The core vision behind Etsy’s Creator Collective was to create a dynamic platform and community that empowers creators to monetize their Etsy posts seamlessly across social media.
Creatorcollective.etsy.com was designed as a data-driven community for influencers and Etsy sellers - one that fosters meaningful engagement and drives sustained revenue growth. Our strategy focused on transitioning from a seller-centric model to a dynamic ecosystem in which influencers and creators are integral to Etsy's commercial success. They come together on the platform we built to get inspired and learn how to monetize their social content. By enhancing communication on our platform, streamlining onboarding processes, and implementing targeted engagement initiatives, we aimed to:
Expand community engagement by recruiting over 13,000 members (creators) and maintaining high engagement levels, with 8,700 members logging into the community platform over the past year.
Strengthen influencer retention by securing a 67% Earned Media Value (EMV) retention rate and generating $26.1M in organic EMV.
Scale influencer-driven revenue by ensuring at least 56% of first-month revenue-generating influencers remain active for six months.
Enhance campaign effectiveness to drive significant revenue lifts for both Etsy Sellers and Non-Etsy Sellers.
By fostering a sustainable, high-performing influencer ecosystem, we aimed to create an integrated space where influencers thrive alongside Etsy sellers, as both are makers and content creators. Our approach strengthened the community and amplified Etsy’s overall market presence. Through continuous innovation and strategic alignment, we ensured influencers remained invested in long-term success, driving measurable impact for Etsy and its seller network.
Strategy
A comprehensive strategy was developed that seamlessly integrated technology, engagement programs, and data analytics to bring this initiative to life. Our goal was to create a robust influencer and creator community that fostered engagement and contributed to sustained revenue growth. This strategy focused on three core pillars: recruitment/onboarding and engagement, data-driven campaign development, and optimized communication.
Structured Onboarding & Engagement Pipelines
We recognized that a well-structured onboarding process was essential for creator success and long-term retention.
Streamlined the influencer onboarding experience by offering personalized guidance, educational resources (webinars, personalized newsletters, content/resource hub, knowledge into top/trending Etsy items, etc.), and best practices to ensure creators could effectively engage with Etsy’s marketplace.
Implemented automated workflows to provide timely touchpoints, helping creators navigate their early experiences and setting them up for long-term success.
Enhanced direct support channels, offering self-service resources and dedicated team support to ensure influencers had the assistance they needed.
Data-Driven Campaign Development
We developed and refined targeted campaigns using data analytics that optimized influencer participation and performance.
Key initiatives included:
Analyzing influencer performance data to identify trends and tailor outreach strategies for community segments.
Launching A/B-tested campaigns allowed us to refine messaging, optimize engagement rates, and generate higher revenue.
Implementing performance tracking metrics to ensure every campaign aligned with Etsy’s broader goals of increasing sales and visibility for sellers.
Optimized Communication & Community Building
To strengthen our influencer network and foster a sense of belonging, we focused on building a vibrant and interactive community.
Established a dynamic creator platform where members could share insights, participate in exclusive opportunities, and stay updated with key initiatives.
Achieved a 53% open rate on creator communications, far exceeding industry standards, highlighting the effectiveness of our engagement efforts.
Provided exclusive networking opportunities, such as live Q&A sessions, behind-the-scenes content, and early access to Etsy promotions, ensuring influencers remained actively involved.
Challenges & Solutions
While our approach yielded strong engagement, we encountered challenges that required strategic adjustments:
Retention Hurdles: Some influencers disengaged after onboarding, leading us to introduce structured rewards programs, performance-based incentives, and exclusive promotional opportunities to maintain their interest.
Balancing Seller & Influencer Contributions: Early data indicated that sellers had a higher success rate in driving revenue. To address this, we optimized influencer selection and engagement efforts to increase their revenue contributions, ensuring a more balanced ecosystem.
Scalability Issues: Maintaining personalized engagement became a challenge as the community grew. We leveraged automation to manage routine tasks while ensuring human interaction remained a priority for high-value influencers.
Results & Outlook
By addressing these challenges and refining our approach, Etsy has successfully built a scalable, high-performing creator community ecosystem that enhances influencer engagement and drives significant revenue growth through social content monetization. We created a platform for creators to make their commissionable links (to share on social media) while inviting them into our community.
Results
Meeting Our Objectives & Driving Success
Our results align directly with our initial objectives, demonstrating the effectiveness of our community management strategy and its impact on Etsy’s ecosystem.
Community Engagement: Our community remains highly engaged with 13,000 members and 8,700 actively participating. A 53% open rate on communications—well above industry benchmarks—highlights the effectiveness of our outreach and engagement efforts.
Influencer Retention & Revenue: We successfully retained 56% of first-month revenue-generating influencers for at least six months, surpassing industry standards and reinforcing the sustainability of our influencer ecosystem.
Influencer-Driven Revenue Growth: November 2024 saw a 165% increase from October and 60% year-over-year growth in influencer-driven sales, demonstrating the substantial revenue impact of our influencer strategies.
Earned Media Value (EMV): Our 67% EMV retention rate and $26.1M in organic EMV highlight the long-term brand amplification driven by our influencer community.
Shifting Sales Dynamics: We successfully transitioned from a seller-exclusive model to a balanced revenue stream, with influencer-generated sales accounting for 78% of all new portal-driven sales.
These results confirm our ability to meet and exceed our key objectives, proving that a well-structured, data-driven community management approach has delivered long-term value for Etsy, its influencers, and its sellers.
