Shall we chat?

[arenee]

I have to say as a customer, I don't really look at the gallery at DST. It is missing something that this gallery has. (I am not sure what it is but to me it looks flat) I get tired of the ISO threads on DST because they all seem to be a set up or a ad for ADSee. I look at the forums if I am bored-or avoiding organizing my recent downloads.

I find most of my future purchases from things I see in the gallery while doing the searching required for Sweet Rewards. Scary Moon Cat is a prime example--I would never have bought that kit unless I had seen what people did with it.

If I am on the fence about a kit, I search the gallery here to see what I can find.

I am not so big on views or comments. I use my gallery to show me if a page clicks for me or not. I kinda like that I dont have tons of views it means that undesireable people aren't viewing my pages.

Just my 2 cents

 

[gracielou]

You got it right the first time...I should have been more clear. I was referring specifically to the CTM enabling threads (posted each morning at DST)...not ISO threads or the "look what I found" kinds of enabling threads.

I've also made a purchase or 2 from ISO and regular scrapper enabling threads, but I've never, ever browsed the CTM enabling thread. I'm just honestly curious if it's a viable marketing venue...if people want to know what's new from designers, wouldn't they just browse the new products threads?

I never look at the CTM enabling thread. I guess it never crosses my mind to go in there.

 

[Megan Turnidge]

You got it right the first time...I should have been more clear. I was referring specifically to the CTM enabling threads (posted each morning at DST)...not ISO threads or the "look what I found" kinds of enabling threads.

I've also made a purchase or 2 from ISO and regular scrapper enabling threads, but I've never, ever browsed the CTM enabling thread. I'm just honestly curious if it's a viable marketing venue...if people want to know what's new from designers, wouldn't they just browse the new products threads?

Ohhhh. No. Never go in the CTM enabling thread.

 

[NettieB]

...I was referring specifically to the CTM enabling threads (posted each morning at DST)...not ISO threads or the "look what I found" kinds of enabling threads....but I've never, ever browsed the CTM enabling thread. I'm just honestly curious if it's a viable marketing venue...?

haven't ever been there - been treating it like the sneak peek - you need to be the "anointed one" on the team

 

[dawnmcd]

I guess I am an unusual one - I have bought kits because I saw them in a layout and loved it. But my normal way of doing things is to see a kit i like - say in an ISO thread or while browsing a site or linked from a friend. Then I often go right to dst and search the name of the kit and look at the layouts made with it. I do like to have ct layouts to view but also like to see a non CT scrappers use of it as well.

I choose dst to search cause it is a pretty universal place to post layouts. I will search here if it is a kit from here.

However I do not care how many hits or views a layout has when considering if I like the kit.

 

[Joan]

But then I do put in the effort to play the praise games at both DST and MSA and my views and comments show that. In fact I get WAY more comments at both of those sites than I do here.

Ditto. I almost always get more comments those two places than here. And I get a lot of really nice comments that have obviously had thought put in to them. Yes, I also get the "nice layout" type comments but, honestly, I get a ton of those here too.

I also find a lot of the kits I want to buy via the praise game, the GSO threads and just general looking through the galleries. I think you owe it to designers you CT for to promote their products outside of their store's site, and I do think it is well worthwhile. I wouldn't know about this or most of the sites I shop at if not for DST. I love the community here at SSD, I really do, but more and more you get this underlying sense of animosity to other sites here, particularly DST. I have to be honest, I just don't get it, and it makes me enjoy it less here. I think it's good for us as artists, or scrappers, or however you like to think of yourself, to draw influence from as many sources as possible. So, while this is the community I tend to enjoy hanging out at the most, I shop and surf many other sites in addition to here. I'd feel really limited as a scrapper if I didn't.

Sorry, I know I'm rambling now LOL, but I guess what I'm trying to say is more and more this is starting to feel like a kind of insular community, and I don't think that's ultimately healthy for SSD. It's something that's been bugging me, and I kind of needed to get it off my chest.

 

[Joan]

I've also made a purchase or 2 from ISO and regular scrapper enabling threads, but I've never, ever browsed the CTM enabling thread. I'm just honestly curious if it's a viable marketing venue...

It's one feature that, if I had to guess, I'd say is pretty useless. I've opened it a couple times trying to figure out if I should be posting there as a CT member, and I don't really get it, nor do I see how it would be any real benefit to the designer. I suspect no one other than those posting to it open it. I know from a potential customer's perspective, I never once looked in there to be enabled.

 

[joelsgirl]

My first Melissa Bennett purchase was from the CTM Enabling thread; I don't ever look there anymore, though, because there's far too much bad quality product being promoted. I hate to wade through all of it.

 

[Darcy Baldwin]

It's one feature that, if I had to guess, I'd say is pretty useless. I've opened it a couple times trying to figure out if I should be posting there as a CT member, and I don't really get it, nor do I see how it would be any real benefit to the designer. I suspect no one other than those posting to it open it. I know from a potential customer's perspective, I never once looked in there to be enabled.

