So, if you’re looking for grammar or Creative Writing tips, go ahead and skip this one. But, if you’re a fellow TPT seller looking for solidarity or just nosey and wondering what goes on behind the scenes here at It’s Lit Teaching, stay tuned!

I’m going to talk about the highs and lows of the last year in my business as well as my plan for the next year. 

Curious about the evolution of my business? Check out some of my past blog posts:

• How I Made $1,000 in my Sixth Month Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers
• How One Year of Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Has Changed My Life
• Full-time TpT: 8 Realities You Need to Consider
• 5 Ways Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Has Changed

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

TPT Seller Year 7: The Highlights

I feel like the context of my personal life is somewhat important, so let me catch you up really quickly. My son is now 21 months old. We have part-time daycare (he goes three days a week), and I SAHM it for the other two. 

This is great in terms of saving money, but less great as a business owner trying to make a full-time income. 

So my biggest achievement in the past year has probably been surviving it all. Regardless of the daycare illnesses, tantrums, and new milestones, my business has stayed at the top of my priority list. 

I even hit the gold milestone!!!

In fact, I was so excited to start daycare and get back into things, that I added a ton of products! In 2024, I added 37 new products to my store! 

That might not be much for many TPT sellers, but I really pour my heart and soul into each and every one. Most of my products include multiple versions, answer keys, examples, supplemental resources, etc. Each resource takes hours and hours for me to produce.

So ramping up production and finishing a big bundle–my World Literature Class–felt really good!

TPT Seller Year 7: The Disappointments

Despite the increase in resources offered, however, that increase did not translate to my TPT earnings. 

My 2024 earnings were almost identical to my 2023 earnings. 

Now, let me pause here and note that I am super grateful for all that TPT allows me to do! Earning the same amount of money as the year before while taking care of my son two days a week is crazy!

There’s no way I could do that if I was still full-time in the classroom and reliant on my teaching salary. 

I also recognize that TPT’s algorithm has changed over the past few years, and many full-time sellers are seeing their earnings drop dramatically. The fact that I didn’t see a huge drop, too, is a big win!

But still. We entrepreneurs are hungry for growth, and it was disappointing not to see any for the first time in my business. 

It was also terrifying. 

If my earnings plateau or start declining, I’m in pretty big trouble. TPT is now my full-time income, so if it disappears, it will hurt my family. We use that money to pay our bills! 

When you work for yourself, you realize that no one is coming to save you. You’re responsible for the wins, but you’re also responsible for the losses. 

I knew by the summer that I was not going to see much growth, if any, in 2024. So I made a plan to do something about it.

What I’m Trying Going Into Year 8

I signed up for a new offering from Chynell Moore, her Making Moore community program. The goal was to walk participants through her method of scaling products so TPT sellers can finally hit. 

I won’t go into too many details, but I’ll share two takeaways from that program that I’ll be moving forward with for sure. 

New Tool #1: Business Coaching

The first is Chynell Moore herself. 

Any time I was able to talk to Chynell one-on-one, the lightbulbs just went off. In just a few moments on our first call, she was able to dig into my dashboard and give me a roadmap for building my business. 

She has a knack for seeing what’s working, what’s not, and helping you use that information to scale. 

For me, that means leaning into my blog (which I love!) and not letting myself feel bad about my sad Instagram (I hate social media!). 

Talking to Chynell was the first time in a long time that I felt like I was learning and being challenged in my TPT business in a way that was helpful. 

I signed up for private coaching after her program ended. At the point of writing this, I’ve only done one private call so far, and I can’t wait to see where Chynell and I go from here. 

Check out her work and offerings here. I can’t recommend her enough!

New Tool #2: Facebook Ads

Another tool I’ll be using this year is Facebook ads. 

During the Making More program, I tested some ads to grow my email list and saw some great success. It’s really fired me up for playing with ads and focusing on my email list this year. 

My email growth has been pretty flat, so I’m excited to fine-tune some opt-ins, sequences, and use FB ads to grow and scale my list. I’m hoping that growing my email list will have a positive ripple effect throughout my business. 

Final Thoughts

If you’re a TPT seller who has moved beyond the beginner stage, you’re probably feeling my struggle right now. Maybe you’re not seeing the growth you want or expect. Or maybe you’re tired of the lack of resources for learning new skills. 

I feel you.

2024 left me incredibly frustrated with my lack of progress. 

But it also reminded me that there are always ways to improve and to learn. It reminded me that we have to invest in our business sometimes to see it grow. And it reminded me that sometimes, we need other people to help us meet our goals and potential. 

I really hope that next year I’ll be able to write my annual review with tips and tricks for other sellers to use to leverage their sales. 

Until then, I’m meeting 2025 with a renewed sense of energy for my business. I’m excited to get messy and try some new things. I plan on doing this for a long time.

The post TPT Seller: Seven Years of Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

Full disclosure, this is my workflow. I do not know if this is considered best practice, but it has helped me significantly with a few of my products. My goal in sharing this is to help you think through using these tools in a way that works for you. 

I’m writing this midway through June 2024, so this might not reflect any updates since then. One great thing about the Your Data Playbook team is that they are always surprising us with new, helpful updates!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

What is Your Data Playbook? What are the SEO Tools?

Your Data Playbook or YDP is a host of data analysis tools. If you want to learn more, you can read my full review of Your Data Playbook here. 

In addition to their main suite of offerings, they also offer SEO tools for Teachers Pay Teachers sellers. 

The SEO Tools are specific to the TPT algorithm. It includes helpful information like which terms teachers are searching for most, how many reviews it takes on average to get to the first page of a search, and more. 

These tools are sold separately from Your Data Playbook. (I believe pricing starts at $30/month, but that’s certainly subject to change.) The SEO tools are considerably cheaper, which makes them a great starting point for newer sellers looking to level up their game.

What Is SEO?

I can’t get into the SEO tools without covering SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimization. 

When you search for something on Google, Google’s search engine uses an algorithm to choose which results are best and in what order to show them. TPT’s search bar does the same. 

Results that are search engine optimized typically return higher in searches. 

For TPT sellers, that means we want to make sure our resources are SEO-friendly so that they appear higher when buyers search on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. 

There are lots of factors that go into improving a site’s SEO. However, when it comes to TPT, the main factor we can control is keywords. 

The words you use in resource titles and descriptions heavily influence how your resource ranks in a TPT search. 

So if you can figure out which words to include to boost your ranking in the TPT search engine, you can greatly increase the odds of buyers seeing your resource, and, thus, sales overall.

How I Use Your Data Playbook SEO Tools Step 1: Set Up Your Tools

Depending on your Your Data Playbook SEO subscription, you will have a certain amount of keywords you can track.

There are two groups of keywords you will need to track: Your Keyword Finder and Your Rank Tracker.

For the Your Keyword Finder, you’ll want to track “root” keywords. These are broad, probably one-word, search terms. For example, “grammar,” “first grade,” or “Christmas.”

The second group of words for Your Rank Tracker should be more specific. These are “long tail” keywords for TPT that buyers might use the narrow down their searches. For example, “grammar worksheets,” “first-grade math stations,” or “Christmas poetry activities.”

I recommend choosing some root words that pertain to your product lines and overall niche. If you’re already aiming to show up for specific keywords, you can add those to your rank-tracking list immediately, too.

Otherwise, if you’re not sure what keywords to add to your Your Rank Tracker, you can input your Your Keyword Finder terms first. Then, after the SEO Tools have had a few days to gather some data, you can use the “Keyword Finder” tab to choose new terms to include in your SEO Tools.

You can add words to both of these lists by clicking the link at the top of your SEO Tools.

How I Use Your Data Playbook’s SEO Tools Step 2: Choose a Product

When I use YDP’s SEO tools, I usually begin with a product or a product line in mind that I want to improve. 

I have a membership for all of YDP’s tools. In my most recent strategy plan, one of the pieces of advice YDP gave me was to use more of my title space for my “Horror Genre Study Unit Bundle.”

YDP was right. “Horror Genre Stuy Unit Bundle” is a pretty short title. There’s lots of space to add informative keywords for buyers. But I wasn’t sure what words I should add. 

So, thanks to Your Data Playbook’s suggestion, I knew exactly which product to focus on. From there, I opened up the SEO tools.

How Do I Know Which Product to Choose?

I think as a seller you may intuitively know which of your products are fantastic but not getting enough eyes on them. Follow this intuition.

With the YDP SEO Tools, you can also see which of your products are not ranking very high or ranking at all. Simply go to the “Your Product Tracker” tab.

From there, you can filter for products that are not ranking for any keywords you’re tracking or for products that are ranking on pages 3-5. These will show you resources that could potentially benefit from some SEO optimization.

Alternatively, if you are a Your Data Playbook member, you may receive the advice to add more to your product title. When I am given this advice for a product, I do keyword research with the SEO Tools to see what terms I can add to the product’s title.

This is what I’m doing in the example in this post.

How I Use Your Data Playbook SEO Tools Step 3: Check Your Resource’s Current Ranking

When I created my “Horror Genre Study Bundle,” I hoped that buyers would find it by searching “horror” or “horror genre.” 

To see if this was happening, I opened up my SEO Tools and went to “Your Rank Summary” on the left. From the “Find Keywords” dropdown, I selected “horror” and “horror genre.”

When you select keywords here, all of the products you have that rank for these keywords will show up below.

I was pleased to see that my “Horror Genre Study Bundle” (and its components)  was doing well for both.

But could it be doing better? What other keywords could I target?

How I Use Your Data Playbook SEO Tools Step 4: Find Relevant Keywords

Next, I moved to the “Your Keyword Finder” tab. This tab is great for finding relevant keywords that you can target for your resources. 

Since “horror” was the root word I’m trying to target with this bundle, I deselected “popular on TPT” and selected “horror.” (I also like to filter for only “exact match” in the “Keyword Match Type” dropdown.)

This shows me the most popular keywords that contain “horror.” 

I also changed the dropdown filter for “Period of Time” to “lifetime.”

