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Hats off to the sellers who tipped us off to the latest Etsy scheme to get unwitting sellers to do even MORE free marketing for Etsy the Brand on all those neat-o "shopping sites" and pack them with suggestions that happen to match all the favorites picked by Etsy for their Front Page, Gift Guides and countless repetitive blog posts!
Shall we just hit copy and paste?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Spam for Etsy! Again!
Posted by The Funny One at 9:08 PM
Tagged: daniellexo, dont do it, Etsy, fail, promo, spam
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47 Comments:
I just want to add that there are at least 3 responsible Etsians in that thread trying to get everyone's attention that this is a very very bad idea.
The sites are not for self-promotion, they are for social networking and sharing great shopping finds. Etsy has been banned from such sites for doing exactly what DXO recommends, the stupid twit.
But, again, Etsy doesn't listen and the sheep keep baa-ing away "oh thank you, I'll have to try it!" dumbasses, read the terms of use for any site you sign up to!
I saw this & got SO annoyed...I'm one of the people who chimed in at the end; I cannot believe they are encouraging SPAMMING shopping sites. And, yes, so many people just hit reply & don't even read the rest of the thread. Just keep on giving etsy admin that tongue bath. See if it gets you on the FP.
Speaking of which - another article on photos in the Dorque; this time saying sellers "have" to have pictures of themselves making their art & looking their best. Hmm. Was an unattractive person selected for a QYDJ? Unacceptable!!
Was an unattractive person selected for a QYDJ? Unacceptable!!
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Probably not unattractive, just adorned with less than 15 articles of clothing that scream "indie hipster," or, even worse, they didn't match the color scheme of pale and muted.
I find it hilarious that Etsy's been shut out from social networks for trying to get the places to swallow the load of kitsch.
Ha, that thread is kind of hilarious. It's like there's two completely different conversations going on, one of the ass lickers (who aren't actually reading anything else), and one of the actual sane people pointing out that what Etsy is suggesting breaks the freaking TOS for those sites.
Etsy is such a clusterfuck.
I almost emailed you guys that thread link, but I figured some others had done it.
I guess Etsy didn't learn their lesson last year when a ton of people got booted from places like Stumbleupon and Digg for doing the same thing. That happened from a post much like this one.
Not only are they asking sellers to spam but break other sites TOS now. This is exactly the reason soo many places will not allow you to advertise your Etsy shop. Geez!
And, yes, I was one such seller in that thread who tried to get people to listen. Of course, it would have been more beneficial to just beat my head on my desk.
Oh, and did you know that the whole reason people can't get some items into the Google thing is because Etsy is only allowing 100 items until they finish the crossover?
Yes, give the unwashed masses something important to do since they'll never be featured on the FP or GG's or in a dorque article, send them out to advertise the site and bring back buyers for the chosen few.
Yes, get out there and pimp Etsy cuz they sure as hell aren't going to pimp you. flag those resellers, flag those tag abusers, flag those forum posts that break the rules...God forbid they take any of the responsibility for any of that themselves.
*throws up hands*
How about etsy takes toybreaker out of 7 gift guides. They can take Lirola out of the 3 her shop is featured in? You know, fill those slots with some OTHER sellers... and not the ones we've already seen... or sliknymalinkcat who is basically a reseller of other people's prints — which ought to disgust the fuck out of everyone who actually makes their own art — that this twit is featured in everyone tom dick and hairy portion of the site.
I list things on there. If etsy was capable of marketing fairly & bringing in customers — then this shit wouldn't be necessary.
On a professionalism front:
Heads up etsy:
Anyone who is an admin should have an avatar that is a mandatory non-ironic, non-hipster, straight DMV-style photo of his or herself currently.
Ironically large glasses from the eighties are unprofessional.
A picture of you as a child is unprofessional.
A picture of you making a snarky facial expression is unprofessional.
A picture taken at a weird angle is unprofessional.
So, why does it not surprise me that the etsy admin who posted this thread has a really ugly ironically sad looking dog for an avatar? The only thing missing is the dog pissing while wearing ridiculously large glasses and licking a terrarium.
If etsy did their jobs in the marketing front — and with fairness across the board to all their sellers (in other words, without the favoritism) then none of this shit would be necessary.
Uuuuuuuuuhm, Etsy? There's a reason the gate to the playground has a lock on it.
So disappointed to see Etsy promoting the idea of spamming shopping sites. The forum thread did make me aware of a site that will allow me to collate all my own personal wish-lists (items on Etsy and elsewhere) and for that I'm grateful. I will certainly be adding items from Etsy sellers to my Wist...I just hope that the forum thread doesn't lead to all Etsy items being blocked on there.
Oh, and rumor has it there will be a sneak peek of the updated Do's and Don'ts.
