My Top 10 Tips for Becoming a Successful Seller on Teachers Pay Teachers

Hi there!

I’ve been selling on TPT for years and I’ve turned my lil teacher side hustle into a full blown business. Now I want to share some words of wisdom with you on how YOU can become a successful seller on TPT.

Quick side note: I’m hoping you’ll find these 10 tips useful, but sometimes a blog post just doesn’t cover it all! If you’re looking for MORE tips and advice for selling on TPT…

Join the Terrific Selling Tactics community by signing up with your email HERE and get free tips straight to your inbox. If you’re a social media/visual person, check out my Instagram which is FULL of free tips and advice for selling on TPT. Follow along HERE.

Anyways, let’s get started! I am going to share 10 tips that transformed my growth.

1.) Spend time (and it takes time).

TPT is ALL about time. You have to spend time creating and marketing your resources and then sit about and be patient because it takes time to see success. If you think TPT is a get-rich-quick scheme or that it doesn’t require much effort, you’ll be disappointed. So, the no.1 reason I found success was that I started spending hours and hours working on TPT. Then I was patient.

2.) Create quality products.

You can spend all the time in the world on TPT, but if you’re not making good products, no-one will buy them. When I say quality I mean fun, engaging, interesting, or original products. Trust me, I’ve made products that are boring or over-done. Sometimes I just haven’t put much effort in. They didn’t sell. My good products have ensured my success, my poor quality ones have not.

3.) Make attractive products.

You can have the most original idea in the world, but if your product is unpleasant to look at, people will not buy it. I’m talking quality fonts, clip art, and visually appealing pages. The next tips about marketing will be impossible if you don’t do this step. It’s very hard to dress up an unattractive product.

4.) Create a stunning cover.

So you’ve got a perfect product, that’s great. But no-one will ever know about (let alone buy) it if they don’t click on it. They won’t click on it if the cover is unappealing. People judge books by covers, so they’ll judge a product by its cover. Create an eye catching product cover for every product. ASAP.

5.) Make your product listing irresistible.

So, a fantastic cover gets people to click on your product but it does NOT make them buy it. I’m referring to thumbnails, previews, and descriptions. TPT is a business. You’re asking people for money for your product. You’ve got to sell it to them with an enticing product listing that makes them think ‘I NEED this product!’ So, write an amazing description and show the product well in thumbnails and previews. Get them interested.

6.) Photograph your product.

That bit on my graph where it suddenly went zooming upwards? A big contributor to that was product photography. One day, I printed one of my worksheets. I filled it out, colored it in, and photographed it (during and after completing it). It literally changed my business. I use ‘in-action’ product photography shots on covers, thumbnails, pins, and Instagram posts. People need to visualize what the activity will look like. Just do it, trust me.

7.) Have a lot of products.

I’m all for quality over quantity. In fact, tip no. 2 is ALL about quality. But it’s impossible to be successful on TPT without quantity too. Think about it statistically. You could have 20 or 30 great products, but I have 300. I come up more in the search engine and I’ve got products for every topic. Unfortunately, a teacher might not find something they like in your 20 products. But they might find something in my 300. It’s simple really. You need stock. Empty shelves don’t make sales. This ties in with tip no.1 – spend time creating!

8.) Pin, Pin Pin.

Pinterest is dear to me. It was my first form of marketing and it is still my biggest source of traffic outside of TPT. Create lots of quality pins for every product and you’re set. Remember that bit on my graph that shot up? Remember tip no. 6 about product photography? Well I took those pictures and plonked them on Pinterest. In fact, I sat down and did in action photos and pins for like 100 products over a few weeks/months. I had to play catch up.

9.) Learn from others.

Research what other successful people are doing. Read blog posts, take courses, or join Facebook groups. Look at posts on Instagram (like mine!). Learn and grow. You’ll pick up tips from people who have been there, done that. They can make sure you don’t make the same mistakes that they did. But don’t do everything they do. Sometimes people pressure new sellers to do everything or spend lots of money (‘Write a blog, do email marketing, start social media, invest in this, invest in that’). Don’t end up broke and stressed. Check out my Instagram for free tips.

10.) Enjoy what you do.

I’ve made boring products or forced myself to do things I didn’t want to do. I just ended up resenting TPT and losing motivation. Make products that you enjoy making. Skip the boring bits and try to have fun. This ties in with tip no.9. Don’t feel pressured to do things you don’t want to do. I spent years creating products, pinning, and spending NO money. Only now do I blog, do email marketing, invest in lots of things. Because I have the money, time, and head space to handle it. Take things one step at a time. You got this.

So that’s it. My 10 tips for success. Everyone’s journey is different but some of those tips are a MUST for success on TPT. I bet you have a million more questions and you’re dying for more tips. Sign up to my email community HERE or follow me on Instagram. I’m here to help.

P.S, If you want all the answers in one place, check out my TPT Seller Course!