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Here we are, the end of October and Etsy has finally released the details of their holiday marketing plan...which should be in motion already...too late for their customers (who rely on it) to comment on it.
We've been spitting and sputtering behind the scenes wondering why Etsy is still so ignorant about their own potential audience.
In case you missed it, the full-page ads feature a single seller. That's right...ONE SELLER OUT OF THE MORE THAN 100,000 ACTIVE SHOPS.
They don't even touch on the full spectrum of items available on Etsy. No mention of supplies and vintage. If anything they should have featured an item from the 'majority', which would be jewelry, the most saturated category. How was the one seller picked? If anyone knows we'd love to be enlightened. (And no, we're not commenting on the seller or their items, just on the completely biased exposure of the ads)
For the sake of our sanity, I'll bullet point what is constantly being ignored:
- There is more than one type of item on Etsy
- There is more than one type of seller on Etsy
- There is more than handmade on Etsy
- The admin favorites and NYC/admin style is not the only thing on Etsy
"I think etsy marketed that ad to new sellers. SHE is the biggest part-"meet unique" people think I'm like her, I can make those. I can sell there!
There's no holiday frills, there's no marketing of items with broad appeal, altho cute, no mention of all buying needs being met"
"This whole thing has made me realize that, actually, Etsy has begun to put forth a pretty consistent message. I think that ad represents exactly how they see themselves. I think they're pretty strongly opposed to work that looks too shiny; it's the hip indie shabby thing, exemplified in that horrendous craft show table and their kiddie playland offices.
They want to be cutesy. Look at the way they act and the crap they do in the Labs.
I'm realizing that they're branding themselves this way, and that's fine, but it's not what I want for my work. And not, I suspect, what the great majority of their sellers want. The admins and their advertising "plan" are pigeonholing the site into a pretty limited demographic. "
"Gotta hand it to 70 people who, after 4 years, have no imagination at all.
The hell with the ads, they started too late and they are ho-hum, old school. For an online store destination, they don't even scratch the online ad potential. Or reach out to the audience they love so much."
What happened to the poster sketch contest winners that highlighted at least a few items or categories? Those could have been turned into ads. Some sampling that doesn't give all the traffic to a particular shop.
Here is the accompanying forum thread
58 Comments:
Etsy Marketing Plan:
Fail.
Fail.
Fail.
The entire concept, execution and direction is a sophomoric attempt; how embarrassing.
Is there a real advertising or marketing professional on staff? If so, they're weak.
Etsy needs to hire a qualified, innovative Marketing Director or enlist the services of an established firm.
They obviously don't know what the hell they are doing.
Fail.
Ugh, I am so glad I'm not on etsy anymore. And I agree with whoever said this:
I think that ad represents exactly how they see themselves. I think they're pretty strongly opposed to work that looks too shiny; it's the hip indie shabby thing, exemplified in that horrendous craft show table and their kiddie playland offices.
Whether it is fine jewelry, paintings or quilts, etsy notices nothing but "cute".
That ad is just another example of how to bring the sellers in, and not the buyers with money.
Maybe the staff thinks marketing has something to do with picking celery and oranges off the shelves.
At the very least they could have chosen a different seller for each ad.
If you don't think admin is thumbing their nose at you, you're wrong. They really could care less if you sell or not. There are always 5 new sellers to take your place.
I'm extermely disapointed this is the best Matt and Maria have to offer.
I don't know where to begin with this. It is a low budget, poorly conceived, poorly executed ad, that does not represent Etsy as a whole. The girl looks unkempt and the box of information at the bottom is a complete bore, sitting there like a rejected banner ad from the mid 90's.
I get the feeling that the act of committing too and completing this task, was such a milestone for Etsy, they didn't spend much time worrying about the end product. All I know for sure is, teeny weeny stuffed animals are not top selling items for Etsy and while I can understand not using supplies as the focus for this ad, they would be wise to remember it's the top categories that drive Etsy. No matter what image Etsy wishes it has, it will always be the top categories that define it. Pretending those businesses don't exist while pocketing the profits from their sales is pretty fucking insulting.
