New Staff: Volunteers wanted.

Yes, it's that time of the year again...Letizia and I are handing over the reigns of Etsy Ireland since our six months are nearly up.

It feels like yesterday since we started, but unless we use a time turner...

...that time won't be coming back!

The last six months have been an exciting time - the team has grown, we had some great meetings, and wonderful treasuries and competitions. Thanks to all the post-holders who put their hearts into their roles and made them a success.

So, we are now looking for volunteers for the team positions listed below. Although the Team Admin and Blog Co-ordinator positions - which are the two main roles in the team - rotate every six months, present occupants of other positions can put their hands up again (or go for another post, of course).

So be brave, stick your hand in the air and yes! Working for the Etsy Ireland Team is great fun and very rewarding! Don't be frozen stiff like this plant...

...at the sheer thought of volunteering!

The posts:

Team Admin (rotated every 6 months)

• responsible for making newcomers welcome and passing on links (facebook/flickr/blog...)
• encourage members to tag items correctly with 'craftyirelandteam'
• add new shops to Shop Directory on blog
• add new members to the Crafty Ireland team page
• be on hand for general queries from new and existing members
• email the New Member Admin weekly with the names of new members for inclusion in the 'Welcome' post on the blog

Blog Co-ordinator (rotated every 6 months)

• work with the 'blog hosts' to provide daily content on the blog
• create a blog timetable/ calendar through shared docs, for instance Google Calendar
• write articles, especially when there are gaps in the schedule
• edit submitted articles if necessary
• deal with minor technical glitches on the blog
• add blog hosts/ regular contributors as blog authors to the blog so that they can publish their articles themselves
• encourage members to submit content, this involves mentioning the blog in the team forums and to new members, as well as publishing calls for new content on the blog regularly
• co-operate with the Blog Designer to have regular design changes
• be the contact person for the blog and respond to queries

New Member Admin for 'Welcome' updates

• announce new members publicly on the blog (Member Update) once weekly email is received from Team Admin: this involves visiting each new member's shop, getting a pic and title of a current item, creating the collage or composite graphic of that week's members and then getting a slot from the Blog Co-Ordinator to do the Welcome post

Blog Designer

This is a new role for somebody who loves playing with designs, images and blog themes:

•  coming up with a new (seasonal) design regularly and working on it with the Blog Co-Ordinator
•  checking that all the links and widgets look tidy, are still functioning, and fit with the design

Blog Hosts

Responsible for assisting Blog Co-Ordinator in maintaining a complete blog schedule and help fill gaps where necessary. There are regular hosts and hosts who don't have a weekly slot.

Regular hosts (publish once a week) wanted for:

'Crafty News Update' (at present on Mondays)

Host will announce upcoming craft fair details, events, shop promotions/giveaways on members' behalf. This feature will act as a noticeboard for the team but its success depends entirely upon the participation of members.

'Treasuries' (at present on Wednesdays)

The Treasury Curator will be the contact person for all treasury makers in the team and will publish blog posts with screenshots and links to active treasuries which feature Etsy Ireland team members. Also will publish regular treasury competitions.

'Fab 5 on Friday'

Host will be responsible for sourcing members to participate. Each week a different member will select their Fab 5 and pass onto host for blogging. If there are gaps, the host will select the Fab 5.

'Tea and a chat with' (published on Saturdays)

Fun, friendly member interview blogged by host - also responsible for sourcing contributors. This feature doesn't have to be a weekly one - this term it was published every fortnight.

'Eyes Open Ireland' (published on Sundays)

The host publishes snapshots/ photographs from members. This feature doesn't have to be a weekly one.

Blog Hosts without a regular slot:

Submit articles regularly and help the Blog Co-Ordinator to fill gaps.


New: Facebook Admin

Checks and updates our Etsy Ireland team facebook page regularly and replies to queries.



PR Team/Think Tank (long term role for 3 - 5 members)

This term the Think Tank didn't get off the ground properly, but this is a team effort by a bunch of proactive creative thinkers and most importantly 'doers' to help generate publicity for the team, online and offline. This includes writing press releases, organising team promotions and publicising the team at events or organising publicity events for the team. The Think Tank works closely with the Team Admin and Blog Co-Ordinator.

The Think Tank is also responsible for applying for team grants and informing the team of progress via blog, facebook, twitter, Crafty Ireland Team forums, and Etsy chat room.


Area Representatives:

Represent your Area! Hosting a team meeting is a great way to do that! We need reps for
Dublin, Belfast, Galway, Limerick and Cork. If there is a significantly large group of Etsy Ireland team members elsewhere, do let the Team Admin know and discuss where to set up meetings for said group!
Each rep will be responsible for setting up meeting time/location and inviting members in your locality to come along. No big agenda! Just meet up, chat, show off your latest makes, maybe have a craft supply swap and have fun. We’d love each rep to blog after each meeting with some photos and a little summary of what you all got up to!

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Right, so it's now up to you! The posts are not set in stone - each volunteer will make the role their own in some way. And you're not just thrown into the deep end. Letizia and I, and previous post-holders will help the new volunteers to find their feet.

Leave a comment below if you're up for it. Go on! Go on, we know you want to! You will, you will, you will!

Volunteers so far:

Web Designer: Maggie (thebowmakers)
Crafty News: Mo (huggleknits)
Eyes Open Ireland: Rach (balanced)
Fab Five: Beth (magpieandbutton)
New Members' welcome: Letizia (ooakie)