User-Generated Products Drive Etsy Community

We social media marketing types toss around buzzwords like "user generated content" all the time. But Etsy is a unique ecommerce-slash-social-shopping-network that has truly made "user generated products" its hallmark. Selling only handmade items from different crafters around the world, Etsy is like eBay minus the auction.

In this electronic press release, Etsy sellers talk about the site, and how they enjoy connecting personally with their customers through the community, and with other sellers.

The site itself has a number of amazing Web 2.0 features like shop by color and a home page that shows you a live feed of new items as they are added - a bit like YouTube's home page that shows currently viewed videos.

The Treasury is like Polyvore, where users create "sets" that others can browse and buy from - or user-generated cross-selling.

And the community can participate in forums, live chat, "Teams" (special interest groups) and even Virtual Labs where you can join live workshops and classes or get tips on setting up and marketing your Etsy shop.

If you sell handmade items through your own website, you may consider tapping into this marketplace if you haven't already.

PS, the electronic press release is a great way to make you stand out. When someone's getting barraged by pitches daily, giving them a video to look at and post gives you a nice advantage.