Teamwork

In setting up my Etsy shop I read lots of advice from successful Etsy sellers.  Most recommended joining some Etsy teams.  After joining a few and participating in the discussions, I was beginning to question the value of being a part of those teams.  Then one morning I got a notification that I had been invited to join a newly-formed team, called 1000 Things Alpaca.  Hmmmmmmm, a team made up of people interested in promoting alpaca products; what a great idea.  So I immediately joined this new team.  Now, just two months later, the team boasts 443 members and is every active, with great discussions, and so many things going on that it's hard to keep up with them all.  The most fun is the weekly Treasury Challenge.  I was fortunate to have one of my item chosen as the Inspiration Item for the first challenge.  Suddenly I understood the value of being on a good Etsy team.  That week my shop enjoyed more hits than ever before.  The hat that was the Inspiration Item got lots of hats.  It was "favorited" by many people, and so were other items in my shop.  Every day new people were using my hat to form treasuries around, and were sending me messages and adding me to their circles.  In the weeks since then I have tried to pay those things forward by participating in the weekly challenge and building treasuries around the chosen items.  My thanks to the 1000 Things Alpaca Team, and my admiration goes to the leaders who put an incredible amount of time and effort into making this team a success.
1000 Things Alpaca Team Page
1000 Things Alpaca Blog

Rejection, Etsy Style

When I started my Etsy Shop a few months ago, I had no idea what I was doing.  Okay, I still don't, but I would like to think that I'm making progress.  I tried to read any advice I could find, and what I heard over and over again was "Be patient, everyone starts off slowly."  That's great advice, but how to actually get people to look at my product was still a mystery.  Then I found out about Teams.  A Team on Etsy is a group of people united under a common interest.  Most are there for mutual support and promotion.  I joined a couple of teams and participated in some discussions that didn't really seem to lead anywhere.  Some teams require that you apply.  I applied for one large team that I knew actively promoted their members. They feature sellers of natural products so I felt that my undyed alpaca baby products would fit right in.  And I didn't see anyone with a similar shop in their members, which seemed to be a positive aspect.  In fact, I didn't see anything alpaca related within the team.  I was semi-politely turned down, they said "in spite of my being new to Etsy," which I took as meaning because of my being new to Etsy.  The leader who sent the rejection let me know that in spite of the fact that my site talks about the hypoallergenic properties of alpaca, she personally finds alpaca fiber to be "extremely irritating."  I was told that I could reapply in six months or so.  I don't think I'll be doing that.  I can handle my shop getting off to a slow start.  I know how to be patient.  Rejection, on the other hand, I don't handle as well, and somehow I get the feeling that I will never be up to the high standards set by that particular team. 

My next post will be about a very positive Etsy Team experience.