This blog post is closest to my heart because it is a personal milestone, and I'm happy and grateful for what my shop has been through. When I was still working in Vietnam, I didn't think about having a business even if my parents would tell me to invest in this or that because, in my head, I thought I was earning well, and besides, I didn't know how to operate one. I started working from home when the world turned upside down in 2020. And let me tell you, I loved it! I didn't need to wake up super early to leave for work. I could nap anytime I wanted, and I could wear anything I wanted while working. Because of that, I researched how to continue working from home, and the rest is history.
I've learned a lot in my one year of selling on Teachers Pay Teachers. I've done unimaginable things like redoing ALLLL my covers and thumbnails for my 400+ products! That's crazy to think about, but my goal before the summer was to rebrand my whole store, and I hope I did an excellent job with that. But other than that, here are the things I want to share with you:
1. Creating eye-catching covers goes a long way. I used to have an ugly cover, and up to this day, I cringe when I see it. My tip: create attractive covers that will make you click on your cover. Be aware of your font and color choices. And create cohesive covers for all your resources, so when people search for something and see your cover, they will know it's yours.
2. Your preview makes buyers click the 'submit order.' If you don't have a preview, or if your preview is lacking, buyers will click out of your resource. Put yourself in your buyer's shoes.
3. Don't compare yourself with anyone. Geez, I struggled with this for a long time! We all have different journeys in life, but when I see stores with huge followings, thousands of reviews, and hundreds of high-quality products, I say to myself, "I wish I could be like that too!" And you know what I did? I stopped looking! It's normal to feel that way, especially when you are new. But only you have the power to control that.
4. Choose the best marketing platform that works for you and focus on that. I started my Pinterest as soon as I started creating more products. A few months later, I started a blog. In December, I started my email list. I wrote a blog post about what I would do if I could start my Teachers Pay Teachers store over again, and let me tell you, I regret not focusing on only one platform. I have watched many Youtube videos and listened to thousands of podcasts about the best marketing platforms for new TPT sellers. Still, a few mentioned putting your time and energy into one social media or marketing platform and being better at it. There are a lot of websites where you can advertise your resources, but choose the best that works for your time and energy. In your first year of TPT, your primary focus should be product creation.
5. Not to be a perfectionist. When I change something, I want everything to be changed as well. Please tell me I'm not the only one. 😄 I want the best color combination. I want the best covers. I want my store to match my brand. PLEASE. STOP. Perfect is boring. It's ok to have mistakes along the way.
6. Having more high-quality resources is better than having a lot of resources. Not all my resources were high-quality, especially when I first started. I have been working on updating my old products instead of creating new ones.
7. Invest in a course that I can afford. I have always wanted to take Shelly Rees' course, but it's just too expensive. Luckily, I found Kristen Doyle's Profit Booster Bootcamp about selling resources only on TPT and not focusing on other marketing platforms. I signed up because marketing isn't one of my strongest points. And also because most of my sales come from TPT as well.
I have learned a lot from my one year on TPT, and I can't wait to learn more in year 2! Thank you for sticking with me and reading my blog posts, friends!
-The Viral Teacher
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