Chapter 19

News Attitude: Keeping Up with Etsy News

IN THIS CHAPTER

Checking out the Etsy Journal

Subscribing to Etsy emails

Following Etsy on social media

Joining Etsy Prototypes

As big and active as Etsy is, staying abreast of all its goings-on can be as challenging as solving a Rubik’s Cube during a blackout. Fortunately, Etsy maintains several resources to help members stay on top of Etsy-related info, including a blog, email newsletters, and social media pages. You can also explore Etsy’s bleeding edge by joining Etsy Prototypes. In this chapter, you discover all the ways you can keep up with Etsy.

Dear Diary: Exploring the Etsy Journal

Maybe you’re looking for tips to improve your Etsy shop. Or perhaps you want to explore a new craft medium. Or perchance you want a glimpse into the lives of other Etsy sellers. Or suppose you just need some inspiration already. Whatever you’re after, the Etsy Journal is for you.

To access the Etsy Journal, scroll down to the footer area on any Etsy Marketplace page and click Etsy Blog in the Shop category of links. Figure 19-1 shows the main page of the Etsy Journal.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 19-1: The Etsy Journal.

Of course, you could just scroll through this main page of the Etsy Journal to see what’s new. Or you can try a more targeted approach by using the links in the top-left corner of the main Etsy Journal page. These links offer easy access to blog posts in the following categories:

• Shopping Guides: Click this link to view blog posts whose purpose is to help you identify the absolute perfect whatever-you’re-shopping-for.
• Gift Ideas: Stumped on what to buy for [insert person here] to celebrate [add holiday/occasion here]? The Etsy Journal can help. Click this link for instant access to literally thousands of gift ideas.
• Home and Living: For household items and general decorating ideas, click this link.
• Weddings: People say getting married is more stressful than being fired and only slightly less stressful than suffering a personal injury or illness. We say those people haven’t discovered the Weddings section of the Etsy Journal. It offers nuptial-centric shopping guides, suggests top wedding-oriented shops, and tracks top trends. It also shares inspiring true stories of real weddings that did not end in disaster.
• Style: Like the Home and Living link, the Style link offers instant access to shopping guides, featured shops, and general style inspo. The only difference is that these posts focus on clothing and accessories rather than home goods.

To read any post on the Etsy Journal, regardless of category, simply click the post’s title. Etsy opens the post in its own page, as shown in Figure 19-2.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 19-2: Read a post on the Etsy Journal.

FEATURED SHOPS

The Etsy Journal regularly features some of the site’s top shops — ones that display ingenuity, sell well-made items, and populate each listing with interesting descriptions and top-notch photos. To access these featured shops, click any entries on the Etsy Journal page whose headlines contain the words “Featured Shop.” If you’re just starting out on Etsy, reading up on featured shops is a great way to ferret out tips and tricks for becoming a successful seller — not to mention being totally inspired!

Browsing is a great way to explore the Etsy Journal. But maybe you’re looking for an article on a specific topic. To expedite locating it, you can run a search. Here’s how:

1. Type your keyword or phrase in the Search the Blog box at the top of any Etsy Journal page and press Return or Enter on your keyboard.

   Etsy displays a list of posts containing the keyword you typed.

2. Click a post title to view the post.

Mail Bonding: Signing Up for Etsy Email Newsletters

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of fantastic items on Etsy, or wished you could employ a personal shopper to sift through them for you, or if you just feel adrift on the Etsy sea, you’ll want to sign up for Etsy email newsletters. When you do, you’ll receive regular messages featuring links to all manner of magnificent merch, right in your email inbox.

There are other types of email newsletters, too — some for shoppers, some for sellers, and some for Etsy members who want to help improve the site. In the following sections, we describe the kinds of email newsletters that are available and explain how to sign up to receive them.

