The Etsy Community is constantly dreaming up new ideas.  Some of these ideas are for improvements on the site, some are inspiration for getting out of a creative slump and some are just plain fun ideas  for projects to work on with or get to know other members of the Etsy Community.

This is a series spotlighting Etsy Community Projects initiated and run by the Etsy Community.  Many of these projects originate in the forums and some happen completely there.  Some involve mailing packages to other Etsy members, some involve posting on other sites, like Flickr.  All are fun ways to interact with other members of Etsy, be it for a short period of time or on a regular basis.

If you have spent any time in the Etsy Forums on the weekend, you may have noticed the Saturday Night Specials thread.  A fun and interesting way to kick it up a notch on the weekend, many sellers offer great sales in their shops on Saturday evenings.  This promotion was initiated by Willowglass, and has a set of guidelines posted for new sellers who wish to get in on the action.  There's also a companion chatting thread, so that the thread of specials stays relatively clutter-free and easy to sift through to find amazing buys from a wide range of Etsy sellers. 

What inspired you to start the Saturday Night Specials?

Willowglass: The Saturday Night Special was originally started as just a summertime promotion by me in 2006. I was fairly new to Etsy and the forums were much smaller then, so SNS was started as a way for some of us to visit on Saturday nights, get our shops some more exposure and hopefully some sales! At the end of July and August, so many people asked for it to be continued that it was and it's become an Etsy phenomenon, much to my surprise!

When did the SNS begin?

Willowglass: The SNS was born on July 15, 2006 at my kitchen table. It has grown from an original thread with 48 posts to 2 threads that run concurrently — one in the Promotions forum for the actual SNS sales and a second one in the Etc. forum for chatting. The thread needed to be split due to the sheer magnitude of it. It's not unusual for both threads to now number 1000 posts! It was split into 2 threads at the request of many buyers who didn't want to wade through all the comments and just wanted to concentrate on the specials being offered. I listened to the buyers. After the first year of SNS, it became clear that I needed some help with it, so a few SNS hosts were added to start the SNS thread.

What should sellers hoping to participate remember?

Willowglass: The main thing sellers need to remember is that the SNS is just a thread and doesn't guarantee sales!
The second most important thing is to post only in the original SNS thread and not start a dozen other threads using the SNS name. It's confusing for both buyers and sellers.  Another point that's important to remember is that my original concept was to have the thread be fun! Along with the potential for increased sales, the camaraderie that has developed among many sellers and buyers has been awesome.

Any tips or advice on successful sales as part of SNS?

Willowglass: Everyone needs to remember to post their SNS in their Shop Announcement area! Also, the buyers' feedback has been that they'd like to see your shop link, as well as what you're actually selling, to help them get to you more quickly. For instance, I start my posts with willowglass: Fused and Dichroic Glass Art. There's no magic formula as to what's a successful SNS. I'd suggest trying a mix of percentage off, BOGO's, free shipping, or whatever works for you. SNS doesn't always work for everyone, but it does always work for some people each week. Have fun and good luck!

For more coverage of Etsy Community Projects, check out our continuing series. For more tips and tricks of successful blogs, check out the Blogging Guide!

Are you organizing a project within the Etsy community, outside of an Etsy Team? Tell us about it in the comments!