Several years ago I begun selling on Teachers Pay Teachers. I knew absolutely nothing about it!
I had to start a PayPal account just so I could join. After completing all the necessary forms to begin, I was shocked to discover that I had to upload a free product before I could sell anything. I hadn’t thought this through. The only reason I wanted to start a TpT page was so that I could sell my new book as a digital resource to teachers (it was already selling as a soft cover book on Amazon).
My Second Biggest Regret
As I begun my TpT journey, I was presented with a difficult option. The free account or the paid account. Since the book was going to cost $5, I realized I’d have to sell 12 to recoup my initial financial outlay. Which I wasn’t sure I was going to do. So I selected the free account.
I did not think through the difference that would make, especially since you keep a little over half of your earnings on the free account. But to my pleasant surprise, I quickly sold over 24 copies, which meant I had earned over $60, so I upgraded to the paid account.
Which meant that after 24 sales, I had made no money! If I had spent the money on the front end, I would have earned a greater commission on each, and would have money left to show for it.
Click here to read more on why you should pay for the TpT Premium Membership.
I Don’t Learn My Lesson Easily
Despite this mistake, I plowed forward soaking up all the knowledge I could get. At the time, there was a very good online course that would teach you all the in’s and out’s about being a TpT Seller. It cost around $250 at the time. But if you didn’t realize from my above story, I was being cheap, so I did not spend the money and continued trying to learn it all on my own.
I made lots of mistakes. These mistakes cost me a lot of time. They also lost me a lot of sales.
The More I Learned the Less I Knew
It took me a long time to finally get good at selling on Teachers Pay Teachers. And the more that I learned, the more I realized how little I knew. Now I spend a lot of my time going back and trying to fix the mistakes that I made. More time spent, less money earned.
Why it Was So Hard
Trying to figure out Teachers Pay Teachers on my own was difficult because there were so many things that I didn’t understand. Things like SEO, banners, and crosslinking, which can greatly increase sales. I didn’t understand titles, preview images, or how to get likes to my store (or why).
I had no one guiding me. Explaining to me the value of all these things, or what I should do next – or why. If I struggled with something, I didn’t know who to ask, or have anyone to help me.
I needed a mentor. Someone who could walk me through the steps and explain them to me – explain the value of each one and show me how to do it well.
I needed a small group of people who were in the same place as I was so that they could help me along the way.
If I Could Do It All Over Again
If I was starting over, I would take that class. At the time, $250 seemed like a huge investment (and it is), but what I failed to realize was that a class like that could give me rocket fuel and propel me to success. My store now much makes more than that every month. I wish I had arrived at this point long ago.
TpT sales grow like a snowball. They multiply. So if I had gotten to several hundred dollars a month a year or two ago, imagine how far along I would be by now.
That’s Why I…
Because of all of this, I created this website and give away this free ebook – to help teachers who want to get started on Teachers Pay Teachers, as a seller. Both of these free resources can get you to where you need to be.
But if you want that rocket fuel; if you want a mentor to help you on this journey and a group of educators walking with you, then I invite you to join my online course.
