In this Etsy forum thread admin marymary introduces the latest new feature.
marymary says:
We are pleased to announce the addition of an Invite a Friend feature to Etsy. Registered Etsy members can now send an email to a friend or contact, inviting them to check out Etsy. Eventually, this new feature will tie into a referral program. For now, please help us by telling all your friends about Etsy in a quick and easy way and watch the number of referrals that have become registered Etsy members because of you grow straight from Your Etsy!
You may have noticed a few changes to the look of the top right of your Etsy screen! We have added an additional text link between Help and Logout called Invite.
Once you select the Invite text link, you will directed to the main Invite a Friend feature where you can enter in up to 3 unique email address at one time.
You might also notice some changes to the Your Etsy page on the left hand side bar. You now have an addtional heading in Your Etsy called Promote which houses the following shop administrative features: referrals, showcase, and Etsy mini.
When you select the referrals text link, you will be directed to a page that looks like this where you can see how many registered users you’ve helped bring to Etsy since the launch of this new feature.
FAQ:
Q. What if I enter in the Wrong email address?
A. You will receive a confirmation screen alerting you to the exact email addresses you typed in so you can resend the invite if you typed in the wrong address.Q. Can I invite more than 3 friends?
A. Sure! Invite as many friends as you like; however, you will only be able to enter in 3 unique addresses at one time.Q. What if I forgot if I sent an invite to an email address and type it in again?
A. No worries, Etsy will remember which email addresses you have already sent invites for and will remind you that an invite has already been sent if you type in a duplicate at any point.Q. Can I enter in my own message to my friends?
A. Yes! There is a space for you to enter in your own unique message to your friends or to just go with the preset message from Etsy.Q. Will my referrals be kept track of?
A. Yes! We will be keeping track of all the new registered members that sign up for Etsy from your invites starting from the launch of this feature. You can even watch the number grow from the new referrals section of Your Etsy.Q. What happened to all of my previous referrals; weren’t you keeping track of those?
A. All referrals will start fresh with the implementation of this new feature. Unfortunately, we were not able to recover and transfer previous referrals into this new system. We appreciate all the help you have sent our way thus far and hope you will continue to refer your friends to Etsy moving forward.Please see the official announcement about this new feature in the Storque where you can see some screen shots of how it looks: http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/etsyNews/article/tech-updates-invite-a-friend/2178/
We hope you enjoy this new addition and that is makes spreading the word about Etsy a little easier.
Posted at 3:22 pm, July 14 2008 EST
The Storque article referenced above has graphics to demonstrate how this feature works and looks.
UPDATE by GreenMamba 7.14.08
Inputting a personal message is not available at this time. marymary corrects herself here.
marymary says:
Hey guys!
I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for writing that one could enter in their own message, when in fact this is not currently an option. I jumped the gun in posting that possibility and for that I am sorry (maybe it’s cause I really want that feature, haha).
At this time, you cannot enter in your own message, but if this is something you are interested in, let me know here and I will add it to the list of user requested ideas.
Thanks again for helping me catch that mistake and I sincerely apologize. I have since edited the Storque article to reflect the correct answer to the FAQ.
Mary
Posted at 3:39 pm, July 14 2008 EST
July 18th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
No thanks. I really don’t want to call attention to the labs, newsletter, resellers, mass-produced junk, and other huge huge huge sections of Etsy that are giving a totally different message. Buyers must be getting more confused than ever and wonder what the hell happened to Etsy the place to buy and sell things handmade.
I am often very embarassed by the sections written and handled by the people who run Etsy.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Seriously… $30M in funding last year and this is the best they can do??
July 17th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Excellent points, dingo!
Someone (waves to the person!) actually sent me an invite today as a joke and I was appalled to discover no way to opt out of receiving this spam from Etsy and no clear notification that the email had been generated by Etsy itself or that I was somehow agreeing to their highly iffy privacy policy.
