Ready to jump into the world of Teachers Pay Teachers, but overwhelmed with all the information out there? My goal is that by the time you are done reading this post and have downloaded my free Guide to Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers, you will have the confidence to thrive in your new role as Teacherpreneur.
Why Start?
If you are here, I’m assuming you have already decided to start a TpT store or are dabbling with the idea. If you are still on the fence, I’m here to tell you that starting a TpT store in my first year of teaching literally changed my life.
Let’s face it. None of us chose our jobs because of the financial reward. We chose to become teachers because we love helping students and having an impact. But… those warm-fuzzies we get from our jobs don’t pay our bills. So, rather than giving up our time to get another part-time job (e.g., serving, selling, etc)., why wouldn’t we use the skills we already have to create a stream of passive income?
You are already creating lesson plans for your class. You are already creating worksheets and engaging activities. Why not expand your impact and get paid for it?
When I looked at my TpT sales reports and realized that people in the US, Australia, UK, Greece, Dubai… were using my products I freaked out. I realized that not only am I making extra money, I’m literally impacting students and teachers I would never have been able to impact if it wasn’t for TpT. Cool, right?
My Experience Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers
I am not here to tell you that TpT is a get-rich-quick strategy. It takes hard work and dedication to get your store up and running. The cool thing is that once it does, you are earning passive income.
I started my Teachers Pay Teachers store to be able to purchase TpT products for myself and my students without feeling guilty. So really, I was hoping for an extra $50 a month. I achieved that within my first month and once I realized the potential, my goals grew exponentially. Within 8 months, I was at a 4-figure month. Now, I am achieving 5-figure months.
I don’t say this to brag or put unrealistic expectations on you, I say this to show you that it’s possible for you, too. Little risk, huge reward.
Memberships
If you’ve read this far, I’ve probably convinced you to get started (yay!). There are two membership options on TpT – Basic & Premium.
The basic membership is free, and I actually suggest you start with that until you make your first sale. Once you make your first sale – switch to premium.
The premium account is $59.99/year, but your payout is much more significant. Rather than only keeping 55% of your sales, you keep 80%. That adds up quickly. This switch also pushes you to keep going and to at least make back what you spent on the membership. Every seller I’ve spoken to has said they wish they had started their premium account sooner.
Storefront
There are a few things that go into your store front – your store name, a logo, a quote box, and a leaderboard.
I discuss all of this in my Guide to Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers, but in short: pick a name that resonates with you and that will LAST. Try to avoid names attached to one grade level as, things can change and you may not want to be associated with that forever. Also, do a search. You do not want to pick a name that someone else has or that is too close to the name of another seller. It doesn’t look good, and it causes confusion with customers.
When it comes to your logo and branding, I suggest you create a mood board. There are tons of mood board templates on www.canva.com, so start to put together colours & images that you feel represent you as a person, teacher and business owner. Use this to create your logo or pass on to a designer to ensure you are happy with the result.
The First Product
Your first product has to be a freebie. I will do a blog post on freebies in the future, but to begin – make sure your freebie is HIGH QUALITY. I cannot stress this enough. If buyers come to your store and do not have reviews to base their purchasing decision on, they may look at your freebie to get a sense of the quality of work you put out. If your freebie isn’t great, they will assume the same about the rest of your products.
Download my Free Guide to Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers
Download FREE Guide to Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers below. This is exactly what you need to get started on Teachers Pay Teachers with confidence! Don’t forget to join the Facebook group and follow me on Instagram for more seller tips & tricks.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE
Happy creating!
Before you go…
Check out these related blog posts:
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How to Create Digital Resources
