I first posted this over a year ago, not long after I started selling on Etsy. I’ll repost it here now.
I’m pretty new to selling on Etsy, and so far one of the best learning exercises I’ve had was to join a Treasury making team. I thought it would be fun, but it actually turned into a very valuable analysis of what I’m selling and how effective my photography and marketing is.
Here is how I have benefited from joining a Treasury making team:
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Self Confidence – Suddenly my work was featured in several Treasuries each week! I was getting exposure! What a great boost to my ego!
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Who Gets Promoted, and Why? – My general Etsy shopping behavior is browsing from the front page, the Treasuries, or in the Etsy newsletters. My group requires members to create three Treasuries a month, each promoting at least 8 of the team members. This commitment requires me to visit the same shops again and again. I realized that there were some sellers and some specific items that were used a lot by all of us, and other sellers who were rarely featured. I also realized that there are people in the group who in theory I wanted to promote, but I just don’t like their photos enough to use them. So the reality is that some shops get more love than others, and I know this is because their photos are better. I don’t think I would have learned this without my Treasury Team experience.
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My Photos - I have about 50 items in my shop, and I have realized that some items are getting frequent promotion and others don’t get any at all. I wondered why, so I analyzed my listings carefully and found that for the most part, the photo quality was about the same. So it wasn’t that some items had rotten pictures. What was different was the type of photo. The curators were showing a tendency to select one particular item that is promoted with a cropped photo. Because of the crop, you can’t tell exactly what it is. The photo does not suggest an immediate name, use or stereotype to the item. The photo actually creates a sense of intrigue or mystery. As a result, this photo fits in really well with many other items: it simply looks nice, and doesn’t interfere with associations or context that the other items might have created. Since this analysis, I’ve actually made an effort to use the same type of photo for other similar items.
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One other Thing About My Photos – is that there might be an advantage to the mystery and intrigue that a cropped shot can create. I make lingerie and that is a type of garment that is all about mystery. Subtlety can be good, as you can see in this comparison (totally work safe) and(uh…. Exactly where is my 13 year old son right now?) I really think that the mystery that a well-cropped photo can generate can attract attention.
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Seeing Available Products – After visiting the same sellers multiple times to create my Treasuries, I started to get a feel about what people are posting on Etsy. This awareness is probably going to influence the work I create in the future.
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In Summary – Unless you’re selling a product that thrives on really specific tagging (like vintage sewing patterns) then your photos really are your primary marketing tool on Etsy. You’ve got to make them work for you!
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Want to join a Treasury making team?This search might help you get started.
