Look for members that will come forward and take charge. My main job right now is an overseer. I have other tasks, but the large ones I have delegated out. AEKeith and DinnerTimeChimes are in charge of the Team blog and Team forum. MegRnc is in charge of our monthly craft events.

My other suggestion is to create a place off Etsy for the Team to formulate. Our Team forum has been great because we maintain many 'conversations' on many topics at once. I refer members to the forum for specific answers all the time (normally when they ask about area craft shows).

Does your Team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

Our recent excitement was the article that was written about us in The News & Observer. We have a very active blog and we are looking to start blog give-aways as a way to feature and promote our members.

Thanks to KatieCarolinaDesigns for collecting this info for us and leading a great Team! To shop from North Carolina Triangle click here, and to find out more check out their blog. To learn more about the Team program, check out the Teams here. See you next week for another fun Feature on another great Etsy Team!

Featured Buyers: EtsyPatrons, Etsy's Team of Buyers

2008-09-17T14:20:00-05:00

As Etsy's quintessential shoppers, EtsyPatrons Team members are a natural choice for this week's Featured Buyers. They are constantly roaming the virtual shops of Etsy, and this week they share their wonderful finds, selected from some of Etsy's newest artists.

Hi, I'm Beverly of beachyrustica, Team Leader of EtsyPatrons. Our team began, as many do, with a Forum thread and an idea. One of our soon-to-be members started a discussion encouraging the Etsy community to "Make Someone's Day" by purchasing from a new Etsian and telling everyone what they'd found. Many "days were made," and several of us took up the cause and formed a team: except instead of aligning for the purpose of selling, we united as a team of buyers. During our work as EtsyPatrons, those of us who are also Etsy shop owners take off our seller hats and join with our buyer-only teammates to purchase from and promote the shops of others. I think it is safe to say that we are the only non-self promotional team on Etsy.

Our current projects include the continuation of Have You Made Someone's Day, our weekly effort to promote new shops within the Etsy Forums; members also select their favorite new items and give them greater exposure by curating and promoting an Etsy Treasury; starting and hosting a Buyer's thread within the Forums; blogging at EtsyPatrons.blogspot.com, as well as writing about our favorite shops for the blogs of others; maintaining an EtsyPatrons EtsyMini of our favorites that shows up across the web, and many other projects. Members are encouraged to initiate their own projects to make buying on Etsy a team effort!

The pieces below were submitted by individual members and then voted on by the team. We wanted to highlight some of Etsy's newest artists, while showing off the excellent quality and creativity of handmade work that buyers come to Etsy to find, as well as some of the great vintage pieces available on the site.

Maru of Wiremeup found this gorgeous art quilt, created by ModernQuilts. "Both the commanding colors used and the detailed hand stitchery of the words, 'whole, wholly, holy' and 'whole cloth, of the cloth and man of the cloth,' swirling about this exceptional art quilt made of a single piece of fabric, is wholly beyond the words stitched onto the quilt itself."

Zebras in the Room by audreyart was selected by EP's Treasury Director, Glenna of VintageEmbellishment. She says, "I love this print. The little redheaded girl reminds me of my granddaughter, who at 5 years old is learning all about the 'love of reading' and the joy it brings."

This Cosmos Rectangular Zip Pouch by misscakedesign was the selection of Maisy, aka maisyh. "Not only does it combine two of my favorite colors — lavender and lime — but this is a pouch that will not get lost at the bottom of your tote! I particularly love the way misscake has machine appliquéd her own design into the material to give the combination yet more individuality. This pouch has wide appeal: practical, stylish, feminine, and edgy."

"The fullness and beauty of each woman in this powerfully brilliant painting is in the fact that they are faceless. Though they are faceless, they express a vibrant image, each with their own personality," commented Maru of Wiremeup, who discovered this work by Krystyna81 entitled It's Not About You.

These charming, handpainted wooden chairs by pamdesign were chosen by Jen of Jemjoop. "I really love these handpainted chairs! There is something to be said for functional art you can actually use around your home. They put a beautiful spin on recycling!"

Even the title of this piece is appealing. The Peek-A-Boo Fairy Art Card ACEO was created by ArtSlings1946 and discovered by Linda of Peppercorns2. She says, "I love the beautiful artistry and imagination of this mini art treasure."

