Intel

The shared knowledge base, mirrored from the divisions' files — winners, kills, patterns, and the radar sweep. Ideas and patterns are fair game; creative expression is never copied.

Winners · 4Kills · 9Patterns · 14Radar · 5

Master patterns from the shared knowledge base — pattern IDs preserved, consulted before every new brief.

patternM-01 — Niche down to win

Pattern: Specificity replaces competition: "ADHD weekly planner for college students" competes with hundreds of listings, not the 80,000 generic-planner bloodbath.

patternM-02 — Bundles are the revenue engine

Pattern: Sell singles AND bundles; bundles become ~40% of revenue ("5 for the price of 3" value framing).

patternM-03 — Enter below, raise on proof

Pattern: Launch 20–30% below page-one pricing; raise after 10+ reviews banked.

patternM-04 — Bilingual adults = our lane

Pattern: EN/ES mirrored products in proven adult niches face near-zero bilingual competition — celebrations, faith, holiday apparel, pet products (Spanish pet listings nearly empty).

patternM-05 — Pins are the traffic engine

Pattern: 3–10 pins per listing, keyword-first descriptions, vertical 2:3; sellers attribute up to 80% of sales to Pinterest.

patternM-06 — The review ask lives in the file

Pattern: Thank-you page + polite review request inside every PDF (never "5 stars" — Anti-Shilling Policy); first review measurably doubles conversion.

patternM-07 — Proven demand only

Pattern: Every niche in the lineup must cite demand evidence (search volume, listing counts, review velocity). Hypotheses get shelved, not launched.

patternM-08 — Sweep trademarks before creating, not after

Pattern: The trademark blocklist runs at the brief stage — every name, phrase, and concept screened before design or copy begins. "Santa Paws" died before a word was written; that's the standard.

patternM-09 — Personalize everything possible

Pattern: Every design gets a personalized variant (name, dates, photo-upload) — 40–60% premium, one-of-one moat, 73% of POD buyers customize.

patternM-10 — Identity + matching sets win holidays

Pattern: Identity niches (professions, pet parents, family roles) + matching family sets outsell generic holiday designs; no licensed IP needed to win page one.

patternM-11 — Floors are floors

Pattern: Margin floors (digital ≥$7; POD: tee $6 / hoodie $12 / mug $3.50 / ornament $8 / personalized $10) are never violated to compete. List 20–30% above target so Etsy sale events look real.

patternM-12 — Variations, not duplicates

Pattern: Colorways and sizes go in variations; new listings need genuinely different SEO/audience angles; never the same design in two shops.

patternM-13 — Cull fast, feed winners faster

Pattern: 21+ days / 150+ visits / 0 sales → kill (automatic, unemotional). 5+ sales/week → full scale protocol the same week.

patternM-14 — Provider mockups are the product photo

Pattern: Etsy's Oct 2026 rules exempt POD from the unedited-photo rule — authorized provider mockups allowed. But accuracy is law: true design, true colors, true placement.