Since this seems like a Scribblegoat sort of thing, I will be live-blogging tonight's Etsy Success Writing Workshop in comments to this post.
I expect to be mildly critical, if only because I first heard about it through Regretsy, but I was surprised to find that their worksheet is exactly what I would have made -- the first half, anyway. You can download a PDF of the worksheet from the link above. The last question, the first-person narrative from the object's point of view, left me going "Really? Really." and seems to belong in much more artistic venues than even the handmade business world -- the goal here is evoking emotion in order to sell, not evoking emotion for the sake of it. But the first two are good questions: 1.) List three cliches from Etsy site copy you're tired of and rewrite one in a fresh and interesting manner, and 2.) take two pages of writing about yourself or your work and reduce it to Tweet length. That's exactly what I recommend to my copywriting customers and to my college students.
The problem I expect is that the Etsy business model is sort of painfully whimsical, and I think that divorcing and developing the "business self" independently from the "creative self" is one of the best things a handmade-seller-cum-copywriter can do for him- or herself.
Anyhow, I'll be blogging about the Livestream feed with a probable combination of professional opinion and snark, starting tonight at seven o'clock Eastern, so watch this space!
UPDATE: Am now blogging! Click the comments below.
6:58 PM and the feed now says the event starts at 7:15. However, there is a speaker who is saying that mistakes are a good thing. It seems "Seth Goden says that if you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough." I hate to start on a negative note, but any textbook of business presentation will inform us that starting off a reference with "There's a funny story about this" or "I ran across a quote ..." It destroys the humor.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I like what she's saying about applying one's existing skill set to observed needs.
Let's pretend there was a hard return and new paragraph after the quote; different topic. It's a good quote, she just brought it in jerkily.
ReplyDeleteThe chat feature is kinda fun! Seems workshop actually is in 3 ... 2 ...
ReplyDeleteCliches to avoid: "I have been doing X my whole life!"
ReplyDeleteGood intro, good if limited explanation of the relevance of topic. I wish they'd explain what they mean by items incorporating "story"; am hoping that'll be part of the presentation.
She seems quite sincere about the importance of detail in influencing purchases; I don't agree, but she seems certain of it. I think you could maybe make a case for that in the importance of return or relationship customers.
52% of sellers who haven't filled out their profiles. 20% of those without profiles have sold an item in the past 16 months, 54% of those with. Damn. And great use of statistics!
I'm really not sure I agree with the use of first person in descriptions. "I use this, I did this, I carved this with this" often seems overdone to me, I suppose?
ReplyDeleteIn all things moderation, and the passive voice is not actually a sin.
SO I think the furrier example was bad. It's leading a lot of people to think the guy is making furs out of roadkill. He did kill it himself, he's a trapper; I think he was saying the roadkill was going to waste and the trapped animals weren't. Possibly just a bad sampling, but remember that modifiers are like teenage girls; they fall in love with whatever they're next to. Same goes for details.
ReplyDeleteI like her emphasis on nouns and verbs. Adjectives can seem overwrought. See works of J.K. Rowling.
Michelle, you JUST SAID "I've been making things as long as I remember." You don't get to cite it as a cliche now. But a good cliche discussion, in that cliches bring to mind referents, not their own meaning. "It was a dark and stormy night!"
ReplyDeleteNice and PC. "NOT criticizing the lifestyle of staying at home trying to quit your day job ..."
ReplyDeleteMegan is bringing coconut rice.
Hurray, someone brought up "Inspired by Nature"!
Keep it moving. Keep it moving.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad she's talking about the functions of twitter and the changed communication without having a generational crisis.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME description from roseandpearl. "The centerpiece of this necklace is a cross pollination of Victoriana and old school hip hop ... so if an extraterrestrial appears and asks you why the human race should not be vaporized, take him to a Prince concert and show him this necklace."
ReplyDeleteNow, mind you, this should NOT be the first or only thing in the description. It plays merry hell with SEO and it functions to set a mood, but not to actually give info. It "sells," without selling. If that makes any sense.
And if the ellipsis is covering more of that story, we've got a problem; the "story" is taking over the item and the reader has a slog to get any information.
But as a snippet, as a mood-setting line, and used on its own so it doesn't feel condescending or straight from the nuthouse -- it's great.
I like the current example of the baby blanket -- "Save time on stitchin', more time for lovin'." She sounds like one of my countrywomen.
ReplyDeleteRolling some better balls? It shouldn't sound like a euphemism for something dirty, people ...
ReplyDeleteAlso, "attacked by a staple-gun-wielding maniac." This idea of narratives specifically for the flaws in vintage items is actually great; I'm going to start doing it. Again, it gives "story" without turning into utter ridiculousness.
I notice some people are refusing to go first person. Good job, unknown people.
And now we're going way too far. From the chat: "The dusty souk buzzed with a thousand voices, a gust of Saharan breeze buffettedmy body with promises. Turning upon the hollock I rested upon, I lost my footingtumbling upon my fellow odorous..."
ReplyDeleteNow we sound nuts, friends.
Aaaaand that's it. Though when I pointed out that I thought "story" was starting to take over the item itself in many of the samples, I got this nice little chorus of agreement and some intelligent dissent -- both of which I find rather complimentary. But enough about my girly feelings.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I'm more impressed than I expected, but I think there was a little too much "Very good! Very good! Yay!" and not enough critique. A gentle, intelligent roundtable might be best for many sellers. Maybe I'll put one together though I have no idea how.
This concludes tonight's liveblog, my apologies to the seller I singled out in the comment above (she was quite nice and used odorous properly!), and ... yeah! Regular posting on the blog will resume Friday with a discussion of the "costume effect" in everyday sartorial choices. Good night!