Nest was the choice of Jen, aka Jemjoop. "Larkjewelrydesigns handcrafted this wonderful silver nest necklace in tourmaline, ruby, and garnet. I like it for its originality and skillful design. A really unique piece for your jewelry box."

"I love anything orange and pink, which is probably why this fabulous tangerine orange and lavender fabric bowl by sewdivine caught my eye! For me, the appeal is in the luxurious clashing colors, the genius construction, and the fact that everyone needs a good bowl to throw their keys and cell phone into when they get home," says maisyh.

Our star shopper discovered Butterflies, an 8x10 photograph by katieelizabethphoto. Maru of Wiremeup summed up her selection of this piece as such: "What caught my imagination were the butterflies fluttering about from this young woman's stomach, as if she was embarking on a passage of womanhood or perhaps the anticipation of a honeymoon. So excited of what is to come: butterflies of oh so perfect days full of excitement."

I ran across this fun archival print, Retro Shopper with Companion by sandyklotter, and chose it as the lead in to this article because it evokes the exact feeling that makes us Etsypatrons: sharing the fun of shopping on Etsy!

We hope you've enjoyed browsing our favorite new artists and vintage pieces. If you'd like to become an EtsyPatron, we'd love to hear from you! There are no purchasing requirements (or pressure), but we do ask members to participate on a regular basis. Check out our Etsy Team profile and join at our Yahoo group.

Further Resources
Etsypatrons.etsy.com
EtsyPatrons.blogspot.com
Etsy Patron's Teams Page

For more shopping ideas, our Featured Buyers series is quite impressive! Do some digging, my friend!

Featured Etsy Team: eSMArts

2008-09-10T14:00:00-05:00

A relatively new Team, eSMArts, caught our eye this week. This Team is a global collaborative of mixed media artisans using social networking, online marketing and online promotions to increase sales. We're big fans of learning how to promote your Etsy shop online (see last week's article about this here) and by working together, this Team is rocking online marketing! Help us congratulate them on their great start!

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team (what's the glue that holds your team together — location, craft, etc.)?

eSMArts (etsy Social Marketing Artisans) is a global multimedia collaborative that employs social marketing techniques. We cross promote one another in order to drive traffic to our Etsy, and other sales, sites. Our main goal is increased sales, but our global family of artists enjoys socialization, inspiration and caring support within the embrace of our fun Team!

What does your Team do to help each other?

We blog about each other and promote connectedness via social networking and social linking. We also help each other to develop a credible virtual footprint and an online presence as professional artists by critiquing each other's profiles, photos, item descriptions, products and pricing. Marketing and promotion strategies are discussed in our non-judgmental and consultative online forum structure, where all questions are welcomed and all members are encouraged to answer queries or lead the discussion as necessary.

How does your team connect with each other?

We have a mandatory Yahoo forum where all info is shared, a Team blog , an AIM chat for our weekly leadership team confidential meetings, scheduled weekly Etsy chat sessions and regular Etsy chat room party nights. Because we have members in the UK, Malaysia, Australia, Korea etc. we chat daily almost 24/7 via our Yahoo forum. Our Team leaders also stay connected daily via email and Twitter and notes through Flickr, LinkedIn, Squidoo, YouTube, HubPages, Facebook, BlogCatalog, etc.

Do you have any suggestions for new teams or sellers who might be interested in creating their own team?

If you believe you have the leadership and intellect to help others realize their Etsy dreams, then what are you waiting for? Get cracking! Dive right in with your plan and begin recruiting like-minded souls.

Does your team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

We’re only 3 months old, but our first Team design challenge has just come to a close. We had dozens of creative entries in our Show & Tell of individual marketing tools with an emphasis on low cost (preferably handmade) freebies and give-away items such as brochures, business cards, ATCs, samples and Gift With Purchase items for our Etsy shops!

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

As a leader I most enjoy the Teams workshops hosted by Danielle and Sara for their informative content on upcoming events. At those labs, the discussion from other Team leaders is usually inspiring and thought provoking and I always come away with notes and discussion topics to share with my leadership committee. On a personal level, the camaraderie, support and caring within our Etsy family keeps me motivated.