From here, I’m looking for keywords that meet certain criteria:

• They are relevant to my product
• The “1st Page Reviews Threshold” is less than 32 because my product has 32 reviews at the time of writing this

A few terms stood out to me.

Some terms, like “horror unit,” I was pleasantly surprised to see. This is a keyword that I already include in my product title, but I wasn’t aware was something buyers are searching for. For this one, I’m going to add it to my Keyword Manager, so I can start seeing if it’s something I rank for already.

Some keywords I can eliminate immediately. My bundle has nothing to do with “Little Shop of Horrors” or any particular “horror film,” so I shouldn’t add those words to my resource–even if they perform well in search. 

Then, there are a few keywords that DO pertain to my bundle that I’m not yet using. In particular, the keywords “horror stories,” “two sentence horror stories,” and “elements of horror” all relate to different products in my bundle.

Using this information, I went ahead and renamed my resource. I changed it from “Horror Genre Study Unit for Digital or In-person” to “Horror Genre Study Unit: 3 Stories, Elements of Horror, and More.”

I think this change gives buyers a better idea of what kind of resources they will find inside the bundle. 

How I Use Your Data Playbook SEO Tools Step 5: Update Your Keyword Manager

Since I’m now aiming to rank for some new keywords, I need to make sure I put those into my Keyword Manager right away. (Again, there is a link to the Keyword Manager form at the top right of the SEO Tools.)

I went ahead and added “horror stories” and “elements of horror” to the list of keywords I track. This will make the next step easier. 

How I Use Your Data Playbook SEO Tools Step 6: Track Your Progress

After changing your product’s title, you’ll want to give it time before you check in. I try to wait at least a few days. 

Then, you can head to the “Your Product Tracker” tab in the SEO tools. To evaluate my title change, I filtered for just the bundle I’ve been working on. 

This area shows you how your product is ranking for each of the relevant keywords you track. I can see that I’m now ranking at number two for a new keyword I added: “elements of horror.” I think that’s a major win!

I’m also now ranking number 7 for “horror stories.” Not bad!

If you scroll below this area, YDP also provides a graph for how your ranking has changed over time. My favorite part is that it adds a data point for dates that you’ve changed the product’s title. 

As you can see, my rankings have improved since changing this title. 

YDP even tracks your title changes automatically and breaks down the data for you. This change is currently “trending successful,” which means I can’t quite label it a resounding success yet, but it’s looking good!

Who Should Subscribe to the Your Data Playbook SEO Tools?

YDP’s SEO Tools are an incredibly powerful tool for any TPT seller, but I don’t recommend them for everyone across the board. 

If you’re new to selling on Teachers Pay Teachers, I think you should work on mastering the basics–creating products, previews, covers, thumbnails, and SEO-friendly descriptions–before paying for any seller tools. 

There are tons of free blog posts, podcasts, and seller Facebook groups out there to help you get started. 

It’s only after you start seeing regular monthly income that I recommend any seller commit to subscriptions. 

If you’re starting to make $100 a month and ready to level up, then I think YDP’s SEO Tools are the perfect next step! It will help you perfect your existing products’ search rankings and help you plan out your next product line. 

These SEO Tools are also a great place to start for those interested in using Your Data Playbook. Your Data Playbook, while incredibly helpful, isn’t inexpensive. 

Starting with these SEO Tools is an easier point of entry and learning how to use them will take awhile. Begin with these tools, get through the learning curve, increase your revenue through SEO, and then consider adding the rest of YDP’s suite to your TPT toolbox. 

You can sign up for YDP’s SEO Tools right here!

Your Data Playbook SEO Tools Alternatives

If you can’t quite afford the SEO Tools yet, don’t worry! That doesn’t mean you can’t do any keyword research!

Optimizing your SEO is a must-do for any TPT seller these days. Luckily, more and more YDP alternatives are emerging on the market.

Check out this blog post where I talk about TPT SEO tools from free to paid!

Conclusion

If you have product lines that you suspect could be doing better in search, or you want to start planning product creation with more intention, then you should definitely give YDP’s SEO Tools a try. 

Because this is a monthly subscription, you can always try it for a few months and discontinue the service if it’s not right for you. 

I highly recommend YDP’s SEO Tools. Every time I use it I find more and more ways to improve my product listings. 

The post How To Use Your Data Playbook SEO Tools appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

In this post, I’ll share how selling in 2024 is different than when I started in 2018. I’ll touch on how some strategies have changed and what strategies haven’t.

Want to read more about my TPT journey? This post talks about the first six months of my business.

What Hasn’t Changed About Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers?

Before I dive into the changes over the years, let me start with what hasn’t changed. 

First, success on TPT still requires one basic strategy: sell high-quality products. 

Resources need to be good. They need to be accurate. Printables need to be visually appealing. Sellers need to optimize SEO on their sales pages.

I firmly believe that quality and persistence will lead any seller to TPT success. This was my philosophy when I began my store, and it’s remained true to this day. 

Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Change #1: Competition is Fiercer

When I started in 2018, there were already a lot of sellers. But there weren’t a ton of sellers that were treating their stores like businesses. 

There weren’t a ton of courses talking about optimizing your resources’ SEO or preview. 

For the most part, the vast majority of resources were uploaded by full-time teachers as a hobby. 

While this is still mostly true, even the hobbyists are taking things more seriously. It takes more work for your covers to stand out or for your listing to rise in the search results. 

Some might dismay and say the market is “oversaturated.” I hate this phrase and line of thinking. 

I firmly believe that it’s impossible to have “too many” great educational resources. Even if you and I taught the exact same lesson, we’d each have our own spin on it. My way would resonate with some students while your method would resonate with others. 

So please don’t mistake fierce competition for an oversaturated market. There will always be room in the market for great products.

But it’s definitely harder to stand out in the marketplace.

Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Change #2: Pinterest is Dead

Ok, this headline is a little overdramatic. Pinterest isn’t completely dead. 

But it’s nowhere near as helpful as it used to be. 

When I started, Pinterest was an essential part of every seller’s strategy. Now, most agree that it’s not worth sinking money into. 

A few years back Pinterest went public on the stock market. Its focus changed to earning ad revenue for its stockholders. Getting your Pins to perform has been harder since. 

The big problem is that Pinterest shows Pins from “owned” websites far more frequently than other Pins. Since we don’t “own” our TPT store, we can’t share these kinds of Pins. 

However, if you have a blog or other website, you can share “owned” Pins from there. These Pins do much better than Pins to products. 

While I was pregnant with my now 9-month-old, I had to prioritize where in my business to focus my precious little energy. I stopped Pinning products but continued to Pinning blog posts, and I haven’t noticed much of a difference in sales. 

Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Change #3: Marketing Is More Important

When I started selling on TPT, you could throw a resource onto the marketplace and it would generate money relatively easily. Plus, as it gained reviews and downloads, it would sell more and more. 

While this “snowball effect” is still in play, it’s not quite as easy to show up in search results. Outside marketing has become crucial to take your store to the next level.

Luckily, marketing strategies are as diverse as sellers. You can find one that you enjoy and works for you.

Personally, I hate social media. It just feels like a constant grind. I’m much more comfortable blogging, researching SEO, and sharing ideas here on my website. 

So far this year, a third of my sales have come from this little blog. That’s a huge difference! And since I TPT full-time, that money is crucial. It pays my bills. I can’t afford not to market. I don’t know what major seller can.

Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Change #4: It’s Harder to Increase Your Income

If you, too, have been selling for a while, you’ll feel me on this one.

This is one of the biggest ways selling on Teachers Pay Teachers has changed.

Gone are the days when TPT seller revenue seemed to double every year. Fast growth can still happen during your early years. But established sellers will have to fight a little harder for major growth. 

Part of this is because the competition is fiercer. 

But, I theorize that a bigger issue is that we have fewer buyers. 

There is a huge teacher shortage. More and more educators are fed up and leaving the field. Fewer college graduates are filling classrooms. And, sadly, no one seems to be doing anything about it. 

In addition to this, some districts are cracking down on teachers using their own curriculum or curriculum of their choice. We’re seeing more teachers being forced to teach a textbook verbatim or follow canned curriculum. 

The result is fewer buyers who can find a resource they love and actually use it in their classroom. 

On her podcast, Kristen Doyle used a phrase I absolutely love to describe this period of history for sellers. She called it “TPT’s first recession.”

I love this because I think it’s true. This is the first time in TPT history when pageviews for the whole site are down year-over-year. 

But, like a recession, this too shall pass. Maybe I’m overly optimistic, but I believe this rough period will end and sales will rebound in time.

Canned curriculum rarely works. As the pandemic showed up, parents need teachers in classrooms. I’m holding out hope that over time, some of these issues in education will be mitigated, and, by proxy, TPT sales will increase again. 

But for now, sellers are fighting for a slice of a shrinking pie.

Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Change #5: There Is More Help Than Ever Before

When I started selling, there were only a few places to really get help for your store. 

Some of these, like Misty Miller’s Facebook group for sellers, are still around–and still incredibly valuable.

Others were podcasts that have since faded into the distance. 

Now, there are more courses (I even put one out myself), tips on Instagram, and YouTube channels than ever before.

There are even paid tools like Your Data Playbook and TeachersBoost to help you optimize your listings and conduct SEO research. 

Now, a lot of this help is paid. But I could have only dreamed of a tool like YDP in the early years. 

The Future of Teachers Pay Teachers

So, the eternal question still stands for many of you: is selling on TPT worth it?

For me, it’s still a resounding “Yes!”

With only partial daycare, I’m usually only able to focus on my store for about ten hours a week. But I’m bringing home 150% of what I did teaching. 

(Full transparency: I put in a ton of time for years while still teaching to build my store’s foundations. I also have a spouse who provides essential benefits like insurance, which I’m not factoring into my take-home.)

For me, the flexibility is so, so worth it especially now that I have a very young son. I have no idea what I would have done this past year with the myriad of doctor visits, illnesses, and expensive daycare. 

