Etsy Teams are a great way to network, collaborate on group projects and get advice from fellow sellers. We've noticed that some of the most dynamic and successful Teams do some mentoring for each other — sellers with more experience in certain areas of selling provide expertise and knowledge to sellers seeking advice. These mentoring partnerships within a Team benefit the entire group because as the Team members' shops get better and their products are of a higher quality, it raises the bar for the entire team and increases your sales across the board.
These steps can help you can set up a mentoring program among your Team:
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Determine what areas of expertise would be useful for your Team. This can include things like item photography, the listing process, specific skills for the craft your Team makes, photo editing skills or customer service.
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Seek volunteers to be mentors in those areas. Perhaps people new to Etsy can volunteer to mentor in areas they know from previous experience, like issues in making a certain type of product. More experienced Etsy sellers can share their knowledge of using the site with newbies.
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Distribute a list of the sellers who volunteered for each area of advice to your Team through email or your private online message board.
- Members can get in touch with one another to ask a simple question or seek some coaching on areas they're having issues with. Mentors might also politely reach out to give suggestions to members on how to make the most of their Etsy shops.
Team members are such a wealth of information, and mentoring is not only a wonderful way of improving the quality of your Teammates shops, but also getting to know one another and your strengths and weaknesses as a seller and as a group.
Keep up the great work, Etsy Teams!
While working for Etsy, Sara Selepouchin worked closely with teams. She runs the Etsy gift shop girlscantell out of Philidelphia.