Want more from this Team? Check out eSMArt's blog and shop from their stores by searching 'eSMArtsTeam'. Special thanks to GaHooleTree for collecting these answers for us! Also, check out our past Featured Etsy Teams for more great stories!

Featured Etsy Team: Wild, Wise, Witty Grandmamas

2008-09-03T14:00:00-05:00

Grandparent's Day is this Sunday, September 7, 2008, and we're celebrating by giving a shout out to a remarkable Team of wild, wise and witty women! This week's Featured Etsy Team is the WWWG Team (Wild, Wise, Witty Grandmamas)! This supportive and active group of Etsy sellers are always working on a new project! You can find them active in the Etsy Forums and on their Yahoo and Flickr groups. Thanks for being part of the Etsy Teams program, WWWG, and for supporting each other and Etsy in your efforts! Here's what the WWWG's have to say about their team.

[Above (left to right) are the grandbabies of: Laura4ca | happygrandma40290 | grannyscloset ]

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team (what's the glue that holds your team together — location, craft, etc.)?

"The glue that holds our team together are our adorable and precious grandchildren ... we must have grandchildren to be members of WWWG. We are grandmamas of all ages ... some in their 40s some in their 80s, and all have active Etsy shops." — elenamary

"I joined the Wild, Wise, Witty Grandmamas team to be with women I could connect to. I hoped to find women who might be more advanced in age but still have an active imagination and have Etsy as an outlet for creativity! Even though we didn't grow up with the electronic age, we are embracing it and using it to our advantage — we have online stores! Who would have thought this would be our future, back when we were in school, eh? We might not know everything, but we sure know a lot; and what we don't know, we aren't afraid to ask." — ennadoolf

"We love our children and we adore our grandchildren, those sweet little peas of ours. Seeing your child’s face in your grandchildren is one of life’s greatest gifts. We all share these special bonds: our children, our grandchildren and of course crafting — that‘s a given." — gardenjewels

What does your Team do to help each other?

"I joined WWWG team about a month ago. In that month I have received help on how to get around with my computer and a lot of support. When I joined Etsy, I was lost! My son helped me with pictures, but it was the team that gave me encouragement to succeed. I haven't sold any thing yet, but I know my day is coming. I have the feeling of belonging and read all the e-mails that are sent to all members. Everyday I look forward to see what's going on with the team." — Laura4ca

How does your team connect with each other?

"The WWWG team promotes each other by creating Treasuries and by commenting on each other's shops and new items in the team forum. We have started creating a new forum thread each week recently. We connect through two team forum threads and also have a Yahoo Group and a brand new Flickr Group."
— elenamary

Do you have any suggestions for new teams or sellers who might be interested in creating their own team?

"My suggestion for starting a new team is to have a common goal and vision and to get some of the team involved in leadership positions. In my case as membership has grown I have put out the call for co-leaders who came forth in a very effective way and started the weekly forum threads and the Flickr group. I am very appreciative of their efforts. We grandmamas have paid our dues in life and this is the very best time for us, being blessed with wonderful new lives to inspire and nurture. We can have the outlet of our own online Etsy shop, which brings us all some income. We are a wonderful group who seem to really care for each other. I am so glad I have a granddaughter named Lyla who inspired me to start this team!" — elenamary

Does your team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

"Our exciting new team event is our Meals on Wheels (MOW) benefit running for the entire month of September 2008. WWWG shops will decide what percentage they will donate from shop sales for the month to MOW, and at the end of September will donate that percentage to either the national or local chapters of MOW. We decided to donate money to Meals on Wheels as it is an organization which helps seniors who are housebound by providing a good meal and friendship. We heard that MOW was having a difficult time now in light of the very high price of gasoline. The benefit is throughout the month of September in honor of Grandparents Day on September 7. We feel at this point in our very active and rewarding lives we can give back by helping other seniors." — elenamary

Find out more about WWWG's Meals on Wheels promotion in the Forums.

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

"My favorite part of the team is the support we give to each other with every day events in our lives as we all celebrate life together. Along my journey through Etsy I find myself among the sweetest friends, the WWWG!" — gardenjewels

Inspired by this group of fabulous sellers? Search WWWG Team for items they've created, or WWWGmowbenefit for Meals on Wheels Benefit items. Also, check out our past Featured Etsy Teams for more great stories!

