Navigating around Etsy #3- TEAMS

Teams are groups of people that come together to promote themselves and others with common interests. There are knitting teams, crochet teams, jewelry teams, social media teams etc etc. You can find a long list to look at to choose what would fit your needs. Here is the link https://www.etsy.com/teams/?ref=ftr
No man is an island, especially here on Etsy. You need a team or 2 or 3 to get exposure for your shop.
By participating in the threads of a team, you will get to know the team members and probably make some friends along the way. Before you decide on a team, look at their threads and see if you can participate in them. Also if you look on the right side of the threads, you will see when the last person posted. If there has not been a posting in a day or so, forget it. They are not an active team and will not help you a bit.

Some words of caution:

1. You are not evaluated by Etsy on how many teams you belong to but by your participation on those teams. Don't join more than you can support. The idea of being a member of a team is to promote yourself and also your teammates. If you can't commit to doing what is suggested or required to be a member of a team, DON'T JOIN IT!

2. Some teams that say they are moderated actually check if you are doing what you say. DO NOT POST AND RUN.  That is to post your item to a thread or discussion, then not promote the other team members as stated in the instructions to the thread. You will be removed from the team if they catch you at it.

3. Make a schedule for yourself to do your posting to your team or teams. Some teams have a requirement of how much you must participate in order to stay on the team. Fulfill your requirements first, then play with the others. After a month or so, you will find which ones do you the most good.

4. If you find that a team does not work for you, you may choose to leave the team. You have an option to do that on the home page of the team. Please leave a team rather than sit there like a bump on a lug. The Captain will thank you for it.