Resources for Etsy Teams

Etsy Teams Frequently Asked Questions (with answers!)

What is an Etsy Team?
An Etsy Team is a group of sellers who have decided to work together to achieve a set of goals. These goals can be to promote themselves, their craft, their city or their particular interest on Etsy. Or it can be a goal of getting to know and work with other Etsy sellers, or general networking and skill sharing. You can find a list of all the existing Etsy Teams here!

Why should I join an Etsy Team?
If you'd like to participate more actively in the community, find other like-minded Etsy sellers, share networking and promotional opportunities or have your shop become more visible on the site, joining an Etsy Team is a great idea.

How many Teams can I join?
You can join as many Teams as you have time to actively participate in. Typically, we recommend people only join location-based teams for the area where they live.

Can Etsy Teams charge dues?
Yes, a Team can elect to charge dues. These dues might typically cover the cost of group advertising (in print or on the web), the cost of an email list service, promotional costs for a particular event, web hosting fees, etc. It is up to each Team whether or not they'd like to charge dues and how said dues are collected or spent.

Can my Team open a shop?
Yes, here is a guide to group / Team shops on Etsy.

How do I become a Team leader?
You can email Teams@etsy.com about becoming a Team leader. Teams that have a small group or pair of leaders are typically more organized than Teams with a single leader, as running a successful Team can be a lot of work.

What does a Team leader do?
A Team leader keeps a contact list of all members on the Team, initiates and organizes Team events, is a member of the Etsy Team leaders google group (you receive an invitation to this group when an email is received about the Team at Teams@etsy.com), receives occasional Team Leader update emails from the Teams Coordinator (sarawearsskirts), plans Team meetings, moderates any private Team discussion forums (ie, yahoo groups, google groups, flickr, etc), encourages Team participation, sends updates once a week (or less, if need be) for the Team profile page to Teams@etsy.com. Most importantly, a good Team leader delegates many of these tasks to members of the Team to help run the group smoothly.

What kind of events can my Team plan?
Anything you can imagine! Events that Teams plan should work toward achieving the Team's broader goals - networking, shop promotion, community building, etc. Great events for Teams have been scavenger hunts, trunk shows in the Virtual labs, Team Challenges and Contests, Team-wide sales, blogging events, etc.

What Team should I join?
You can join a Team based on your skill or craft (ie, you can join a knitting or fiber team if you are a knitter, a jewelry team if you are a jeweler, etc), a Team based on personal interest (ie, the Beagle Team if you live with or love Beagles) or a Team based on your physical location (ie, if you live in South Central PA, join the South Central PA. If there isn't a Team where you live, consider starting one, even if you only have a small handful of members at present time - maybe one of your Team goals would be to recruit more neighbors to join Etsy!)

How do Global Teams work?
Over the internet, of course! Global Teams are rather amazing in that they're an opportunity to get to know artists around the world that you have something in common with (ie, your love of handmade) who you might never have met otherwise. You can hold meetings online in the Virtual labs or private chat rooms, participate in forums to discuss Team business, plan virtual events like on-Etsy scavenger hunts or photo contests, etc. The great thing about Global teams is that everyone has different contacts - you can market a global team around your town in person in coffee shops, etc., and potentially even reach a larger market than a local Team can, since everyone has a physical location.

What do location based Teams do?
They introduce the value of handmade to their community! A local team can hold in-person shows at local boutiques, galleries, parks, etc. They can also put a face with a name (or avatar) and meet in person to hold promo swaps, skill shares, studio tours, etc. They can flyer locally in neighborhoods, coffee shops, art stores. They can also hold craft-a-thons to attract media attention and send press releases to local press for their activities that are news-worthy.

I sent an email to Teams@etsy.com and haven't heard back yet. What should I do?
Check your sent mail to be sure you sent the email to the right address - Teams@etsy.com - teams with an s! If you sent it to the right address, you should receive an auto-response email (check your spam folder if you don't see it in your inbox). Emails to Teams@etsy.com are addressed in the order they're received. We get a high volume of emails to this address, which is great! We love that teams are so active. However, it means you may not hear back for up to a week. Please don't repeatedly email about the same thing, or send convo's to Teams admin. If you got the address right and received the auto-email, rest assured we'll get to your email as soon as we possibly can. We really appreciate your patience! This process will be improved soon, but in the meanwhile, we're working as hard as we can.

How can I get an article about my Team into the Storque?
Read this handy guide on submitting Team pitches to the Storque!

I have an idea for Teams. Who can I tell?
Send any ideas to Teams@etsy.com!

How can I start an Etsy Team?
You may want to check the list - to make sure there isn't already a fabulous Team already running with the same goals as your Team. If you'd still like to start one, visit http://team.etsy.com/startateam.html and follow the instructions on the template carefully, especially the part about listing the members' usernames.

What can we post on our Team Profile?
You can post links to places your Team meets up, like Flickr groups, Google groups, your Team's blog, etc. These are important for helping your Team communicate and also good places for people to learn more about your Team. We reserve the right to only post relevant links - we won't post links to eBay pages, other selling sites or an individual's blog, for example, as these aren't really what Etsy Teams are all about.

Who should I email if I have questions about Etsy Teams?
Email Teams@etsy.com!