Meanwhile, that shop is empty. I suppose it never occurred to them to pick a shop that could keep up with the exposure.
EEEEEEEPPPPPIIIIIIIIC FAAAAAAAIIIL!
Read the Dorque article but not the forum thread yet.
About the photo in the ad: typical Etsy-flavored sexism, with woman as intellectually a child and/or having a child. What's the difference between this and Lollishops with their 'Mom-preneurs'? Okay, maybe the pink-n-white digital wallpaper.
Absolutely Etsy has a huge diverse group of sellers making fabulous items. But...do the truly creative, hard-working, handmade (and vintage and supplies) business owners really need Etsy? Or are the ones who need Etsy the young at-home moms who are a bit restive and want to give online selling a try so they can get some cash to buy what they see all day on teevee? The person who noted that this ad is about recruiting SELLERS was right on! They will all be clicking their ruby slippers (see photo!) and saying 'there is on place like Etsy' in response to that ad.
Etsy chooses an empty shop - to match their empty heads. So twee!
Etsy earns money from thousands of sellers, yet they place an ad for just one of these sellers instead of Etsy as a whole. If it was any place but Etsy, I would have thought it was a joke. I've only been on Etsy for a few months, but it hasn't taken long for me to figure out that the incompetence runs deep among admin.
I have nothing against fernanimals or her products. But this is an ad for HER, not Etsy. I realize that she didn't choose this, and I feel awful that admin put her in this situation.
The favoritism and lack of diversity in the gift guides is bad enough. I'm amazed that Etsy has stooped this low, and I'm disgusted at the Etsy cheerleaders in the thread about the ads. Pandering to the fragile admin's egos doesn't help drive more traffic to the site.
Sickening.
It couldn't get worse. I'd rather they didn't bother spending the 15 minutes on this project.
This is a total skim-by ad, as I'm not interested in stuffed anything. Unless it's wearing coral nail polish or laying under a busted hammock.
"There fuckers, shut the fuck up. We did what you wanted, so stick it"
I can just hear it echoing all over etsy labs.
Be careful what you wish for.
7. Public Radio
"We are also considering experimenting with sponsoring public radio in selected American markets where Etsy has strong penetration. The goal of such spots would be to drive brand awareness of Etsy.com."
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Maria called in a favor. Big fucking deal.
Oh Etsy, you're so predictable!
At first, I thought that the NPR tie-in was a good plan. After all, I listen to NPR (and I'm in one of their target cities) and I buy on etsy. But then it occurred to me, that the things that I pay attention to on NPR are the news, the interviews and the stories. Not the advertisements (er, sponsers).
So...now I'm not so sure. If etsy could get a great interview or feature or be the go-to on panels on holiday buying, buying local, handmade, etc on various shows then I'd be tuned in (assuming I didn't already know about etsy...).
I guess I'll hold my judgement until I hear whatever tagline they decided to use (and voice).
The ad is awful, their advertising plan was executed too late and is and cheap. WTF is with the magazines they chose? I've never even heard of any of them.
Seriously, did they spend a whole 10 minutes on this?
This fail has absolutely nothing ---nothing---to do with fernanimals. Any *one* seller that would have been chosen would still represent the same half-assed marketing attempt.
Etsy continues to show that they are incapable of implementing a well-thought-out and cohesive plan. This print ad clearly illustrates that they take bits & pieces of legitimate, effective marketing techniques and think that's going to work.
No, it doesn't work that way, Etsy.
One celebrity with a milk mustache doesn't make a advertising campaign, you idiots.
life-during-wartime said...
"Or are the ones who need Etsy the young at-home moms who are a bit restive and want to give online selling a try so they can get some cash to buy what they see all day on teevee?"
Sell on Etsy, buy off of TV? That makes no sense. I don't think it matters what demographic "needs" Etsy. These ads should be about introducing a wider audience to buying handmade, isn't that what the goal is? The ad should be inviting and inspire curiosity. The ad should make people unfamiliar with Etsy interested. How can you appeal to such a wide audience with one awkward product?