Featured Etsy Team: Baltimore Etsy Team

2008-08-27T15:00:00-05:00

This week's featured Etsy Team is the Baltimore Etsy Street Team (or BEST). Though founded only a few months ago, they are active in their community both on and offline. We think they shine as an example of how connected, supportive—and influential—a local team can be! Read on to see how they do it.

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team (what's the glue that holds your team together — location, craft, etc.)?

Location brought us together; we're based in the Baltimore area. But we're held together by the fact that we really like each other! We have a great time! It helps, of course, that we have a bunch of hard workers who are dedicated to making a life making things by hand. I think we all see the value in promoting handmade craft as a whole.

What does your Team do to help each other?

Our members are all very giving of their expertise, so there's always "help" when someone needs it. We are great cheerleaders for one another. With the support of the team, many members have started actively promoting their work at local craft shows, where we organize group tables and help sell each other's work. At our team meetings, we often share business practices and marketing techniques, as well as technical how-to information—whatever is needed.

For many of us, the best part of being on a team is the moral support it offers to get through the hard parts of being self-employed. Whether it's the boredom of slow times or the stress of busy times, we know that we are not alone. We utilize one another for critiques and advice as well as simply cheering each other on. Working together as a group has really made us each stronger individuals.

How does your Team promote Etsy and each other's shops?

We have had two rounds of team postcards printed, as well as a team business card that each of us adds to our Etsy orders that we ship. We have a great blog which all of the members promote within their shops. And, we really must sound like a cult when we talk about Etsy at a show.

How does your team connect with each other?

We have a Google group, we get together for meetings once a month, and we have barbeques. We really like getting together for photo shoots in abandoned warehouse lots, too.

Tell us a bit about a current or past Team event or promotion.

We do regular giveaways on our blog, and at the end of August we will be announcing a contest to design a new promotional sticker incorporating our tagline, "Baltimore Craft is the BEST." Stay tuned for details!

Do you have any suggestions for new teams or sellers who might be interested in creating their own team?

Passion, motivation and a lot of coffee! You really have to believe in the team you are a part of—or are about to create. There is a lot of work that goes into setting up and managing a successful team, but the rewards are endless. Having different levels of membership has also really helped our team grow. By keeping the active group of core members small, BEST is manageable and focused.

Does your team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

We were just awarded the title "Best Locally Made Crafts" by Baltimore Magazine! And we're doing lots of shows as a group in the fall...starting with Hampdenfest next month.

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

The best part is that it's fun! Who would want to add another meeting a month to their already busy schedule of kids, day jobs and crafting if it wasn't a blast? But the key is that while we're having fun we get tons of things accomplished. That's the power of a team. It's really great that Etsy recognizes what a group of creative people can do when they get together!

Wow, Baltimore! Thanks for sharing what makes your team work! You seem to really encapsulate what Etsy Teams are all about: support, community and craft. Want to show Baltimore some love? Check out all their sweet goods by searching "baltimoreetsyteam"!

Featured Etsy Team: EtsyBloggers

2008-08-20T13:27:00-05:00

We here at Etsy have been impressed by the activity of Teams — those pro-active groups of sellers who get together to brainstorm and act on marketing ideas for their shops. The EtsyBloggers Team is a great example of a group of Etsians that work well together to spread the Etsy word. They support each other — and Etsy! — and we love them for it! Read on to see how they do it.

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team? What's the glue that holds your team together — location, craft, etc.?

The EtsyBloggers are a global team of talented blogging artists and designers who offer a wide range of items which are handmade, vintage, and supplies. And just like you, we love our Etsy and we love our blogs! We are the official team for those who love to blog abut their craft, the creative process, and other Etsians! So that's our glue...blogging handmade goodness...the sweet bloggy foundation of our team.

What does your Team do to help each other?

Wow, so much! We're super supportive of each other on a daily basis. We love to visit each other's blogs and check in on each other's lives outside of Etsy, and we also discuss business and techniques and buy from each other's shops. We have a very cool weekly event — EtsyMini Mondays — and every week one of our teammates gets her Etsy Mini featured on our team blog with a write-up! That's done by our wonderful EtsyMini coordinator, cozy — who makes the most beautiful crocheted headbands.

