Nevermind the view counter, WHERE ARE MY VIEWS?

Sellers are often optimistic when they first open shop. We've all been there, we're crafting away thinking about all the people who will love this new item we've just created. Spent countless hours finding supplies for and putting your blood, sweat and tears into. We get excited, we take our photos. Spend time writing a biography about the creation and the time we toiled over this new thing and then, it sits. It gets 2 visitors, and it sits. A week later it has about 19 views and it's still sitting. By week three, new sellers start to freak out. Older sellers know that this is the Etsy Way, sales flow, they halt. They flow. They halt. We're used to it. But these poor sweet new sellers. They blame themselves, their photos, and the finally come knocking on the forum door for some help. No one is seeing this fabulous new invention! Surely, if they could see it, they would buy it. right?



Here's a brief run down of advice given and my personal opinion on each. You can take it with a grain of salt, or, abide by it. I swear that it works. But, maybe I have luck on my side. Some of the views expressed here are also taken from other community members that I agree with and have loosely translated their words into this section.


1. RENEW. Renewing, in theory seems like a really great idea. It will bump you to the top of the products for sale, and hopefully earn you hundreds of views in the 5 minutes it remains on the first page of it's category and the whole 5 seconds your shop is on the first buyer page. Right? But, the truth is, for $.20, it's not worth it. You're better off expanding your line and adding a whole new item, instead of wasting the money to renew. It also no longer adds 4 months to the end of the period, but instead the renewal starts when it's activated.

2. SPREAD OUT LISTINGS. This is sound advice. Don't toss all your apples into one basket. Spread them out over the course of every half hour to hour. If you don't have a whole lot, consider waiting. List 1-3 a day. Make the most of your products, and that $.20.

3. FORUM ACTIVITY. Some people swear by the forums. I would have to say that 30% of my customers do come from the forums. But I also am not active enough in the forums to really make that distinction. Other than the people who contact me starting out with "I saw you on the forums." I read a lot more than I respond. It cannot hurt to get yourself out there.

4. NETWORKING. 60% of my sales come from networking sites. Flickr, Myspace, Indiepublic, DeviantArt, and such. These are places you can actually build a customer base. And they do work, as long as you are active and use them to actually market yourself. I'll have more on networking and a list of sites later in the blog. Another post, another day.

5. BULLETIN BOARDS. Starbucks has one, the laundromat has one, college, and many other places offer a place for you to put your business card. Find them, and leave your mark. If you can't afford business cards, fliers are a great alternative. You can produce them really cheap, and 4 to a page, in black and white. Photo copy them at your local office store. Cut, and leave a stack at the local music store. Bars typically have places for fliers, too. Don't leave too many of them at bars if your target audience won't typically be there. It doesn't hurt to leave a few.

6. WORD OF MOUTH. Tell your friends. Give your friends gifts of your items. Once you get a few people talking about you, you can get a hundred people talking about you.


Most importantly, don't give up hope. Never rely on Etsy to advertise for you. There are 1 million stores selling their wares on Etsy. Even if Etsy was an advertising machine, the chance that your store is the one store people will find is about 1 in 100. Someone will be looking for what you sell. But if you wait for them, they'll never find you.

Get out there, Etsyians and tell the world that you're here!

The Good, The Bad, and Bannable Content.

Forum guidelines are posted in the Etsy rules as a way to create a forum standard for communication. The guidelines are simple, straightforward, and common sense. But what has Estyians up in arms lately is the way in which certain posters are dealt with. There are no guidelines as to what exactly constitutes a permanent ban from the forums. This, readers, is how the drama started for clear communication regarding the outline of who is banned, who is muted, and how the length of either punishment is cast.

Two threads, one of which has since been closed refer to this incident.

1. Banned forever?
2. I am really confused now.

In the first post the question was more directed at the admin choosing to ban certain members from the forums for life. Can it be done? Was it being done? And had anyone ever been life banned, and come back to tell about it. The answer seemed to be yes, yes, and yes*. When the first post was shut down, it was closed with an eye opening view as to how deep communication can actually run between Etsy admin and it's community.

Currently, we do have an internal policy that consists of a series of warnings for repeat abuse before considering something like an indefinite suspension of forum privileges. Something as serious as a decision like this is considered for review by the entire Community team and must be approved. As of yet the details of this policy aren't something we have decided to publicly publish anywhere on the site.

Again, as long as you can participate in the Etsy forums within the guidelines, you will be A OK.

This sparked questions about the actual forum guidelines and caused confusion about their existence. They do exist. And they are a fast and easy read.

