My first BIG idea is that...
Teachers Pay Teachers takes a lot of time. It's a lot to learn and a lot to "get good at." So, my first question would be, are you ready to spend hours on the weekends to draft ideas, plan products, design them, modify them as needed, learn the ins and outs of PowerPoint? Are you interested in joining social media sites and promoting your products through a blog, Pinterest, Instagram etc.? Getting your store prepped takes a lot of dedication as you must come up with a name that is clever, yet aligns with what you will be selling, to attract an audience that will want to purchase from your store. The time committment is pretty significant. But it's fun.My second BIG idea is that...
the start-up cost at first is hefty and the reward won't come until later (unless you're like the next Deanna Jump). To earn a good portion of what you'll sale, you want to buy a premium membership for $60. You'll also want to find a techie friend (or do it yourself) to design a store logo and banner. Sellers are also attracted to products that are visually appealing -- so you'll need to purchase backgrounds, clipart etc. The great thing is that you can also find FREEBIES of these on the TPT site as well.
To be honest, I didn't make more than like $5-$10 dollars the first, second, or third month I had about 2-3 paid products -- for literally like $1.00 each. This was my own fault because I didn't really have quality products or those that were worth a good amount of money. I struggled with finding the time and motivation -- which brings me back to my first idea and leads into my third...
My third BIG idea is that...
It's easy to make mistakes on TPT. I had way too many free items my first few months, and after reading from the blog of a very successful TPT author, that you should only have about 10% of your products be free, I was a little shaken. So, I quickly took my free products, adding more to them, and made new covers, and priced them reasonably. My second mistake was only charging a $1.00 for a kickass resource. I don't have a special code for how I price products but a few questions I ask myself are...
- Are there a lot of similiar products?
- How generic is it?
- How much time did I save the buyer?
- How much time and money did I put into creating the product?
As resource become popular, and more people purchase them, I will sometimes bump the price up by .25 or .50 cents. People will a good price for a decent resource. So, how responsive are you ready to be as a TPT seller?
And my final idea is that...
for me, the challenges, the learning experience, the time committment, and the mistakes I've learned from... have been 100% worth it. Why? Because throughout the past two years I've connected with SO many passionate teachers. I've been an active learner and because of that I believe I've been a more effective teacher. I've read more books and have found more practices to bring back to my own classroom. Presently, teachers pay teachers pays for my monthly coffee habit. It's not A LOT of money [yet]... but it makes a difference with my teacher salary by a $60-$250 a month (summer time is the best time for making $$$ on TPT). Am I someone who dreams of being a full-time TPT seller? No. I enjoy what I am able to create for my own classroom and then share it with other teachers. It's a passion for me. Currently, I have about 30 products and my most pricey item is $6.00, but that what I've been able to committ to. I'm pretty basic and still new to the TPT world, so I'm okay with that.
If this sounds like a journey you're in for... I say the answer to my first question is YES but only you can determine that.
IF you're interested in beginning this adventure, feel free to use my referral link when you sign up. I'd love to support you throughout your journey.
Have more questions? ---->> thebehaviorbunch@gmail.com
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