Tips for Ts

I have had some people ask for ideas, so...

Here are some tips for making GREAT Treasuries on Etsy!

1. Decide on your Category - but don't be afraid to think outside the box. For instance, you may want "Cats" but you may also want to try searches of "Feline," "Tigers," "Kittens," "Stuffed," "Toy," etc. You may want to have a category within a category... perhaps items of Kittens with Blue in them. Narrowing it down more will give your T cohesiveness.

You might want to have a variety of items (for instance, a piece of jewelry, a painting, a cloth apron, etc.) or you may want to keep it to ONE type of item (example, blue stuffed toy kittens). Don't forget to include the team tag in your search criteria if you want items from a team you are on... but don't get a huge guilt trip if you find great items for your theme and they aren't from your team! Just make your T beautiful and fun!

2. Decide on your Title - this way when a T comes open, you aren't suprised, flustered, or unprepared. Be clever! Think of an alternate way to say what you want. Blue toy kitten example: "Mews with the Blues"

3. Have a Method - I do my search, then go to the last page, because those listings have usually been up longest and would appreciate the exposure. Then I skip the last page or two, because these listings can actually expire before you are able to get a T or T West. I work forward using odd pages only, then if I haven't filled my 16 item quota (12 for the T plus alternates), work back through on the even pages.

4. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT! Probably actually the first rule of Ts! ONLY choose listings with EXCELLENT, EXCEPTIONAL PICTURES!! Look for things like an attractive but not distractive background, a close-in shot of the item (even at an odd angle), beautiful lighting, and true color. One way you can tell if the color is true is to look for a "white" in the picture and see if it really is white.

I have been known to write (politely) to an artist and say, "I am hearting items for an upcoming Treasury, and would LOVE to include your item, but the picture is a little fuzzy. Is there a way you can retake the main picture?" or, "your third listing picture is more attractive visually, can you rearrange them?"

Even if I really LOVE an item, I will pass it by if the photography stinks.

5. Heart the items for your T. If you are going to include an item (or two!) from your own shop, don't forget to leave yourself a couple "spaces." Have a new tab or window with your favorites open and refresh it from time to time to keep count of what you have going.

I go to my shop, then open Favorites from there. It will come up with a 12-item gallery almost like your Treasury. Even if you are going to put some of those items as alternates, and items from the next page in the T itself, you will still get an idea of what it will look like and where you want to put items in your layout.

6. Make a great layout! If you have items with dark backgrounds and items with light backgrounds, alternate them... Light, dark, light or vice versa. Or a "busy" picture, a calm one, a busy one. If some of your listings have a dominant color in commmon, put them in a row or down the middle of the T to draw the eye down. Most Treasuries, the items in the first two rows will get more clicks than the 3rd and 4th row... so arrange items so that they draw the viewer down to look at ALL the rows!

7. Make a comment... let people know WHY you chose this treasury. Make them interested! Don't forget to click! Even as curator, you are allowed 12 clicks that count. which leads me to number 8...

8. Spread the word! As I click on each item once my T is made, I then go to the Contact link and let the artist know they are in my T. A simple message that can be copied and pasted in for each listing, something like this:

I have just included your item in my Treasury [West]. Please visit, click on items, and comment, to see if we can make the front page! Thanks!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=45806

Then post to your team's forum or yahoogroup, or both. If you blog, blog about it and provide a link to your Treasury. I have Gadwin PrintScreen software, so I can take a screen shot, crop it in my graphics program, and post it on the blog. If you use F11 on the keyboard, it will disappear your tool bars and headers so you get the whole T on the screen at once.