Your Featured Products section is one of the first things that a customer will see when they visit your TpT store. So getting it right can make a big difference.
How do we optimize our featured resource?
Customer Journey
How does someone end up on your TpT store?
Most teachers find your resources through a search on Google (or another search engine). Or they see your product through your marketing; whether that be through your social media, a blog post, an email, etc.
Once they land on your resource, if they like it and are curious about who you are, they’ll click on your store name and be taken to your store.
They are doing this to learn more about you, or to discover more of your great resources.
When they come to your store, they will see everything above the scroll. This includes your banner, free download, name and number of followers, and your featured products.
All of these should be optimized. But your featured products section might take up the most amount of space on this screen. Plus, since it includes your resource cover images, it will quickly catch your viewers’ eyes.
A quick note. If they’re looking at your store on their mobile device, they will not see your banners. Instead, they will only see your store information, logo, free download (with its cover image), and your first featured product (the rest will be below the scroll).
Another common way that someone would land on your TpT storefront is if you link to it from your blog, which I do recommend.
What Resources Should be Included in your Featured Products Section?
Not your Best Sellers
I recommend showing off your best and highest converting resources that aren’t included in your top sellers.
When someone visits your TpT store, below the featured products section will be your resources. They will be listed, by default, in order of your best sellers.
Yes, the customer can change this order. But even if they do, they will still see your best sellers before they change it to your free products or another way of organizing your products. And most won’t do this.
This is why I recommend not putting your best sellers in your featured products. Because the customer will see those immediately after they see your featured ones. So don’t show the same resource to them twice. Instead, show off your best stuff. Make the most of this valuable real estate.
Think About your Ideal Customer
Your featured products should be those resources that communicate to the customer what your store is all about and who it’s for.
If your store is focused on hands-on projects for middle school science teachers, the resources in this section should indicate this.
Who is your ideal customer?
What types of resources does your store specialize in?
Make your resources show this off.
Focus on your Product Line Bundle
I think a great strategy is to show off your premium resource. Your most expensive bundle.
You want people to see this. Plant that seed in their minds that you’ve got this great and large product that they would love. If they continue coming to your store, or are on your email list, or somehow continue to connect with your brand, they will continue to see this large bundle and it will help get you more views and sales.
Update Them Around the Holidays
If St. Valentine’s Day is coming, and you’ve got some great seasonal resources, put them here. Same for all of the other Holidays or special days that schools celebrate (like Back to School, Pi Day, or the 100th Day of School).
Just remember to remove them after the season has passed to again optimize this space on your storefront.
Look at the Data
Putting a product on your featured resources section will get them more views. Since more people will see them, they will get more clicks.
Because of this, a good strategy is to use resources that already have good conversion rates.
Let’s pretend that you have a product that has a 10% conversion rate. If you make it your featured resource and it gets 50 extra views because of its new location. You will likely make 5 extra sales. Whereas if you use a resource that has a 2-3% conversion rate, you will only get 1extra sale.
Because your featured resources will get more clicks, select ones that have a high conversion rate compared to your other products.
Optimize your Featured Resources
Since these resources will get more clicks, optimize them so that you get a higher conversion rate.
To optimize your TpT product, make sure you have a great cover and preview image, a well done preview file, and a dynamic product description.
Don’t use Your Free Resources
I used to put a free resource in this section, thinking it would show off what a great guy I am. Maybe it would make the viewer more likely to follow my store.
I no longer subscribe to that theory. Here’s why.
First, they will already see one of my free resources on my storefront, above the scroll. Especially if they’re on their mobile device.
Second, customers are pretty good at finding free resources all on their own. They know how to find the filter button or use the search bar. So let them do that, and you focus on optimizing this part of your store with products that will generate income.
Finally, think of this section as prime real estate. It can drive a lot of traffic to a resource. So help yourself by making this a resource that will help generate income for you.
Set your Featured Resources
Let’s recap.
Your featured products are important. They can help generate extra income for you. So optimize this part of your TpT storefront by choosing the right products.
Pick some of your best converting products that represent what your store is about and who it is for.
Don’t choose free products.
Optimize the products you choose with great preview images, an excellent preview file, and a well written product description.
Finally, if you have seasonal resources, put them in your featured section in the days leading up to that special date or time frame.