How does your Team promote Etsy and one another's shops?

Last weekend our team snagged a total of eight team treasuries! We also promote each other in the Etsy Forums. We post all team members' birthdays on our message board and team blog, which is so super nice. As for how we promote Etsy? By promoting each other. It's a win-win. And this, I think, is where we excel: Since we are bloggers, we unite as bloggers, and so we have a bunch of unified team events. For example, every month we select a Monthly Featured EtsyBlogger — and as a membership requirement, each member of the team blogs about that shop! We also put the featured EtsyBlogger graphic up on our team blog and our own blogs to support the event. It's really a super cool spotlight to be in for an entire month, and team participation is how our featured members are selected. This month's Featured EtsyBlogger is TulipsTreasureBox, who happens to make stunning jewelry. Last month was AKeepersJackpot, and the month before that was aliciamae — both members of EtsyBloggers since day one.

Tell us a bit about a current or past Team event or promotion.

Our first major event was an exciting and successful EtsyBloggers treasure hunt last fall, which we will be bringing back soon. It's filled with fun giveaways, so stay tuned for news on that!

Our most famous and favorite event is our bi-weekly Blog Carnival, which is all about blogging! One teammate selects a theme and we all blog about that theme and it's hosted at a member's blog! That's coordinated by our very own StormyDesigns, a polymer clay artist with some pretty fab business card couches.

Do you have any suggestions for new teams or sellers who might be interested in creating their own team?

Absolutely. I'd say the first thing you need to do after defining your goal and motto for the team is to research your options and find a team headquarters online. Yahoo groups, Google groups, and message boards are all options, which differ vastly from one another. Definitely get a team blog. It's also very important to define your membership requirements up front, before you open the doors to new members. Post the membership requirements publicly on your team blog or website — you can see ours on our website. That made a huge difference for me as the EtsyBloggers Admin and Team Leader, because it freed up some time for me to stay focused on the core of the team and events, instead of the already defined requirements. Also, if you do that you will avoid a high turnover rate of members — so build a strong foundation for the team. Once your team is established, be sure to spread the word to your members about EtsyBloggers...Maybe they'll want to join us too!

Thanks for rocking the blogsphere, EtsyBloggers! If you're a blogger on Etsy and want to join this supportive team, check out their requirements for membership here. You can also shop from the EtsyBloggers by searching their team tag, "EtsyBloggers".

Check out the past Featured Etsy Teams here!

Featured Etsy Team: EtsyRAIN

2008-08-06T14:34:00-05:00

We here at Etsy have been impressed by the activity of Teams—those pro-active groups of sellers who get together to brainstorm and act on marketing ideas for their shops. This week we're digging EtsyRain, Seattle's Etsy Team. With over 380 members, EtsyRAIN is going strong and just turned one year old! They keep a great blog, hold creative challenges, participate in projects like TheSampler and do offline events to promote and work with charities. They are so busy—just look at their calendar!

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team (what's the glue that holds your team together — location, craft, etc.)?

EtsyRAIN is the Seattle Metropolitan Etsy street team. We came together as a team one year ago – in fact, we just celebrated our first birthday on August 1st! (Happy Birthday EtsyRAIN!) We have grown a lot over the past year and now have over 380 artists and craft makers in a very wide variety of disciplines and mediums.

Building a creative community here in Seattle has been a very important part of our group. You see, the Pacific NW is a little different than some other places in the US because we have to work extra hard to connect with each other. Having a common interest like Etsy has been the foundation that all else has been built upon. So, as corny as it may sound, the main thing that holds us together is our love of all things Etsy!

What does your Team do to help each other?
Oh, so much! As a team, we organize all kinds of events, from members-only craft shows to craft supply swaps to workshops to help our members sell their work, develop their lines and take photos to make their Etsy shops shine! Whenever any one of our members has a need, they know that they can always post to our message boards in our Meetup group and ask for help! We have an incredibly supportive group of compassionate people, and as far as I know, there has never been a time when a member couldn’t find the help they needed.