TPT allows us to only do partial daycare to save some money, and I can take him to the pediatrician whenever. 

I also am still very optimistic about TPT’s future. 

TPT experienced over a decade of straight growth. That’s insane for any business in any industry. This “recession” on TPT is, in my opinion, just the market rebalancing. 

The economy ebbs and flows, and, as part of that, so will TPT. Business owners need to stay flexible and know when to pivot. 

I also–maybe naively–am choosing to remain optimistic about education as a whole. The current climate sucks. 

But at some point, even if the federal government does nothing, states are going to have to reckon with the lack of teachers. Some will do this better than others. But changes will have to be made for society to continue to function. Like you, I just hope this happens sooner rather than later. 

Conclusion

In some ways, TPT hasn’t changed at all. It’s still a wonderful way for teachers to share their value with others and be rewarded for it. Good resources will thrive. SEO reigns supreme. 

In other ways, selling on Teachers Pay Teachers has changed a lot. New tools on the market are changing the game and allowing more stores to be competitive. Fewer customers and a changing economy have undoubtedly changed buyer behavior. 

However, I am still a firm believer in what TPT has to offer for both customers and sellers. And while this past year may have been tough on sellers, I am optimistic that a new wave of growth will come again.

The post 5 Ways Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Has Changed appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

I’ve included three free tools and two paid ones.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

Why do Keywords Matter?

The TPT algorithm determines which resources appear when a potential buyer does a search. And while many factors go into this formula, the keywords in your product title and description are some of the most important. 

But how do you know which magical words to use?

TPT doesn’t provide us with much data about which keywords are being used or are being underserved. But there are a few tools you can use to help you choose the best keywords anyway. I’ll share some generic tools and a few TPT SEO tools specific to Teachers Pay Teachers.

Learn more about crafting the perfect TPT product page here.

TPT SEO Tools #1: The TPT Search Bar (Free)

The first tool is the TPT search bar itself.

No, you won’t get a bunch of cool data or analytics this way. But, you can gain some insight into popular and trending searches. 

Type a keyword you might use into the search bar, but don’t hit enter yet. Instead, look at the dropdown of suggested searches that TPT gives you. 

These phrases are all popular search terms being used by buyers. The most popular search terms make it to the dropdown of suggested searches. 

So if you’re trying to decide between a few keywords for your product, see if any of them show up in the dropdown of the search bar as you type. That could be a clue that lots of buyers are using that very term to find what they’re looking for!

TPT SEO Tools #2: Ubersuggest (Free)

While Ubersuggest does offer a paid subscription, I have been mooching off of the free plan for nearly five years now–and I have no plans to change that!

Ubersuggest is a powerful SEO tool that lets you see how popular search terms are. 

Now, Ubersuggest won’t show you the popularity of an exact keyword on TPT. Unfortunately, there’s no way to see that kind of data in detail yet. 

But it can show you the popularity of search terms used in search engines like Google. Even though Google search isn’t the same as TPT, it can still give us an indication of what buyers are most likely to search. 

Plus, lots of potential buyers start with Google, search, and find a TPT listing as their solution. 

Sign up for your free Ubersuggest account (this will give you three free searches a day) and try a keyword you might use in a product. Ubersuggest will show you the search term’s popularity and suggest some related terms. 

TPT SEO Tools #3: Keyword Surfer (Free)

Keyword Surfer is a (free) Google extension. 

When you search anything in Google, Keyword Surfer will create a box on the side of your search results showing you the popularity of that term and some related keywords. 

The data is similar to Ubersuggest, but you’re not limited to just three searches a day (although I think data from the free Ubersuggest is more robust). 

Again, use this data to compare possible keywords and choose the best one for your product. 

TPT SEO Tools #4: Teachers Boost (Paid)

Teachers Boost is a new product built specifically for TPT sellers, and it has some handy and robust features. 

First, you can easily use it to find trending keywords. Most importantly, Teachers Boost ranks these keywords. 

Here’s an example of a search I did for “creative writing.”

As you can see, Teachers Boost pulled the top trending keywords and their rank. You can use this information to help you choose between keywords or to give you an idea of what products to create next. I had no idea there was a demand for pirate-themed creative writing resources!

Other Teachers Boost Features

But that’s not all Teachers Boost can do!

Another feature of Teachers Boost is that it can help you write your product descriptions! 

Simply type a few sentences about your product, and Teachers Boost will spit out a dynamic product description for you to use.

It’s not perfect. You will still want to add specifics about your resource, a list of what’s included, etc. But it does generate some captivating and dynamic sentences that include your keywords. 

If you’re struggling with learning to write great descriptions or you feel like yours are getting stale, this tool is great for inspiration!

Teachers Boost Cost

Teachers Boost is a reasonable subscription at $14 per month or $154 for the whole year. 

For this reason, I recommend it for TPT sellers who are making regular income but might still be working to hit their first milestone. 

Teachers Boost will give you an edge over the competition and help you make informed decisions about your business. Learn more here!

TPT SEO Tools #5: Your Keyword Finder (from Your Data Playbook) (Paid)

Your Keyword Finder is a new tool from the people who brought you Your Data Playbook. (Learn more about Your Data Playbook and how it can help your TPT store here.)

Your Keyword Finder is probably the most robust tool for finding TPT-specific keyword data on the market at the moment. 

After you sign up, you’ll create a list of keywords to track. Depending on the tier you sign up for, this might be as few as five or an unlimited number. 

Then, your keyword data will update daily. You’ll be able to see which related keywords are currently trending and which have trended historically. For the lower-tier plans, you’ll only be able to see the last three months but for the higher plans you can look back as far as a year. 

Here’s an example of my results for “creative writing”:

Your Keyword Finder only offers SEO keyword help, unlike Teachers Boost. It’s also more expensive. But the breadth of information you get can be wider–if you sign up for the higher tiers.

Your Keyword Finder Cost

Your Keyword Finder is offered at three tiers.

The starter tier costs $19 per month, allows you to track five keywords, and lets you look back in time for three months. Personally, I don’t think five keywords are worth paying for. At this level, I think you’re better off looking at Teachers Boost. 

But, if you really like the calendar view and only create resources in a very narrow niche, this might work for you. 

The growth tier costs $29/month and lets you track 10 keywords with historical data for six months. More data is obviously better, but if you can afford this, I recommend skipping it and moving on to the unlimited tier.

The unlimited tier is only another $5, at $34 per month. It’s definitely the best value with unlimited keyword tracking and historical data. For newer sellers, however, $34 per month can be steep–especially if you’re still working on affording other basic, must-have subscriptions like Adobe or Canva.

If you’re an experienced seller looking for great data with money to spend, I do recommend the unlimited tier of Your Keyword Finder. 

For sellers who are still establishing themselves, however, I recommend looking into Teachers Boost until Your Keyword Finder becomes affordable for you.

Conclusion

Remember, the best keyword isn’t always the one with the most searches! Sometimes a great keyword will have slightly fewer searches but far less competition. Don’t just look at how often a keyword is used–look at the competition it will bring. 

Give each of these tools a try and see what works for your business and your budget!

The post TPT SEO Tools: 5 You Need to Try Today appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

(Already know you’re interested? Learn more and sign up for Your Data Playbook here!)

What is Your Data Playbook (YDP)?

We all know that analyzing and understanding our TPT data is crucial to seeing growth and making smart business decisions. 

But between making new products, blogging, creating Tik Toks, and, for many, still teaching full-time, it can be hard to sit down and look at your numbers. 

This is where YDP steps in. Your Data Playbook is a subscription service that pulls and analyzes your data for you and breaks it into actionable steps for you.

Think of YDP as a virtual assistant that analyzes your data and then tells you what to do with it.

Instead of tracking VA hours, sending messages through Slack, or dealing with payroll, you pay for YDP’s service. 

Technically, you don’t need YDP. The data YDP uses is the same data you can pull from your own sales reports and dashboard. 

When you sign up for YDP, you’re not paying for the data. You already have that. You’re paying for a consistent plan of action based on that data.

Who is Your Data Playbook for?

Obviously, YDP is for TPT sellers. However, it’s a pretty robust subscription, so it’s not–in my opinion–for every seller. 

I think YDP is best for established sellers who have been making decent money and working at their store for at least a couple of years. Why?

First, the price tag is hefty for many sellers. I wouldn’t recommend YDP until you make at least $1,000 a month. Until then, you’re better off creating more products and learning how to read your data on your own. 

(If you make less than that and are still serious about getting YDP, consider signing up for the monthly plan. This will give you more flexibility to cancel if the fee becomes more than your business can afford.)

Second, a small store has less data to work with and will benefit from YDP less. YDP does a great job of simplifying data, but if your data is already simple, you’re not going to feel the benefits as much.

A new store with less than fifty products doesn’t have too much data to manage. With a small store, it’s not hard to look through your sales statistics and get an idea of which products need some TLC.

YDP Is the Best Value for Established Sellers

Once you have closer to 150 products, years of data, and multiple bundles and categories, however, the data can become overwhelming. This is when YDP’s ability to cut through the numbers and tell you how to prioritize becomes invaluable. 

So if you’re a new seller or haven’t quite found your footing yet, I encourage you to keep making products and learn everything you can about SEO and creating great covers and thumbnails. I also recommend checking out some cheaper courses, like Kristen Doyle’s SEO Bootcamp. 

But if you’ve been at TPT for a while and have a large store, YDP can help you cut through the overwhelm and maximize your time. 

(Get Your Data Playbook here.)

How Does Your Data Playbook Work?

Once you sign up for YDP, you’ll have to give the company access to your TPT account. This is so that they can automatically pull your sales data every month for you. 

Your first data delivery will take a few weeks to put together. In the meantime, you can jump into YDP’s onboarding platform. Here, you’ll find lots of videos explaining each tool and providing data-led advice about creating TPT listings that sell. 

