How to Run a Craft Business

Gigaom are carrying a piece reporting on how Etsy has become a victim of its own success with a patent troll filing a lawsuit against Etsy for several patent violations.

Writing on Gigaom, Jeff John Roberts supposes that the timing of Unified Messaging Solutions LLC's suit is strongly related to Etsy's latest funding round as the company see an opportunity to claim some of that money.

While the actions of such patent trolls seems wholly parasitical to the general public, the practice has burgeoned into a hugely profitable industry for its proponents.

Etsy have announced that by the end of the month, they will have stopped running Showcase spots and will have replaced them with Search Adverts.

The two features have been running alongside each other since the launch of Search Adverts last year, however Etsy have now concluded that the Search Adverts are a more effective system for the majority of sellers. Etsy claim that a buyer who clicks on a Search Advert is three times as likely to purchase than one who clicked on a Showcase spot.

If you Tweet or think that perhaps you should to help promote your business, these eight common Twitter questions may be worth a few moments of your time to peruse.

They kick off with a refreshing starting question of 'Do I really need to use Twitter' which might just save you reading the rest, but if you get beyond that, you should pick up some practical and useable tips.