Wednesday 26 January 2011

Etsy Treasuries

·   Today I am thrilled to welcome back Viv of Poppy Sparkles to explain about Etsy Treasuries.  I have never put together a treasury and I am sure they are a great way to build your network in the Etsy marketplace.  I would also like to tell you about Viv's fantastic new blog where she shares her insight into building a creative business online, Viv Smith : Online.
 

       Etsy is so much more than just a collection of online stores and there are a whole host of ways you can interact on Etsy, whether it's for fun or to increase your exposure and direct traffic to your Etsy store.  

What is an Etsy treasury?

A treasury is a gallery or showcase of items curated, or selected, by an Etsy member from the host of items available on Etsy. They can be for all to see, or you have the option to mark as private.

Cosy Nights - An Etsy Treasury I curated that made the front page of Etsy
 ·   
     How do you create a treasury?

You can create a treasury, by going to the treasury home page  and clicking the ‘create a list’ button.  It’s simply a case of copy and pasting the URLs of items into the relevant spaces. I find having two browser windows open useful for this  - one open for the treasury and then one open for a search of Etsy. You click on images and move then around until you are happy with their position in the grid.  Don’t forget to click the ‘save’ button – nothing worse than losing a beautiful treasury. I know, it’s happened to me before when the internet connection crashed - I think I nearly cried, well maybe not, but I wasn't a happy bunny.

·         Why create a treasury?
  • Networking – treasuries are a great way of connecting with other buyers, however fleetingly. Often sellers will want to check out your work following inclusion in a treasury. It is also likely that they will promote the fact that they’ve been featured in a treasury, which will hopefully lead to people clicking through to your Etsy shop.
  • Karma – if people see you featuring other’s work, they’ll hopefully feature you.  You really do get out what you put in.  The handmade community recognises and rewards those that contribute.
  • It can help you understand the importance of keywords, good product photography and other key elements to improving your chance of selling online. I take a real pride in my treasuries, choosing fabulous items and images.  Each and every treasury I create I aim for front page worthiness and it’s made me realise how much work I need to do in order to get my own photographs up to scratch. As I search for particular items on a theme or colour, I start to gain an insight into the kind of words buyers or other treasury makers might be using – I can then look at my own product keywords.
  • It’s fun – like virtual window shopping and a great way to discover new items.
Retrolicious 4 by yumalum

·         Top tips for creating treasuries:
  • Theme it for an aesthetically pleasing look – by colour (2-3 complimentary or contrasting shades work well) and/or subject
  • Vary it – use a range of different items from different categories if you are going to aim for front page status. A treasury just of one type of product is very unlikely to make front page - an exception was calendars at New Year. 

  • Be seasonal - capture the current mood or holiday. So, if it's Spring think of spring colours, blossoms etc. Near Valentine's Day hearts and romance are an obvious choice that will be popular.
  • Use keywords to help people find your treasury eg colours used, textures, items, theme etc
  • Contact every seller featured – include a link to the treasury and links to your social media (I do a message that I can quickly copy and paste in the convo box to all sellers I feature to save time).  If part of your motivation is networking and promoting yourself, then this is crucial. Most sellers will want to promote the fact that they have been selected for a treasury.  I take a screen shot of all my features, pop them on my facebook with a link to the curator’s shop and often also blog about treasury features too, providing additional promotion for someone.
  • Get a screen shot as soon as you can, so you can blog and/or facebook your treasury. If an item in your treasury is delisted, as opposed to sold, then it will disappear from your treasury.
  • Share it! Facebook, Blog, tweet, stumble....! 
Written by Viv Smith, owner of Poppy Sparkles, jewellery creator, supporter of handmade and social media addict.

Thanks Viv, I'm hoping to get a spare hour to give it a try this week!

Poppy Sparkles


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