Embracing Etsy’s New Merchandising Strategies: Treasuries & Etsy Front Page

Contributed by:  Sound Images

We’ve recently received word from Etsy admin that they are fine tuning the treasury guidelines and will be selecting treasuries for the Etsy Front Page with their new  merchandising strategies in mind.

Although the Treasury is not intended as a self-promotion tool, as Etsy sellers and treasury curators we certainly always have the hope that one of our treasuries will make the front page. We would love nothing more than to see our favourite artisans get that wonderful front page exposure. We would also certainly hope that from time to time one of our own listings may spend that shining moment on the front page.

So, are these new treasury guidelines and Etsy’s new merchandising strategies an obstacle, or could this be the “how to” guide we’ve been looking for? How can we take advantage of the expertise of   Louis Sagar, Etsy’s new merchandising consultant and use it to help us improve our treasuries and market our own shops?

After reading several of Etsy’s  recent storque articles outlining their new merchandising strategies, I’ve highlighted a “things to try” list to help us along:

• Watch for recent trends in the Hot List section of the gift guides.  
• Follow updates from  Etsy’s merchandising desk.   
• Tag your listings according to current and upcoming  themes so treasury curators and potential customers can find your items.  
• Time your new listings to coincide with upcoming themes.  Consider upcoming themes and trends when creating your  listing photos.
• Reflect themes that suit your shop in your shop announcements. 
• Highlight appropriate themes & trends in your item titles and descriptions.
• Consider offering sales or promotions in line with merchandising strategies.
• Build treasuries that feature current and upcoming themes.
• Consider contacting Louis Sagar directly with your feedback and ideas  lsagar.etsy.com or leave your comments here.
  

Remember that themes are not rigid. Be creative in figuring out how the items in your shop can be given a fresh twist to fit in with latest trends.

Etsy’s Merchandising Focus for the month of May

Wedding
Graduation
Emeralds
Kentucky Derby
Cinco de Mayo
Glass
Taurus
Gemini
Housewares
Books and Zines
Paper Goods
Father’s Day
Papa Bear

Here’s an example of how I could use this information to update my own shop. I have a listing for a custom birth announcement that could easily be a wedding or graduation announcement. With the focus of “Paper Goods, Weddings, & Graduations” for the month of May I may consider giving this listing a new title, tags and description so that anyone searching for items within these themes might find my listing. If I wanted to take it one step further I would alter one of the images in the listing to reflect the new theme.


Certainly we don’t all have time to reinvent the items already in our shop, but moving forward with new creations and new listings we can certainly keep Etsy’s merchandising strategies in mind.

Good luck, and keep the creativity flowing!

About the author:  Jill is a music therapist with a love for photography, music & design. She lives in Toronto, Ontario with her husband and daughter where life is busy but certainly full of creativity.  Jill is currently enjoying building up her Etsy shop www.soundimages.etsy.com where she sells original stationary designs and original music from her Celtic duo Anam Cara www.anamcara.ca.