• My Account
  • My Cart
  • Checkout

Terrific Teaching Tactics

Make Learning Fun

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Shop
    • Wishlist
    • My Account
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • For Teachers
    • Blog
    • Shop My TpT Store
    • Free Resource Library
  • For TPT Sellers
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Facebook Group
    • TPT Seller Courses
    • Coaching
  • Contact Me
  • 0 items

How to Make a Preview on Teachers Pay Teachers

Hey teacherpreneurs,

In this blog post, I want to talk all about product previews on TPT. I’m going to tell you what a preview is, answer the question of whether you need them, tell you how to make them and upload them, and help you protect them.

Previews on TPT

What is a preview?

If you’re new to TPT, you may not know what a preview is. Essentially, we are given lots of ways to help buyers understand our product before they purchase. We have the cover, thumbnails, description, and preview. The cover and thumbnails are small square pictures. The preview is often a PDF (although you can also upload a picture).

The difference between thumbnails and previews is the size. Thumbnails are very small and they are made slightly blurry by TPT in order to protect our work. Previews are big and clear close ups.

You can use a TPT preview to show a full page (or more) of your product. You can also overlap screenshots and show everything included in your product.

Do you need a preview?

The short answer is YES.

The slightly longer answer is YES YES YES!

TPT has confirmed that over 60% of buyers won’t purchase without seeing a preview. This is because buyers want to know exactly what they are going to get. Thumbnails are small and blurry. Descriptions are just words. Buyers need a clear visual look at your product to help them make their decision.

What holds people back from making previews is often laziness or paranoia of theft. My advice is don’t be lazy and miss out on those 60% of buyers. Theft, however, is a genuine concern. But don’t worry, we’ll talk about protecting our previews at the end of this post.

Previews on TPT
Be like this cute and smart dog. Make previews!

How do you make a preview?

It’s simple! You can create TPT previews using whatever program you use to create your products. Personally, I use PowerPoint.

I simply copy and paste some of my product into a new PowerPoint and use it as a preview. I often show a few full worksheets. Occasionally, I create a page with overlapping screenshots of all my worksheets so that a buyer can see how many activities are included. I save my PowerPoint as a PDF and upload it to TPT.

Here’s where to upload a preview on your tpt listing. The gray box is where you can upload your PDF or JPEG.

Previews on TPT

How do you protect TPT previewS?

A sneaky buyer could easily download, print, or screenshot a preview. They could lift clip art (which violates most clip artist’s terms of use) or edit your pages. That is why we must protect our work.

The first step is to add a watermark to your pages. I create a circle shape in PowerPoint and adjust the transparency (go to format shape) so it is slightly see-through but still colored enough to cover my work. I write the word ‘preview’ across the shape too.

Pro tip – Create a PowerPoint template with your watermark. You can copy and paste it into your previews, which is quicker than making a watermark from scratch every time!

Make sure you flatten your work so that the watermark has value and can’t just be removed. The free option is to simply save your PowerPoint slides as jpegs. Then re-insert the jpegs into your PowerPoint. This flattens the clip art and prevents editing.

It is also important to secure your work by password protecting it. Flat Pack and Adobe Pro are ways to flatten and secure your work if you are willing to invest.

I hope you’ve found this post about previews on TPT useful! If you’re looking for explicit tutorials, check out my TPT seller course.

P.S – I hope you’ve found some useful tips in this post! Sign up to my email community here or follow me on Instagram for MORE free advice. I also have lots of free tips in my TPT Facebook group. 

Sharing is caring!

«
»

TPT Seller Blog Posts 2

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. nadine says

    October 4, 2022 at 11:32 pm

    Thanks, Alex, this exactly answered my question. Heading off to make some now.

    Reply
    • Alex says

      October 5, 2022 at 2:38 am

      That’s great to hear!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hi, my name is Alex! I love creating fun, colorful, and engaging resources for the early years. I’ve taught 3rd and 1st grade and I’m passionate about creating interactive activities that engage all learners Read More…

Teachers

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Cart

Teacher Sellers

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Cart

For Teachers

Interested in FREE resources? Become a V.I.P.

Click here to join

For TPT Sellers

Interested in TIPS for TpT? Join the community.

