So I just set up my TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) site. As a former Pre-k teacher, I wish this resource was available back then.
There is a wealth of information for educators of all grades, as well as Pre-k, and it is fantastic for homeschool parents!
If you are creative, or just want to check out Teachers Pay Teachers, read on!
Let’s go through the process and see how easy this is!
Disclaimer: As an affiliate, I may receive compensation on purchases from any links you click on.
Setting Up For Your Teachers Pay Teachers Shop
It is quite easy to set up your shop. The great thing about TPT is they walk you through it in their directions. Just follow the prompts!
You need to first set up your account. All the necessary info for getting paid and taxes and all of that good stuff.
You can either get be a basic seller for free, or upgrade to premium for $59.95 and have a higher payout rate and have access to premium features.
My suggestion is to start out with the premium since you will only need to sell 12 $5 items and you already made your money back! Plus you will have received at least 80% of your listing price.
As with any selling platform, there are fees attached. What I like about Teachers Pay Teachers is that there is no listing fee like Etsy. You can list all the product you want and don’t get charged until you make a sale. Even then, it is better than Etsy, and your target audience is on TPT.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many teacher resources on Etsy, but if you are going to sell educational items, you want to be at a place where teachers shop as well.
Now it’s time to create a cute shop name and decide what your focus is going to be. With that said, you can have multiple grades, but for myself and creating, I like to stick to one age group, as I can interchange my graphics and keep my focus.
You are probably asking, “Do I need to be a teacher?” The answer to that is NO. Are you a homeschool Mom? That’s perfect!
You will though need some sort of understanding on what types of products and activities to make. Make sure they are usable and age appropriate.
My specialty is Pre-k as my former career was in childcare. I did that for over 15 years and had the time of my life with the kiddos all day long.
I wish there would have been a Teachers Pay Teachers when I was a pre-k teacher. We usually had to wait until we went to our annual conferences and got a lot of resources there to use throughout the year.
There was also no Google then as well. So we had to research on our own.
I had to create most of the curriculum myself, partnered with the other teachers, but it was time-consuming. We did get 2 hours/week extra in our pay for at home planning.
Having an online marketplace geared just for education would have been wonderful. Although, back when I was doing it, the internet was just getting started. Yes, that long ago.
So, once you have your account/shop set up, it’s time to start creating your products.
laurie’s Printables Tip:
Making Your Products
I have watched different YouTube videos and read a lot different blogs on how to create your products. There are many resources out there. I belong to an online Facebook group with BethAnn Averil and she is a TPT genius! Check her out!
If this is something you want to be serious about, research your age and grade group. What types of products will be best used and educational. Have your facts checked.
Older grades get a little more complex and you need to know what you are creating and why and what is the problem you are trying to solve.
If you asked me to create a printable for calculus, I would say, no thank you. Now if you ask me to create something on American history, I’m all in! I love history, read about history, study history, and want to create products in the future on this very subject.
I am also a watercolor artist, and have in mind to do something with that in creating products on and about watercolor for art categories. That is on the future to do list.
Is teaching music your jam? You can create many items on that very subject! Like count the beats using music notes. I want to venture into this myself as I can read music and play piano, well it has been years since I played, but I could do it. Plus my brother has his Master’s in Music Degree. He would be a great resource for me to use.
Moving on, let’s figure out what platform you will create your products. Some use Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides, Canva and even Photoshop.
Using Powerpoint is the best option because you can flatten your pdf’s and retain links. I don’t recommend using Canva, because they are so picky on using even free elements and you don’t want to get caught up in that mess unless you fully understand all the legal mumbo jumbo legalities of Canva.
It is confusing to me at times, so I create my own graphics, or you can purchase or even get them free on TPT. You can sell your own graphics, fonts, etc on Teachers Pay Teachers as well. One thing to remember. Always keep the seller’s Terms of Use with your product download when using and follow their TOU policies.
(I make folders on my desktop with sellers folders and their TOU. (Terms of Use))
Your first upload to your shop is a freebie. You cannot charge for it. This gives buyers an example of your work. They can check out your style and content.
