Are you thinking about opening a Teachers Pay Teachers store? If you are, keep in mind, it is definitely a marathon not a sprint. The experience can be extremely rewarding, both emotionally and financially, but I'm not kidding when I say it takes WORK!
I felt really overwhelmed at first. I just uploaded something to upload something. As I started searching the TpT website, I thought to myself, "Wow! There is a lot of stuff on here." The website seems completely overpopulated...which it is...but keep in mind A LOT of what is on there is not high-quality, or is likely part of an abandoned store. It is still possible to be successful!
I
only started my store about a year ago...but I have to say, each month
has been better than the last...and that's during a national pandemic!
PICK YOUR STORE NAME & DESIGN A LOGO
The first thing you want to do, is come up with a name for your store. Keep in mind there are TONS of stores on TpT.
If you become successful...you don't want to look back and think,
"Ahh..I wish I chose a different name." It is possible to change your
name later...but I guarantee you will not want to go back and change all
your covers, copyright lines, etc. once you've created a bunch of
products! Take it from someone who changed their store name after having over 200 products...it was a nightmare to change everything!
Once you have your store name, you
want to start thinking about your logo. Definitely take some time to
peruse the website to see what's out there. You are going to want to
have a logo that is memorable, and different from the majority out
there. I decided to use my adorable dog Kona...well because she is cute, and she contrasts well against my colorful products. I've had plenty of people comment that they love my
logo. Are you not sure if you can create a great logo? No worries, there
are plenty of graphic designers out there who make TpT logos. Jump onto one of the TpT Facebook pages for some recommendations.
Along
with creating a logo, you are going to want to add store banners in the
3 allotted spaces. I would do this early on because once you have your
"look" established, you will feel more professional and motivated to
create! Don't forget to make sure your look is cohesive. By cohesive I
mean think about a color palette, consistent font choices etc. You don't
want your store to have several different looks. You want it to be
recognizable to teachers. You can check out my store HERE to see what I mean. If you want to make animated banners...I recommend this video HERE.
FOCUS ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR FIRST RESOURCE
Your
first resource must be FREE...so don't post something that is 20 pages
long. Think about what your strengths are and post something that shows
this off. You'll also want to think about the variety of products and/or
the subjects you will be posting for. I made my first resource before I developed my real focus (coloring). When I first started, people came to my
store for the following: graphic organizers and puzzles and coloring
pages for holidays. My first free product was a Personal-Narrative
Graphic Organizer for Elementary and Middle School students. Turns out
this freebie ended up in the weekly Teachers Pay Teachers
Newsletter in April 2020. It is only one organizer, but I included a
color and black & white version. This product works for multiple
grades, is easy to use, and frequently searched for. Keep all this in
mind when creating your first TpT product.
MAKE SQUARE COVERS (MAKE SURE IT "POPS")
When people are searching on TpT,
the thumbnails they see are square, so be sure to make your covers
square. It's also a good idea to come up with a template for your
products. You want all your products to feel cohesive, so think about
logo placement, fonts, and product placement on your covers. If you
visit my store, you will see there is a look that all my products share.
Make your titles LARGE and easy to read. A good test would be to check
out some TpT products on your phone using the app. Can you easily see
the covers? Also, you don't need a lot of other text on your covers
besides the title. I wish I knew this when I first started because I've
been spending a lot of time going back and revising my covers. All you
need is the name of your product (big!), your logo, and a great product
shot. People love to see what they are getting.
INCLUDE THUMBNAILS & A PREVIEW
People
like to see what they are getting. Make sure you include thumbnails
(screenshots) of your products. You will also want to have a
high-quality preview where your customer can get a closer look at your
product. I recommend making a copy of your final resource, then add a
watermark that says "PREVIEW" over each page. Make sure you lock
your file so that people can't edit it and steal your work. If you leave
it unlocked or unflattened, technology-savvy people can open your file,
delete your watermark, and use your product without even purchasing it!
There are tons of videos and blog posts on how to secure your files. I will write a post about how to do this soon.
DESIGN FOR THE HOLIDAYS IF YOU WANT TO GET MOTIVATED FAST
In
order to stay motivated, you're going to want to start hearing that
"cha-ching" soon on your TpT mobile app. This is why I suggest making
your first few products for the upcoming holiday! For example...if you
are starting a product in January...think Valentine's Day. Teachers will
be searching for Valentine's Day products soon, so you will be more
likely to reap the benefits from your work sooner than if you create
just a random product. Let me tell you, that cha-ching never gets old!
BUNDLE YOUR RESOURCES TO START MAKING MONEY
Once
you've created a few products that relate to one another, start to
bundle them up! What is a bundle? A bundle is when you select multiple
products from your store and sell them at a discounted price. Teachers
love getting a bang for their buck, so oftentimes they will buy a bundle
of resources rather than just an individual product. TpT makes
this really easy with the bundling tool (check out the image below). You
will just need to make a cover for your bundled resource. HERE is an example of a bundle I made for distance learning.
GETTING FOLLOWERS TAKES A LONG TIME-DON'T GIVE UP!
One
thing that frustrated me at first, was seeing some teachers with tens
of thousands of followers and I was stuck at 44 for a LONG time. I knew
my products were high-quality but many of them just weren't being seen
or found. Most teachers just buy and go, and don't really care about
following your store. If they really love something, I find that they
will end up following you when they return for their next product.
You'll see some differing opinions online. Many will say, "you want
organic followers" but I'll be honest, most of the people saying that
started selling on TpT early on and have a huge following. It is
so much harder now to get followers because the website is so
overpopulated. And let's be honest...having followers make you look more
legit. If you want some followers to get you jump-started, some
Facebook groups like TpT Sellers have follow threads almost every
week (follow my store, I'll follow yours). With that said, comment
below and I'll be happy to follow you!
SUBMIT TO THE NEWSLETTER
TpT
sends out newsletters weekly, with the exception of the summer. Before
submitting to the newsletter, check out what they are already putting in
there. It's "easier" to get a free product in the newsletter than a
paid one, so start there. They usually are looking for products that
appeal to a wide range of teachers. Keep in mind, it does appear they
save submissions for later. So instead of just submitting the same
product every week, change it up. You are welcome to submit to the
newsletter every week or so. It took me about a year to get into the
newsletter, and that was with submitting every week. Although it took a
while, it was thrilling to open the email and see my product! The image below has my product that made the newsletter (please note this was my old store name & logo). I also got
many new followers and traffic to my store. Submit to the newsletter HERE.
REPLY TO YOUR FEEDBACK
Your TpT
app will notify you when you receive new feedback about a product. Make
sure you reply to that person. When potential buyers come to your store
and read your feedback, they will see your replies, and in turn, feel
comfort knowing that you are active in your store in case they have any
questions.
I hope you found my tips helpful! Please comment below with any questions and I'm happy to help. Good luck!
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