IMPORTANT TO READ :
I have a better Scheme from ETSY, how about this , if you go to the children section hit clothing and the dress, check the first listing that just popped up not even 1 sec ago and it has 10.000 VIEWS and then wait and do it again to another new listing and that one has 680 VIEWS and so on there is no way in hell that an item can be listed and get that many VIEWS at once no way I have been around etsy for too long and I know how it works , they are trying to con costumer’s trying to make them think that they are so busy , and they are doing this for selected shops , so what do you do about this , there are new sellers not understanding why their items that is just below this listing has 0 views and the item above them that just got listed has over 680 views and 20 or even 50 hearts so they delete their listing and relist figuring that something went wrong ,
I would love to take them to court , any one out there wants to take my case
Anna
Ugh, more social networking sites being pushed on us. It's hard to make the time to create new items when we're supposed to be spamming a dozen sites every time we list a new item.
@sk - I enjoyed that article too, especially since Etsy doesn't even allow a photo on your Etsy profile. How will people know how pretty I and my workspace are!!
This article would be a lot more interesting if you would tell us which 2 sites Etsy was banned from.
Cool! Places to look at to see if I want to promote my Artfire shop!
LOL no, I commented toward the end that I remember etsy being banned from other sites like that for spamming. I liked the seller who commented that she'd spend as much time on that as etsy spends on promoting sellers who aren't their favs.
Maybe someone should try calling out another seller in that thread to get it locked down.
At least that way no more twits could add their "ooh I'll go try" which keeps it at the top.
I knew you guys would zero in on that thread. Good work. Now, on to the new Do's and Don'ts! :)
Oh, and XO's new avatar kinda looks like her -- am I right, or am I right? *wink*
There will always be new sellers who fall for these pitches....Thanks again EB's for the heads up! I also read the article on head shots and photos of your studio. The tiny tea cup.....well,lets just say I am not a member of Etsys' target audience.
Oh for the love of god. Someone needs to stop letting DXO post in the forums. And please make her stop sending those useless emails referencing the same storque articles and forum threads over and over and over.
I am SO GLAD I am finally, officially no longer an Etsy seller.
Geesh!
And, yes, so many people just hit reply & don't even read the rest of the thread. Just keep on giving etsy admin that tongue bath.
..................
LOL "Blow is just an expression."
What else is new in Etsy World?
spam spam spam. fecking bs.
i can't stand opening my twitter to see what people are up to and instead get a shit storm of - look at my latest crocheted tampon cozy using recycled wool i found on the floor at the thrift store!
etsy would be cooler if it were more professional. but then it would be cooler if they hired professionals instead of friends of friends who went to birthing class together.
First you had to spam your family and friends (did anything ever come from those points you would get for that? I'm one of those bloody foreigners, so I would not get anyting for it anyway...) and now we have to spam social networks not with our own shop, oohhnooo.... but with other people's shop, to 'get the Etsy name out there'. Meanwhile in Etsy land Admin is knitting cowls and making cute felt owls when Twitter is down...
There's a thread in the bugs section of the forum stating there is something wrong with the categories but of course no one is listening.
Love that the owner of one of the sites mentioned came in to the spam thread to basically tell people how to sell on FB without worrying about Etsy. Hilarious! Admin doesn't even address it.
An updated Do's and Don'ts would be good, no? It means Etsy Admins will at least have 329 staff meetings about it, READ it themselves, and then go off to promote their own stores on Etsy!
And then write 5,289 blog posts about why their "distinct Etsy style" means that handmade sucks and Etsy-trends are worth throwing together and spending money on --- that is, if you have any money to spend.
I dunno Etsy, why don't you use your powers of censorship this time and delete that forum post, issue an apology, and keep the brats away from the keyboards.
ughhhh I checked in on that thread again; and people are STILL Not reading the warnings! Lemmings; listen, we are trying to HELP.
SPAM= WRONG
I was going to post & throw a *head desk* in there but I don't want to keep the thread up if half the sellers aren't going to read.
I love that I can come on here & vent w/o fear of reprisal from admin, they may try to muffle me with a cowl...or that Troll Beard. Anyone catch that yesterday??
Still, must be nice to wield that much power over desperate people. daniellexo is probably basking in afterglow.
I, would have put WHEEEEEE instead. And added some owls, cowls, and squids. Maybe a cupcake.
http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mgt/lowres/mgtn46l.jpg
Here is a recent thread calling out Etsy on the spaming:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6322610
The Funny One said...
An updated Do's and Don'ts would be good, no? It means Etsy Admins will at least have 329 staff meetings about it, READ it themselves, and then go off to promote their own stores on Etsy! "
and then, ignore the TOUs when choosing their favorites to promote.
"Feel of the hand" wtf? I admit it I got involved int he D & D thread, it's like a car accident, you know?
But the more I read the D&D the more two things occur to me. One is those regs are very corporate, I bet Accel is pushing.
Two, I would fire anyone who presented me with such a poorly worded and misinformed piece of shit as the D&D is. I'd expect to be fired if that's what I cam eup with.
Oh, and then I thought, E isn't paying me for my time,wth?
Accel needs to fire the lot of them and hore competent writers, for a start. They write copy my nine year old thinks is stupid.
"Feel of the hand" meet "gesture of the Finger"
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6046521
This old TimothyAdamDesigns thread just got revived last night. Anyone remember around its original posting time when people were singing his praises and promoting his blog? I think that was about the same time that all these social networks began cracking down on Etsy shops abusing their sites.
