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Merriam-Webster defines team as “a number of persons associated together in work or activity” Etsy says that “Teams are groups of organized Etsy members who network, share skills, and promote their shops and Etsy together.”
I’ve been thinking about the teams I belong and have belonged in the past and my experiences vs my expectations thus far. I think that teams and guilds (as they are called on Artfire) serve different purposes for different members. On the whole though, participation is key. Each member needs to ACTIVELY participate, at the level that is required in that particular group. As defined by Webster, teams are “associated together in work or activity”. One can’t actually associate if limited to no interaction occurs. Right?
So, #1, member participation is key.
What should member expectations be of the teams to which they belong? When I first joined etsy, I joined two fairly large jewelry focused teams. At the time, one of my biggest reasons for doing so was to sell more items in my shop. Now, with a bit more online experience under my belt, I see that this is a poor reason to join a team. Teams, in and of themselves, can’t help you sell more goods. They can, however, help you gain a better understanding about how to make changes, either incrementally or other otherwise that may lead to your sales increasing.
I think teams are the means to an end, not the end itself. And the distinction is an important one.
I think that one should expect a team to provide
• Camaraderie
• Shop/Studio appearance advice
• Photography tips
• Entry in to larger team events like group sales/specials and/or group purchases
• Skills and knowledge sharing around proper artist technique
• Marketing advice, experimentation and brainstorming
• Minimal, if any, strife or infighting among members
Potential members should not be asking a team “what can you do for me”. Potential members should be asking THEMSELVES what are my expectations and how can I contribute to this team in order that those expectations are met.
Personally, my experience has been that the smaller teams are a better fit overall for me. I’ve found that the larger teams tend to deteriorate into a large mass that depends on a core smaller group to do all the work, essentially that team’s own mini team. Over time, it seems like this leads to grumbling from the mini team’s members, which isn’t particularly helpful.
I also like teams that are comprised of a nice mix of experienced folks as well as newbies. The experienced ones can coach the newbies and the newbies bring a fresh outlook and point of view that the experienced ones sometimes forget about.
I’m not naïve enough to believe that any team I join will be around for the long haul. Participation wanes, life intervenes. It is what it is. But I think that we, as members, should define our expectations up front and perform a bit of homework to determine if a particular team meets those expectations. Then after deciding to become a member, continually evaluate expectations vs reality. Adjust as needed.
What do you think? What has worked for you? What has failed miserably? What important components did I miss?
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It’s not often handmade jewelry I have listed on etsy appears on etsy’s front page. Each time I’ve had it happen, it is an exciting, and oh, so, fleeting experience.
Thanks to etsy’s admin for the thumbs up this time ’round. A pair of my sterling knot hoops are heading to a new home thanks to being seen on the front page. You can find them here
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“It’s frozen. But it can be served boiling lava hot. Will it burn my mouth? It will DESTROY your mouth. ”
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Fellow Starving Artist Vanessa Parker to be on HGTV’s “That’s Clever”,
Monday, April 27, 2009 7:30 AM e/p
Vanessa Lynn Parker, of Betoj Designs, will appear on the latest edition of “That’s Clever”. She will use mixed media to make a dragonfly pendant and a bookmark.
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If you haven’t discovered it yet, the Starving Artists Forum, of which I am a member, has created the Starving Artists Team on etsy. Starving Artists is dedicated to giving jewelry designers a place to learn, grow, inspire and be inspired in a friendly, fun environment. I’d encourage you to check them out.
SATeam members are hosting a Mothers Day free shipping event this weekend, April 24th through April 26th.
Free shipping is offered with any purchase from participating etsy shops listed below:
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Etsy’s historical poor search functionality has long been a point of contention with site sellers. It was confusing to buyers, results weren’t always consistent, and item results were consistently ranked higher based on when they had been added to the database instead of whether or not the result was relevant to the search terms entered.
Today, Etsy announced significant changes to search. YAY! You can find more information here.
None of the changes are earth shattering in their originality. Other sites, like Artfire, have already implemented all this functionality. But, I’m pleased to see that changes ARE occuring. Although the rate of change is frustratingly slow for such a small company, it DOES seem as though the site owners are listening. Frustrated buyers can’t be good for the bottom line…and enabling them to find items more simply and much faster only makes good business sense. Etsy collects a 20 cent per item listing fee but the revenue stream is a 3.5% fee per item that is collected when an item sells. At an average sales price point of around $15, that’s a 32.5 cent differential. More sales can only dramatically increase the revenue for the site.
So what are the biggest changes? This functionality roll out included an addition of a simplified advanced search function as well as changes to the results layout. I was a little disappointed to see that results still default to most recently listed instead of actual relevancy, but relevancy search is still on its way, according to Stellalouella and the Storque Article mentioned in the link above. There are also some glitches like sold items appearing in search and results lists disappearing when resorted, but I expect they will be corrected shortly. Oh, and I almost forgot, Vintage items are now included in the Search All designation. That’s nice and something I’m sure the Vintage sellers will celebrate.
What do you think? Have you given it a test drive? Good or bad?
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I am in love with the myriad of colors available in these fabulous hollow blown glass beads. They are incredibly lightweight, and look fragile, but are suprisingly sturdy. All the metal components, including the ear wires are sterling silver.
Aren’t they pretty?
You can click the image to see my shop listing for each pair. I went a little wild in my color selection, so there are more color choices available.
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