The ads are about BRANDING. I just don't think most people will look at this and relate. If Etsy thinks they can pay the bills with only the teeny, weeny, stuffed animal makers and the people who love them, then the ad hit the mark. Something tells me, though, if they were all that was left for sale on Etsy, the site would come to screeching halt.
Please hire magicjelly to do marketing.
Srsly.
Or please beg Martha Stewart for a discount on an ad.
I understand there is a budget but OMG!!
Fernanimals posted in the thread on Etsy saying that she didn't even know she was going to be the only one in all three ads. The fact that Etsy didn't notify her so she could prepare her shop for that much exposure speaks volumes about how much Etsy actually cares about its sellers. I'm not sure they've done her any favors.
I was prepping for christmas by the end of august. Good grief, they can't seem to get a jump on seasonal marketing ( a basic concept in retailing).
The ad? Too 'cutesy-woo', and I'm not sure I like the focus on just one seller. They don't need to do the big spread like past co op ads, but that ad is rather..boring.
Never heard of the magazines they've run that in, either. They need to get with better marketing, ie accessories and fashion sellers in fashion mags, kids stuff in parenting mags, heck, run a bridal themed ad in a bridal mag.
It's called targeting buyers, but i don't think they actually have a clue.
I'd really just like to see a little less cutesy from them.
You are all so right and impetuous is right about branding, which Etsy should have been doing for the last 4 years; it would have provided a platform for all advertising to adapt and change with the fast-changing world of retail, not to mention the reality of the economy.
But, adaptability is not Etsy's forte - just look at the front page. The only thing Etsy added was another showcase to the top right hand corner, with so many headlines jammed into those 3 inches, who the hell can figure out what to click on? It's like they put 15 commercials into one 30-second spot.
Etsy is so busy throwing stuff on the front page (and blogging) that they think we think they are actually WORKING!
This is how lazy the Etsy Holiday Plan is:
-most of us could have thought of a much better one in 15 minutes;
-radio ads? how cheap can you get?
-obscure print publications and not where the money is (but cheaper than O Magazine, Newsweek or Time, Elle, etc.)
-again, radio ads? are they kidding?
-Etsy Admins just doubled their dumb, pointless blog posts so even more space and time is wasted on the site;
-buyers are so distracted by so much "to do" on the front page, will they ever have any time left to shop and buy something?
-Etsy is actually advertising to all the competitors that they DO NOT have a marketing budget, don't plan to make one up, posing less of a threat to those clever handmade sites that are popping up like mushrooms.
And just when we thought it was safe to start loading up our shops with new inventory. It's amazing that there are many Etsy sellers who sell DESPITE Etsy.
Etsy has a history of throwing its customers under the bus to make themselves look better:
TheBlackApple's supposed revenues blurted out on Martha Stewart by Rob Kalin
A featured seller with potential copyright issues, but it was popular stuff
Using a seller's image or items to represent the whole site without their permission, which begs others to question the decision and thus plunging the seller into the spotlight
Multiple occurrences in the gift guides, making people question it, but the sellers had no role in the placement
There are more I think...
Well, what can you say?
After all my ranting about multiples in the GG it was not a surprise to see the campaign focus one just ONE seller now (and that poor seller probably wasn't even informed ahead of time to prepare for her role as Etsy "front seller").
I just picture myself in her position (not that this would ever happen:) and Etsy would be presented as a site where crochet tams are sold, no mention of jewelry, ART (!!!!) or all the other cool stuff.
I would feel bad, and everyone else left out, would feel even worse./
Now, whoever hasn't looked around for alternatives like their own website or other venues, you should get your butt into gear and market YOURSELF. Marketing through Etsy corp, well, it won't happen for the majority of us, and we can post in the threads until we hit our heads against the desk.
I preferred to not even post in that thread. A waste of time and energy to even worry about.
forum rubbernecker said...
Please hire magicjelly to do marketing.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4 Realz.
