I started this journey 2 years ago in January 2018. A friend of mine mentioned TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) as a source of curriculum for her classroom. She even suggested that I could sell there; I don’t think she truly understood her impact in her fleeting suggestion. I am so grateful to her and will tell her so tomorrow for the like 10th time.
Before beginning, I read Christy Wright’s book Business Boutique, which really helped me to solidify my niche and research where I wanted to go. After reading that and getting over my fears, I started creating products for my TPT store Integrated ELA Test Prep. I went crazy and in the first year, I made over 200 products. I learned a lot of things through experience and online!
10 Tips I Learned While Growing My TPT Store
1. As Christy Wright says, “Do it scared.” No product is perfect. You will want to revise, revise, and revise in the hopes that what you create will be perfect. None of us is perfect, so our products will never be perfect. Just create, do the best you can in editing and revising, and post the product. Don’t fret if it comes back with a less than favorable review. You will always have the chance to make it better, but don’t let the revision process keep you from growing your business.
2. BUNDLE EVERYTHING! I have bundles in an array of combinations. By doing so, it provides more opportunities for exposure, and it serves my customers by offering more options. For several months in my store, it looked as if I created 70-90 products. Nope. I just broke apart my lesson packs into separate products and then created different bundle offerings. More exposure of quality products=More sales!
3. Create square titles, use the thumbnails, and offer previews. I have started offering full previews that are printing protected with a watermark. I now use Adobe Acrobat DC for securing documents. The more people see the product, the more they know what they get to purchase.
4. Use searchable titles. Oh my goodness; this has changed my business. I have already hit my highest month in January 2020. Trust me! Your cute, catchy title is NOT what teachers type into the search bar. Find out what they would actually type and use that wording in your title and description. It is AMAZING!
5. Find your niche! This doesn’t mean you can’t bridge out once in awhile, but my bread and butter products integrate test prep into classic literature, specifically for secondary students. I have several products for elementary students, but that market is more saturated. As Steven Covey says, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
6. Read, read, read! I have read so much nonfiction over the last 2 years! My favorite books include Business Boutique, Total Money Makeover, Everyday Millionaires, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Love Your Life Not Theirs. Through reading, I have discovered my “why!” My “why” includes getting out of student loan debt (we have paid off $60,000 in the last 2 years with only $27,880 left to go), being able to stay home with my girls to home-school them, and to provide opportunities for others in my business.
7. Listen to podcasts to get activate your mind and get ideas! My favorites include The Dave Ramsey Show, the Business Boutique Podcast, The CEO Teacher Podcast (aka The Go-Getters Podcast), and the Goal Diggers Podcast. They offer ideas I had never even thought about before. They blow my mind and get me to dream beyond what I think I can do.
8. Invest in yourself. Just this past December, I took a leap and enrolled in The CEO Teacher Academy by Kayse Morris. It is AMAZING! I thought I had so many things figured out, but I was beginning to get frustrated. I just needed more exposure to grow my business. Her course has contributed to tripling my earnings over the last 2 months. I am so glad I invested into my business, because ya’ll, I am cheap…err frugal ?
9. KEEP CREATING! So many TPT Teachers want to start promoting after 5 or 10 products, or they get frustrated because they have not sold anything yet in 30 days or less. Let me tell you, I had no idea I would be where I am today had you asked me 2 years ago. With steady creation and dedication, you can get there! It takes time, patience, and determination. Think about it. If you create 1-2 products a week, you will be at 100-200 products after 2 years. 100-200 products may not be possible for everyone, but everyone can grow in his or her own way!
10. Continue to learn. I am just starting to blog, and I have a website with ONE product ready to sell! LOL! But I am always trying to learn how to incorporate something new. My goals for the year are 24 blog posts, developing an email list, uploading all of my products to my own store, creating pins, and using social media. I am not comfortable with many of these things, but I am devoted to my “why” and want to do what I am always asking my students to do. Be open-minded and learn.
Last Words
I hope these tips help; I know it can be tough as this journey can be all-consuming as we try to balance teaching, parenting, friendships, relationships, home maintenance, and our dreams. But you too can grow your business and make one more step every day in your own journey to achieving what you never expected!
This post was written by Kristin Menke, The Integrated Teacher. You can check out her store Integrated ELA Test Prep on TPT.