This is also a good time to download a free piece of software called “Tableau Reader.” YDP uses this software to create the visuals that go with your data. Get it downloaded and set up now, so you can use it as soon as you get your monthly data. 

When your first month of data arrives, it will be in a Google Folder specific to your store. This will be shared with you and I recommend starring it to make it easy to find. 

Inside this folder, you will find all of the tools YDP offers. Now you can start exploring and playing around with YDP’s powerful data collection tools. 

Your Data Playbook Review: Strategy Plans

One of the data tools YDP offers is seasonal strategy plans. These are my absolute favorite part of the program. In my opinion, these strategy plans make the entire service worth the money–everything else is just a bonus!

You receive four strategy plans throughout the year. They each roughly coordinate with a selling season: back to school, winter, spring, and summer. 

These strategy plans analyze your sales from the last year and tell you exactly how to optimize your bestsellers for that season to make the biggest impact on your sales. 

For example, here’s an excerpt of my back-to-school strategy plan for 2022. You can see that for each of my products, YDP gives me some recommended action steps. 

For some products that are doing well, YDP suggests I drive more traffic to the resource. This could be sharing it through emails, a blog post, a social media post, or running ads. 

For other resources, however, YDP recommends I add a preview, update the preview, or update the thumbnail. Some products need a little bit of everything to really convert the way they should!

Every season, your strategy plan will give you these “to-do” items that will have the largest impact. This keeps you focused every time you sit down to work. There’s no guessing about what resource you should be updating, what changes you should make, or what action steps are going to give you the greatest impact. 

As you make changes to your products, you’ll want to make a note of the resource’s data and the changes you make. That way you can evaluate if these changes were helpful or harmful to your bottom line.

Your Data Playbook Review: Performance Hub

The performance hub utilizes Tableau Reader. Inside, you can quickly see year-over-year data for sales, customers, resource performance, and more.

Here’s a snapshot of mine after March 2023. The first tab shows how your store has performed this year compared to the last few.

The second tab (pictured above) breaks this data down into months. You can also see how the rest of YDP’s users faired, so you know how you’re doing against TPT as a whole.

You can also see at-a-glance how individual resources are doing compared to the past year. This lets you know immediately if a product is starting to underperform, so you can take action steps immediately before your sales are greatly affected. 

The performance hub also gives you information about your customers year-over-year. You can see quickly how many customers you’ve had, how many are repeat customers, and if these numbers are growing or shrinking.

Lastly, the performance hub can also show you which resources drive 80% of your profits. There’s a general rule of thumb in business that 80% of results come from 20% of your efforts. 

In TPT terms, this usually means that about 80% of your earnings come from 20% of your resources. The performance hub shows you exactly which of your resources generate 80% of your sales, so you can focus on prioritizing the products that really drive your bottom line. 

(Think Your Data Playbook might be for you? Learn more and sign up here!)

Your Data Playbook Review: Product Conversion Matrix

The next tool is the product conversion matrix. This is similar to the TPT dashboard but on steroids. 

Inside, you can pull information for individual resources, product lines, or your whole store. This is great for evaluating changes you’ve made to resources or deciding which products to work on beyond your seasonal strategy plan. 

Here’s a screenshot of my product conversion matrix after March 2023 for just my Creative Writing resources. At the top is a visual representation of how my top 20 Creative Writing products are performing. 

As you can see, only a couple of resources are performing optimally–the ones represented by the green dots. There are a handful of resources that need better previews (represented by blue) and more that need better covers and thumbnails (gray). 

The red dots represent resources that need both better thumbnails and previews. I clearly have a lot of work to do!

But the visuals of the product conversion matrix make it easy to see which resources need some attention. 

Below the graph are the statistical breakdown for each resource. I can hover over a dot in the graph and the corresponding resource will be highlighted below. 

There are all kinds of ways to manipulate the data on the graph. See how you did last month, how your newest product line is performing, and more!

Your Data Playbook Review: Growth Plan

While the strategy plans are, in my opinion, the most useful of the YDP tools, the growth plan is probably the most fun. 

The YDP growth plan is like a calculator that generates your road to TPT success. 

It pulls data from the last year (or two or three depending on your subscription level and time using YDP). Then, you set an earnings goal for the next year. 

The growth plan will automatically create a plan of action for how you can reach those numbers. It does this by manipulating three “growth levers”–pageviews, average price, and conversion rates. 

It even breaks down every month for you, so you know exactly how many views, sales, earnings, etc. you need to stay on track toward your goals. 

I love checking my growth plan at the start of every month to see where I’m at. Even the months I don’t quite make my goals motivate me to do better the next month, so I can catch up. 

Other Your Data Playbook Tools

As you can see, the tools YDP offers are robust and data-driven. At no point will you look at your data and say, “I’m done. There’s nothing left for me to work on.” YDP always has a suggestion for how to continue growing. 

But there’s even more offered with the service–support. 

YDP’s Facebook group is very active. Members ask questions, share screenshots of their data, and offer case studies of changes they’ve made to products. 

There are also monthly calls with times to hop in and ask about your particular resource or problem. 

If you utilize the group and these calls, you can get specific feedback tailored to you from an amazing group of high-performing sellers and data junkies. 

Your Data Playbook Review Conclusion

In conclusion, for the right kind of seller, YDP is more than worth the money. It’s cheaper than a VA and will absolutely help you prioritize your time. 

If you find yourself overwhelmed with all that TPT requires or avoiding looking at your data altogether, then I urge you to give YDP a try. 

TPT is becoming an increasingly competitive market, and I think we’re going to see that YDP users have an edge. 

If Your Data Playbook is just what you’re looking for, sign up right here!

The post The Ultimate Your Data Playbook Review appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

Curious about the first four years of my journey? Here are some posts that highlight my big milestones:

• How I Made $1,000 in my Sixth Month Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers
• How One Year of Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Has Changed My Life
• Full-time TPT: 8 Realities You Need to Consider

What Does It Take to Sell on TPT?

I’m not going to lie. Selling on TPT, at least successfully, takes more time and money than I had ever thought it would. Had I known how much work getting my store up and running would take, I probably would haven’t ever started. 

So I’m so grateful I went into the whole process blind!

When I was still in the classroom, I spent anywhere from one to four hours on TPT a day. That was in addition to teaching full-time, working out, and taking care of my dog. Somehow I also found time for my now-husband and friends, too. 

I basically ate and breathed TPT. While I drove and worked out, I listened to podcasts. I watched videos online in my bed instead of Netflix. During my prep time, lunch, and before and after school, I was planning my next products, testing resources, or taking pictures of new activities. 

I even crawled out of bed early to work on my fledgling business before making coffee for my now-husband when he woke up. 

During that period of getting my TPT store off the ground, I hustled as I’d never done before. Every moment was spent getting something done or learning how to create and market my resources. 

Is Selling On TPT Worth It? Yes!

Despite the amount of work it took, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The first couple years of my business were probably the most rewarding of my life so far. Seeing my work pay off–literally–and knowing other teachers were finding my resources helpful was incredibly satisfying. 

Plus, it filled me with a sense of confidence in my ability to provide for myself that I’ve never had before. For once, I wasn’t reliant on an employer for income. Even though my TPT take home wasn’t very big at first, it was money I made completely on my own. And that still feels great. 

So, flash forward to today. I’m no longer in the classroom and TPT is now my full-time gig. Is TPT still worth it?

The Flexibility Makes Selling on TPT Worth It

Absolutely. 

In the last year and a half, my husband and I have gotten married, moved states, purchased a house, lost a dog, adopted a dog, and gotten pregnant. I have no idea how we would have managed any of this if both my husband and I had had to go to an office every single day. 

While my husband worked his 9-5, I prepared our home to sell and met with realtors and movers. I traveled across states to deal with paperwork, meet with wedding vendors, and even attend my own bridal shower. 

We bought a home in one of the craziest markets on record, which we could only do because I was free to stalk new homes, make appointments, and coordinate paperwork with the bank and the realtor. 

In August, I lost the love of my life–my dog Roy. He was my best friend and a large motivator for making TPT my full-time job–so I could be with him more. (This post was written from his perspective.)

The flexibility of TPT allowed me to put aside my work for the last month of his life and focus on making his last days some of his best. He required midday medication for pain that, had I been teaching, I wouldn’t have been able to administer. 

For this reason alone, I’ll forever be grateful to TPT. It allowed me to be present with Roy when he needed me most. 

You can’t put a price on being there for the big moments in your life. TPT is worth it because your time and presence are your most valuable commodities in this life. 

The Mental Health Makes Selling on TPT Worth It

This is vulnerable, but the past year or so hasn’t been great for my mental health. 

My husband and I moved to a state where we knew no one. Going from being fifteen minutes from my family and close friends to having no support system was really tough on me. The sudden switch was hard, and I started therapy.

Losing my dog Roy, however, completely shattered my world. I’m still dealing with a deep, painful grief that can bring me to my knees. 

That same month, I stopped taking birth control, so my husband and I could begin trying for a child. (In retrospect, this was an idiotic decision. Do not quit the thing keeping your hormones balanced while you’re in the middle of extreme grief.)

After being on birth control for nearly fifteen years, I was not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster ride I had just begun. Hormonal craziness on top of grief left me a complete mess for several months. 

Until, of course, I did end up pregnant, which just caused even more hormonal extremes. Add the fun of pregnancy nausea and exhaustion, and I basically spent the next four months asleep on the couch and questioning all of my life choices. 

Except for TPT. Because I was full-time TPT, I had the time and the freedom to wallow in my grief. I could schedule therapy sessions whenever I needed them instead of trying to squeeze them in after work hours. Whether I needed a nap, a cry, or a pizza, I had the time to get it. 

Admittedly, this hasn’t been the most productive period of my business, but sales still came. Because I prioritize the important things in my business, the little bit of work I have accomplished has allowed my bottom line to grow–even while I, personally, have been a mess.

TPT is worth it because it allows you to put your mental health first. If I was still teaching full-time, my own personal crises would have had to be lower priorities. I’m pretty sure I would have burned through all of my sick time just trying to survive the first trimester of pregnancy alone. 

