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There have been questions as to whether Etsy would follow through and actually have a marketing plan for the holidays. Well, it's up. But there's no timeline! In today's chatt with Matt it was mentioned that there may be a meeting about it on Sept 26. Is that really enough time? All of this needs to be out before November to be effective. This is an international online venue - things need to be shipped!
I guess we'll all just have to wait and see. Full page ads positioned to target buyers would be really, really nice. (Yes, they DID mention those!) Along with better SEO. Two topics that have been hot in the forums in the past.
May we suggest the addition of something to the list though? Fix the search. Please! It's great to advertise, but it only works if people can find things.
Kudos to Etsy on following through on a promise, but the timeline is a big part of it that's missing(a November/December contest doesn't count). You're getting there, kids.
Edit: Based on a reader's comment from the chat, he did state a potential, and soon, timeline for the ads (October through December)...which was only known to those in the chat at that time. Better, but not quite there yet on the whole communication and timeline thing.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Etsy's Holiday Marketing Plan
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17 Comments:
There's a plan? an actual honest to goodness plan?
I'm stunned.
I'd think things should be happening no later than the end of this month. Otherwise, it's a little too late.
In chat he said I believe that the ads would run from Oct 1 to mid December.
The feeling I got from chat was that they didn't expect Etsy to be so popular so fast and that they went into this assuming people were honest. That combined with lack of experience was just a time bomb.
I think they are actually trying to get things together and being more realistic about stuff. We were polled in chat about
-having a waiting period to list (overwhelming approval)
- having the sited juried/peer reviewed (again most loved it with some restrictions)
-having a fee charged to open shop of $20 or so refunded to you if you turn out not to be a weasel. (most people loved it)
There were over 100 people in that chat today. So lots of input got to hopefully the right ear.
I guess something, no matter how basic it seems, it better than nothing.
What magazine is he working with that could run a full page, three month ad, starting in October and not need the ad material by now?
Juried based on who's taste? If you mean reviewed to ensure they are not mass produced, then that's cool. But 100 people to speak the ok for 100,000+? NOT COOL
They need to send out an email to ALL members and ask for input in a central, easy to access page (not the labs!) where people can post objections. IF they're actually looking for input. If they are just going to implement it then that's another story.
Either way, these changes need to be sent to ALL members so there aren't any surprises.(regarding shop opening changes and the flaggin system, the holiday marketing is more of an internal thing, though they have asked for input which is what we're providing)
Oh Righteous one, don't be silly. Of course they really don't want any input or feedback. They just want to make it seem like they do.
It's all planned already, they're just checking the vocal minority to see if things will backfire or not.
I'm sure they think that chat was a rousing success, sure to spawn many threads in ideas asking for input on what they already are going to do. To make it look like the community counts.
I don't think it can be both ways. It's either done the Etsy way or the Corporate way. And I think those two things are becoming one.
NPR? Did I really see NPR in that plan? That is to laugh! Or, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe young hipster chix consume more NPR than MTV? I guess I never bother with NPR (NPR is programmed into my car radio, but there always seems to be something vaguely fascist about the programming on there lately) and luv MTV because I'm too old to be hip. Sigh....
Etsy, no matter what, still clings to the belief that telling sellers "We're thinking about it" and "it's in the works" is NOT the same as giving sellers a list with implementation dates.
To push a "discussion about the holidays" into the end of Sept. means that Etsy is not working on a comprehensive holiday plan that sellers can work into their own plans and ad budgets, inventory plans, etc.
All I can say is that it was clear to me that Etsy has a shitload of problems that have been ignored for so long, they are now huge projects------the 2 biggest being what the hell they're going to do about the reseller invasion and the broken SEARCH function.
While Etsy loses itself in those huge projects, SELLERS are still at the bottom of their list.
For once, just once, I would love to hear Etsy say that sellers and what sellers need in the next 11 weeks take precedence, so Etsy will set their agenda to meet the needs of SELLERS.
But, I bet Etsy is going to get so bogged down in their own internal dramas about what to do, oh my, what to do?????? that they will just keep putting sellers off until they finally fuck up the little cred they have left.
In the Dorque article it says that they are "still determining where all the ads will be placed, but we will be running full-page ads in several magazines that are positioned well to reach potential Etsy buyers this holiday season."
This is Etsy's 3rd holiday season. You'd think they would understand by now that if you are 'still determining' where to place your print ads half way through September, you're far too late.
I was really hoping Etsy would step up their game this year, but as we all know, hope breaks your heart on Etsy....
I'm sorry, but I'm not even remotely excited by the mention of a meeting later this month that hasn't been inked on the calendar (we might have a meeting later this month?) to -possibly- discuss a holiday marketing plan that doesn't have a defined focus or direction yet?
HELLO!
It's SEPTEMBER. In my opinion, they have already failed.
Etsy is so self-absorbed after going so long with the fly-by-night mentality and poor planning and even poorer implementation of things ... there is little hope new management will turn this speeding disaster train around and save it from certain death.
The fact that resellers POUR in ever single weekend is a big wake-up call. See, the disease that plagues this sight has been festering internally for a long, long time. We're just now starting to see it manifest on the surface. This is really a much bigger problem than even Etsy will admit to. And until they admit to it, they're dooming themselves to be just another place to sell your junk like ebay.
Since this is the first time I've seen any sort of plan from etsy, I'm gonna say THANK YOU.
Yes, it's too late in announcing.
Yes, it's too late in implementing (holiday online purchasing is OVER by "mid-December").
Yes, it's absolutely useless if shoppers find etsy but hit the vodka--or worse, ebay--after trying to search for something.
But he used the word "buyer" as the target, which almost makes me crave a cupcake.
If they are still thinking about running full page ads for the holidays, and have not purchased spots, they must be talking about 2009.
Even holiday coop ads for the holiday issues were due last month.
Poppytalk and Modish are sold out for the rest of the year.
Once again, "we're thinking about it" falls on deaf ears from real business people and draws kudos only from the newbies. Who, don't realise nothing will happen.
you're probably right, dinglepet
NPR is easy for them, that's where Maria used to work ;)
90 days late with all of this and they wonder why many of the established sellers are still upset.
'While the bulk of our advertising spending will be on search marketing, we think we can bolster brand awareness by advertising in a number of highly-targeted, socially-aware publications and their related websites.'
****
This is what caught me. 'Socially-aware' to me sounds like more Bust type ads. We need ads not in socially aware magazines but main stream america magazines. Of course those magazines have sold out and cost more then they plan to spend.
I will be shocked if they came back and said they were in a magazine that wasn't all about being hip and indie.
'Hip' and 'indie' have nothing to do with being 'socially aware'. Etsy tries for the hip and indie but I see nothing socially aware about the concept of Etsy or the vast majority of shops on the site.
What I do see in so many of the shops is fad/trend following. A huge use of energy required to purchase supplies, ship supplies, ship small and inexpensive handmade items. An emphasis on selling consumable or contemporary 'fashionable' items which have a stylistic expiration date. Etsy creates and causes a lot of waste. Etsy is saturated with female sexual stereotypes. Etsy is all about glorifying consumerism -- heh, that is what marketing is.
I've got nothing against Etsy shops; I have an online business, too. But Etsy should lay off the faux social awareness, and start paying more attention to customer service. If you are going to run a business then do that, and do it well. If Etsy keeps up the do-gooder pose, I'll start yelling B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T. Ya hear me, Bonnie (Maria) and Clyde (Rob)???
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