This post teaches you how to position your TpT store for growth. It’s for teacher authors who have a handful of decent products in their shop but aren’t yet seeing the growth they’d like to see. You’ll learn easy tips you can implement today to see improvements in your store sales.
When I first started my store at Teachers Pay Teachers, I had a lot to learn about selling digital products online. I thought all I’d have to do is place my curriculum up for sale and then customers would easily find my store in search results. And once they saw what I had to offer, consistent sales would pour in. Or at least there would be a steady trickle.
And while I did make a few sales in my first month, I quickly learned that if I wanted to make a splash in the world of educational resources, I had to up my game and develop some strategy.
If you’re looking to position your TpT store for growth, this guide should give you strong tactics to move beyond the beginner’s circle and find the sales you’ve been searching for.
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosures page.
What if You’re Brand New to Teachers Pay Teachers?
But first… what if you are brand new to Teachers Pay Teachers? You may have stumbled across this blog post, expecting to find information on how to start off on the right foot with your store.
However, this is mid-level information. But I do have a Beginner’s Guide post that will help you learn how to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers. You can also find 6 simple steps to sell curriculum for your TpT store. I discuss in these posts exactly what to do if you’ve JUST opened your TpT store.
And if you’re struggling to find your niche, my free workbook might help!
Creating Quality Products is Easier When You Know Your Niche.
Find Your Niche With My Free Workbook!
Related Post:
A Guide: How to Position Your TpT Store for Growth
So once you’ve covered the basics of opening a store and have placed a few quality products up for sale, it’s time to create a strategy for growth.
If you don’t create a strategy, your growth will be minimal and will likely only go up at a slow rate. (Sure, there are exceptions, but those examples are rare.) Instead, you’ll want to create a plan that will help you stand out, will drive traffic to your store, and will get customers to come back over and over.
Below, I’ve included a list of ways to position your TpT store for growth with a few proven strategies.
Strategy 1: Pick a Niche
This is something you may have already implemented into your shop, but it’s important enough to repeat. Make sure you pick a niche when you position your TpT store for growth.
When you pick a niche, you’re essentially narrowing down what you’re going to focus your energy on, keeping yourself from succumbing to Shiny Object Syndrome and creating products your customers don’t need. It also keeps your standards high, because you realize what will be expected of you in your products. And of course, it’s important to deliver quality!
Align your niche with something you feel passionate about, as well as with your teaching philosophy, and you’ll have a recipe for success!
Creating Quality Products is Easier When You Know Your Niche.
Find Your Niche With My Free Workbook!
Strategy 2: Update Your Storefront
When you first started your store, you probably had some idea of what you wanted the storefront to look like. You may have put up banners, created product categories, and featured certain products of which you were especially proud.
But now it’s time to go back and look at the appearance of your store.
Is it the way you want it? Can improvements be made? Has your niche grown and changed over time, and now your store needs to reflect that?
Updating your storefront is a great first step to position your TpT store for growth. If your customers can easily navigate your store, know what you sell and what you’re about, and get a sense of your branding and personal style, they’re much more likely to purchase from you.
Strategy 3: Improve Product Covers and Product Pages
Your product covers are one of the most important external pieces when it comes to promoting your work. If the cover of your product isn’t good, then there won’t be many who click and buy. Even if the product is amazing! Customers will never know because they didn’t get past the poor cover.
Here’s a short list of how to make your product cover more clickable in search results:
- Eye-Catching: Whether you use photos or clipart, make sure the cover picture is eye catching.
- Easy to Read: When people view products in search results on Teachers Pay Teachers, they will see cover pictures in thumbnail form. Be sure to use readable fonts and large images.
- Helpful: Make your cover’s wording explain enough about the product that viewers have an immediate sense of what they’ll find inside.
Your product pages are another important aspect of ratcheting up your sales. From product titles and descriptions to including hyperlinks and previews to your page, there are several ways to up your game.
Here are a few ideas for how to optimize your product page:
- Title: Make sure your product title has strong keywords that people will search for
- Product Preview: Include a product preview. It’ll walk people through your product step by step and they’ll be more confident to buy.
- Description: Use strong keywords in your opening paragraph, followed by all the product information your potential customers will need in order to purchase with confidence.
- Hyperlinks: Include in your description links to related products and links to your social media channels.
Related Posts:
- How to Make Your Product Covers More Clickable in TpT Search Results (coming soon!)
- How to Optimize Your TpT Product Page (coming soon!)
Strategy 4: Drive Traffic To Your Store
Of course, in order to position your TpT store for growth, you have to drive traffic to your store! There are several ways to do that, so we’ll look at a few of them here.
Social Media
When driving traffic to your store, one great place to go is social media. There are many platforms to choose from, so if using social media for business is new to you, then consider picking one at a time. Get to know the platform and post there consistently for a while before adding another. A couple of more popular platforms for teachers are Facebook and Instagram, but whichever platforms you choose, use them to position your TpT store for growth.
A few ways to do that:
- Post regularly
- Include photos of your products being used
- Promote upcoming sales
- Offer flash freebies
- Show your human side
For more tips, you can also check out my post about how to use social media to boost your TpT sales. (coming soon!)
Strategy 5: Network with Others
Lastly, it’s a great idea to network with other teacher authors.
When you collaborate with other TpT teacher authors, you have the opportunity to not only meet new people but touch more lives. Whether you’re collaborating over a blog post, a Pinterest board, or promoting each other’s sales, it pays off to work with others. You make friends and you share your audiences with each other. And bonus! Collaborating with others makes you feel like you’re not alone in this journey.
If you’re looking for a place to collaborate, a great place to start is within the TpT Forum. You’ll find posts created specifically for collaboration. Jump in, introduce yourself, and join the fun!
Conclusion to How to Position Your TpT Store For Growth
Positioning your TpT store for growth takes some work, but it isn’t difficult to understand or implement. As you’ve seen in this post, five ways you can optimize your store include finding a niche, updating your storefront, improving product covers and product pages, driving more traffic to your store, and networking with others. You nail these five, and you’ll be well on your way to boosting your future sales.
Until next time, be your best self!
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