• Above all, treat one another with respect. There is a real person behind each username.
• Keep your posts on-topic and in the appropriate section of the forums.
• Harassing, insulting or abusing other members is unacceptable.
• Discussing a specific member, shop or item (either by name or with identifiable hints) in a negative way is not allowed. This is referred to as "calling out."
• Do not use the community spaces to facilitate or arrange any sort of auction or transaction.
• Specific transactions and/or feedback should not be discussed in public community spaces. Instead, contact Support privately if you need help with a transaction.
• You may not use an undisclosed alternate account (also called a "sock puppet") in community spaces.
• Do not publicly post any kind of private information, such as: email, Conversations, letters, phone numbers, addresses, full names or business transactions.
• Solicitation for direct donations or other fund-raising is not allowed in community spaces. (Etsy shop promotions that entail donating proceeds to charity are fine.)
• Etsy does not allow spam in the community space and for this reason, promotion or advertisement from representatives or affiliates of outside services, websites or other products is not allowed.

Forum threads in the wrong section will be moved, without notice, to the appropriate place. Etsy reserves the right to close any thread for any reason. In rare circumstances, Etsy may delete information from the forums. Violating community policies may result in suspension of community privileges and/or account termination.

What wasn't made clear, is the system by which mods choose to elevate the punishment. This caused a lot of panic in a time where questions and communication are a major issue in the current state of the community. If there is a system by which admins and mods follow to decide the degree of suspension, why isn't the community aware? Does the community deserve to know? Some people say no. They think that it's a private matter for Etsy to decide all on it's own, leaving Etsyians to question how viable they are in the community should they choose to speak up more than usual one day, and simmer down the next.

Some people even argued that most forums do not inform their community of what offenses would cause the swift swing of the bannable hammer. I thought I'd take a minute to confirm or dispel this myth.


Forum Guidelines from the SIDC Message Board.
[excerpted for relevant content]

Violation of these guidelines will result in a warning being issued, persistent warnings will result in either a permanent or temporary ban. The action that is taken will depend on the severity of the violation.

Explicit and Pornographic Images
This includes, but is not limited to any distasteful photographs or images containing explicit imagery. Furthermore, this includes those of a graphic or vulgar nature, which would be deemed unsuitable for a community forum for all ages. First offence will bring a warning to the member; second offence will result in a temporary ban.

Offence towards groups
Any racist, sexist and other remarks towards a minority or specific group of people, will be deleted and the member shall be warned or banned.

Trolling, fishing or baiting
Posting comments designed to deliberately start an argument with someone can be considered to be trolling and is against the forum rules. Users guilty of trolling will be issued a formal warning. Subsequent warnings may lead to the removal of posting rights either temporarily or permanently.

General Disclaimer
The SIDC Moderation team, and administrators reserve the right to edit or delete any message that does not adhere to or comply with these guidelines. We also reserve the right to ban individuals who repeatedly violate them. If your thread is moved to a moderator forum or deleted, you will be contacted via a Private Message if necessary.

Forum Guidelines from the EA Message Boards
[also edited for relevant content]

Racial, religious or sexual slurs may result in immediate banning.

Bumping threads may cause them to be locked, and can result in persistent offenders losing their ability to post.

Sending offensive personal messages to someone through our boards system can be considered harassment or a personal attack, and will be subject to the same discipline as posts made on the regular forums.

Users who create secondary accounts to get around a temporary ban will be banned permanently.

As you can see giving people a clear answer as to what kind of action will be taken in the event of violations of forum guidelines won't cut the precious threads of the moderator code. It gives users consequences for certain actions. It doesn't allow for a jury of mods to decide the fate of a user based on biases, or other factors. Warnings are easy. Warning a forum poster that they are crossing a line is a great way to put a stop to their unwanted behavior. How many warnings?

That's what remains to be seen.



*for more about "The Etsy 5" click here.


(post edited to reflect bans of the past)

Negative, Positive, and everything in between.

There's a buzz around Etsy. Things seem normal outside the forums, but if you're a regular forum reader, you know that negativity and positivity are at a battle within the community. From bugs to copy cats Etsy is amiss with communication breakdown. Most Estyians are at a standstill and waiting for resolutions. Some Etsyians have taken it upon themselves to blog, to comment and to post in the forums for answers.

The Etsy Way is being founded this day as a source of middle ground. It's true that I have choosen to blog privately in an effort to keep my identity secret. But this will not be a place of finger pointing and calling out names which have become buzz words. At times, this blog may refer to articles and blogs written by fellow Etsyians as a way to shed some light on the middle ground. Name calling and finger pointing just aren't the Etsy Way.

No doubt, you want to know who's behind the drama that has landed. We're all curious. But the source of the drama is not the subject here, it's getting past the drama and finding a way to rise above it.