Fernanimals was also featured in the new issue of ME Home Companion with the pages-long interview. I loev his comment about not selling anything illegal. And, oh yeah, we do have rules about things made in Mexico. Gah!
We all see the seller-under-the- bus-image the righteous one, but, there is one big BUT.......
Out of 170,000 (or 200,000 who knows really) sellers, less than one percent get "chosen" for Etsy's circular promotions, which start with being a featured seller after multiple sequential spots in Admin FPT's, then several finds emails, then a long blog post for each find, then several spots across several categories of gg's, then it starts all over again until they get to be the star of this month's QYDJ celebrity fantasy.
All because Etsy has been so generous with free advertising for the select few. (Another one of Etsy's "Self-Fulfilling Practices.")
It's not a matter of being fair or unfair------it's a matter of assigning only one or 2 fulltime employees to pick their personal product prefences despite the reality that there are hundreds of thousands of worthy products for sale on the site. It's limiting, it's uncreative, it's boring, and it's predictable. And it boils down to what someone at Etsy happens to like-----not what might be appealing to a wide audience of actual shoppers!!!!!!
All the DO NOT DO THIS lessons of online retail. Etsy is predictable, boring, pedestrian, and parochial. And less of an exciting destination for shoppers old and new.
While other retails sites are trying lots of new tricks (including extensive ad and email campaigns) to entice shoppers this year, Etsy only gets into more of its own boring rut of its own making.
The Gift Guides are a complete waste of a valuable shopping tool. It's a power play; Etsy Admins continue do (99% of) the pickin' and sellers continue to do 100% of the beggin' (month after month, year after year).
Etsy can't tell the difference between their asses and a hole in the ground so how can we expect them to know anything about REAL marketing and REAL promotions?
Impetuous said...
Sell on Etsy, buy off of TV? That makes no sense.
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Why not?
Only a very small percentage of Etsy sellers ever post to the forums...or even EB. How many shops are on Etsy right now with only a handful or so of items listed with the same type of 'feel' as those of the seller in the ad (albeit not so nicely done)? There are still plenty of people out there who think it is easy to make big bux by just listing a few things somewhere on the internet. The fact that Etsy has no charge or review process (NOT jurying!) to open a shop + low fees suggests to me that this is the target audience Etsy is aiming for to grow its customer base (sellers).
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Impetuous said...
I don't think it matters what demographic "needs" Etsy. These ads should be about introducing a wider audience to buying handmade, isn't that what the goal is? The ad should be inviting and inspire curiosity. The ad should make people unfamiliar with Etsy interested. How can you appeal to such a wide audience with one awkward product?
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I totally agree! But only if the ad campaign was directed at bringing new buyers to the site for the Holidays...and beyond.
But the choice of publications looks like it is aimed at potential investors (or maybe sponsored advertisers?) or maybe buyers of the Maria type, who purchase gifts for life milestones and Hallmark holidays. Nothing wrong with that -- but it's another way of limiting Etsy's appeal.
The entire marketing team appears to be composed of people who don't know shit about marketing.
Etsy needs to stop trying to market and advertise themselves because they seriously suck at it. It's time that they contracted out this task to people who know what they're doing.
The thing is, they are marketing to SELLERS!I had a subscription to Mother Earth News for years. Ads for seeds, DIY home plans & products, tractors, log-splitters- it started out as a "back to the land" mag in the 70's and has evolved into a DIY mag, with a green focus.
ANyone who thought Etsy is marketing for buyers? Not in Mother Earth news. You will get new sellers, and copiers from that venue.
I'm was so disappointed to read their marketing plan and how late it was put into action.
How do they so consistently mess up when they finally do what people have been asking for forever?
The ad could have been done better in so many ways. It really isn't advertising the site but one seller.
So glad my off etsy site is off and going so I don't have to count on people finding me through the Etsy mess.
I had a tiny ray of hope, but all in all this ad does not surprise me in the least.
If it's not felted cupcakes, Etsy's not behind it. How incredibly disappointing.