But with TPT, sales still come even if you’re suddenly unable to work or need to take some time off.

And Yes, The Money Makes Selling on TPT Worth It

Let me preface this section by saying I am certainly not one of those sellers who has become a millionaire from her TPT store. (At least not yet!)

Far from it. 

I am still dependent on my husband for health insurance. Without that, I would undoubtedly need to have continued in the classroom. His job also has a solid 401k program, which means even if I’m not saving as much for retirement as I’d like to be right now, we as a couple are still ok. 

Basically, I’m only pulling this off because I have an amazing partner who is more than filling in the gaps. It’s more like he’s taking care of everything essential while I work on creating more financial flexibility. 

However, this past year was the first year when I officially pulled in more than I would have teaching full-time. Even though I work far less, I am making more than I would have in the classroom. 

It took five years of hard work to get here, but it would have taken so much longer–and so many college credits–to get here if I was teaching. And now, as long as I continue to grow my business, I hope to keep earning more at a much faster rate than I would have ever done as a full-time teacher. 

Selling on TPT is worth it because, unlike teaching, there’s no ceiling to your income potential.

TPT Can Give You More Options for Your Future

As proud as I am to be where I am in my business, I still have so much further I’d like to go. Years ago, when my husband and I were just beginning to talk about marriage and kids, we had a very frank discussion. 

I told him there was no way I could spend all day caring for strangers’ kids, and then come home and give 100% to my own child. If we were going to have kids, I couldn’t be in the classroom. I, personally, am just not capable of giving that much energy away in a day. 

This was probably over four years ago–not even one year into starting on TPT for me. I made a promise to myself that somehow, I was going to turn this TPT thing into my full-time income. I had to–for me, for my husband, and for my future family. 

Because even if I did have a child and kept teaching, there was no way I could justify paying for childcare. Full-time care would wipe out what I was making teaching. And we can’t afford for me not to work, either. 

Being full-time TPT will allow me, when this child arrives this summer, to take as much time as I need to recover, heal, and enjoy my new baby. I’ll have more daycare options: part-time, part of the week, an in-home nanny for a few hours, etc. 

And I’ll still be able to earn money while home and being a mom. This has been a goal for over four years in the making, and I’m quite proud that this wildly crazy idea–to generate a full-time income selling PDFs online–seems to have worked out. 

I have done everything I can to make sure my husband and I are in a great place when we welcome a child into this world. Now that we’re only a few months away, it feels like I’m completing “Phase One” of my business plan. I’m so excited to see what the next phase brings. 

If your future could benefit from more flexibility when it comes to money, then I say yes, TPT is worth it for you.

Conclusion

I think a lot of sellers get hung on up on wondering whether the hours they put into their first resources are “worth it.” The honest answer is that the first few hours you put into your TPT business will generate you pennies–if that. 

TPT is a long game. It’s like rolling a snowball downhill. It takes time, consistency, and effort, but making money with TPT gets easier over time. If you’re working to make money tomorrow, then no, TPT isn’t worth it. 

But if you’re looking for a way to change your life or your career, and you’re willing to work hard for a long time for the payoff, then absolutely–TPT is worth it!

The post Is Selling On TPT Worth It? appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers means starting your own business. But don’t let that fact make you feel overwhelmed!

Here are a few things to make sure you have before you upload that first product. 

Starting Your TpT Store Need #1: A Store Name

Before you sell anything, you’ll need a name for your store!

Having a store name first is helpful because you can put it on your products and start building brand recognition from sale #1. 

You have two choices when it comes to naming your store: use your name or make one up. Each option has pros and cons. 

Using your own name is easy. You own it legally, so no need to worry about someone else stealing it or an existing business using it. 

It does, however, make you easy to find. Not every district is enthusiastic about its employees having a side business, so this might create problems down the road. Your own students could even find your store, your resources, and buy answer keys to your lessons!

If you’d like to keep some space between your career and your store, then the best option is to make up a name for your store. 

Keep it short. If possible, try to make your focus (math, English, etc.) apparent with the name. 

I recommend avoiding using the grade you teach in your store name because you could be assigned to a different grade at any time. 

Before getting too attached to a name, do some deep Googling. Make sure no one else is using it. Double-check that there’s not already an established store under that name. You should also check to make sure it isn’t copyrighted. 

Starting Your TpT Store Need #2: A Logo

Once you have a store name, it’s time to move on to a logo!

A logo can sound overwhelming and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be!

You can create one for free on Canva. (I talk more about Canva in this post, and I include a tutorial on how to do this in my TpT Profitability course). 

If you want one a little more polished, original, or just don’t want to do it yourself, there are tons of Etsy sellers who do logos pretty cheaply. You can buy a premade logo (they’ll add your store name for you) for $20-40. There are tons of cute options!

And if you’re willing to spend more, there are sellers on Teachers Pay Teachers who will create a custom logo for you suited for the website.

(If you’re curious, I started with a logo I made for free with a graphics app on my phone. I later upgrade by hiring an artist I found from 99 Designs.)

Make sure your logo is circular! It works much better on the TpT website. 

Keep it simple, too. Your logo should be readable even when it’s teeny-tiny. Choose 2-3 colors and resist making it more complicated than that. (Choose your logo colors carefully; these will become your brand colors!)

Once you have a logo, you’ll put it on your product covers, previews, and all of your marketing ventures! It’s handy to have from the very beginning.

Starting a TpT Store Need #3: Terms of Use Page

A Terms of Use page might sound like complicated legal jargon, but it doesn’t have to be. Your Terms of Use page will go inside every product you sell and let buyers know what they can and can’t do with your resources. 

For example, buyers can use their purchase in their own classrooms but can’t give it to another teacher to use in their classrooms. 

Your Terms of Use (TOU) won’t guarantee that your resource will never be stolen or shared freely, but it does provide a layer of legal protection. If you include it in your resources, your buyers will never be able to claim they didn’t know they couldn’t post it for free online. 

You can create your TOU just like you would any other PDF, but I don’t recommend starting from scratch. 

You might be able to find a free template on Teachers Pay Teachers or by talking to existing TpT sellers. Many are happy to share their verbiage and format (as long as you don’t directly copy or steal it). 

You can also buy a TOU template perfect for TpT from sellers on Teachers Pay Teachers. I include a template in my TpT Profitability course. 

Make sure you at least have a basic TOU before starting a TpT store because you’ll need to include it in your first product!

Conclusion

Starting your TpT store might feel overwhelming. After all, figuring out how to create beautiful resources and package them is already A LOT. 

But don’t let not knowing how to create the extra stuff stop you from starting. There are often free or inexpensive ways to create your other business assets. Take some time to look around at your options. 
If you want to dive into building your store, but want a step-by-step approach, you can also check out TpT Profitability. In this course, I walk you through every step of creating your store and your first resources.

The post Starting a TpT Store: 3 Things to Create First appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

How To Prepare for Your First Teachers Pay Teachers Conference

Mentally, there’s more to prepping for your first conference than just making a list of sessions. Follow these tips to make sure you’re really ready.

Teachers Pay Teachers Conference Tip #1: Set Your Intention

There are going to be a lot of great sessions presented by amazing sellers. You’re going to be pulled in every direction while you try to do #allthethings. But you simply can’t attend every session.

To avoid feeling overwhelmed, head to the conference with one to two big goals for the next twelve months. 

Is this the year you start a blog? Maybe you really want to commit to Instagram. Figure out your intention for the next year and plan around that big goal.

Then, focus on that goal and do every session that supports it. 

My big goal in 2019 was to improve my blog, so I signed up for every blog-related session offered. The rest of my session slots went to big ideas that would help all of my products, like a great session on secondary teaching trends.

At one point, I was persuaded to attend a session I didn’t sign up for because the seller was an amazing presenter. While she was indeed a strong presenter, the information was not all that helpful for me or my personal goals. I left feeling like I had missed out on a session that could have been way more beneficial.

You know your business better than anyone else. You know where you’re headed, your strengths, and your weaknesses. Just because others are panicking about Instagram doesn’t mean you should attend all the Instagram sessions. (Especially if you know it’s really your email marketing game that needs work).

Teachers Pay Teachers Conference Tip #2: Make Some Social Plans Ahead of Time

Everyone I spoke to online said that making friends would be super easy. While I totally agree that TpTers are friendly, approachable, and inclusive, I did find it harder to meet people than I think I was led to believe.

However, I luckily did not end up spending the whole conference alone. There are Facebook groups for conference attendees and first-timers, which I joined right away. That was how I met my roommate, the amazing Gina Kortuem from Lit and More. 

On the first night when we knew no one, we at least had each other. We spent the night listening to bluegrass, drinking old fashioneds, and eating food truck tacos. Had I let my introverted tendencies prevent me from reaching out in an online group, I probably would have spent that night alone in my room instead. 

I highly recommend rooming with a stranger for these reasons. Not only will you save some money, but you’ll have a buddy to talk business with.

There are also meet-ups planned in these first-timer groups. They can help you arrange your lunch plans and meet others from similar circles.

While I’m glad that I had some time to be flexible later in the conference, I wish I had made solid plans to meet up with other first-timers on the first day. I ended up going to lunch alone. Some sweet veteran TpTers adopted me when they saw me eating alone, but I definitely felt a little awkward and out of my depth.

Meeting Other TpTers

One more thing I wish I had done before heading to the conference was to make a list of who I wanted to meet. I ran into so many amazing high school ELA sellers, but it always took me a minute to connect their real names with their stores and to figure out who I followed on what platform.

Next time, I’ll keep a list of “dream connections” in the back of my notebook with sellers’ real names AND store names. 

Do try to avoid fangirling over your idols (I know, it’s hard). Remember that a lot of people are introverted (even if they’re famous TpTers) and try to respect personal boundaries. But don’t be afraid to introduce yourself and share how much you admire another’s work. 