Sifting through different types of email newsletters

You can choose to subscribe to any or all of the following Etsy email newsletters:

• New and Notable: This newsletter is chock-full of trends and recommendations, as well as upcoming sales, events, and collaborations.
• Feedback: Etsy members interested in participating in marketing surveys and interviews to help improve Etsy can sign up for this newsletter.
• Coupons and Promotions: Hey, who doesn’t love a deal? If you’d like to find out about sales and special promotions on Etsy, this newsletter is for you.
• Forums: Maybe you’re a regular participant in a particular Etsy forum, or you love keeping up with a certain Etsy team. In that case, you can subscribe to the Forums newsletter to receive notifications of activity on those community platforms.
• Etsy Advocacy: Etsy’s a marketplace. But it’s more than that. It’s an organization devoted to advocating for its core values — things like economic justice, equal rights, and sustainability. To stay on top of Etsy’s advocacy efforts, subscribe to this newsletter.
• My Seller Activity: Are you ready to push your Etsy business further? Then sign up for this newsletter. It offers reports, guides, and insights to help you elevate your Etsy shop.
• News and Features: For regular updates on what Etsy is up to and how the site is growing, subscribe to this newsletter.
• Tips for Improving My Shop: This newsletter offers tips from top sellers that you can use to pimp your shop.
• Pattern News: If you’ve built a Pattern website to mirror your Etsy shop, subscribe to this newsletter for Pattern-related tips and resources.
• Etsy Plus and Etsy Premium News: Maybe you’ve subscribed to Etsy Plus or Etsy Premium. If so, this newsletter is geared toward you, to help you get the most out of these add-on services.

Subscribing to email newsletters

To sign up for Etsy email newsletters, follow these steps:

1. Open the Your Account menu on any Etsy Marketplace page and choose Account Settings.

2. Click the Email tab in the page that appears.

   Etsy presents you with a list of newsletters to which you can subscribe (see Figure 19-3). (Notice that in addition to enabling you to choose what newsletters you want to subscribe to, you can perform other email-related actions, such as indicating which types of email notifications you want to receive from Etsy.)

3. Select the check box next to each newsletter to which you want to subscribe.

4. Click the Save Settings button.

   Etsy signs you up to receive the newsletters you selected.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 19-3: Sign up for Etsy email newsletters here.

If you decide you no longer want to receive a newsletter, simply click the Unsubscribe link that appears along the bottom of every Etsy newsletter. Alternatively, manage your subscriptions by returning to the page shown in Figure 19-3, deselecting the check boxes next to the newsletters to which you want to unsubscribe, and clicking the Save Settings button. (Note: You can also opt out of holiday-themed emails. For example, if you’ve recently broken up with your partner, you probably won’t want to receive a bunch of emails about Valentine’s Day gifts!)

Social Skills: Staying in Touch Using Social Media

If you’re like 1 billion or so other people, you probably maintain at least one social media account. Not surprisingly, Etsy does, too! Etsy maintains a presence on a few different social media sites, including Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. You can follow Etsy on any of these sites to keep up with the latest Etsy happenings.

The easiest way to follow Etsy on social media is to scroll down to the very bottom of any Etsy Marketplace page and click the logo for the social media site on which you want to follow Etsy. When you do, you’ll land on Etsy’s page on that site; from there, you simply “like,” “follow,” or whatever. Figure 19-4 shows Etsy’s Twitter page.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 19-4: “Follow” Etsy on Twitter.

Proto Tip: Joining Etsy Prototypes

Want to be on the cutting edge on Etsy? Then look into Prototypes. Prototypes are projects run by Etsy Admins that explore different ways of using Etsy. The idea behind Prototypes is to gather data and observe how people use the tools offered in the Prototype. Figure 19-5 shows the Prototypes page, which you access by visiting www.etsy.com/prototypes.

To participate in an Etsy Prototype, you must join it. To do so, click the Join Prototype button next to the Prototype on the main Etsy Prototypes page. You’ll be prompted to confirm your choice; click Join Prototype again. When you join a Prototype, you’re automatically added to a team dedicated to that Prototype. Being on a team enables you to discuss the Prototype and interact with Etsy Admin.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 19-5: Etsy Prototypes.

Be warned: Because of their experimental nature, some Prototypes don’t work as planned. Don’t panic — it’s not like anything’s going to explode. It’s just that some Prototypes end up being somewhat of a bust, in which case they may be discontinued by Etsy. On the plus side, if a Prototype works exceptionally well, it may be incorporated into the larger Etsy site — in which case, you’ll have the advantage of already knowing how to use it!