Did anybody notice that fernanimals' items are tagged in the new DAM category? A category that took them how many years to implement?
Maybe it's admin's way of making up for ignoring the begging and pleading for so long. More likely though, they picked her shop prior to implementing the DAM category, not even noticing that her items didn't fall into a recognized category at the time. Freakin' genius.
Yep.
I have to agree.
Etsy is marketing for SELLERS.
That's all they've ever done, and all they will continue to do. They must, in their convoluted thinking, have decided they need to bring in the sellers, and it's the sellers job to bring in buyers.
I don't see it changing.
Sad.
Ugh.
That's all I have to say.
impetuous said...
The girl looks unkempt...
_______________________
That comment is gratuitously mean.
Use the vitriol for admin.
that's just brilliant said...
Did anybody notice that fernanimals' items are tagged in the new DAM category? A category that took them how many years to implement?
Maybe it's admin's way of making up for ignoring the begging and pleading for so long. More likely though, they picked her shop prior to implementing the DAM category, not even noticing that her items didn't fall into a recognized category at the time. Freakin' genius.
______
Holy crap I bet you're right! That would explain the sudden change of heart with the DAM categories.
I feel really sorry for fernanimals. To be put out there like that and not be able to plan, that is just inconsiderate. I swear, Etsy has NO IDEA we are trying to run businesses. They must think all of that money and all of those listings just magically appear because they are "awesome".
*puts on steampunk helmet and tunes out*
"I just don't think most people will look at this and relate."
So true. And I say that as someone who is a fernanimals fan, I love her little animals, adorable. However, they do fit into the image Etsy has of itself...hip in just the right way, and the only way you can be hip to get noticed on Etsy. It's also a way of being hip that...a smaller audience is going to relate to.
Also, someone needs to remind Etsy that the "indie craft" trend is so ten years ago. Oh I love it...but it's no longer cutting edge, cute, or novel. It's a has-been trend, albeit one that still has an audience...but a limited one. Any business that intends to outlast trends need to adapt.
Dear Etsy: ADAPT.
Coming soon! Fernanimals handmade portrait. Just you wait!
Yep.
I have to agree.
Etsy is marketing for SELLERS.
That's all they've ever done, and all they will continue to do. They must, in their convoluted thinking, have decided they need to bring in the sellers, and it's the sellers job to bring in buyers.
________________
Has anyone calculated the cha-ching value of "new items listed" in a given month to the commission value of products sold? Which is higher, I wonder? That might be your answer, unfortunately.
bk said...
impetuous said...
The girl looks unkempt...
_______________________
That comment is gratuitously mean.
Use the vitriol for admin.
_________
It was not mean at all. If she was in a proper ad they would have done her hair and make-up. They didn't even tell this poor thing how many ads she would be in. They took advantage to save a buck.
Did it ever occur to Etsy to turn to the only person who could come even close to personifying Etsy??? Leanne, the winner of Project Runway? I mean there is an audience full of buyers and sellers packaged and ready to go.
And for the record, if Leanne does get an ad and they don't do her hair, I'll say she's unkempt.
Slightly confused. I know fernanimals didn't "ask" for it but she can't be totally surprised. She would have to sign release forms, etc. for her image to be used by a company and put in a national magazine. No national publication is going to run and ad without the model consent being signed.
Why does everyone keep saying fernanimal was surprised ?
How: did aliens come in while she slept and positioned her to take the picture.
She had to have a professional photographer come in at some time and take the picture.
This isn't an attack against her but to say she was surprised is just ludicrous.
Etsy choosing just one person, hmmm , smacks of a series of ads..
nahhhhh, they are not going to spend that kind of money.
From what has been posted by her and others I get the impression that Fernanimals knew she was to be included in the holiday campaign but not that she was to be the sole focus of that campaign. She appeared to be under the impression she was at least one of several.
