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I've never been a featured seller, it's true! I know that chances are slim, there are so many great sellers for the admins to choose from, and I can hardly expect to be lucky enough for them to choose me!
So, as much as I'd love to offer advise from experience, I cannot...so I hope I do not seem arrogant in writing this! I certainly don't mean to be that way!
My advise is based on how I would choose people to feature, if I where the admin doing the featuring.
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First of all, I thought I might address the issue of posting in the forums. Some people have expressed their fear that perhaps posting in the forums would eliminate their chances of becoming a featured seller, but I must disagree!
True, you may not see many featured sellers hanging around the forums, but my guess is this is because they are much to busy to hang out! My understanding is that being a featured seller requires a lot of time and work! Plus, you are likely to get lots of sales, and that will keep you quite busy.
But I hardly think Etsy would create a wonderful community for their users, and then turn around and not choose someone just because they use it.
That being said, I think that how you use the community can effect your chances of being a featured seller!
How do you respond to a post? Do you get to "yelling" in the forums? Do you call out? Are you aggressive? Do you respond unkindly when you disagree with someone?
We are all entitled to our own ideas, and we are free to believe what we want to believe, but if it's going to cause problems, it might be best not to say anything...or to disagree politely and walk away.
What about spam? There is a promotion section in the forums for us to show off our work, and that's fine!
But do you litter the forums with links and self promotion every chance you get? That's probably not a good idea! No one appreciates it, and if you have a decant avatar, they will check you out if they are interested.
So watch your forum etiquette! Be kind, polite, and helpful, and I'm sure Etsy will not turn their noses up at you!
Now lets talk about other things.
Your photos are so important! There are a number of threads that talk about your photos!
Here's one:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6057351
Also is this article I wrote on my blog about photography.
http://etsytreasurechest.blogspot.com/2009/06/product-photography-tutorial-how-i-do.html
Your product descriptions are important too. I bet the admins look at those!
Here's a great critique thread for descriptions!:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5830932
Good customer service is a must! Even if you don't have many sales, I bet admins look to see how happy your customers are. The happier your customers are with you, the better!
I would imagine Etsy would be hesitant to feature someone if they have a questionable reputation in any of the above, you know?
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And there you have it! Those are the basic things that come to mind when I consider how one might become a featured seller.
I'm sure there are lots of other things, (feel free to add your own ideas), but that is the basic things I think about.
I hope you and I are lucky enough to be considered by admin someday.
But for now, lets just work on improving our image and our shops, thus, improving our chances of being chosen!
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Also, here is an insightful comment by one of my readers on the forums:
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holzfurhaus says:
I don't think you mentioned really good product. Part of what I call the "etsy game", the competition with the etsy community. We are all here because we love our craft. We don't really do it for money. So the fun part of the game is the competition, the drive to use our craft, our skills to continue to create better and more beautiful products. What fun would it be if it was easy.
Then you need, not just a good photo, but a spectacular photo of that product. Then hope that admin sees it. There are so many amazing artists on etsy. A perfect example is someone that hearted my shop today. I go to their shop and I am blown away. See for yourselves. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29541151
It is not just a photo of product, the photo is a work of art by itself. So in terms of my stuff being featured compared to my example. I have a lot of work to do. So good luck to us all!
Thank you holzfurhaus!
Lets all work together on improving!
2 comments:
Awesome article I really like the photography tips link!
Thanks for sharing this. It is great information! Love your blog....
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