Click here to join

Categories

Footer

Teacher Instagram

Here’s 10 personal narrative writing prompt idea Here’s 10 personal narrative writing prompt ideas! Be sure to save this post 💾

Write a personal narrative about -
• The worst day ever
• A party you went to
• A day you visited relatives
• A time you got really sick
• A cute animal you saw
• Something funny that happened to you
• A time you felt really scared
• A sleepover you went on
• A great present you received
• Something fun you did with your family

I hope these help your next personal narrative writing lesson! 🙂 

 #teacherssupportteachers #teacherhacks #teachertalk #teachersofigau #teachershare #teacherideas #teachersfollowingteachers #teachersonig #teachertips #teachertribe #teacherresources #teacherproblems #teachersbelike  #igteachers #igteacher #instateacher #teachersofthegram #teacherig #teacherinsta #teacherinstagram #educatorsofig #educatorsofinsta #educatorsofinstagram #1stgrade #1stgradeteacher #1stgraderocks #1stgradefun #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #firstgradeclassroom
End of year writing crafts! 🎉 These will be pe End of year writing crafts! 🎉

These will be perfect in the next month or so as the school year wraps up.

Comment below if you’d like me to send you the link!

#endofyearactivities #endoftheschoolyear #bulletinboard #bulletinboardfun #bulletinboardswag #bulletinboards #bulletinboardideas #bulletinboardsofinstagram #writingcrafts #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #firstgradeclassroom #firstgradeteachers #firstgradeart #firstgradefun #firstgradewriting #1stgrade #1stgradeteacher #1stgradeart #1stgraderocks #1stgradeteachers #1stgrader #1stgradewriting #grade1 #grade1teacher #grade1art #iteachfirst #iteach1st #iteach1 #iteach1stgrade
Mentor texts are a game changer! They’re great Mentor texts are a game changer!

They’re great as a writing lesson warm-up because they can -

• introduce the writing genre
• show an example of what the writing genre looks like
• teach the text structure and features of the writing genre
• inspire students to improve their writing

Plus all the other benefits of a read aloud!

Be sure to read mentor texts every writing lesson if you can 🙌🏻

Double tap if you agree! 💗

 #Writingcurriculum #writingprompts #writingteachers #writingteacher #writingworkshop #writingworkshops #writersworkshop #writinglessons #writinglesson #writingcenter #writingcenters #writingforkids #writingactivity #writingactivities #iteachwriting #kindergartenwriting #firstgradewriting #secondgradewriting #thirdgradewriting #literacycenters #readalouds #literacycenter #mentortextmonday #readaloud #elateacher #elateachers #iteachela #iteachelementary #mentortext #mentortexts
FREEBIE ALERT 🚨 These cute dinosaur writing c FREEBIE ALERT 🚨 

These cute dinosaur writing crafts are free in my TPT store 🎉

There’s opinion, narrative, and informational writing prompts included! 

Comment dinosaur below and I’ll send you the link 🙂

 #Writingcurriculum #writingprompts #writingteachers #writingteacher #writingworkshop #writingworkshops #writersworkshop #writinglessons #writinglesson #writingcenter #writingcenters #writingforkids #writingactivity #writingactivities #iteachwriting #kindergartenwriting #firstgradewriting #secondgradewriting #thirdgradewriting #literacycenters #literacycenter  #elateacher #elateachers #iteachela #freelessons #freelesson #tptfreebie #tptfreebies #teacherspayteachersfreebie
A great way to end your writing unit is with a pub A great way to end your writing unit is with a publishing party! 🎉 

I think giving each student a wonderful writer certificate is a great idea during the party 💡 

(The one pictured is included in my third grade writing units).

Do you do publishing parties or hand out certificates? Let me know below! ⬇️ 

And be sure to save this post for later if you like the idea 💾

 #Writingcurriculum #writingprompts #writingteachers #writingteacher #writingworkshop #writingworkshops #writersworkshop #writinglessons #writinglesson #writingcenter #writingcenters #writingactivity #writingactivities #iteachwriting #thirdgrade #thirdgradewriting #literacycenters #3rdgradeclassroom #literacycenter #3rdgradeteachers #elateacher #elateachers #iteachela #thirdgradeteacher #thirdgradetribe #thirdgradeteachers #3rdgrade #3rdgrader #3rdgradeteacher #iteach3rd
Wanna know how to engage reluctant writers? 