While it may not be a great marketing tool, it was ultimately created to keep those kinds of threads from constantly flooding the general chatter section. There were way too many CTM's posting look at what my designer just did threads at DST, and folks were getting sick of it, so this was created to sort of put them in one little place

I never look at them any longer, and I think that most people don't as is reflected in the numbers of actual posters and views to the thread compared to when it started.

 

[nonnie]

Oh, and I wanted to say how much I LOVE hangin' at MSA every now and then...

I totally agree - it is the only other gallery that I find layouts that I love and I have bought kits from there based on layouts - Like from After 5 and from we are storytellers .... I love looking there - I try (when I have the time) to go through a day and leave praise - For all the layouts that have no love and for the ones that I love - I can't do it all the time, but I do it sometimes - I also play the praise game and when I do I try to leave love for everyone in the thread -
I love the style of scrapping found here - that is why I have been here since I started scrapping and why I buy something every week - While I like looking at the "European" style and it amazes me .... I am more of a paper scrapper -
I go to DST, but if it were not for my CT oblations, I probably would not - not my style and WAY to big - But it serves a purpose - I see who is having a sale and look at new kits - Other than to leave comments I rarely chat there - way too much drama

Just wanted to put in my 25 cents

 

[kscwgirl]

If I could load the DST website on a regular basis, I probably would play the praise game there, tbh. I have an extremely hard time loading it from work, and sometimes can't get it to load at all. I haven't even been able to load my recent layouts there, however, since I am up so freaking early today, I'm about to go try.

 

[joelsgirl]

I really like to look at layouts; it's what I do while I'm nursing usually. Which means that I am leaving praise one handed, so I leave a lot of "generic" praise but it's not just randomly left for whoever in the hopes they'll come praise me back. In fact, I never expect return praise for my random love; I only expect people who play the praise game to come hit my gallery. So if you get a comment from me like, "Great page!" I really DO mean it.

 

[newfiemountiewife]

I shop from the ISO threads WAY.TOO.MUCH :blink: Even if I don't NEED the item that is "ISO," somehow I always find something in these threads that I could put to use

LOL you just described me to a tee

 

[newfiemountiewife]

I'll tell you what has sold me the most product HERE lately, and that's the sneak peek thread. Fridays, we see what's coming out on Saturday, we get to see some great layouts by our friends here, and I get totally stoked to shop the next day. I know pretty much what I'm going for the next day, so instead of randomly shopping and not being able to make a decision, I get to spend the day seeing your layouts, and getting hyped up

 

[krystalhartley]

That makes sense, Darcy. I just think it odd that there are designers that require posting there for their CTMs when I don't consider it a good use of time.

I'm personally addicted to the New Products thread at DST. I'm an impulse buyer (I don't use kaboodle or whatever it's called), so a good preview there is gonna get my attention. Although, I confess to being moderately snobbish and not even opening some of the threads if I don't recognize the designer's name.

I don't ever look at the monthly sponsor's thread at DST though...I think I clicked there once accidentally.

My gold membership expired in August and I chose to not renew since I never used any of the kits last year, and I opened the DST Insider just once because of a tease that turned out to be worthless to me personally.

I absolutely don't hate it though. I just wish it weren't as slow so that I could feel like I'm using my time better when I'm there.

 

[Nikki Epperson]

Although, I confess to being moderately snobbish and not even opening some of the threads if I don't recognize the designer's name.

Some girls where I sell call me a kit snob b/c of that reason - lol, and more. Because I usually only buy here. Probably 97% of my purchases are here.

Bonus that a couple of designers have trusted me to be on their CT (hint, hint) and introduced me to other great designers I had no idea were out there.

 

[Amy Carey]

all I can say is that before I became a babe here, the layouts in the gallery by the babes and other CT members DEFINITELY influenced my shopping habits and it got to where I saved my money for here. Combined with the challenges, etc, slowly I dwindled away from all the other sites, and my focus kind of honed in here and became my family. So I do think the layouts I post here for my sugar babe job are important and I hope that they help in a small way to make others feel the way I did...that this is the place that fits them and where they want to be and where they want their scrapping dollars to go. I must admit, I can be called a drive by poster because I do post my layouts in 5 galleries but am not *active* on the boards anywhere but here. I just feel I owe my time and allegiance to SSD. BUT on the other hand, this thread has really made me think I and I have decided that while I don't have to be active on the forums at those other sites, it wouldn't take but 5-10 minutes to leave some praise in their galleries as I post my own pages so that is going to be my goal from now on. Everyone wants to feel love on their pages and it really only takes a few minutes...IF the site is cooperating and not running poorly...now that I just wont' stick around for.

 

[DawnMarch]

I was referring specifically to the CTM enabling threads (posted each morning at DST)...not ISO threads or the "look what I found" kinds of enabling threads.

I've also made a purchase or 2 from ISO and regular scrapper enabling threads, but I've never, ever browsed the CTM enabling thread. I'm just honestly curious if it's a viable marketing venue...if people want to know what's new from designers, wouldn't they just browse the new products threads?

