Recently Susan from gentleadornments and I traded critiques on our Etsy shops and I think it worked out very well for both of us. We both make jewelry so we have the same type of issues to deal with:  how best to photograph small shiny objects, shipping costs, jewelry pricing and so forth.

We traded several lengthy convos giving advice and bouncing ideas off each other. It was so beneficial to me to have her input on various things, but especially on my photo backgrounds which I have been struggling with. I needed her fresh eyes to take a look and she had an idea that I'm really excited to try. I gave her advice on her shop announcement and International shipping costs and starting an e-mail newsletter. Susan tweaked her International shipping costs in the evening and woke up to a sale from Australia in the morning--her first International sale!

I'd like to encourage other CAST members to get involved in giving thoughtful critiques to each other. If you are interested in finding another CAST member to share critiques with, you can always invite someone from the team to participate with you, or leave a comment on this blog post to let everyone know you are interested.

There are some etiquette rules to remember when giving a critique. 

* If you are the sensitive type, let your partner know up front, but remember you may not get the best critique if they are trying to spare your feelings.
* CAST Team members tend to be VERY nice, but that doesn't mean you can't also be honest and thorough.
* If your partner doesn't take your advice, it's totally OK. They may have a completely different vision, artistic sensibility, time and money restraints, etc.
* Take your time. Look at everything:  photos, descriptions, shop announcement, shop title, banner, avatar, policies, shipping, tags, bio, EVERYTHING.
* Tell them what they are doing right too--that's a critical piece of the puzzle.
* Tell them what you'd like to see in their shop they might not have now.
* If you are struggling in a specific area, let them know to spend extra time on that.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.