Don’t tell them what to write about, let them decide!

If you force a reluctant writer to write about a topic that they find dull, then there’s no hope! 😬

Perhaps your student really loves cars, dinosaurs, or a certain video game. 

Allow them to write about something they are passionate about! They’ll be a lot less reluctant 🙌🏻

Let’s look at the video game example. 

• They can write a narrative where they pretend to be a character in the game. 

• They can write an opinion piece where they write about why the game is the best. 

• They can write an informational piece where they explain the rules of the game or how to play. 

I know you might be set on a certain writing prompt but sometimes flexibility is required when it comes to reluctant writers.

I hope you like this tip. Be sure to save this post for later! 💾

 #Writingcurriculum #writingprompts #writingteachers #writingteacher #writingworkshop #writingworkshops #writersworkshop #writinglessons #writinglesson #writingcenter #writingcenters #writingforkids #writingactivity #writingactivities #iteachwriting #kindergartenwriting #firstgradewriting #secondgradewriting #thirdgradewriting #literacycenters #literacycentres #literacycenter #literacycentre #literacylearning #elateacher #elateachers #iteachela #iteachelementary #iteachk12 #iteach123
CUPS ☕️ Love this strategy and anchor chart CUPS ☕️ 

Love this strategy and anchor chart by @rockinresources 🙌🏻

Double tap if you agree 💗

 #Writingcurriculum #writingprompts #writingteachers #writingteacher #writingworkshop #writingworkshops #writersworkshop #writinglessons #writinglesson #writingcenter #writingcenters #writingforkids #writingactivity #writingactivities #iteachwriting #kindergartenwriting #firstgradewriting #secondgradewriting #thirdgradewriting #literacycenters #literacycentres #literacycenter #literacycentre #literacylearning #elateacher #elateachers #iteachela #iteachelementary #anchorcharts #anchorchart
‘I’m obsessed with these! There are so many mi ‘I’m obsessed with these! There are so many mixed up sentences products on TPT and I’ve used many of them, but looking back I realized how impossible the word choices were! My students can actually read these words and figure out the sentence on their own instead of just copying something without reading it. Genius!”

I received this feedback on my decodable sentence building activities the other day and I was overjoyed! That’s exactly why I created these. Science of reading aligned and actually decodable! 🙌🏻

This video shows the CVCe ones, but I have lots of others too. Comment below if you’d like a link!

#sor #scienceofreading #scienceofreadinginstruction #structuredliteracy #decodablereaders #cvcwords #sentencebuilding #sentencestructure #kindergartenactivities #kindergartenclassroom #readingintervention #readingspecialist #readinginterventionist #iteachreading #readinginstruction  #readinglessons #literacycenters  #firstgradeclassroom #firstgradeactivities #firstgradereading #kindergartenreading #earlyintervention  #literacycenter  #phonicsactivities #phonemicawareness #phonologicalawareness #readinglesson #decodablebooks #literacyspecialist #phonicsreading
Are you teaching informational writing? If so, her Are you teaching informational writing? If so, here’s some writing prompt ideas!

💾 Psst! Be sure to save this post for later!

• Why do volcanoes erupt?
• List everything you know about bats.
• Explain ways to look after the planet.
• Share some facts about lions.
• What do flowers need to grow?
• Explain what a circus is.

If in doubt, have your students write ‘All About…’ an animal or country! 

Don’t forget to save this post of ideas 💡 

 #Writingcurriculum #writingprompts #writingteachers #writingteacher #writingworkshop #writingworkshops #writersworkshop #writinglessons #writinglesson #writingcenter #writingcenters #writingforkids #writingactivity #writingactivities #iteachwriting #kindergartenwriting #firstgradewriting #secondgradewriting #thirdgradewriting #literacycenters #literacycentres #literacycenter #literacycentre #literacylearning #elateacher #elateachers #iteachela #iteachelementary

Pinterest

TPT Seller Instagram

Want to have a profitable blog? You have to be wil Want to have a profitable blog? You have to be willing to be salesy! 💰

Yup…scary I know!

But here’s the thing. I make hundreds of dollars from blog posts and they are always the ones about my resources!

If you don’t talk about your resources, you can’t drive traffic to TPT.