There’s also no indication that the person inviting you has a potential conflict of interest in terms of them getting potential benefits if you sign up - this possibly isn’t a requirement legally, but ethically I think it’s highly dodgy.
I also had to wonder if I would be at the mercy of any group who decided they didn’t like me and wanted to spam me as much as possible in this way using multiple accounts (assuming that the same account can only email me once?).
This new ‘feature’ is not only silly and a waste of time and resources, but it appears to be on very shaky ground in many ways. I would be thrilled to see it removed from Etsy entirely.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:20 am
In answer to some of the questions that have been asked about the privacy issue:
Yes, Etsy keeps the e-mails that are entered into the invitation form in their database.
Etsy apparently considers the e-mails of your friends and relations part of the personal information you provide them, and so it is thus covered by their privacy policy, meaning that they promise not to use the e-mails you enter except under the terms of the policy (which means they could be subpoenaed, sold along with Etsy’s other assets to a buyout company, etc.)
They consider the link to the privacy policy on the invite page to be notification of this.
However, unlike all the rest of the personal information that is provided to Etsy and covered under the privacy policy, these e-mail addresses cannot be accessed or removed.
Having access to ALL the information you have given Etsy is a requirement of their TRUSTe license - the watchdog group that certifies Etsy’s privacy policy. It is also a requirement of TRUSTe’s license that Etsy give users the capability to change or remove the information that has been given to Etsy. Etsy isn’t doing either of these things.
It’s pretty simple - if Etsy considers the e-mail addresses of my friends part of my personal info, then under their own privacy policy, I need to be able to see this info somehow, and have a way to remove it.
July 16th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I am afraid this is another one of those half-baked ideas that come up periodically. I will never use it– not only would I never spam ANYONE, much less my friends, I would not want my personal email address doing it. For shame: this feature is very childish. But then, again, perhaps it fits in with the “direction” etsy seems to be taking– towards more childish, amateurish, and useless SHTUFF.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Was Mama Maria off yesterday? Out sick? Having a long weekend and taking a personal day?
July 15th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Prizes will be cupcakes, hammocks and private crafting classes with DanielleXO.
I want to know if I will be getting credit for every business card I give out, and every email I send with my Etsy link in the sigline.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Oh invite link, how dost thou sucketh, let me count the ways?
1. This sucks because many sellers have recruited mmany new buyers to register, through their own advertising expenses, through their own hard work and time spent promoting off-etsy. None of them get any credit for all their previous referrals, even though google analytics could easily track a buyer’s entry point into Etsy and through their registration process. (and eventual purchase)
2. This sucks because the prizes will probably be for US members only, like every other fun perk on Etsy.
3. This sucks because it wasn’t even thought through all the way, it was released half-done and lacking the most needed features. The staff don’t even know what features it has or doesn’t have.
4. This sucks because this is just about the WORST possible time to release a useless feature that no-one ever asked for, while continuing to ignore so many LONG and important threads in the ideas forum. It feels like a slap in the face.
5. This sucks because they haven’t even built the referral program yet. Cart before horse, anyone?
6. This sucks because all the early referrals will probably be erased and lost just like views and the shop policies were, when it was first released.
7. This sucks because I do not like to spam my friends.
8. This sucks because it helps Etsy way more than it helps us, for Pete’s sake the link to our own shop is practically an afterthought!
9. This sucks because the prizes will probably not be anything I want, like stats, customer service, or removing resellers.
10. PRIORITIES???????
July 14th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I dunno, there’s an awful lot of newbies in Forums going “Wow, that’s great! I can’t wait to tell all of my friends!”
A sucker born every minute, eh?
July 14th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I have a trunk load of Amway toilet paper and toothpaste if anyone wants some.
Or . . . . I can sign you up as an Amway distributor and you are on your way to riches.
You just have to find your own mules to move product.
Just kidding.
No offense to Amyway or any other multi-level marketing business out there. . .
Oh. Wait. You need some herballife. . . . .