Creative business education is my personal passion and I am grateful to be able to help so many of our members grow their Etsy businesses. We’ve got more workshops planned for the near future including: how to open and grow an Etsy shop, selling work at craft shows, improving photography for an Etsy shop, approaching wholesale buyers and lots more!

How does your Team promote Etsy and each other's shops?
We’re always thinking up new and exciting ideas for promoting Etsy, EtsyRAIN and our own individual shops. We have a team blog, EtsyRAIN.com, which we use to feature our member’s shops on their birthdays and write about our team events. Birthday features have been a wonderfully impartial way for us to promote our membership’s Etsy shops, since everyone has a birthday!

There are regular creative challenges that help our team rev up their creative juices. We participate in other marketing opportunities like collaborative booths in larger craft shows, swag bags for local craft shows, ads in CROQzine, team submissions to The Sampler and soon to be team ads in other local publications as well.

What's your favorite part of the Team program?
The Etsy Team Grant program is fantastic! What a wonderfully generous way for Etsy to show support for their street teams that work so hard to promote Etsy. We’re working on some big ideas for our own application for the team grant and hope to be able to share them with Etsy very soon!

Does your team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?
We are organizing a big EtsyRAIN craft show at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore, WA on October 12, 2008, with both craft booths and a bake sale from which the proceeds will benefit VSA Arts of Washington, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing arts opportunities by, for, and with persons with disabilities throughout the state of Washington.

We’re also very excited about our plans for an EtsyRAIN Zine, which will feature articles, tutorials and other great stuff directly from our members. When it’s ready, it will go up for sale in our new team shop, EtsyRain, along with the results of our new Monthly EtsyRain Team Shop Creative Challenges.

These are exciting times for EtsyRAIN…and this is just the beginning! Go EtsyRAIN, go!

Check out the past Featured Etsy Teams here!

Featured Etsy Team: Military Brats

2008-07-30T16:40:00-05:00

We here at Etsy have been impressed by the activity of Teams — those pro-active groups of sellers who get together to brainstorm and act on marketing ideas for their shops. This week we'd like to introduce you to the Military Brats Etsy Team — a collection of Etsy sellers that share the unique background of growing up in a military family. Together these sellers promote and support each other and Etsy. This Team will be one-year-old this week, and we want this article to be our Happy Birthday card to them. Thank you Military Brats, for all you do!

Family photograph: oceankisses sitting next to her Air Force Dad in 1960.

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team? What's the glue that holds your Team together — location, craft, etc.?

The Military Brats Etsy Team membership is a group of individuals who had the unique childhood of growing up in a military family in which one or both parents were career Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard. We have a few members who are also military spouses. We are a global Team, however most of our members are on the U.S. mainland.

Often thought of as a sub-culture, military children grew up in a completely different way than other kids. Our focus was on our military parent's career and their needs rather than our own. Most of us moved every year or two, which was difficult for some and run-of-the-mill for others. We’ve lived in foreign lands, learning to embrace other cultures, but also forming our deep love and patriotic passion for the U.S.A.

No one really knows where or when the term Military Brat originated. Most people who grew up military embrace the term, realizing that we were really just the opposite of a "brat." The people who understand us are the ones who experienced this way of life. Therefore, when I asked if there were any military brats on Etsy on the forums one day, I received an emotional “YES!”, and so a Team was born.

Locobead's Mom and Dad dancing in 1952.

What does your Team do to help each other?

We keep a Team Forum going all of the time and we have a Google discussion site. In those arenas, we are able to share our business ideas, promotion ideas, stories from our lives, get support from each other, learn new computer skills, discuss our art, and connect for Team activities.

RibbonalityBySushi's parents.

How does your Team promote Etsy and each other's shops?

Our Team promotes Etsy and one another's shops mostly through promotions and Team activities in the Etsy forums. Some members are active at craft fairs, flea markets, other internet sites, blogs, and farmers markets. We currently have an idea floating around to create a Team postcard that we can use to promote Etsy and our shops. We are also checking into advertising in military newspapers.

Every month we promote a Team member by having a “Featured Brat Promotion”, in which the shop owner answers interview questions designed to help the rest of the Team get to know them. Our Featured Brat is chosen alphabetically. The interview is posted in the Etsy forums along with the featured artist’s Etsy shop address. Our Team members visit the forum and help promote that artist’s crafts, usually by selecting one or two items that they love. The Featured Brat is also promoted at one of our Team member’s blog sites and in a special Etsy Treasury.