At one point, I found myself surrounded by well-known secondary ELA teacher sellers and felt really intimidated. I mean, my store was only a year old, my logo was self-designed, and my followers were so low. But the veteran sellers were so gracious.

The stunning Addie Williams even recognized one of my products, and it took everything in me not to run around the conference room in excitement.

Remember that no matter how small you may feel, just taking the step to attend the conference says a lot about what kind of seller you are and the commitment you have to your store. 

Teachers Pay Teachers Conference Tip #3: Do Some Sightseeing

That said, don’t spend your whole time networking in the hotel. Get out! See the city! When are you going to be back there?

Have one or two local activities in mind that you really want to do. (Don’t aim for more than that though–you have limited time and you want to stay somewhat flexible for spontaneous plans.)

I love donuts AND I’m vegan, so I knew that I had to hit Voodoo Donuts while in Austin. So as soon as I checked into the hotel, I dropped off my stuff and left for some donuts. I’m probably a little food-obsessed, but after trying the donuts I’ve been drooling over online, everything else in Austin was just a bonus.

Once you have an activity in mind, invite others! Invite people out for lunch, dinner, or to a local spot. If you’re intimidated by inviting someone face-to-face, then post in one of those Facebook groups. Someone else (also alone and terrified) is sure to join you if you put it out there.

What to Pack for Your First Teachers Pay Teachers Conference

You might be even more worried about what to pack than what to do. But don’t fear! Packing for TpT Forward isn’t much different than packing for any other professional development conference.

TpT Forward Must-Have #1: A Notebook

You will see some sellers on social media go crazy prepping binders and folders for the conference. I guess if you’re type A and it makes you happy, go ahead and spend a ton of money on a pretty new binder, tabs, sheet protectors, and all new office supplies.

I wanted to be practical, however, and I suggest you do the same. Binders are kind of difficult to carry around and awkward to write in. Most of the presenter handouts are glorified note sheets. You really don’t need them.

I’ve heard from others and on various podcasts and blog posts that loose papers and binder inserts tend to be lost and forgotten.

Instead, grab one new notebook (the kind that’s ten cents during back-to-school sales) and just put all of your notes in there. That way, if you get sidetracked when you get home, you’ll know all of your notes are in one place.

In addition to having space in your notebook for notes from your session, include that list of people you want to meet.

Also, leave space for book recommendations! This is a great way to break the ice with other teachers–it’s more interesting than talking about stores or making small talk, but most teachers are reading something or have read something recently that they’re dying to talk about. 

TpT Forward Must-Have #2: A Portable Battery

Also, bring a portable phone battery. This is not a place where you want to skimp. Buy a good one and charge it every night.

I was so busy on Facebook keeping up with conference updates and on Instagram finding new people that I met, that I had to charge my phone every day. My awesome battery kept me mobile.

TpT Forward Must-Have #3: A Water Bottle and Snacks

Don’t leave home without a water bottle. TpT conferences are always in the summer and always in hot locations. Be responsible. Stay hydrated. (And don’t pay for that $6 hotel water.)

TpT is pretty good about supplying water bottles and snacks, but I don’t think you can really have too many. By the last day of the conference, I was so exhausted! I was basically fueling myself with nonstop caffeine and sugar to keep going. 

I don’t know if I would have made it through all of my sessions without a constant supply of granola bars in my bag.

TpT Forward Must-Have #4: A Clipboard

The one thing I wish I would have brought that I didn’t was a clipboard.

I spent a lot of time working in my notebook but had to awkwardly use my knee (or the conference floor) as a writing space. (Some sessions were so full, I ended up sitting on the floor. Or I had to sit on the floor to plug in my laptop.)

If you feel the desperate need for a binder, maybe try to fill that hole in your heart with a clipboard with storage.

TpT Forward Must-Have #5: A Comfort Item

Bring whatever helps you recharge.

For me, it was a book (Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson).

For others, it might be some music or a podcast.

The conference days were jam-packed, and I was exhausted throughout. By the afternoons, I needed a pick me up in every way. Don’t be afraid to just listen to some music or spend some time recharging in your room if you’re feeling run down. 

TpT Forward Must-Have #6: A Laptop or Tablet

During my first conference, my laptop went everywhere with me. I loved being able to follow along as presenters mentioned WordPress plug-ins or walked through their social media content strategy. 

Having my own device so I could try things as presenters walked through their steps was crucial for making things stick in my own brain. 

My laptop, however, is massive, and carrying it around all day wasn’t a picnic. This year, I have a new tablet and I’m excited to take that with me instead. 

But make sure you have something a little more powerful than your phone with you even if it’s just for working after the daily sessions. I did a lot of work in between sessions while I was feeling excited and inspired by all the new information. 

Conclusion

Like with all things TpT, having the right mindset is the first step to success when it comes to attending your first Teachers Pay Teachers Conference. 

If you make sure to do some networking beforehand, have a specific focus, and come ready to take notes, you’re sure to get your money’s worth out of the experience. 

The post How to Survive Your First Teachers Pay Teachers Conference appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

Today marks 4 years since opening my Teachers Pay Teachers store! It’s also been about eight months since I quit teaching, those paychecks stopped coming in, and TpT became my sole source of income. Every year I like to do a reflection or a post related to my business, so this year, I thought I would share some reflections on what going full-time TpT has been like for me. 

Now, everyone’s transition to full-time will look different. You may run into some of the same issues or none of them! But I hope it’s helpful to read about another seller’s journey.

If you’d like to catch up on my journey, here are my previous posts about starting my business and its progress:

• How I Made $1,000 in my Sixth Month Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers
• How One Year of Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Has Changed My Life
• Quitting Teaching: How and Why I Did It

Full-time TpT Reality #1: I Miss School More Than I Ever Thought I Would

I spent years wishing I could get out of teaching. I spent the last three years in the classroom actively pursuing this goal. My summers were spent practicing what my life would look like once I was no longer in the classroom. 

So honestly, I was completely shocked when I ended up missing school. 

Late summer I walked past a group of teenagers playing basketball. They were teasing each other and generally acting as adolescents do. And suddenly I just missed that environment. I missed being surrounded by my funny, strange, completely inappropriate students. 

Worse is missing my coworkers. I loved my colleagues and always felt lucky to be part of such a great staff. But I definitely didn’t realize how much of my social needs were filled by quick chats with coworkers, lounge gossip, and general shenanigans in the back of professional development meetings. 

I think had we not moved around the same time that I quit, this wouldn’t have been as difficult. It would be one thing if I could call my coworkers to grab a drink, but I’m now four hours away from all of them.

Perhaps more surprising is that I dream about my old school more now than ever. 

However, as much as I miss school, I do not miss teaching. I have not yearned for stacks of papers to grade, needless paperwork to fill out, or meetings that should be emails. I don’t miss repeating directions or managing behaviors. 

So while I miss my school family, it’s not enough to make me second-guess my decision to leave. 

Full-time TpT Reality #2: The Identity Shift is Rough

We spent August and September moving into a rental in Michigan. In October, we finalized the sale of my condo and got married. In November, we closed on our new house in Michigan and moved in. 

For me, the back-to-school season this year was beautiful, chaotic, and insanely busy. I didn’t really have the space and time to process quitting and what it would mean to spend my first academic year outside the classroom. 

But it hit me hard in December and January. I just felt really aimless. 

Now, I knew the identity shift would be rough. Mentally, I had been preparing–like thinking of myself as a business owner who happened to also teach rather than as a teacher with a side business. But it still required some processing time. 

One day on the phone, I told my former co-worker that I missed feeling good at something. And I think that really gets to the heart of it.

I may not have ever been Teacher of the Year material, but I knew I was good at my job. I don’t feel that same competency yet working for myself. With TpT, you just try to do better than last week, last month, last year. Only you can decide if you’re succeeding or not. You’re in a vacuum. 

Teaching Vs. TpT

My day now consists of three big tasks: working out, working on TpT, and cleaning/running errands. It’s hard to feel “good” at any of those things because you’re never done. No one rewards you for finishing that blog post or running the dishwasher. Not that teaching has many awards or accolades, but you can at least tell from students’ reactions if you’re on the right track. 

Plus, it’s really hard to describe what you do for a living when people ask. 

This identity shift is still something I’m working through, but I’m trying to give myself a lot of grace. After all, leaving teaching was only one life-changing decision I’ve made in the last year. Moving, selling a condo I was emotionally attached to, getting married–there have been a lot of changes that I think I’m still integrating. I mean, I even changed my name–isn’t that a literal identity shift?

If you’re thinking about leaving the classroom, be patient with yourself during the transition time. It will take a while to find your flow and routine again. But you will. 

Full-time TpT Reality #3: The Freedom is Worth It

Now, for a positive, I have what I wanted more than anything: freedom. 

I can’t describe how wonderful it is to just be able to pee when you need to pee. That alone was worth quitting to me. 

But I can also take my dog on a long walk when the weather is nice. I can nap if I feel tired. I can sleep and prioritize my health if I feel sick. 

And the freedom has already helped my family in so many ways. If I was working a traditional job, I don’t know how we would have managed this move. I was the one who spent days on the phone talking to realtors, movers, and wedding vendors. 

While my husband worked and settled in at his new job, I was able to travel back to Wisconsin to sell the condo. I could take his car in for an oil change for him. I could take the dog to the vet when he unexpectedly tore a dewclaw, wait around for new furniture to be delivered to the house, and do everything else that would have required one of us to miss work. 

If we were both working full-time, I don’t know how we would have managed it all. How does anyone do it? 

And now that we’re discussing starting a family, I am incredibly relieved to know that I won’t have to worry about time off or childcare.

Leaving teaching was absolutely what I wanted, but it turns out it was the best for our family, too. 

Full-time TpT Reality #4: My Burnout was Worse Than I Thought

I prided myself on having strong boundaries and being great at protecting my time while working in the classroom. So I’m surprised to tell you just how much rest I needed after quitting. 

