AAA Daily Chat February 17, 2015

[naturepoet]

Welcome to new members, welcome back to returning teammates! If this is your first time here - this is a place to ask questions, share your most embarrassing secrets, or just chat about the slow and boring bits of your day…we want to hear from you!!

Be sure to check out the discussion board. There are games to be played and threads to explore. The more you promote your fellow team mates, the more you get promoted, so be sure to participate on a daily basis. Check out our blog and our Facebook page, as well as the other links provided below.

IMPORTANT LINKS:
* Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/301427606658253/
* Etsy Calculator: salecalc.com/etsy
* Etsyology: www.etsyology.net/
♥ Online Photo Programs: fotoflexer.com/ or www.picmonkey.com/
treasurypin.com./ and editor.pho.to/
arwmedia.net/tools/pixlr_express.php
* Etsy Craft Tools: www.mycrafttools.com/
* Etsy Gadget: www.estygadget.com
* Craftopolis -Edit multiple listings: www.craftopolis.com/#com=ee
* Etsy Banner Maker: bannerfans.com/banner_maker.php?bnew=1&pses=1a256d05
* Craftcount - craftcount.com/teritory.php
* Google+ tutorials blog.kissmetrics.com/personal-google-plus-account/ and moz.com/blog/tips-to-use-google-for-s
* Chrome Treasury Box: brittanysbest.com/treasurybox-chrome-extension/
* Google+ information plus.google.com/communities/112658132414010568954
* Etsy team page: www.etsy.com/pages/aaasupport
* Check your keyword relevancy in search: www.tools4etsy.com/Wall-e/Relevancy/Keyword
* 50 Reasons you're not getting Etsy Sales: www.handmadeology.com/50-reasons-youre-not-getting-etsy-sales/
* Betsi Lite: www.blugrin.com/ (make sure you click on Lite at the bottom of the screen, as that is the free edition!)

Please don't forget to post in the AAA Support Team thread in the promo forum :)) www.etsy.com/uk/teams/21915/promos/discuss/15267796


Good morning. It was the coldest night of the year on Sunday night and then the car wouldn't start after we were ready to head out for the auction. Needless to say, we didn't get to go. We decided, once we boosted it, that we'd better not take the chance on it not starting as we would have been out of town. It is a bit milder tonight. If it doesn't start tomorrow morning, it is time for a new battery.

Today, let's talk about tags. Some of the newer members on the team, and some veterans are having difficulty with them. My best advice is to think like a buyer. What would you type into the search if you were looking for the item you are listing. Some items fit into different categories as well, so remember to consider all options.

Please share any tips you have or ask questions if you have any. It never hurts to review things.

QUOTE of the DAY:

"We're reviewing everything to see how we can do it better, faster, and more efficiently."
David Neeleman

[NaturalClocks]

Good afternoon team!

well, it is afternoon for me...:) Back on the faithful tablet, I'm at work at the moment, I wish I had space for a laptop! Very cold (but prety balmy compared to what Mary and others are experiencing at the moment) and not many people around. Oh well, such is the life of a retailer.

Ahhh, tags! I always struggle with them, it's not a secret. I always try and make them relevant to what the item actually is, I know that buyers get quite infuriated when they are searching for something and end up viewing something totally irrelevant. One thing iss to drive traffic to our stores, one thing is to stretch it in a ridiculous way. I find this site www.tools4etsy.com very useful, as it gives you the most popular tag words for specific items and lets you check what your competitors are using. I've been so busy with other things recently (mainly the brick and mortar and creating new stuff for both shops) that I have neglected tweaking and checking for quite some time, so that's something that will need addressing soon.

One thing I don't get about the relevancy matter: more often than not you search for something and there you have it, items with poor tags on page 1. And by poor tags I mean one word tags and/or 5 or 6 tags only instead of the full 13. Nope, I can't work it out.

Blake is snoozing at my feet and it's time for his stroll across the road on the bit of grass. I mzy pop in later.

Have a great day everybody!

[Former_Member]

Good morning, Mary and Val.

Finally finished swapping out my pictures for all my listings. I now have a photo of all three monograms, one showing an open tote stuffed with clothes and a craft project, and the last one showing me carrying a tote.

I found one listing that had the old tote colors, the cotton ones as opposed to the polyester ones. I fixed that in a hurry.

Today I return to embroidering constellations onto black tote bags. I'll be interested to see how they turn out.

