I have had very good luck w/ etsy. I shouldn't say luck, there is nothing lucky about it. I have worked hard & it has paid off.
The searh engine is chronological, so if you want to stay at the top of the search engine you do need to list daily or even 2x a day. A listing is just .20cents though & runs for 4 months so you can list 2 items, 2 times a day & that is just $24.00. Most webhosting is that much per month anyway & etsy has a massive built in flow of established customers wanting to buy.
I do not work the forums, treasuries, blog, etc.