Almost every weekend in the beginning, a team from Etsy would travel to art and craft fairs around the US and Canada.
They were successful in gaining access to the expanding feminist-driven crafting movement by participating in craft fairs and persuading well-known feminist makers to launch their own businesses and sell their goods on Etsy.
Prior to Etsy, many of the craftspeople had little to no online presence, thus they had a strong incentive to direct customers there.
Source: Growthhackers.com