We also promote one another by linking our Team member’s shop items to items in our own shop....kind of a “THIS would go great with THIS!.” Also, many of our members are great at getting Team Treasuries.

karencaseysmith's contribution to a past Military Brat dandelion promotion.

Tell us a bit about a current or past Team event or promotion.

Other than the obvious holidays we promote such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Christmas, we also use Veteran’s Day, July 4th, Memorial Day, and other notable military themed events to base our promotions and Team activities around.

For instance, April is the month of the Military Child. To celebrate, I encouraged our members to create a “dandelion themed craft” because the dandelion is the official flower of the military brat. We posted our entries in the Etsy forums and invited all Etsy shop owners and visitors to vote for their favorite entry.

Terryann in Japan in 1963

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

My favorite part of Etsy Teams is being able to connect with like-minded Etsy shop owners to share ideas and help promote each other. More than half of all my shop sales have been to fellow Team members! To find our shops, put our Team tag in your Etsy Search Engine: Military Brat Team.

Does your team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

On August 1st, the Military Brats Etsy Team will be celebrating our one-year birthday on Etsy. In preparation, we have done a Team birthday gift swap and we'll be meeting in an Etsy chat room on August 2nd to share what we received with the rest of the Team. We will also be posting a special birthday promotion in the Etsy forums August 1-3 and there will be some great sales for the promotion. On August 3rd, I will be announcing the theme for our September Team Challenge.

Thanks to Patti aka oceankisses who collected these answers and is one of the leaders of the Military Brats Etsy Team! You can find out more about joining their team by contacting oceankisses.

Check out the past Featured Etsy Teams here!

Featured Etsy Team: Vegan Etsy

2008-07-23T17:05:00-05:00

We here at Etsy have been impressed by the activity of Teams — those pro-active groups of sellers who get together to brainstorm and act on marketing ideas for their shops. We will be doing some Team profiles here on the Storque, and we'd like to start this program off with Vegan Etsy — a supportive group of caring Etsians who are working hard to promote each other and Etsy. From a VegBloggy award for their amazing blog to their beautiful treasuries, here's to you, Vegan Etsy, we love ya! Read on to find out how they do it and look for another article from the team later this week.

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team? What's the glue that holds your team together — location, craft, etc.?

We are a team made up of vegans who operate vegan shops, so it's our lifestyle that brings us together (vegan = no animal products). Members come from all over and we have a little bit of everything in our shops — art, soap, jewelry, vegan food, etc.. There's a huge variety!

What does your Team do to help each other?

So much! Really, I'm amazed at how much our members support each other. We buy from each other's shops, of course. Members also create team treasuries, give each other advice and support on our message board, post about each other on our personal websites (blogs, myspace, flickr, etc.) and everyone promotes the team an incredible amount. Some members have offered to hand out other members' business cards at craft shows, as well. Also, one of our members asked for items to be donated for a fundraiser she was organizing, which received a lot of response from our members. So many of us pitched in to help the fundraiser be successful. There's a lot of teamwork going on!

How does your Team promote Etsy and each other's shops?

So many of the members have other websites, such as blogs, where they post about Etsy and each other's shops. We also just started a new section on our blog where members can write reviews about things they purchased from each other's shops. You'll see a lot of Etsy and Vegan Etsy graphics on everyone's websites. I've also seen plenty of us posting on the Etsy forums to recommend one of our shops when someone is asking where to find a vegan item. I can't speak for everyone with this, but I, as well as several others I know, gush about Etsy to anyone that will listen!

Tell us a bit about a current or past Team event or promotion.

Our team's blog was just given a VegBloggy award in VegNews magazine's first annual bloggy awards in the most recent issue. Our blog was one of twenty-one that were picked out of hundreds and it was featured in their Bloggy Awards article. VegNews has a readership of 180,000, so that was a very exciting promotion for our team! If it weren't for our members emailing VegNews to elect our blog, it might not have even gone noticed, so it really was a team endeavor that paid off quite well.