We got about 5 inches of snow last night; the storm tracked south for a change so we avoided the heavier snow that Washington DC and Virginia got. We're still experiencing frigid temperatures, although it's supposed to warm up on Wednesday and Thursday before we go back to single digit Farenheit temps for the weekend.

Have a great day, everyone!

[ZingRetroFinds]

Hi All,

Frigid cold here in Philadelphia. Powdery snow last night, about the same as Alanna.

Alanna, I love the addition of the new photos of you, the monograms, and your bag with items in it. This is such an informative collection now.

Like Val, I use the relevancy tool and am puzzled by those who do well with minimal tags. The challenge for me is wording my upcycled repurposed jewelry with different terms for each piece. I do check my competitors which helps a little.

Have a warm day!

[Former_Member]

I forgot to write about tags!

I use mostly the same 8 or 9 tags for all my totes, with four or five tags specific to a particular tote. I do use the words bag and tote a lot, as well as gift. All my tags are 2 or 3 words, and I use all 13 of my tags. I researched my competitors, and got some tag ideas from them. I was really surprised to see that many of my competitors only use one letter tags, or don't use all 13. And yet they're very successful. Like you, Val and Donna, I just don't get it.

Donna, thanks so much for your feedback on my photos.

[Chockrosa]

Thanks for all the welcome backs <3

Guess what!? Today is my 1 year Etsy anniversary!! Yepp, today I've been here for 1 year and oh my what a ride it has been! It has been one of the most wonderful years in my life and you guys have been so helpful in this team! I can't thank you enough!! Lots of love to you all!! Because of my 1 year anniversary I'm having my first sale in the shop. 15% off everything with the code "1YEAR". Hopefully it will bring in a lot of sales! :)

It is also a special day in Sweden called Fettisdagen where you eat Semlor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semla) a delish sweet roll with almond paste and whipped cream. Yummy!! Apparently half of our population eats a semla today. You do the math on how much whipped cream that is hahaha.

Tags - First of all I always use all tags! Then I try to think what people search for. From time to time I change some tags to tags I've seen people searched for in the stat page. I do think it's hard tho to think of new tags especially because English isn't my first language so it's a little bit hard to think of the words that I simply don't have in my vocabulary.

Oh I just have to share a bargain I made today, I found Essie nail polishes on sale! They are so ridiculously expensive in Sweden (who pays $18 for a nail polish when you need like 30 of them!?) so I haven't had any before but now I got my first 3 Essie bottles! Problem is that I already have a nail art on my nails that I did 2 days ago soooo I guess my toenails will be getting some color later tonight! :D

Alanna - I like the new photo setup!

[COLDHAMCUDDLIES]

Have had workmen in the flat since about 1030 this morning and they're still here at 1730! They're staying here for another couple of hours until both floors are complete. As its the kitchen/pantry and bathrooms that are affected, I've had to go to another block if I needed the toilet and am being fed (lunch and evening meal) at Clare's. (One of the definite pluses of living so close!!).

So I had planned to do all my Etsy stuff during the day and afternoon, and sew this evening. Guess what - the computer techy guys took most of the afternoon sorting out the computer, but I have almost finished the second Bear and was able to do the belated blog -

http://coldhamcuddliescalling.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/production-of-hairy-bears-in-progress_17.html

Hope to be back later to see what else folks have written on the subject of tags, and to have a look see at Alanna's new set up.The Bear can wait till tomorrow

Bye for now - or until tomorrow, anyway.

[Former_Member]

Hi, all.
Fettisdagen sounds sweet. A pastry would go well now.

I've been reading about the snow and cold in a lot of the U.S. I hope everyone can stay warm.

Tags--Never mind. Are they now moot?
Categories and search are now switched into a new weirdness.
I'm not sure anything is going to help -- tags, description, title.
We adjust for one thing, they switch it to something else.
They've switched all our items into their new categories. Search is now by various prices. I never search that way. I search by higher or lower price. I tried the new way and it's completely unorganized. They've removed list view, so the only option is the fat blurry pics that take way too long to search through.

[Former_Member]

Good afternoon everyone -

Tags are one of my downfalls because there is only so many ways you can describe certain items. Crochet items and wood items are my hardest to figure out tags for. I will be interested as the day goes on to see what everyone else says when it comes to them. I wish they would set it up differently in a way. I also saw that they have now switched around the category choices. I had to go through and check my listings because they think some listings belong a certain way when clearly it does not fit into what they chose. So, just a heads up to double check on things.

