We all keep hearing about these teachers who are making extra money on Teachers Pay Teachers, and it seems like such a good idea. They make it sound so easy, but I don’t even know where to start!
No fear my friends, I’m going to walk you through the basics in this article, and then I have a free eBook that I’m going to give you that continue will help you along the way.
What Every Other Post Tells You To Do
Every other post you’ve read about starting a TpT page begins with the business side. How to pick a business name, how to find your niche, branding, logo design, etc.
And they’re right. That is technically where you should start. And in my Online Course – You’re First $1,000 on TpT – that’s where we start too.
But that’s not what’s going to help you right now, is it?
You’re looking for the nuts and bolts. How does the thing work? What do I need to do to get going?
So forget all that stuff above. You can figure that out as you go! (Plus it’s in the eBook you’re going to download at the end of this post).
In fact, you can open a store today, call it “Ms. Smith’s Stuff,” have no logo or brand colors, and start making money. Later, once you figure that other stuff out, you can change your name, get a logo, and work on your branding. For now, let’s discuss where to begin.
Where to Begin
First, you need to go to Teachers Pay Teachers and click “Join Us” at the top of the screen.
Second, you need to sign up for a Seller Account.
But which one?!?!?!
Once you start selling, you will want to get a Premium Seller Account. It’s so much better, and my biggest regret is not starting with a seller’s account to being with.
HOWEVER. If you don’t yet have a product to sell, or you just have one or two and you’re not even sure how people are going to find your store, then begin with the free account. Once you get a few items on your store, and you start making a few dollars, switch to the premium account! But for now, if you’re just starting, it’s fine to get the free account.
Here’s why you need to get the Premium Account at the beginning
As a premium seller, you get to keep 80% of your sales, as opposed to 55%.
But that’s not all! You also don’t have a 30 cent transaction fee as a Premium Seller.
I won’t bore you with all of the math but consider a $1 product. If you sold it on your basic (free) seller account, TpT will take the first 30 cents as a transaction fee. Then, with the remaining $0.70, you get 55%. Which is $0.38!
If you were a premium seller, you would actually make $0.68. Almost twice as much. Multiply that by 20 sales and we’re up to $6. Multiply that by 12 months and the Premium Seller account has paid for itself.
Do the same math on a $3 product, and the contrast is $1.49 versus $2.40. Almost a whole extra dollar per sale! That’s why it pays to be a premium seller.
Step Two – Your First Product
Before you can sell anything on TpT, you must upload a free product.
I know, I know, TpT is evil and only cares about money – so you’re surprised that they want you to give something away for free (sarcasm of course).
But it’s a very good business practice to give away free products. This helps customers become familiar with your work, and build trust with your brand.
So make your free product a good one! Something that will bring a lot of teachers to your TpT store and make them appreciate your work.
You also want your free product to be ‘on brand.’
So, earlier I told you not to focus on your brand. But eventually, you need to. What kind of teachers will you be attracting? 2nd-grade teachers? Elementary Art teachers? Special Ed? Home School? Middle School Math? College Professors? Administrators? (The list goes on).
If your store focusses on classroom management strategies for elementary teachers, then you don’t way your free product to be an Ice Cream Lab for Chemistry teachers – no matter how cool it is (pun intended). Because after these chemistry teachers download your lab, use it, and love it – and tell their friends – they’ll come back to your page looking for more great labs to do with their chemistry class, but all they’ll find is a bunch of resources on classroom management – not what they’re looking for.
Don’t worry, though, you can always change your free resource.
My first free resource was not that good. I changed it to a free Do Now worksheet. Very simple, very practical, and good for my ideal customer. Eventually, as I had more to offer, I uploaded more free resources but kept the Do Now worksheet as the main one (the one featured on your store’s homepage) until I created something superior. The first resource is still there, but a better one has taken the place of the featured product.
Step 3 – Start Uploading Products
Many teachers don’t know what they should upload onto Teachers Pay Teachers account.
Here’s the answer.
ANYTHING that is saved onto your computer, that another teacher could use in his/her classroom.
The most common / obvious examples are lesson plans and worksheets. Because most teachers have created them! So that’s a great place to start.
Some other common ones:
- PowerPoint presentations
- Anchor Charts, Word Walls
- Task Cards
- Classroom Activities and their Instructional Pages
Make sure you have no copyrighted images! But you can upload any of these to TpT.
Some less common ones: Do you have a really good syllabus, you could upload that. Have you made a teaching video, perhaps something Khan Academy style? You could sell that.
My best selling product is a reflection worksheet for a misbehaving student. Maybe you have some similar resources? Or a behavior log? Or even an intervention program that could be replicated.
Lots of teachers are selling Newsletter Templates that you can download and edit to send home every week.
You could sell a book (I actually have two on my page).
Some Crazy Ones:
I have seen a TpT’er who sells a virtual calendar, full of graphics and tutorial videos.
I sell a PPT slide that allows teachers to make pennants for their classroom
Some teachers sell clipart, custom fonts, and even digital paper on TpT!
One teacher specializes in tokens to give students when they do something good (like tie their shoes or raise their hands).
There’s no shortage of things to sell.
BUT HOW TO UPLOAD
TpT is very user-friendly when it comes to uploading products. You simply click a button and upload the file. If its multiple files, you will need to compress the folder and upload that zipped folder.
Don’t forget to add a good product description, with the Common Core Standards, as well as preview images (or video) and a good cover image.
In my online class – You’re First $1,000 on TpT – I will walk you through all of these, helping you create them in a way that will increase sales. Learn more about the class, which is only offered twice a year, by clicking here.
But I also have a video that walks you through how to upload your resources to TpT:
I know this is A LOT of information. So either save this post to your Pinterest page or download the free eBook below!
Step 4 – Start Driving Traffic to your Store
This, too, we go deep into in the class. But for now, you need to get your products in front of teachers who would benefit from them.
That means that you need to use Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media platforms effectively to get attention and generate traffic to your store.
This does NOT mean spam! No spamming! Instead, develop a strategy to post regularly and get your content shared.
Step 5 – Where to Go From Here?
Viola! You’ve done it! You’ve taken your first steps towards making extra money on TpT.
You
- Registered for a sellers account
- Know that your first product will be a free one
- Understand the process of uploading a product
Now, start combing through things you have already created that would be of benefit to other teachers.
If you don’t think you have anything good, make something! Look at your next teaching unit, and start creating something that can be shared. The easiest place to start is with your lesson plan.
From here it’s a matter of creating more products, creating better products, and getting people to view your products. But that’s for another post. Right now, you have all the knowledge you need to start a TpT page and begin earning some extra money.
Free eBook
Download the free ebook to get all this information and more to help you get started selling on TpT.
Want Even More Help?
I have an online class that will walk you through the steps of opening a TpT store, creating amazing products, and driving traffic to those products so that you can start making a great side income on TpT.
This class will walk you through these steps and give you tons of resources so that you will be successful. You can learn more about the class, and even enroll in it, by clicking here.