I wondered about this a while back because I never looked at CTM Enabling either. So, I posted the question on one of my CT forums and 3 or 4 people said that is where they go to decide what to buy and that they look at it every day. So, I posted there for a while. Now I've slacked off again and only post once in a while.

It would be kind of interesting though to do an actual study with a designer -- to see if the kit earns more when it's posted to CTM Enabling for a few day than one that isn't.

 

[newfiemountiewife]

I never look in the CTM enabling thread. I have posted in it occasionally though. I need to get better about it actually.

 

[heatherdumas]

that's the sneak peek thread. Fridays, we see what's coming out on Saturday, we get to see some great layouts by our friends here, and I get totally stoked to shop the next day. I know pretty much what I'm going for the next day, so instead of randomly shopping and not being able to make a decision, I get to spend the day seeing your layouts, and getting hyped up

I wake up and turn my lappy on Friday morning before I pee, even. I love the sneaks. My daughter comes in while she is getting ready for school and tells me which ones I need. Then she checks the second she gets home from school. The sneak thread is the highlight of my Fridays, and the informal Friday night chats.

 

[rochelle789]

I've thought a lot about this lately, too, Lena. The only reason I started posting at DST and MSA was to fulfill requirments (bad, I know, but I just have no desire to post anywhere but here :wub.

I rarely get views or comments either at those places either, but I do try to reciprocate the ones I do get. I've honestly wondered if posting at those larger galleries really has a benefit, or if it has just become "the thing to do."

With that said, I'll happily do whatever is required. :thumbup:

 

[gracielou]

I really like to look at layouts; it's what I do while I'm nursing usually. Which means that I am leaving praise one handed, so I leave a lot of "generic" praise but it's not just randomly left for whoever in the hopes they'll come praise me back. In fact, I never expect return praise for my random love; I only expect people who play the praise game to come hit my gallery. So if you get a comment from me like, "Great page!" I really DO mean it.

I always love your comments on my pages Kellie! At other galleries if I have comments on my pages so many of them have been from you and it was not from playing the praise game but just from you coming in and looking at my LO. It really always makes me feel great and I truly thank you for taking the time to comment on them!

 

[scarletsierra]

I think about this sometimes too Lena....

I'll be honest...I spend a LOT of time commenting and praising and such at DST to get visibility for my CT layouts. I'm fairly confident if I didn't put so much time and effort into it I'd get little to no views. It's the nature of the beast, I think. The community is just so big and the galleries, so fast moving. It can be a little frustrating and time consuming and I can't be sure that the praise I'm receiving is genuine or reciprocal (though I try to remind myself that's not what's important)...but I try to give at least a decent effort of getting the product out there when I upload.

As for buying habits and if layouts generate sales. Hard to say because everyone is different. But I *think* I have spurned interest in my designers products from time to time purely from posting layouts...some commenters have said things like "I have to get this kit now!" or "I just ran to grab this!".

And I know I have been influenced to buy a product because I loved what I saw in a layout more than once. The preview alone doesn't do it for me. I've seen some amazing previews and the kit kind of falls flat. I like to see what can be *done* with the kit, how different people use it, how versatile it is, etc.

I do agree that the smaller communities, like my SSD "home" is where I feel more genuine connections and the stor galleries probably do more to sell me products. But I think the bigger galleries probably draw people to the stores, where they find "homes".

P.S. Kellie...I often notice your comments (and unsolicited) in my MSA gallery too and I always smile and appreciate them so much!

 

[Becca Bonneville]

I think about this sometimes too Lena....

I'll be honest...I spend a LOT of time commenting and praising and such at DST to get visibility for my CT layouts. I'm fairly confident if I didn't put so much time and effort into it I'd get little to no views. It's the nature of the beast, I think. The community is just so big and the galleries, so fast moving. It can be a little frustrating and time consuming and I can't be sure that the praise I'm receiving is genuine or reciprocal (though I try to remind myself that's not what's important)...but I try to give at least a decent effort of getting the product out there when I upload.

As for buying habits and if layouts generate sales. Hard to say because everyone is different. But I *think* I have spurned interest in my designers products from time to time purely from posting layouts...some commenters have said things like "I have to get this kit now!" or "I just ran to grab this!".

And I know I have been influenced to buy a product because I loved what I saw in a layout more than once. The preview alone doesn't do it for me. I've seen some amazing previews and the kit kind of falls flat. I like to see what can be *done* with the kit, how different people use it, how versatile it is, etc.

I do agree that the smaller communities, like my SSD "home" is where I feel more genuine connections and the stor galleries probably do more to sell me products. But I think the bigger galleries probably draw people to the stores, where they find "homes".

P.S. Kellie...I often notice your comments (and unsolicited) in my MSA gallery too and I always smile and appreciate them so much!

ITA with all of this! Although I prob don't sell as many kits as you girl! LOL!! But it is just one of those things!!

And I also agree with Kellie, I often leave the fabulous page comment but I do think it is fabulous. A lot of times that is all I have time to write and wanted to leave some love.

Also, Kellie thank you so much! I love all the love you leave me at MSA!! It certainly makes my day!!