It's hard to express how awful I feel for the seller featured in this ad after reading through these comments and the associated forum thread. I don't know her, and had never seen her shop before, but I can't help empathizing, because this has got to hurt. Yeah, it's great to get sales, etc., but I wonder if she feels that it's worth it now after all the public criticism of her artwork, her style, and even of her appearance.
She said re the ad, in her blog (which was linked to in the forum thread):
"It's ten times bigger than I expected. So weird."
Which leads me to believe she was told it would either be a small ad or she would be among several sellers featured, or it would be used in an article.
By the way, I am FAR more likely to look at a photo of someone who has not had their hair and makeup "styled" so that they look like every other ad photo out there.
wyomingk said...
By the way, I am FAR more likely to look at a photo of someone who has not had their hair and makeup "styled" so that they look like every other ad photo out there.
___________
Professional hair and make-up all looks the same? That's news to me. People in cover girl ads and people in neutrogena ads look very different but they are both "styled".
The point here is that Etsy is too big to be making stupid decisions like this. As far as no one criticizing the ad to save the feelings of the person in it? Poppycock.
Sorry, but I totally agree. I am less than tickled that my products and my selling venue is being represented by ONE seller who sells little animals.
With that said, if I didn't know exactly what this "ETSY" was, and I saw this ad for the first time, I would not be interested in investigating further.
Perhaps a product that appeals to a wider audience? Maybe a teeeeny tiny bit more info about Etsy?
This ad blows.
I hate it. I hate everything about it. I mean, I love fernanimals work but is it worthy of representing thousands and thousands of artists? The answer is quite simply, no. It's painfully obvious to me that Etsy would be begging for cupcakes on the street corner if it weren't for individual shops indirectly advertising for them.
I am so ready to learn HTML and get the hell out of dodge.
Wow! There are so many unbelievably unique and amazing items on Etsy...and they choose to hightlight cute plushies? Trying to keep the average purchase at $15 I guess.
Fail is right. What a slap in the face. The least they could have done was selected a couple of gorgeous items in at least a few different categories. WTF were they thinking?
Really, who would rush to Etsy upon seeing that ad to purchase all their holiday gifts?
Ladies Auxiliary said it all when she commented on "indie craft"
I once thought of myself as "indie" and loved and still love a good indie show, but Etsy has turned "indie" into kitchy, cheap shit.
It's a huge bummer. I am and will always be.... an artist and crafter, first and formost.
The ad is OK. Fern Animals at least IS part of the craft scene and does shows. I can't stand that so many people on Etsy have never even done a craft show.
I guess it's all about the internet crafter these days.
"Hi, my name is Etsy and I'm a failaholic"
The "plan" is not a plan, and everything, including the ad, reveal that Etsy now prefers the look of lazy, unprofessional, sloppy, and slapped-together because they have deemed it an "Etsy Trend."
Why, Etsy thinks that buyers will buy when the now know they are "Recessionistas" and can pinch a penny -------afterall, the average price Etsy is so proud of is $15 and UNDER!
Another stomach-turning Etsy Trend highlighted in the Dorque with articles that are so bizarre, I stopped breathing for a couple of minutes......and Etsy manages to insult buyers, insult sellers, and sing off-tune.
Impetuous said...
Did it ever occur to Etsy to turn to the only person who could come even close to personifying Etsy??? Leanne, the winner of Project Runway? I mean there is an audience full of buyers and sellers packaged and ready to go.
------
Something tells me that Leanne would have zero interest in being a rep for etsy, especially given the position she's in now. She has outgrown etsy, no longer needs them. But I completely agree that the current ad is weak as hell. It would not make me want to check out the site at all.
sillygirl said...
I can't stand that so many people on Etsy have never even done a craft show.
------
Huh? Some of THE best artisans I know have not once sold at craft fairs. I'm just confused about what that has to do with anything?
No, I didn't care for the ad either, and pretty much would reiterate what has already been said about it.
