Monday, April 13, 2009

Mentioned in a Newspaper Article About Etsy, Missed Sea Glass Hunting Opportunities...

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a reporter for a local newspaper about Etsy. The main point of the article was how handmade artisians are using the internet to help their handmade businesses. The article touched on network marketing, marketing through Etsy street teams, etc.

I had almost forgotten about the article or thought I had missed it's publishing... until Saturday. A member of our EtsyNJ street team sent me an email that it was in the morning paper. Only 4 of us were mentioned in the article, and while I didn't have many quotes credited to me, I basically said the same things about how our street team works, how social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook play a role in getting my shop exposure, etc.

It was very exciting just to be mentioned and very cool that a link to my shop was included in the article...especially since the newspaper has an online edition. Despite the article coming out on a holiday weekend that is well-known for vacations and travelling, my shop stats indicate more than 15 views directly from the online article and who knows how many viewers came to my shop directly from my shop's link. (I know I didn't have much of a chance to promote on Saturday, but my views were quite high for the day)

For anyone that would like to view the article... http://www.app.com/article/200904110410/BUSINESS/904110322

I'm kind of bummed about a few recent missed sea glass hunting opportunities. Between getting my consignment items together, running to baseball games and practices for both of my boys and a hectic J-O-B schedule the last couple of weeks, I know I missed probably 2 of the biggest opportunities of the spring.

A few weeks ago, a strong northeast wind stirred up the surf and presented some areas of the NJ coast with quite a bit of sea glass. One collector mentioned they came home with more than 300 pieces after spending a few hours searching the beach.

Last week's full moon also probably presented another great opportunity for sea glass hunters, as the low tides seemed lower than usual. I guess I'm resigned to getting my sons up early one day this week and hitting the beach early in the morning, just at low tide, for a short hunt. A bribe of breakfast at the local diner will at least get them out of bed. It's amazing what the promise of hot chocolate will do for the motivation of a couple of young boys : )

Off to place a new silver order and then take my youngest for new sneakers...maybe I'll finally make it to my craft table before the end of the day.

'til next time...
R