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

Honestly, this feature is! I think this is a wonderful way to highlight teams and make everyone on Etsy more aware that teams exist. I've received requests to join from several people who told me that they didn't know there were teams for quite a while after signing up on Etsy. Having something like this will put the team program right out there.

Does your team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

We sure do! We were just given an Etsy Team Grant to place an ad in VegNews magazine, which is extremely exciting for us. After announcing it to everyone there was a huge response in the thread on our message board about it. This ad should help promote our team as well as Etsy quite a bit! We're all very thankful for the grant. It means so much!

Thanks to Vegan Etsy's Team leader, Molly aka emmask9kitchen, for collecting these answers and leading such a great team! And thanks to every member of Vegan Etsy for supporting each other and helping us grow a strong and supportive community on Etsy! Want to check out all the members' work at once? Click here! For more vegan content on the Storque, check out our past posts.

All about Etsy FAQ Series: The Lifecycle of a Site Feature Idea

2008-01-15T13:27:00-05:00

As part of our All about Etsy FAQ series, Kelly, aka kfarrell, will be presenting this post on the steps taken toward making a site feature a reality. Kelly, who is on the Product Team, wrote up a response to a frequently asked question: "Where do new ideas for Etsy site features come from and how are they implemented? Who decides and when?"

At Etsy, ideas come from many different places. One of the most fertile grounds for new ideas is our very own Forums, where users can suggest new features or tell us how the old ones could be made better. We also get feedback through our annual survey, Storque articles, talking with Etsians, and the creative minds of our own staff.

The Product Team is in charge of organizing ideas and developing them into actual designs. We research how something should work by looking at other sites that are already doing it, reading about how similar things have been done in the past, talking to people who have experience in that particular area, and asking the Etsy community as a whole for feedback. Once we know how a feature needs to work, we write up detailed documents and screen designs to send to Engineering.

The software engineers develop the ideas into working features, and then they test the new feature to make sure it works as expected, and also tests all the old features to make sure the new one didn’t change anything that was working before. Testing can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on how complex the project is. Once the project passes QA, it’s handed to our sysops (the folks who maintain Etsy’s databases and servers) for implementation.

After a new feature is launched, we watch for any bugs that snuck by QA. We take the feedback we get from new features, and the process starts over with the Product team creating design documents for any changes we want to make.

And that, dear friends, is how an idea grows into a feature! It's a lengthy process, but well worth the wait. Enjoy Etsy!

Introducing a New Series: All about Etsy FAQs

2008-01-10T19:26:00-05:00

Here we are at the beginning of a brand new year, reflecting on the business that Etsy has become and strategizing on where the company will go in 2008. And we know Etsians have been doing the same, so we've been pricking up our ears. There are certain frequently asked questions that often come up when talking with Etsians and reading the forums. We decided to run a new Storque series as a way to communicate our answers to Etsians: All about Etsy FAQs.

These FAQs won't so much walk you through technical how-tos or do double duty for site Help and the site FAQs, though we will be pointing you to that info where appropriate. Rather, this series is meant to give voice to some of the thought processes that admin have gone through and that have informed our planning as we look forward to 2008. Our hope is that being transparent with our processes and the way the company is structured will give you a better sense of the inner workings of Etsy.

Friday January 11
Vanessa: About the Storque
Sara: About the Teams

Monday January 14
Mary: About the Etsy Labs
Emily: About Customer Support

Tuesday January 15
Kelly: About Developing Ideas into Site Features
Annette: QA

Wednesday January 16
Matt: About Etsy Advertising

Thursday January 17
Lauren: About the Etsy Community
Lauren: About Etsy Policy

Monday January 21
Mary, Michelle, Lauren: About the Virtual Labs/Workshop/Chat

Tuesday January 22
Sarah: About the Law

Wednesday January 23
Chris: About Engineering

On another (more personal level), you can also get to know the admin in a fun little series called About Us: Etsy Admin.

Tech Updates: New Ways to Shop

2007-11-15T05:09:00-05:00

The Visualization Team has added some new site features. We now have the option to shop by related item in the Storque (we on the Storque Team are very happy about this). Go to the Buy Page and look for Article Listings at the bottom.

Jared and Drew also improved the Time Machine 2 by adding the ability to look at items about to expire. You can read more about this in the forums.