Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Creating Treasuries and Collections

A Front Page Treasury on Etsy
Creating Treasuries on Etsy or collections on ArtFire can be fun. Not only can they be fun but they can help you and all the featured artists to gain more exposure. And if your treasury or a treasury you're in makes it to the front page, well, it can mean a lot of views and potential business.

There are trends on the Etsy front page treasuries that you may want to consider when creating your treasuries. First off and most important are good photos. Photos must not be blurry or out of focus. Solid backgrounds help. Tagging the treasuries is also very important. You want to think about tagging the treasuries in the same way you tag your items. Relevant tags make it easier to be found. Titles are not as important but you do want to try and give it a catchy name.

A Front Page Collection On ArtFire
ArtFire is a different animal in a lot of ways. Creating a collection is similar to a treasury on Etsy but you get the option to have your collection considered for the front page. Artfire is much smaller than Etsy but it is growing and maybe one day will be as big as Etsy. The ArtFire collections also have a rating system where users can rate if they like the collection or not. The same thing about photos applies here, as do the tags. 

One thing I like to do when I create treasuries is write to all of the featured artists letting them know that they have been featured. ArtFire has an option to send everyone a message. Sometimes a treasury does not make it to the feed and the featured artists may never know that they were featured. Here is a sample note:

"Hi there. I am writing to let you know that I have featured one of your items in my latest treasury: "Title of Treasury Here" <Link to treasury>

There is no need to reply but please feel free to share with your Twitter followers, Facebook fans, Blog readers, etc. Be sure to "Favorite" the treasury so that everyone in your circle will see.

Thank You,
Blah from Blah"

The treasuries that I create receive anywhere from 50 to 300 views without being on the front page. Many times the people that I feature return the favor and feature me in one of their treasuries or collections. Remember by helping your fellow artist out it helps you out in the long run. If you have any questions let me know.

10 comments:

  1. Great tips! I have recently started making treasuries, and it is a lot of fun! The thing that surprises me most is that many people don't let you know when they've included you in their treasury. If you don't know, you won't favorite it, click on it, tell all your friends, post it on Facebook, etc. Definitely worth a convo! :)

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  2. Thank you so much for this blog....many great tips, I will be following.

    Now, how do I send the aforementioned note to the shops that I feature in a Treasury?

    I joined a Team and just made a Treasury featuring only member items.(see this-http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTU3MzI0NTh8NjE1NzY0MDU3/hues-of-autumn)

    I posted it on the Team forum in the appropriate thread but really like the idea of letting the shops know I featured them.

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  3. Sometimes people put me in a treasury and I never see it until I do a search for myself in the treasury section. Letting people know really helps.

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  4. I don't know what it is about creating treasuries that I enjoy so much...but I DO! I just finished one a few minutes ago:
    http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NjEwNDEwNnw2NzQ1MjcwNTM/starry-starry-night
    ANYWAY, my question is re: Artfire. What can you tell me about it? Is there a fee? Does it work like Etsy? Please share what you know.
    Thanks, Eric!
    XXOO, Jujubeader:)

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  5. JuJuBeader, ArtFire is a flat fee based site much like Etsy. I believe it is $11.95 a month but you can list unlimited items and they do not expire. If you decide to sign up, please sign up through my account. That way you and I both get a free month: http://www.artfire.com/users/TangledMetal/sell-crafts
    I like ArtFire for a lot of reasons. It isn't a replacement for Etsy but it is great for a secondary source of income.

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  6. Thank you for posting in the etsy forum 'treasuries that get noticed'. I will start following your blog by email now:) I really need help with the new relevancy deal!

    I am at www.doublebrush.etsy.com and www.doublebrush.artfire.com

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  7. Hey there Double Brush, I have several articles in the archives here about Relevancy. Have a look around and see what all I have already covered then let me know what other questions you might have.

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  8. I created a treasury last night and used your note above to convo people ("Hi there. I am writing to let you know that I have featured one of your items in my latest treasury...). Well, it got shared on Facebook six times, and has been viewed twice as many times as my other treasuries, and is still receiving views. I'm still at just over 100 views, but considering I usually get 50, that is pretty satisfactory to me. Here it is: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQxMzM5MDh8NjgwMDExMzEz/entry-exit?ref=pr_treasury

    So, thanks for the good advice!

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  9. Great tips! I make a treasury every week, and I'm going to do my best to incorporate some of these.

    www.AllThingsTangled.blogspot.com

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  10. Hi, thank you for the helpful advise.
    I try to view Articles from the archive and when I clicked on it I got nowhere.

    Manjit

    Www.pachamamaLove.etsy.com

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