Look around and see what others have made. You don’t want to copy, but get an idea of what is out there and how it looks and how it is priced. You don’t want to copy, but get inspiration.
Here is a list of a way to brain dump your ideas
These are just some questions to ask yourself and brain dump. You can also get a piece of paper and write as many ideas down as possible. Or, you can also do what I do and ask Chat GPT for some insight or ideas in addition to my own ideas.
Between looking at what others have made and asking AI for some suggestions, and your own brain dump, you should find a variety of ideas to work with.
Other things to think about when creating products are what trends are out there, what holidays are upcoming and what themes can you get from those that you listed.
For example, September might be coming up in another month.
Trends are – back to school, fall leaves, fall sports, classroom tags, classroom bulletin boards, meet the teacher.
Holidays are – Labor Day, Patriot Day and First Day of Fall.
Now think of some themes – apples, pumpkins, farm, backpacks for back to school, harvest, really any fall related items, because October will be coming up and that is halloween and even more fall related items. What a great season for creating, all the colors of fall and fun to be had. Hayrides, etc.
Then think about do want to do numbers, letters, shapes, matching, etc. Or all of them depending on your grade level.
If you are looking to do older elementary through high school, write down science, geography, Algebra, etc… Just write down everything you know about and can make product for that will actually teach and inform accurately.
So do that brain dump and you will be surprised on what you can create and have fun doing it!
Below is an example of one of my Teachers Pay Teachers products
You can also check out my post on 5 Pre-k Fun Learning Activities For Early Learning.
laurie’s Printables Tip:
Uploading Your Products
If you have uploaded products to Etsy, this should be a breeze. You need to make you title name for the product. Where this differs from Etsy is that you just need to make it a nice and short and to the point title.
An idea that I saw, on Beth Ann’s Facebook page, was to go to TPT, start typing in the search and see what is trending in the subject and subject matter you are wanting to create. This is what people are looking for! You can make a title and create a product from there on.
Teachers Pay Teachers does not like long titles like you can create on Etsy. So don’t do it! No longtail keywords in the titles. Make sure your title has exactly what it is.
You will then need a description of your products as well as no more than 4 mock ups and one preview image as well as a video/slideshow. You will want to use all your marketing resources available.
You will need to include with your product, a page on how to use your particular product and your very own Terms Of Use.
Here is a free terms of use from a Teachers Pay Teachers user. I found this very helpful. It is editable and you can use it for your own if unsure how to make one for yourself.
I attach my directions and TOU right to my product so it is all one download.
laurie’s Printables Tip:
Understand Copyright And Terms Of Use
It is important that you put your Name|Shop Name| and the copyright symbol on EVERY PAGE you make. It is also important to cite and link any graphics or products you used in your product to the original creator on your TOU page.
The Terms of Use protect you from others taking your work and calling it their own. It also protects those products and resources from creators you used in your product.
It’s all about protecting your work. Your efforts. Your money.
Now that you learned how to set up and create a TPT shop, I would love to see your shop!
laurie’s Printables Tip:
FAQ’s
Q. Why Do Teacher’s Use Teachers Pay Teachers?
A. More than 7 million educators including 85% Pre-k use Teachers Pay Teachers to save time, engage students, and learn from each other.
Q. What is the Teachers Pay Teachers payment method?
A. TPT accepts credit cards, Paypal, Venmo, funds from you account balance. They also pay you for your products sold via, Paypal, Venmo, and your own bank account.
Q. Do you have to be teacher?
A. No! They encourage anyone to use Teachers Pay Teachers for their resources they may find useful.
Q. Can you sell your products on Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy?
A. Yes!
If you have any more questions or just want to learn more, visit Teachers Pay Teachers and join my friend, Beth Ann’s Facebook group!
You can also check out Passive Income Pathways to learn how to make passive income with Teachers Pay Teachers and other niches!
Stay Colorful, Stay Creative and HAVE FUN!
~Laurie