Are you looking for an online marketplace in which to sell your digital products? Well, if you’re in any way connected to the education world, then Teachers Pay Teachers just might be your solution! If you want to learn how to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers (or if you’re just curious what it is!), then read on, because I have some great information to share with you about this amazing online marketplace.
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What is Teachers Pay Teachers?
Teachers Pay Teachers is a teacher-centric online marketplace. And this goes for any teacher–high school, middle school, elementary, preschool/toddler, college, special education, speech therapy, gifted & talented, homeschool… the list is HUGE! No matter your specialty, you will find a niche in which to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers.
A lot of former teachers sell on the site, too. For example, teachers who have retired or have left the workforce to have children are often still looking for ways to use what they know, so selling digital educational materials to other teachers is a great way to do that.
Or you may be a teacher or staff member looking for a side hustle, maybe to pay off some bills or cover the extra costs of buying your own educational materials. Selling on TPT is a great way to do that.
Why Should I Sell on TPT?
If you find yourself in any of those positions, you may enjoy learning how to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers.
- To Continue Using Your Expertise – As I said before, a great reason for selling on Teachers Pay Teachers is to continue using your expertise once you’ve left the field, either for retirement, or long-term illness, or to raise your kids, and more.
- To Create a Side Hustle – Let’s face it… unfortunately, teaching isn’t always the most lucrative careers, monetarily. You may find yourself in a situation where you want to find a side-source of income, whether to pay bills, pay off student debt, or save for retirement. Or perhaps you have an expensive hobby that you want to keep up. I currently make an average of $200/month (take home) in my Teachers Pay Teachers store that I use for things like blogging education and putting products in my other stores on Etsy. So if you sell on Teachers Pay Teachers, you may be able to make a little side money.
- To Make a Full-Time Income – There are actually SEVERAL men and women who make full-time income selling educational resources on Teachers Pay Teachers. I’m working toward this goal myself. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, but there are many who have put in the time and effort creating solid products that teachers really love and use. I know of several teachers and former teachers off the top of my head who sell in all kinds of subject areas who make a full-time income from Teachers Pay Teachers.
There are other great perks for selling on Teachers Pay Teachers, too!
- Meeting other teachers – You can do this by getting involved in their forum on the TPT site, or going to their annual conference for sellers, or simply meeting other sellers through interaction with their shops and on social media.
- Making change for teachers – When you make digital products that really help a teacher out, you’ve created significant impact. Just think of your first year teaching, for example. How overwhelming was it to just get lesson plans together? Or to keep your classroom in order? Wouldn’t it have been awesome to have some ready-made units to teach, or posters to hang on your walls, or classroom management resources to help you? Teachers are on the ground, getting their hands dirty, and so they know what other teachers need. If you can sell on Teachers Pay Teachers and offer helpful products like that, then you’re doing something life-changing for someone else.
- Create fun stuff that isn’t subject specific – While there are several people who sell on Teachers Pay Teachers that make subject-specific materials such as complete units, or short stories, or rubrics, etc., there are many who don’t. I know of several shops that sell only clip art, for example, or classroom decor. I have a hybrid shop of sorts, where I sell both educational materials and fun side stuff, like coloring sheets for different seasons and holidays.
- It’s relatively cheap to open a shop – To get the full benefits of selling, you’ll want a premium shop. Trust me on this. That’s $60 for a year to have your shop open (which equals $5 a month). From there, it’s free to add as many products as you want to your shop. Teachers Pay Teachers has a few different programs in place, but basically, they only pull a small commission when you actually sell a product. It’s really a win-win situation all the way around.
How Much do You Make When You Sell on Teachers Pay Teachers?
The amount you make when you sell on Teachers Pay Teachers will depend on at least six things:
- The perceived “need” for the products you offer
- The effort you put into your creating your products
- The amount of products you offer
- Your products’ price points
- Your marketing efforts
- Your customer service
All of these factors will affect how much you make. For example, you likely won’t make as much money if your shop has 5 items as you would if your shop had 150 items. (Hint: the shops I’ve seen making full-time income all have well over 100 products. Many have at least 300 or more.)
However, 5 solid products that really solve teachers’ problems will have higher conversion rates than 150 products that are slapped together and thrown up on the site without much thought to how teachers could actually use them.
How Do I Sell on Teachers Pay Teachers?
Does the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace sound like a place you’d be curious to try? There are 6 simple steps to follow in order to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers (I go into more detail on this topic in this post.)
6 Simple Steps to Sell on TPT
- Create a Seller Account
- Attach a PayPal Account
- Sign Up for a Premium Shop
- Create a Compelling Profile + Appealing Seller Photo
- Create a Free Sample Product so buyers can test you out
- Create a Paid Product
And you’re on your way! There are nuances, of course, that will boost your chances of sales, but these six steps will get you started in your journey as a seller on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Find Your TPT Niche with this Workbook!
Conclusion to How to I Sell on Teachers Pay Teachers
All in all, the marketplace is about teachers helping other teachers be the best they can be in the classroom. Whether they’re teaching their children at home or they’re teaching eight classes a day of the same subject in an inner-city school. If you want to make a lasting impact on others, and make some money too, then you may want to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers. I think you’ll be glad you did!
Until next time…
Be your best self,
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