I sleep so much now. I’m probably getting nine hours of sleep at night, and I was taking naps almost daily the first couple of months we moved here. The amount of sleep my body seemed to need was insane. 

If you’re in the classroom, you cannot do too much to take care of yourself. Teaching wears on you like nothing else. If you even think you maybe need a rest, you’re probably giving it to yourself too late. 

Full-time Tpt Reality #5: I Realized I Have Absolutely No Mind-Body Connection

This is related to the previous point, but I’m realizing now that I have absolutely no idea how to read my body. 

While teaching, I was always on a regimented schedule. I woke up at four in the morning and every minute was scheduled until I went to bed. My productivity was insane, but I always felt like I was dragging. I was also chronically underhydrated, my mobility sucked, and I was on migraine medication daily. 

Now that I have some time to just be, I’m trying really hard to learn how to respond to my body’s needs–something that other people probably figure out much earlier in life. 

For example, on my teaching schedule I had to watch my water intake during certain periods, or else I’d have to teach with a full bladder. (I really can’t overexaggerate how awesome it is to be able to pee whenever now.) 

I Didn’t Expect The Health Effects of Quitting

Now, I’m trying to be conscious of my water intake and drink as much as I can. Turns out, that when I start getting low on hydration, I get cranky. How often was I cranky from lack of water before and didn’t realize it? How often did my body need water, and I avoided it to better focus on teaching?

Stretching is another thing. When I was teaching, I had no more than an hour I could devote to the gym. With such a short schedule, I skipped all warm-ups, cooldowns, and stretching that I might have done. Now that there’s no such time limit on my trips to the gym, I do it all. I’m no longer going to bed with leg or hip pain. 

I even stopped taking my migraine medication. My migraines just slowly disappeared after I quit teaching. And if they do pop up, there’s an obvious reason why, and I can fix it. 

I believe that seasons of hustle are not all bad and that, when used strategically, they can be great for up-leveling your life and making big things happen.

But for now, I’m happy and ready to be in a slower season after years of hustle. I’m enjoying taking the time to listen to my body and learn how to take better care of myself. 

Full-time TpT Reality #6: Insurance is a B*tch

I know that insurance is a huge reason people stay in the classroom longer than they’d like, so I thought I’d touch on this. I’m incredibly privileged in that my now-husband carries the insurance for us. If he didn’t receive insurance through work, I would probably still be in the classroom. 

However, we only just married in October. My teaching insurance lapsed in June. That left an insurance gap that I was not comfortable with. So during that time, I signed up for the federal marketplace. 

My Experience with Affordable Care Act Insurance

The rates you pay are based on your income. I put in *my* estimated income which, having quit teaching, was pretty low. This meant that the monthly payments weren’t bad because I received a bunch of subsidies. 

However, I learned during tax season that what you pay is based on your tax filings for that year. 

By the time we did taxes for 2021, my husband and I were married, so now his income counted against my marketplace insurance. When I estimated my income, I only took into account my estimated future TpT income–not my 2021 teaching income. But the marketplace counts all of your income and your spouse’s if you file jointly. 

This meant that on paper I earned way more in 2021 than I had put in as an estimate when I signed up. Those subsidies I received didn’t count anymore. Thus, I had to pay a bunch of money back to cover those months of my healthcare which ended up adding about $1500 to our tax bill.

Is It Worth It?

And to be honest, the healthcare was not worth it for me on a monetary basis. I could only use it at CVS pharmacies in Wisconsin (because I had signed up through Wisconsin), but half the time I had it I lived in Michigan. They also flat out refused to cover one of my prescriptions, and I ended up paying out of pocket anyway. 

If I had known that I would have avoided all serious illnesses and accidents, I could have skipped insurance and lived without it. But we never know, and that’s what insurance is for. 

I wouldn’t change my decision to insure myself. For me, the risks of being uninsured are too large. Financially, it was not worth it, but the peace of mind was worth it.

However, I do wish I had understood the marketplace and how to estimate your costs better.

If you’re considering marketplace healthcare after leaving the classroom, get on the website. You can look through your options and their estimated prices without committing. Try to get an estimate of monthly costs before you leave your teaching insurance. If I wasn’t married, I would probably need another two years of building my business to cover the cost of insuring myself. 

Full-time TpT Reality #7: I Thought I Would Have More Time To Work

So the real question–is full-time paying off? Am I making more? Am I able to invest more time into my business? 

This is one that I’m still working on figuring out. 

About a month after my last day in the classroom, our lives got insanely busy. While I kept to my blog schedule and maintained activity on my Instagram, I really didn’t do much else during the fall. It was the least I’ve worked on my business in the four years I’ve had it. 

Since then, I’ve been able to get into a more regular work routine. But I’m still working on a perfect schedule. Life still feels very busy–doctor appointments to establish new providers, boxes to unpack, friends and family visiting frequently to see the new place. So my once consistent schedule and routine now feels all over the place. 

I’m optimistic, however, that as life begins to calm down now I will find more time to work. And I’m privileged in that if my income doesn’t exponentially increase quickly, we’ll still be able to pay our bills. 

Full-time TpT Reality #8: I Couldn’t Do This Alone

If you read through all of the previous points, it’s apparent that having a spouse with a good, stable job has made this transition possible for me. If I was still single, I would have probably stayed in the classroom for much longer–especially with the insane inflation we’ve seen in the last year. 

But my husband doesn’t just make this financially possible. He’s also been my biggest supporter since the beginning of my business. 

I started my TpT store on a whim about six months into our relationship. I don’t think I even told him I was working on it until I had made a sale. But he has never once rolled his eyes at me for thinking I could turn it into a real income stream. 

He never complained about me delaying dinner, being distracted, or stressing out because I was working on TpT. 

I spent years dreaming about being able to quit teaching. But it wasn’t until he said, “You’re done” while I cried about our district revoking sick days after closing for lack of staff that I committed to making 2020-2021 my last year. Knowing that supported me in leaving the classroom made it possible for me.

When we shopped for houses, he never once questioned my need for an office or demanded his own “man cave” or equivalent. He encourages me to do what I need to do for my business, celebrates my wins with me, and is just generally my biggest supporter and cheerleader. 

I don’t think you necessarily need a supportive spouse to do TpT full-time, but you do need someone in your corner. I’m so grateful I married the man that I did, and I’m incredibly proud of the life we’re building together. 

Final Thoughts on My Own Transition

Has the transition into full-time TpT been as smooth as I pictured? No, not really. 

But I don’t regret it for a second. 

I am still excited about the potential for the future, and I have a plan for probably the next year and a half of resources to create. The freedom this switch has provided is allowing me to spend more time with myself, establish a healthier way of living, and will help us stay flexible as we navigate the next phase of our lives. 

If you’re dreaming about doing TpT full time, I really encourage you to go all in. Learn everything you can and do something to help your store every day, even if it’s a very small action. 

If you’d like to start your own Teachers Pay Teachers store, I have tons of resources for you! Just check out my Teachers Pay Teachers seller resources here. 

The post Full-time TpT: 8 Realities You Need to Consider appeared first on It's Lit Teaching.

Please note, this is just my advice from personal experience. If you still need help setting up your blog, there are countless videos and step-by-step instructions online. There are also professionals who do just this so you don’t have to. 

If you decide you need help, I highly recommend checking out Kristen Doyle who specializes in helping TpT sellers with their websites. She also offers free Facebook groups for both Blogger and WordPress support. 

Looking for help on starting your TpT store? I can help!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

Is Blogging for Your TpT Business that Important?

As 2022 begins and my four-year business anniversary beings to loom closer (April!), I’ve been looking at some data for the last twelve months. 

One of the most shocking discoveries? Over one-third of my sales in my Teachers Pay Teachers store has come from my blog! 

Personally, I think it’s crazy to think that my personal website helped generate 33% more sales in a year. That’s the difference between part-time and full-time income for me.

So, yes, I think blogging can be incredibly important for your TpT business! Not only can a blog drive more traffic to your store, but it can also make you look more “legit” to your target audience, and help strengthen your brand.

Why Blogging and Not Social Media for Your TpT Business?

I have nothing against marketing with social media. I’m fairly active on Instagram and Facebook myself. Even my Pinterest game is strong (although technically Pinterest is not social media–it’s a search engine).

But I don’t really love social media like I love blogging for TpT. Why? Blog posts stick around!

When you post to the Instagram or Facebook feed, regardless of how awesome your content is, it will be gone in less than 48 hours. Sure, you might luck out and have a viral post that lasts a little longer. Your fans might share and pass around some posts. But generally, what you post to a feed is going to disappear. 

But not your blog posts! A well-written, SEO-friendly (we’ll get to SEO later!) blog post will outlast pretty much any social media post. 

Anytime a potential customer Googles a topic you wrote about–there you’ll be! 

Plus, a blog is a piece of the internet that you own. Buyers will know where to find you. You control the interface and the user experience. 

But Facebook or Instagram could change their algorithm–meaning you’ll have to change your tactics–at any moment. 

Not to mention the horror stories you hear of users getting locked out of their Facebook or IG accounts. Imagine not having access to your only means of marketing for a week–or possibly forever–after spending months or years building a following there. 

Blogs have staying power that social media just does not. 

Are You Ready to Start Blogging for your TpT Business?

Blogs, however, are a little more complicated to set up than opening an Instagram page. It’s not as easy as just signing up for a free account and hitting the ground running. There are several components you’ll need before you can even start posting–and none of them are free. (At least, I don’t recommend going that route.)

Before you run off and start a blog, I recommend first making sure that your TpT store has a solid foundation. 

Do you have at least one bundle to sell? If your store only has a few resources that cost just a few dollars, a blog won’t make much of a difference in your take-home. 

Are your product listings converting? If you have a hundred resources, but they’re averaging less than an 8% conversion rate, your time is better spent optimizing your product listings first. Blogs can drive traffic to your store, but if buyers aren’t pulling the trigger on your sales page, no amount of traffic will matter. 

(Psst! Need help writing great product descriptions? Check out this post!)