New for today:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/222986987/heart-bookmark-crochet-book-mark-heart?ref=shop_home_active_1

Have a terrific day!

[Viyoli]

Good evening,

Alanna, The pictures are great, the addition of the new photos love them, the monograms, and your bag with items in it. do the difference Great collection now.!!!!
Tags? checking them all the time, I also don't get it, mysterious the Etsy way lol

Caroline, now I'm hungry sound great festival, congratulation for the first year, wishing you lots of luck and sales!!!
Isobel at the end it will be gorgeous
We are hoping for snow by the weekend,

Wishing you all a great warm day

[naturepoet]

Caroline, congrats on your Etsyversary. There will be so many more.

[Tricotruc]

Hi Everyone
I just joined the team and wanted to say hello!

[Former_Member]

Hi, Anna.

[Former_Member]

Welcome aboard, Anna!

Caroline, Happy Etsyversary!

John, thanks for that info on the categories being changed. I'm in the process of checking my listings, but it looks like they didn't change my categories. Whew!

[Former_Member]

I'm going to let mgt clean up the mess they made.

[NaturalClocks]

Welcome Anna!

Caroline, happy Etsyversary! May it be the first of many! :))

Interesting about the categories John, thank you for the heads up.

[NaturalClocks]

Good grief, I've just popped into the forum to see what's new and in this precise moment there are 11 threads about categories on page 1! This is bigger than I thought...

[Chockrosa]

Thanks everyone!

Is it just me that don't see what all the fuzz is about with categories? Before I had to have my wallets in a lot of different categories, now I only have to have them in two, wallets and business card cases. The cozies are also easier and same with my other products. Seems like Etsy made it more cleaner! But maybe that's just me. I tend to stay away from the forum after a change since well, Taylor said it good in her song Shake it off... Haters gonna hate, and I'm just gonna shake! :)

I did like it said in the e-mail to change all listings in a section at the same time, worked like a charm and I looked at this to see in what category I was gonna put the items, https://www.etsy.com/help/categories/seller#node-id-1.

Gonna head to bed now but here is my new listing of the day
https://www.etsy.com/listing/223010605/coffee-cozy-fabric-coffee-sleeve-cup
I'm gonna try and redo some of my pics tomorrow. I have some new ideas, the first one is actually in this listing, the 2nd pic is me holding the coffee cup, I want to have a little bit more human touch in the pics, not just all white. Also gonna take inside pics of all my coffee cozies.

[910woolgathering]

The fuss is for me, they deleted the head band category and put all my headbands in BELTS. The closest category I could find was BANDANAS? honestly which is the hot selling item right now? Headbands...

[Chockrosa]

Rachel, I found the headband section :D
Bath and beauty -> Hair care -> Hair accessories -> Headbands
or if they are wedding related
Weddings -> Accessories -> Hair Accessories -> Headbands
You can change the category of all your headbands at the same time by marking them (there's an option to mark everything in your category) and then more actions and categories.
Hope that helped :)
But yeah, belts was not a good auto category lol

If you have chrome, look at this link https://www.etsy.com/se-en/help/categories/seller#node-id-1 and press ctrl + f and search for what your product is :)

[910woolgathering]

Yes thanks, just saw this in the forums too.

I had to look up the definition of tam and beret to know where to put hats now, as they don't seem to have just slouch or cloche any more.

[910woolgathering]

I have yet to figure out where to put pot holders or the like.

[910woolgathering]

Oddly enough there is not a section under scarves for cowls, but there are for collars and bibs, both items I carry, but Cowls are the big thing right now????

[Former_Member]

I received a e-mail in my Google account from llana with etsy -to check categories.They listed my slouch hats as * skull caps & beanies * hats and caps * winter hats * accessories
I was hopping to get some key words switched around,but I'm starting to think they don't make that big of a difference anymore.I have about the same keyword and descriptions for my keychains and have one showing on page one and seems like one on each other page...makes no sense to me.
It seems that Etsy is starting to back away from its roots of being handmade in the process of mixing up the sections.
Oh well~ the wind may blow another way tomorrow

[Former_Member]

Rachel Etsy put my cowls under *accessories *scarfs and wraps * scarfs