Etsy and How to Sell – Join Forces with a Team

Kelly Wakefield-Beytia, from Etsy’s Tresijas, says handmade sellers should connect with one another to promote as a group.  “Join a team! A good team works very hard to promote its members with only a minimal time commitment. Joining also increases your visibility substantially.”

Because Kelly sells at Etsy.com, she recommends joining an Etsy Team as a way to make the most of her time spent promoting.  “The more active you are with your Etsy Team, the more visibility you will receive as an Etsy shop. Also, devoting a little time to promoting other people furthers your chances of being promoted in turn. Our team is very dedicated to assisting its members improve their shops and helping them get in front of a wider audience. Without the cooperation of our members this wouldn’t be possible!”

Kelly also told us a bit more about her Etsy Team, the California Crafters Club of Etsy (or the CCCOE).  “Our team was founded 2 years ago by a small group of Californians that met through the Etsy forums and geolocator,” Kelly explained.  “The only membership requirement is that the member reside in California. We even have some part time Californians. There are no requirements to participate or volunteer, but we have found that many of our members are drawn to the social aspect of the Etsy team. After all, we are all artists in one form or another, most of us working solo. A little validation is a welcome change to stalking your view counts on craftcult or braving the open Etsy forums where it can sometimes be a little cold and downright brutal.”

She says it’s hard to give you an exact member count because the Etsy Team is fairly popular and seems to be growing at an incredible rate.  However, Kelly says the last report she received was that CCCOE has over 400 members!

Some Etsy sellers may be nervous to join an Etsy Team because they already have enough on their plate and think being a member of a Team would be time consuming.  Kelly tells us CCCOE has no requirements to join their Team other than residence.

“That means that volunteering is not mandatory. When we see a need for help we simply “put out a call” either on our weekly forum thread, bulletin board thread, or our Yahoo group,” Kelly told HandmadeMarketing.org.  “We have found that when you outline very directly what needs to be done and how much time it will require someone always steps up to help.“

“Helping the team can be very simple or more involved depending on how much time a member has to give,” she adds.

“For example, I decided to start the Twitter page yesterday and asked for members who would be willing to post an item or group of items a few times a week,” Kelly said.  “Then, I can focus my attention to other tasks. Similarly we have found members who will be starting a Facebook and Myspace page. We also have volunteers handling the blog. Another way that we ask members to contribute is by making treasuries and using as many CCCOE members as they see fit. We try to be specific, people tend to be afraid of taking on more than they can chew.”

Kelly told us the CCCOE Etsy Team holds a challenge where Team members submit an item that fits a theme.  This challenge is done at the end of each month, giving Team members a consistent, but not overwhelming, opportunity to promote.

“We then ask the Etsy community to vote for their favorite,” Kelly says.  “As a reward to our voters many shops offer free shipping or a discount and if the voter has a shop our members volunteer to curate Treasuries solely made up of voters.“

The Team also promotes Treasuries that members make.  “All Etsy Treasuries that we make go onto a list that is published in our forum threads and Yahoo. That way members can find them and comment and click on them so that they will be seen by a wider audience. This is also a way of reaching out to the larger community on Etsy,” Kelly says.

She tells us being part of an Etsy Team can be as simple as looking at and commenting on Treasuries when you have time, counting votes, bumping a thread, or simply stopping by the thread or Etsy Team blog to see what other Teammates are up to.

“Our most important function is to support one another and especially to help out those members that are new to Etsy and have a whole lot of learning to do! No question is too obvious, we want to help our members improve their shops and their experience as sellers on Etsy,” Kelly tells HandmadeMarketing.org.

If you are part of a Team currently, Kelly shared great ideas for how CCCOE helps to promote Teammates and makes the Team a resource for members.

“We have files in our Yahoo group to give members some basic information. I am also in the process of improving our bulletin board thread by adding helpful links with tips and must-have info for new members,” Kelly said.  “At the beginning of every weekly thread, there are also links to upcoming events. In our weekly Etsy thread we try our best to answer every question. At times it is hard to navigate in a thread format, but we do the best we can with the technology we have on hand. We also give photography tips and help members learn how to use their cameras by shutting off the flash and finding the ever imporant macro feature!”

“We are currently undergoing an overhaul due to the growth of the team, but to date we promote our members on our blog and Flickr,” Kelly adds.  “Our members also promote one another on their own blogs. We inform one another of craft shows and hand-hold when necessary.  My first craft show was a CCCOE organized event, so I was happy to be surrounded by friends even though I was meeting may of them in person for the first time. There are groups of us that organize and have group meet-ups. We have members in charge of collecting and contributing member promos to include in packages. Also, Treasuries are huge, especially when one makes it to Etsy’s front page.”

In addition, a CCCOE member recently volunteered to put together an Etsy gift guide and for the Team’s members.  Members can purchase a spot seasonally to help them promote their Etsy shop.

Struggling with your Etsy Team?  Here are Kelly suggestions:

1. Get Personal.  Kelly suggests getting to know one another and applaud one another’s successes and accomplishments. The focus of the Team should be about helping the members, and creating a community that is personal will accomplish that goal.
2. Have Fun! “Don’t make it all about business,” Kelly told us.
3. Stay Laid Back. Kelly says an Etsy Team shouldn’t impose a lot of restrictions or requirements on the Team.  This is a good way to scare away members!  Many Etsy sellers want to get involved, but are scared they cannot meet the time requirements.  CCCOE does a great job of being successful while being laid back as well.
4. Team Management. “Lay out what jobs need to be done and how much time it will take,” Kelly suggests.  “If you take on too much, ask for help.”
5. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Kelly says to be patient and listen when members of the Team disagree, but require that members respect one another.  Having a solid foundation of respect will ultimately help the Team grow and succeed.
6. In With The New. “Try new things,” Kelly told us.  “Some will work and some won’t.  It’s all part of the process of Team growth.”

Thank you for your insight for how to keep an Etsy Team fresh and fun Kelly!

If you are interested in joining the CCCOE Etsy Team, visit the CCCOE Etsy.com page.

What does your Etsy Team or ArtFire Guild do to promote members?  What was your favorite idea suggested by Kelly from the CCCOE Team?  Why do you hesitate to join with other sellers to promote as a group?

Tell us about how you connect with other artists online!  Kelly contacted us with information about CCCOE, and we published her comments in this spotlight of her Etsy Team.  If you have ideas for how to market handmade items online, how to promote your shop, or want to share an experience with us – we’re all ears!  If our editors like your ideas, we’ll feature you in an article – and link to your shop or blog as the source.