Lastly, is your TpT store generating consistent income? It doesn’t have to be a lot, but your store needs to be making you regular profit. Otherwise, you’re just going to lose money on a blog. 

Blog’s aren’t expensive, but a good one won’t be free. You want your business to be able to support the cost of running a blog for a while. Blogs take time to start showing up in search results and gaining readers. You’ll be eating the cost for a while before the blog starts to pay for itself. 

What If I’m Not Ready to Start Blogging for my TpT Business?

If you decide that you’re not ready to start blogging, that’s totally ok! It’s better to wait until your TpT store has a strong foundation first. 

If you’ve been working on your store and are still struggling, or if you’re just procrastinating on getting started, it’s better to focus there. I offer an in-depth course on starting your TpT store if you need to go back to basics or if you’re starting from scratch. You can learn more about my course TpT Profitability here.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning your blog. If you’re excited to get going on a blog but know that it’s just not time yet, you can start preparing for that magical day. 

First, learn everything you can about SEO or search engine optimization. This one skill can take a blog from anonymity to the top of Google search rankings. Your SEO skills will also benefit your TpT product listings as the fundamentals apply to both blog writing and product description writing.

There are countless SEO resources online, but I love the work of Meg Casebolt personally. 

Second, start writing. Just because you don’t have a website to post to yet, doesn’t mean you have to wait to write. The earlier you get into a habit of writing, the better. Your first few blog posts will feel awkward, and it will take some time to find your blogging style and system. 

I recommend starting some blog drafts and keeping them on a cloud service like Google Drive. Then, when you’re ready to start a blog, you’ll have plenty of content for your launch!

How to Start Blogging for Your TpT Business

To start your blog, you’re going to need to do three things:

1. Choose a Platform
2. Get Hosting and Your Domain Name
3. Select a Theme

These can be confusing, so I’m going to attempt to break them down. If at any point setting one up becomes confusing, YouTube is your best friend! Remember, blogging for TpT is a not a quick project, but it’s one that will be totally worth it!

Choosing a Platform

There are many platforms from which to choose when it comes to blogging. When I was younger, we had Blogger.com and LiveJournal for example. 

If you really, really don’t want to touch any of the backend parts of your website, you could go with Blogger. Plenty of TpT sellers do. 

However, I highly recommend sticking with WordPress instead. WordPress does have a bit of a learning curve, but that’s only because it’s an incredibly powerful tool. By choosing WordPress, you’ll give Future You more options.

WordPress is widely used and because of this, there are many people, companies, and plugins that specialize in it. 

If you decide in a few years to start your own online shop for your teacher resources (or maybe branch out into other products!), you’ll easily be able to integrate a store with WordPress. If you want to hire a virtual assistant to help with your blog, you’ll have plenty of people from which to choose. 

Now, when you go to look into WordPress, you might be confused. There’s WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

WordPress.org is the open-software blogging platform we want. It can be used with any hosting service. It’s free to use.

WordPress.com is the hosting service offered by the creator of WordPress. It is a hosting service and a limited one at that.

You don’t need to sign up for WordPress at all until you have your hosting sorted out, but knowing what kind of platform you’ll be using for your future blog will help you decide on your hosting service. For the rest of this post, I’m going to assume you’re going with WordPress. If you do end up with Blogger or another service, the following information still applies, but you’ll probably want to do some Blogger-specific research first.

Choose Your Host and Domain

Now that you know what platform you’ll be using for your website (again, I recommend WordPress for flexibility!), it’s time to choose a hosting service. 

Understanding the difference between a platform, a host, and a domain can be really confusing. Think of it like building a house. The platform is the blueprints (how are you going to structure the blog?). The hosting service is the plot of land where you’ll build the house (where on the internet will the data for your blog live?). And the domain is the address (what will users type in to get to your blog?). 

You have the platform picked out. Now you need to decide what service to host your blog on. There are tons of services out there. I’m going to talk about two. 

The first hosting service you will probably encounter is BlueHost. WordPress and BlueHost have a deal together, so the WordPress website will push you to choose BlueHost. 

BlueHost is attractive when you’re starting out because it’s cheap. However, I would strongly urge you to stay far away from BlueHost if you really want your blog to succeed. 

I’ve used BlueHost before, so I can tell you from experience that if you put your website there, it will be down all the time for absolutely no reason. 

And it’s not just me. I’ve spoken to other bloggers who have the same experience. For whatever reason, BlueHost websites just crash all the time, and you’ll just be waiting for them to figure it out on their end and get you back up and running. 

That’s no way to run a business. 

Instead, I highly recommend SiteGround. It is more expensive than BlueHost, but that’s because it is a far, far superior product. With SiteGround, my website has never just randomly “gone down.”

Further, SiteGround has seamless integration with WordPress. With just a click, you can load the whole platform onto your new website. (To be fair, BlueHost and WordPress play well together, too.)

But the best part of SiteGround is their customer service. I have done so many incredibly stupid things with my website, but SiteGround’s service team always helps me undo whatever mess I’ve created. 

BlueHost’s customer service is… basically nonexistent in my opinion. 

SiteGround also comes with a free monthly backup of your entire website, which means if you do manage to completely wreck your site, you can just go back to the last time it worked. BlueHost does not offer this (at least not automatically or without an extra fee). 

And, if I haven’t sold you on SiteGround yet, here’s one more factor. BlueHost pays its affiliates more than SiteGround does. I could easily sign up for a BlueHost affiliate link, tell you it’s awesome, and cash in on the signups. But I don’t want to lead you astray. So yes, I’m an affiliate for SiteGround, but only because I truly believe they’re the best. 

So, if you want my opinion, stay clear of BlueHost and go straight to SiteGround. Feel free to do your own research, though. There are plenty of other options out there as well. 

Sign up for SiteGround here!

Once you’ve chosen your hosting service, you’ll buy a domain name from them as well. So SiteGround is both my hosting service and the provider of my domain name. 

I recommend just sticking with your business name or TpT store name as your domain. My store is It’s Lit Teaching, so my domain is itslitteaching.com. Don’t stray too far away from your TpT store name–a website is supposed to strengthen your brand after all! 

Selecting a Theme

Once you’ve set up your hosting, domain, and have your platform ready to go, you’ll be left with a very boring and generic-looking website. A new theme can quickly fix that!

A blog’s theme is its template. It will dictate the layout and overall appearance of your website. 

With WordPress, there are a few free themes from which you can choose. It’s totally ok to start with a free theme if you’d like. You can always upgrade later. 

Just choose “Theme” from the menu on the left once you’re logged into WordPress and start playing from there. After choosing a theme, you can use the “Appearance” menu to make tweaks to your fonts, colors, and more. 

If you’re not happy with your free options, there are an endless number of paid options. You can find some through WordPress. Many TpT sellers hire website designers to create a custom one. 

I’ve had great success in buying themes from Etsy sellers. Just make sure you search for a WordPress-specific theme. 

Remember, themes can be changed. Don’t get sucked into spending months perfecting every little thing or stressing about picking the perfect font. Your theme can help your blog, but you’ll need to put content on that website if it’s ever going to help your business.

What Should You Blog About?

Now it’s finally time to write! But what about?

Hopefully, you have a niche for your TpT store–a grade level and subject area on which your resources focus. You’ll approach your blog with this same niche. 

All of your posts should appeal to your target market. 

Remember that the point of blogging for your TpT business is to help generate sales. For that reason, I recommend that most of your posts are used to direct traffic to one of your products. 

For example, let’s say you sell middle school math resources. One post could be on tips for introducing fractions. In the post, you can offer tips and advice for introducing fractions, but you’ll also link to your fractions introduction resource–get it? 

The post should directly or indirectly sell your resources. 

If your post is not focused on selling a resource, then it should instead focus on building authority within your target audience. 

For example, maybe you teach AP social studies. You don’t have a specific product you want to promote, so you decide to build some authority by writing a post explaining the AP rubric for new AP teachers. It’s so helpful, AP social studies teachers will consider you a helpful resource. 

Blogging for Your TpT Business Tips

When I began my blog, it took me a long time to figure out how blogging differs from other writing. I’m an English major and an English teacher, but no one ever taught me how to “blog” before! It’s quite different from a 5-paragraph essay. 

You, too, will learn that blogging has its own “rules.”

The absolute most important thing a blogger can do, in my opinion, is to learn the foundations of SEO. SEO or search engine optimization will help your post show up in Google search results. 

There are countless SEO resources out there. Take some time to watch a couple of videos or read some blogs about the subject before you begin writing. 

Another quick tip for writing blog posts is to try and use “you” more than “I.” When I started writing, my first few posts were about my personal experiences in the classroom. This left my blog feeling more like a diary than a helpful resource. 

Instead of talking about your experiences and your thoughts or ideas, turn them into advice or information for the reader. Talk directly to your reader in your posts. 

And my last quick tip for blog writing is to keep your paragraphs short. We often teach students to aim for 5-7 sentences in a paragraph. Blogging is way different. 

I try to keep my blog “paragraphs” to 2-3 sentences. Blog readers are usually on a mobile divide. Very long sentences and big chunks of text are harder to read. So keep it short, and start a new paragraph with every new idea. 

Conclusion

Creating a successful blog for your TpT store will involve a bit of a learning curve, some time and money, and most likely some frustration as you get started. 

But it can be a great tool for strengthening your brand, building authority with your audience, and driving more traffic to your TpT store. Plus, there’s just something really satisfying about hitting “post” on a fresh and shiny new blog draft. 

I am by no means a blogging expert, but there are plenty of people out there who are! If you are looking for an expert, I recommend Kristen Doyle for setting up and designing a website. She specializes in Blogger and WordPress for teacher-authors and even has some free resources to offer. 

I also love the work of Meg Casebolt for learning SEO skills. While she doesn’t work with TpT sellers exclusively, I’ve learned a lot from following her. 

And if you need help just getting your TpT store off the ground, I have several ways to help you!

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