MY FIRST SALE
Recently, I created a resource that works well for primary science teachers. But my TpT store is dedicated to helping math teachers, so this product is not in line with the rest of my store – and nobody comes to my website, social media pages, or my TpT store looking for science resources.
I made the resource because I was showing teachers in my online course “Your first $1,000 on TpT” how to make these types of resources – not everyone in the group is a math teacher like me.
But I thought the product looked good, and I had already made it, so I put it up for sale on Teachers Pay Teachers. After all, the work was already done, why not give it a shot and see if I can make a few extra dollars?
After two weeks, there had been no sales on the product. So I began using some strategies that I teach in the course about marketing and getting free traffic to your product and I sold a two (and had about 20-30 people preview it).
WHY I’M NOT MAKING MONEY
The problem is that when people come to my store, they see it’s for Math Teachers (it’s in the name of the store). So these science teachers purchasing this product are not likely to follow my TpT store, nor my social media accounts. I also have no other products in my store for elementary science teachers, so there’s no opportunity for them to browse my products and find something else that they might be interested in purchasing.
Finally, I have no freebies for them in my store (all my free content is geared towards math teachers). So they are not likely to remember me.
Thus, their interaction with me and my store is soon done and my sales for that product have tapered off since that week (back to zero!)
THE SNOWBALL
Teachers Pay Teachers income is like a snowball rolling down a hill.
Now, I’m from Florida, so I’ve never actually experienced such an occurrence, but I’m told that as a snowball rolls it collects more snow and gets bigger. The same is true for your sales on TpT.
The more products you have, and the more time you invest on the platform, the more your sales will be. When you first start on Teachers Pay Teachers, you will have no followers, no ratings, no social media accounts to promote on, and very few products. And you will be attempting to compete in a saturated market. So your snowball will be very tiny. Like mine was when I sold the elementary science resource.
But if you keep at it, that snowball will grow over time.
HOW TO MAKE IT ROLL
Let’s pretend that I was an elementary science teacher, and I was starting a TpT store with that same first product (I would need one more since you must start with a free product before you can start selling anything).
Here are a few things I would do to get this snowball rolling.
Niche and Naming
First, my store would need to convey that it is here for elementary science teachers. So I would name it something that told customers that if they are an elementary science teacher, this is the store for you. I talk about some of these strategies in my free ebook (and we dive deeper into it in the online course I already mentioned).
This way, when teachers find my products, they’ll see the name of my store and be more likely to investigate it more. They’ll want to see my other products (though I don’t yet have any) and they’ll consider following me (which will be a big help as time goes on).
Social Media Accounts
Another way to help customers stay connected with my store and products is to have social media accounts for my TpT Store. This would allow people who found the accounts or posts to visit my TpT store, and vice-versa (visit the accounts from the store).
This would help build brand recognition, as well as create another opportunity for me to connect with potential customers. Both of which would help make sales.
A great free product
Another way to get more followers and keep people on my TpT store longer is to have a good free product that helps them. When I started my math store, my freebie was a Do Now Worksheet for teachers. It was nothing great, but it was something. It was good for all math teachers regardless of grade, and it was downloaded over 1,000 times. Now, I have something that’s much better as my featured free product.
So think through a resource that you have that would be good for all of your potential customers.
Bonuses and Thank You’s
In all of your downloads, you should have a bonus or thank you letter. In that letter, you will invite people to connect with you on your social media pages, encourage them to follow your TpT store, and give them something free (maybe just a link to your free product).
Why Followers Matter
First, having a good amount of followers looks good to potential customers. It’s called social proof.
But beyond that, whenever you load a new product, TpT will automatically email all of your followers and tell them that you have something new. What a great source of free marketing! If you have 100 followers, that means you will automatically have 200 eyeballs on your new item (for free, through no work of your own). So get followers by offering free products, making your store name very obvious to potential customers that this is for them, and encouraging people to follow you.
A NEW SCENARIO
Let’s pretend I made that same worksheet I previously referenced, but I was an elementary science teacher just getting started on TpT. Let’s assume I have a decent free resource for Science teachers and that this worksheet is the first thing I have for sale.
Since we’re being practical, I have no followers, but I have started a social media account – like a Pinterest page, and maybe even a Facebook page.
I again, do that little bit of social media marketing that resulted in probably 20-30 people visiting my store and 2 sales (just like I previously did).
However, this time, when the 20-30 people came, some of them might have downloaded my free product, which gave them a nice thank you, encouraged them to follow my TpT store, and then asked them to come check out my Pinterest Boards or my Facebook business page – which may have resulted in a few followers. The same freebie would have been given to my two customers.
As I continued to post and interact on Pinterest and Facebook, I gained a few new followers on those platforms.
MY SECOND PRODUCT
After a week or two, I create my second product, which is posted on Teachers Pay Teachers – which is automatically emailed to the handful of followers my store has.
I post it on Pinterest and Facebook which is also seen by my followers. I already have a few new eyeballs on the product, but I continue using social media marketing strategies that got me those first two sales.
I now have a few more people coming to see my second product, but as they’re on my store’s page they see my free product, plus my first product. They now have twice as many options to purchase plus the freebie – meaning three times as many chances to interact with my content and become a follower.
My second product will likely have slightly better success than my first, but perhaps the same number of sales… two!
TWO DOLLARS
My first product sold for $1, so I made $2 that first week. (I know it’s not technically $2 because TpT and PayPal take a cut, but let’s say it’s $2 to make the math easy).
Let’s assume the second product is also $1, and has also made me $2 (or let’s dream big and say it made $3!!).
I have now made $5 in two or three weeks! Even if I make no more money this month and my snowball never grows, I just keep making $5 a month, this will result in $60 for the year, paying for the premium membership!
IT GROWS
If I continue this strategy of marketing and creating more products, I will continue to get new customers and make sales.
TWO STORES
Imagine two different stores, both selling the same item (let’s just say they both sell tulips).
Store 1 has one item, tulips!
Store 2 has several different types of flowers for sale, as well as garden tools, fertilizer, lawn decorations, seeds, weed killer, etc.
When a customer goes shopping, in which store is he more likely to spend more money?
In store 1, they only can buy one thing: tulips!
But in store 2, they have the opportunity to purchase an additional product. And since they’re already there and already shopping, if they see something useful, why not throw it in the cart?
As people visit my TpT store, they are more likely to find something they are interested in if I have more products. So continue to grow your catalog and add products to your store. This will keep the snowball growing.
IT’S FOR YOU
This strategy does and will work. And it can help you start to make some extra money.
I encourage every teacher I meet to start a TpT store and start earning money to help improve their teacher salary. I hope you will too.
WHAT IF I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START?
Many teachers tell me that they don’t know how to start as a TpT seller. That’s why I started the online course, to help teachers get going. In the class, we will through the steps needed to open a store – and we’ll do it together! With a group of teachers also doing the same thing. I will show you how to open your store, create products, get customers, and make money!
I hope you’ll join the course. But it’s only offered once a year. So download the free e-book to get started today!