Booooo Etsy.
I'm so sick of hearing "etsy is just a venue...it's up to YOU to get buyers to your shop". Would people say that about other venues, like craft shows? Etsy needs to start doing some serious advertising in mainstream magazines and on tv instead of asking sellers (their customers) to spam. Is etsy a real business or not?
Crazy Cat Lady says, "I liked the seller who commented that she'd spend as much time on that as etsy spends on promoting sellers who aren't their favs."
That was me. And you would not believe how many convo's I got from newish sellers applauding that comment. "I wondered if anyone else noticed..."
So I referred them all to this blog.
lol. It just got closed. It only took about 5 minutes after Anda left for it to get closed.
Wonder why?
Yes, we can disagree but not disrespectully. WTF? There was no disrespect on that thread, other than Danille's total lack of regard for her audiance and lack of follow up.
Given that, I think the tone was gracious.
Why solve the problem and accept responsibility and do as I suggested by writing a new thread? Nooooo. That's 'hard'.
You know, I'm getting to where E can suck my whimsy.
Have you seen this video of CEO on etsy's "marketing" plan?
http://bit.ly/1yvupP
Oh, and Anda basically argued that they weren't telling people to spam. About 45 pages too late to explain how to do it.
Do you think they will discuss how to spam properly on the 22nd when the labs will be doing a how to get recognized session?
FINALLY that damn thread was closed. And still, on page 40-whatever, some sellers are "thank you, I'll check it out xoxoxoxo". Really? You can't read at least 5 pages in, and not just the OP? That lazy?
Timothy Adams bugs. I like some parts of his blog that are instructional (like how to use google analytics) but the rest...he is just as bad as the Etsy FP, all the same grayness most of the time.
Plus on Twitter all he does is spam is own links; to handmade review & handmadeology, and his blog of course. I may report him if he keeps it up; b/c I hate signing on & seeing all the same stuff from him, to the same thing.
And the thread is closed. Yay HeyMichelle!
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6321660&page=48
Somewhere in one of those clusterfuck threads someone was arguing that Etsy is like a mall, so it's the responsibility of the individual store owners to do their own advertising.
To which I really wanted to write a snarky reply pointing out that malls advertise all the damn time (hell, our local tiny mall runs a weekly ad in the paper to encourage people to shop there, with contests and special events and whatnot). Of course individual stores have to promote themselves - but Etsy should be working towards Etsy being well known. 90% of the people I meet around here who are interested in buying my stuff have never heard of Etsy. A little bit of proper marketing of the WHOLE site could get a hell of a lot more eyeballs looking at the pages.
I didn't reply, though, because I'm already in trouble for being a bitch on that f'in Dos and Don'ts thread.
Also if I read one more post advising some n00b that the secret to success is facebook, twitter, and renewing 7 times a day, I'm going to punch someone in the head.
I'll read EB over Vanessa any day, and way over "wonderwoman" HeyMichele even on her good days.
Etsy is flat-out lying when Vanessa says Etsy is eager to hear seller comments on the D&D's when the thread lock says Etsy doesn't give a shit when the comments are going against them. "Discussion OVER!"
Passive aggressives, the whole bunch of them, can't take the heat when they deserve it.
Usual result? Etsy won't make ONE CHANGE or edit to their voluminous and childish D&D's and Etsy will be even more anti-non-fave seller than ever.
Be ready Etsy sellers for another wave of mutes, bans, locks, and whatever other pissy crap these boo-hooers can throw at sellers because, let's face the facts, Etsy can't stand sellers if they aren't making Etsy products and sending love notes on the forums.
How come I have to come to EB to find the YouTube video of Maria's marketing plan for Etsy?
I never saw this on Etsy, and I've gone back & looked through the Dorque back to Oct. 13 - Where is it?
It's important enough to post on YouTube, but not important enough to tell your members about?
WTF Maria?
Max said...
How come I have to come to EB to find the YouTube video of Maria's marketing plan for Etsy?
I never saw this on Etsy, and I've gone back & looked through the Dorque back to Oct. 13 - Where is it?
It's important enough to post on YouTube, but not important enough to tell your members about?
WTF Maria?
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Because it's easier to talk shit, get away with shit, spread shit and present shit as actual business if no one is paying attention.
Because Etsy is STILL being run by people who have no idea what they are talking about.
Because who the hell wants to be held accountable?
It's a hotbed over there. Anybody questioning how things are being done gets the 'ole "You can leave if you don't like it" routine.
Yup, the "get out of Dodges" have no appreciation for those who have gotten Etsy this far.
Of course, most of them have left or been permanently muted for rocking the boat. thanks for the no thanks.
In that video clip Maria impressed me as inarticulate and dowdy. How many bright junior high students could have given a better presentation of that meager amount of info?
After seeing that, how many shoppers or investors would connect Maria with a huge online tech-savvy venue for indie handmade and art?
One of the execs I worked for right out of college had a term for that kind of presentation: specifically vague, ie BSing.
The King of Promos
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