But is it just me, or is there a contradiction between the stylized pictures they consistently feature on the front page, that everyone keeps saying is Etsy's "look", and they keep insisting is necessary to "wow" people with the "best of the best"............and then we see this ad, with a slightly disheveled and tired looking child cradling some stuffed animals in her hands. Very plain and no "wow" factor. Not artfully shot, no awkward angles or dramatic lighting, nothing to make it stand out in anyone's mind (except for that tuft of hair that sticks out over her left ear).
I have to say I agree with the previous posters who said this ad is to bring in more sellers. I've never even heard of any of the magazines they're advertising in but if I saw this ad and didn't know what etsy was, I'd immediately think 'this is what I could do', not 'this is what I could buy'.
Once again Etsy, you missed the mark, but it's not a surprise. The surprise is that I don't even feel shock or dismay at your antics anymore. I don't feel anything, repeatedly beating your head against the wall eventually numbs you to the pain. Maybe this is true for you too. You've fallen in the well so many times that you're comfortable in that dark, narrow black hole.
I can't stand that so many people on Etsy have never even done a craft show.
=========================
Some of us live in locations where crafts shows are few and far between. I'd love to a craft show every weekend but they don't exist here.
"I can't stand that so many people on Etsy have never even done a craft show."
................
Huh? Some professional photographers and artists never do craft shows. They have reps, or agents, or galleries or exhibits...but not "craft shows."
It's a big world out there, you know.
Not everyone on etsy is suited for the craft show circuit.
Thank goodness.
So, have these mags with the full page fernanimals ads arrived at subscribers home/on the stands yet?
She has about 1 sale a day, only 7 items in her shop. Cute items but, as others have said, not representative of Etsy on the whole. Fail Fail Fail.
I am curious to see if her sales pick up at all. Or if she will even be able to keep up listings. I feel bad for her and for the thousands of the rest of us on Etsy. I certainly have not seen a pick-up in sales in the last week.
It's funny to me that some people have latched on to my craft show comment.
Crafter, craft show... They have gone together for many many MANY years.
There is something to be said about going out there and showing your wares to the public.
And it's work, hard work. Not to mention all the supplies, displays, tents, applications, etc... that go into it.
Whether it's craftshows, galleries or whatever, Fern animals does these things, she and I, for that matter, are in a REAL community of crafters and artists,not sitting on the computer renewing every 5 minutes.
In the old days, a craft show WAS where you "meet the artist" You don't meet the Etsy artist by opening some obscure hippy mag and seeing this ad, or checking out their profiles on Etsy(some don't even bother with a profile)
So that where I'm comming from....
They are only looking at things that are like the 'one big eye, one little eye monster' crap or stuff that actually has to be 'explained' to understand.
I'm leaving as soon as I can find an appropriate venue that doesn't cater only to college aged abstract type 'artists' - maybe if I had dreds(lol) I could've fit in, but I never have fit in here and now realize for sure, after this stupid ad 'campaign', that I never will.
Even as long as I've been on Etsy, I've only been on the front page once - for about 35 minutes, never been contacted by them, and even if they do pick something from the wood category, it's by a hip-college grad or a guy that does 'funky' or abstract style furniture etc...
I'm really, really sick of it all and so very tired of making them money.
I've done okay on Etsy, thanks only to my wonderful buyers that love nature, the natural warmth of wood, something that doesn't have to be explained, as well as well-made handcrafted art that's made by someone that loves what they do - no thanks to Etsy, who has done everything they could to suppress my little store into an obscure corner.
I just wish they would've told me before I got so involved, "Hey, your stuff just doesn't fit the ideal we have for Etsy...", then I wouldn't have been subject to this torture all of these years trying to be better, trying to be noticed, feeling all the while like I must be doing something wrong...
So, yep, I'm outta there asap - bummer - I've invested a lot into my shop - but that was the final straw!:(
For obvious reasons, I'm really enjoying your reviews of various market places - I hope you'll keep it up and offer a lot more! :) I need a new home - one that actually wants me and my 'not-so-trendy' art!
"To thine own self be true!"
Freida
What a truly awful advert which doesnt showcase any talent or diversity on etsy. They make it look like you can buy things your 4 year old could make for you *shakes head*.
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