Team Challenge: Create your own AREtsy treasury!
What better way to use all our communication forums than to share some of our favorite reasons we love Etsy and our team?! Make sure you let us know of your curation - spread the word on our Etsy team Forum!

A New Face on Facebook

Have you heard the news?  Have you told your friends?  AREtsy is now on Facebook!  Yes, we know most of the world is there too...  That's the point!  What better tool to use to get the word out about AREtsy and our members?!  We really want to bulk up our social media presence so that we can use it as a tool for all AREtsy shopowners who are interested in getting a bit more free advertising. 
Who doesn't love free advertising? 


To try to increase the excitement and build our fanbase quickly, we are going to do a giveaway once we meet 500 fans on Facebook, then 1000 fans. Anyone who is interested in donating a piece to include in the winners AREtsy prize package, please let us know by sending a pic of the item and short blurb to AREtsy@gmail.com (We will then compile them and make a photo folder on FB, as well as, get the word out about this awesome offer!)

You could even win!

Tell all your 'friends' :)

Tweet, Tweet

photo: artandartifacts

AREtsy Team now has a Facebook and Twitter account! We'd love to get as many 'likes' on Facebook as possible so tell your friends and tell them to tell their friends!

More to come!

It's just about time...

Photo courtesy of WoolyHands - Bunting created by the talented PunkinHead (both of AREtsy)

It's the end of July... do you know when your next craft show is?

It dawned on me last night that I have less than three months until my first BIG show of the season. Ummm... where did the time go? I had huge plans to knit and spin throughout the year to be prepared for this, but somehow, I've let time get away from me. The AREtsy group is starting to be abuzz with news of shows and first time attendees so I thought it might be wise to post a link to one of our earlier blog posts about attending craft shows.

Craft Show Preparation Link of Goodness

Of course every show is different and how we get ready for them will change depending on the location, length, and type of show. We'll soon have posts with new tips, links to shows and who from AREtsy is attending, and information about HUGE nationally known shows. But for now, reply to this post and let us know of any craft show secrets you might have. We'd love to hear from you.

We're still here!

This blog is still alive... I promise!

In the works are plans to add an upcoming events section... tutorials... Etsy news... lots of good stuff. Please hang in there, we'll be back soon :)

Pleased to meet you!

pre-made scrapbook pages from TheBeehive

We have had so many new faces join AREtsy during the past couple of months. A few have popped into the forums or Yahoo message boards to say hello but some have been pretty quiet. We have such a large group that it might be a bit overwhelming to new folks.

So, for all of you new AREtsy members - Hello and we're all pleased to meet you!

Did you know we have a chat forum over at Etsy? Go here to see it. It's a great place to let us know what you're up to, get the latest updates about the team, blog and Etsy and it's also just a great place to get to know each other. One of the wonderful things about AREtsy is how friendly we all are. So come on over, grab a cup of tea, and just sit back and chat with us. We'd love to have you.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Etsy's founder has announced some way cool... no, super cool, no way super cool changes over in the forums. You can read the announcement here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6401253

I'm really looking forward to all of the changes, but the two that really have my tail wagging the most are the ones about multiple shops under one account (life just got easier) and the Etsy Team changes. Each Etsy Team will have a section with their own forums, marketplace, and possibly even more. I've already got so many ideas going through my head on this one. Imagine being able to keep up with your team on Etsy instead of having to go to Google or Yahoo group functions? Fabulous.

If you haven't read the announcement, go there, now. You won't be sorry.

Resolutions

"Reflections" by NightSkyProducts

The turn of the year bring New Year Resolutions. Everyone is talking about them right now. In fact, if you're like me, you're probably tired of being asked "What resolutions did you make?". I've grown cynical of this question and I've been known to sarcastically reply with "Not to make any so I don't break them and feel like a failure". However sarcastic we might be about personal resolutions, we all know that goals are good for our businesses.

I've sat down and thought about what I wanted to do this year to increase sales, increase recognition, increase increase increase! I've kept it simple. I know that I'm not going to do anything HUGE this year. There is no need to tackle something I'm not ready to take on yet. No reason to set yourself up for failure before you even get halfway through January. So, take a minute, write down what goals you have for your business this year and think about what it would take to achieve that goal and put things into motion.

Can't think of any goals for your business other than make more money? Here's some to get you started:

- Sell in your first craft show.
- If you already sell in craft shows, add another, larger one, to your list.
- Consider what your business name says about you. Does it fit with your brand? Do you have a brand?
- Do you love doing what your doing? If not, what changes could be made to make you fall in love all over again?
- Do you have all of your legal paperwork in order? No? 2010 might be a good time to go ahead and do that.

So, what goals have you set for your business in 2010? List some in the comments or link to a blog post you did about it. Sharing ideas will help all of us out. I can't wait to hear what some of you have planned this year.