Check out this week’s episode of The Terrific Teacherpreneur podcast to learn more! 🎙️

Tell me in the comments, do you find it hard to be salesy? 

 #teacherspayteachers #teacherspayteacher #tptteachers #tptteacher #tptstore #tptsellers #tptsellertips #tptseller #tptauthors #tptauthor #teachersoftpt #tptdownunder #teacherauthor #teacherauthors #teacherauthorsofig #teacherpreneur #teacherpreneurs #teacherpreneurship #teacherpreneurtips #teacherpreneurtribe #teacherpreneurlife #teachercreated #teachercreative #teachercreator #teacherseller #teachersellers #teacherblogger #teacherblog #teacherbloggers #teacherblogs
Reviews aren’t something that you can control! ❌

Sure, you can remind buyers to leave reviews. But this won’t change the fact that most buyers just don’t leave reviews 🤷🏼‍♀️

Reviews will come with time, I promise! 
They will increase as your sales increase 🙂

Don’t dwell on it. 
Don’t find dodgy ways to get them.

Instead, spend your energy creating and selling great products that people want to buy (and therefore review)!

Focus on product creation, optimizing your TPT listings, and marketing your resources! 

Double tap if you needed this reminder 💗

#Iteachscience #spedteachers #iteachart #musicteachers #iteachela #mathteachers #iteachreading #socialstudiesteacher #iteachlanguagearts #eslteachers  #scienceteachers #iteachsped #artteachers #iteachmusic #elateachers #iteachmath #readingteachers #iteachsocialstudies #languageartsteacher #iteachesl #peteachers #iteachmiddleschool #highschoolteachers #iteachprimary #prepteachers #slpsofinstagram #schoolcounselorlife #iteachelementary #schoolteachers #teachersfollowingteachers
Any guesses which year I started taking TPT seriou Any guesses which year I started taking TPT seriously? 😂

#Tpt #teacherspayteachers #teacherspayteacher tptteachers #tptteacher #tptstore #tptsellers #tptsellertips #tptseller #tptauthors #tptauthor #teachersoftpt #tptdownunder #teacherauthor #teacherauthors #teacherauthorsofig #teacherpreneur #teacherpreneurs #teacherpreneurship #teacherpreneurtips #teacherpreneurtribe #teacherpreneurlife #teachercreated #teachercreative #teachercreator #teacherseller #teachersellers #teacherblogger #teacherblog #teacherbloggers #teacherblogs
Here’s my suggestions for what to write in your Here’s my suggestions for what to write in your weekly emails!

• Share your long-form content (e.g. blog posts)
• Provide freebies (not too often)
• Share tips, hacks, and strategies relevant to your niche

In this week’s episode of The Terrific Teacherpreneur podcast, I dive into this topic so be sure to listen! 🎙️ 

Tell me below, do you ever struggle with what to write in your weekly emails? Will you be listening to the episode? 🙂

#tpt #teacherspayteachers #teacherspayteacher tptteachers #tptteacher #tptstore #tptsellers #tptsellertips #tptseller #tptauthors #tptauthor #teachersoftpt #tptdownunder #teacherauthor #teacherauthors #teacherauthorsofig #teacherpreneur #teacherpreneurs #teacherpreneurship #teacherpreneurtips #teacherpreneurtribe #teacherpreneurlife #teachercreated #teachercreative #teachercreator #teacherseller #teachersellers #teacherblogger #teacherblog #teacherbloggers #teacherblogs
When it comes to marketing on IG/FB or emailing yo When it comes to marketing on IG/FB or emailing your list, it’s so important to serve your audience!

Educate, inform, or entertain!

This can look like offering freebies, but mostly it’s sharing knowledge, tips/hacks or maybe even memes/jokes.

When your audience feels like they get value from following/subscribing, they build the ‘know, like, trust’ factor with you. This leads to sales! 💰

If all you do is show up and talk about your products, your intention is to serve yourself and your audience can sense it. So it just isn’t as effective 😬

A good example is me! If every Instagram post or podcast episode was about my courses, would you still be here? ❌ Or if I ghosted you and only showed up twice a year when I had a course to sell. Ugh that would be so annoying, right?! 🙌🏻

The other thing is that serving others can be fun. I really enjoy sharing tips! I’m sure you will too when it comes to your audience 🙂

Save this post as a reminder 💾 

And let me know in the comments if you agree! 

#teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #teacher #teacherlife #teachers #teachersofig #teachergram #teachersofinsta #teachertribe #teachersofthegram #teachersoftpt #teachershare #teacherssupportteachers #teachersbelike #teachingideas #teachersrock #teacherfollowfriday #teachhustleinspire #teacherstuff #teacherfriends #teachersfollowingteachers #teachingideas #teachingtips #teachinglife #primaryteaching #teachingandlearning #tpt #tptsellers #teacherspayteachers #tptauthor #teacherauthor
Don’t dwell on the summer slowdown! Instead, opt Don’t dwell on the summer slowdown! Instead, optimize your listings and make new products for back to school 🙌🏻

What are your business plans for the summer? ☀️ 

#Iteachscience #spedteachers #iteachart #musicteachers #iteachela #mathteachers #iteachreading #socialstudiesteacher #iteachlanguagearts #eslteachers #middleschoolteachers #iteachhighschool #primaryschoolteachers #iteachprep #prekteachers #schoolslp  #scienceteachers #iteachsped #artteachers #iteachmusic #elateachers #readingteachers #iteachsocialstudies #languageartsteacher #iteachesl #peteachers #iteachmiddleschool #highschoolteachers #iteachprimary #slplife
A while back I shared about a month where I earned A while back I shared about a month where I earned $10k. 

But Instagram is always people sharing their successes, so I thought it would be nice to share my chapter 1 and not just my chapter 10. 

I earned $2.70 my first month on TPT! And as you can see, the following months were around $100. 

We all start somewhere! 🙌🏻

Tell me below, do you enjoy these kinds of posts?

#Teacherhustle #teachersidehustle #teacherbusiness #teacherpreneurs #teacherpreneurship #teacherpreneurtribe #tptsellers #teacherauthors #tptauthor #tptauthors #tpttips #tptteachers #tptteacher #tpt #teacherspayteachers #teacherseller #teachersellers  #igteachers #igteacher #instateacher #instateachers #instagramteachers #instagramteacher #teachersofig #teachersofinsta #teachersofthegram #teacherig #teacherinsta #teacherinstagram #educatorsofig
Can you relate? 😂 #teacherspayteachersresourc Can you relate? 😂

 #teacherspayteachersresources #teacherauthors #teachersidegig #teachersidehustle  #teacherentrepreneur #teacherpreneurs #tptauthors #teacherpreneurlife  #tpttips #teacherauthor  #teacherspayteachersstore #tptnewbie #teacherboss #teachertiptpt #teacherpreneurship  #teacherseller #teacherhustle #teacherbusiness #teachercreator #tptsellers #tptauthor #teacherpreneurcommunity  #tptteachers #tptseller #tptteacher #tptstore #teachersoftpt #teacherpreneur #teacherpreneurtribe
Email marketing is a great way to direct traffic t Email marketing is a great way to direct traffic to your TPT store!

1.) You create a freebie and entice your ideal customer to join your list. 

2.) You send frequent emails (e.g. weekly) to build a relationship with your customers.

3.) You share links to your resources and get eyes on your listings!

This week on #theterrificteacherpreneur podcast, I answer a bunch of questions about email marketing! 📧

I discuss things like how to get people on your email list and how to increase open rates! 🙌🏻

It’s a fun episode because I’m the one being interviewed! 

FYI my email marketing course is open if you want to learn more 🙂 

Comment ‘email’ and I’ll send you a link!

#iteach #iteachtoo #iteachfirst #iteachk #iteachfourth #iteachart #iteachthird #iteachsecond #iteach2nd #iteach3rd #iteach345 #iteach456 #iteachprep #iteach1st #iteach4th #iteachmiddleschool #iteachsixth #iteachreading #iteachfifth #iteachkinder #iteachmath  #iteachela #iteach5th #iteachkindergarten #iteachupperelementary #iteachwriting #iteachsped #iteachhighschool #iteachprek

Copyright © 2023 · Website + Branding Design by Christi Fultz

Save 10% on your first purchase! Use the coupon code TERRIFIC10 at checkout. Dismiss

We noticed you're visiting from Australia. We've updated our prices to Australian dollar for your shopping convenience. Use United States (US) dollar instead. Dismiss