Etsy Success: Merch Trends for the Holidays Interview with Emily Bidwell Highlights

I've been working on getting the shop holiday ready & wanted to share with y'all the notes I took while watching the online lab video from etsy merchandising strategies for the holidays with Emily Bidwell...in case you missed it. I'm finding it very helpful to have written them out, since I have the attention span of about a minute & a half. ;)
This is how I interpreted the video, so please forgive me if I may have forgotten something.

You may watch the video here for yourself: http://www.etsy.com/community/online-labs under the etsy success video library.

Review your tags & titles to reflect what is going on with etsy's merchandising report.
Maybe redo photography to be more holiday friendly... this works well especially if you'll be selling the same items next year, however may be time consuming if you sell many ooak items.

The press is looking for holiday product 6 months in advance...so they're looking for holiday items in May June & July (doesn't help me now, but the press keeps coming to etsy looking for last minute features too...so it's never too late to be featured in a blog or for things like 'great gifts under $50' )
Shoppers are really getting into looking for holiday decor, gifts, & items for entertaining now.

Q: Is it beneficial to change your tags to Christmas/holiday etc...or does that get lost in the shuffle?
A: I think it gets lost... I'm usually looking for something specific like a vase or a certain style.

Q: What is the secret for getting on the front page of etsy?
A: Think about really great photography...to appeal to treasury makers, people who are shopping, & people who add to their favorites. Think about your product & also curate beautiful & relevant to the season treasuries as well.

Q: White backgrounds best for being featured?
A: White background can be beneficial if it is well photographed...& be featured by etsy & by bloggers, but also think about fashion magazines & how things are featured... editors picks (white background) vs. editorials...Ex. photos of models wearing a dress in a field with wildflowers. Balance is important in etsy finds emails to show shoppers items in different & interesting ways. Think about which way supports your product. If you sell clothing, the editorial way may be the way to go & if you sell a smaller product, a white background may make it pop more. It gives your shop a clean cohesive look as well.

Q: Watermarks good or bad?
A: Watermarks are recommended as a way of protecting your work... but in terms of getting featured in the different curated areas of etsy, it is difficult to use a photo with a watermark across the entire page...because it breaks the image & etsy is looking for really clear photography.
You can maybe have the first thumbnail image not have a watermark, or sometimes if the watermark is smaller & in a corner or around the edge etsy can still use it.

Q: Biggest tips for getting noticed or featured?
A: Good photography...tag correctly in ways that are relevant to the ways a shopper would think.
Get away from the literal aspect of what you make from an artisan/seller point of view... & think about the style. Think like a shopper would.
Get a friend to try to find your items from the home page & see what words they type in... in association with your creations. Think style, shape, & color. Shoppers may not search by specific materials that only the artisan would be familiar with.

Join an etsy team & get team members to help & support.

Q: What else is etsy looking for besides good photographs to be featured?
A: It's the science of merchandising... we're looking at top search terms, what people are clicking on, observing shopping behavior... so etsy is making an effort to feature things that support those numbers.