daniellexo — Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Amanda Steinberg, founder of DailyWorth.com, quit her full-time job four years ago to be a full-time entrepreneur. Today she shares five questions she wishes someone asked before she made the financial leap to career independence. Read the post on Etsy’s blog, The Storque.
Photo by openeyespress
daniellexo — Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Beth of DiffractionFiber held a very informative workshop in our Virtual Labs last week on promoting your Cyber Monday sales. Did you miss it? Hopefully these notes will help!
Photo by mamutopia
TeenAngster — Friday, November 20th, 2009
Black Friday through Cyber Monday is a recognized shopping weekend that has quickly gained a reputation as the best time of year to find promotional sales on gifts for the holidays. For businesses, it is recognized as one of the most profitable weekends of the year that officially kicks off the busy holiday rush. We want to get the word out about shopping on Etsy for unique handmade and vintage gifts — instead of waiting in lines at the mall! The buzz about special Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales is ramping up on Etsy too, and we hope to connect sellers with otherwise stressed out holiday deal-hunters in a fun and “Etsy” way.
We’ve seen interest from many sellers looking to promote sales on Etsy throughout this holiday weekend. Etsy will be providing promotional opportunities for sellers who are already planning or wish to host promotions and sales Friday, November 27, 2009 through Monday, November 30, 2009. Find out how you can participate in this post on Etsy’s blog, The Storque.
Photo by nicepackage
vanessa — Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
UPDATE: Hello Friends,
Yesterday we made changes to the Global Navigation, the gray bar that appears on every page. Our intention was to inspire and engage Holiday shoppers, not to redirect traffic from individual shops.
In retrospect, we realize that we implemented this change without adequate communication and community input, and we apologize for this. We have decided to remove the Gift Guide link from the top navigation and will do so as soon as technically possible.
We do take seriously the need to strike the right balance between the shopper experience and the needs of the seller community. To that end, we intend to discuss first with Etsy’s Community Council and then more broadly the notion that the global navigation can be utilized as a beacon or guide to engage shoppers for the betterment of the entire Etsy Community.
Respectfully Yours,
Matt and Mary
[The following was originally posted November 10, 2009.]
In preparation for the holiday shopping season — a time when shoppers are seeking ideas for that perfect, thoughtful gift — we have launched our Holiday Gift Guides to provide inspiration, show the variety of items available on Etsy and direct visitors to related Category pages. During the Holiday season, these guides will be accessible through the global navigation as well as the home page; this placement serves to draw shoppers into the site and engage them to related content — on The Storque, in the Category pages, and throughout Etsy’s Search.
Our goal is to keep the Holiday Gift Guides fresh and representative of the variety that makes Etsy a unique destination for gifts. Each day, we will update these guides with new items and new shops and would very much like to enlist your help in that process. See instructions below on how you can nominate items from your shop or your Favorites on Etsy.
FAQ:
Q. How are items selected for the Holiday Gift Guides?
A. The Holiday Gift Guides are designed to provide inspiration for that hard-to-buy-for person and show the variety of gifts available on Etsy. Etsy’s staff (Admin) select items that are beautifully photographed, come with an interesting story/description and fit with the Holiday Gift Guide themes. We search the site daily to add new items and new shops.
Q. How do I nominate items for the Holiday Gift Guides?
A. To keep our Holiday Gift Guides fresh, we’d like to enlist your support in recommending gift items – either from your shop or from your favorite shops on the site. In making our selection, we will continue to take into account the quality of the item, the photography, the description, and overall fit with the Holiday Gift Guide themes. To nominate an item or shop, please access this Forum thread and remember to include the name of the relevant Holiday Gift Guide.
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Image by BonMoment
daniellexo — Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Your item descriptions can help turn a visitor into a buyer. Give your item descriptions a makeover with my five helpful tips. Read more on The Storque, Etsy’s blog.
Photo by foundling
daniellexo — Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Have you missed our series of holiday workshops for sellers? Don’t worry! There are still many workshops left to help you get your shop in shape for the holiday season. (View the entire schedule here.) Last week’s workshop was hosted by Etsy seller rikrak, our resident branding-with-packaging specialist! I’ve put together some great references from her workshop in this Storque post, but make sure you read the thorough notes she’s provided on her own blog, the rikrak studio.
Photo by thesmallobject
daniellexo — Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Etsy seller ShimmeringSky attended one of the Holiday Workshops for Sellers yesterday in Etsy’s Virtual Labs. She was inspired by the host, fellow Etsy seller jstephens13, and wanted to share her notes and thoughts from the workshop on her blog. We loved her wrap-up and wanted to share it with you! Check out her post here.
Photo by jstephens13
vanessa — Monday, October 19th, 2009
We just put up a PR-focused seller how-to on The Storque, Etsy’s blog. This tip is all about having some nice photos of yourself (the artist!) and your studio on hand in case a magazine, newspaper, or blog wants to do a story about you.
Be prepared, whether it’s for Featured Seller, a Storque post or your big break in a magazine! To read on, click here.
Photo by stitchface
daniellexo — Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Looking at the upcoming calendar can be a daunting prospect for Etsy sellers this time of year. If you’re wondering how to optimize your shop to appeal to the coming influx of holiday shoppers, you’re in luck! We’ve created a series of live workshops in our Virtual Labs, hosted by your fellow Etsy sellers and Etsy Admin. We’ll talk about everything from developing the perfect gifts that will fly off your virtual shelves, to making sure you’re prepared to ship all of those items.
These workshops are sure to whip you into shape for the holidays! Most of them will be held on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET in Etsy’s Virtual Labs. Check out this Storque article for the complete line-up. Core tips from these sessions will also be shared in the Etsy Success newsletters, so be sure to sign up here.
Photo by pistachiopress
daniellexo — Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Don’t let your item descriptions fall flat! Lure those shoppers with a great story. How did you come up with this design or technique? What or who inspires you to create? Does this vintage item have a hidden story behind it (fact or fiction)? Add in your personality through a sweet story and remind your shoppers of the real person behind the Etsy shop. Recommended reading: Seth Godin’s How to Tell a Great Story.
Join us for more tagging, title and description tips live in our Virtual Labs Thursday, October 15 at 4 p.m. ET.
For more Etsy Success tips, sign up for the Etsy Success mailing list here.
Photo by thedreamygiraffe