Being a teacher can be tough. You put in long hours for very little pay compared to other professional careers. However, you love your students and spend countless hours doing what it takes to get them to the next level. This is not unnoticed!
This post was most recently updated on January 29, 2023.
I update this page annually {ish}, depending on the strategies I’m using and the changes I make.
Your passion for teaching is why you should consider becoming a teacherpreneur (if you’re not already!). This page is devoted to teacherpreneur resources to help you get started or continue on your journey. {If you’ve been at this whole TpT gig awhile, there is more relevant information for you the farther down the page you go.}
If you want an email when I make changes to the page so you can stay up to date, please sign up here to be on my teacherpreneur newsletter list. NO SPAM. Ever. I promise! (And I really LOVE sending out my Teacherpreneur Tips Tuesday emails with a free download, tips, ideas, and more specifically for TpT sellers!)
My 100th edition went out in January 2023, and I am so excited to keep sharing tips and things I’ve learned randomly on Tuesdays. (It may not be every Tuesday, but I try to pop into your inbox at least monthly.) Sigh up here!
If you have ideas that are working in your classroom, chances are they would work in other classrooms too. If you are creating resources, you should consider sharing them with other teachers – whether that means selling them or giving them away. This page will give you the tools to get started!
There are many great teacherpreneur resources to help you along your journey. I’m going to share what has worked for me, as well as make this a page where you can come back and reference many great links at any time!
Let’s get started with some of the best teacherpreneur resources on the market today!
Did you know HoJo offers TPT Store Audits? You can learn more here! (Great for new and veteran sellers alike!)
If you have reached the first or second milestone and are ready for your TPT income to match or exceed your annual teaching salary, you might be a good fit for HoJo’s Teacherpreneur Coaching! Monthly, Quarterly, and one-off sessions are available! Learn more here!
This page contains affiliate links. Please read my entire disclosure statement here.
Getting Started on Teachers Pay Teachers
This link gives you a very basic overview of getting started on Teachers Pay Teachers. You can certainly start by signing up for a free membership, but I strongly recommend the premium membership. For just less than $5 each month, you’re going to earn far more money and have better success. You’ll get that money back in no time.
Looking for even more information about TpT? Here you go! It’s the Teachers Pay Teachers new seller handbook, or university. You can access it here.
Do you want another way to gain Teachers Pay Teachers knowledge? Head to the forums! One quick search of whatever it is you’re curious about (there’s a search bar at the top of the forums), and you’ll have a lot of great information at your fingertips! If a search doesn’t answer your question, you’ll find helpful people answering your questions right away. One word of caution…you could get lost in there for hours! 😉
Great Investment Specific to TpT Sellers
I have taken a LOT of courses since I began TpT – some good, some ok, and some that are flat out not that great. That being said, I cannot recommend TpT Focused Success enough! Shelly Rees is a successful TpTer who shares her knowledge of TpT. She breaks everything down into eight manageable chunks that will help put you on the path to success for TpT.
Here’s my personal testimony for Shelly’s course:
I became a TpT seller back in 2009 with a basic account. I became a premium seller in December 2011. But February 2015 was when I decided to take my TpT “gig” seriously. Then I decided to make 2016 the “year of Pinterest”. Sales from 2015 to 2016 were 4x better. I was thrilled! But then I stalled. Growth was nowhere to be found, and sales were starting to go backwards. I picked up Shelly’s course because I had heard great things about her presentation at one of the TpT conferences.
But then I did nothing with the course. Sales in August and September 2017 were lower than 2016. I HAD to do something. Rather than spend more money on a course that may disappoint me, I decided to start going through Shelly’s course. And I took her Facebook group more seriously. After all, what did I have to lose?
My October 2017 sales were the best they’ve ever been! (to date, anyway) And then November 2017 almost doubled November 2016. Shelly’s tips were working! Plus I found the positive environment from her Facebook group to be super uplifting and helpful!
Did I mention that both October and November I grossed more than my (then)husband who is a 7-12 principal? YAY!
I would 110% recommend Shelly’s course TpT Focused Success. Are you going to see immediate success and growth? Probably not. But if you are willing to put in the time and effort, I promise you will see results! Go through the course. Focus. TpT can be a true financial blessing in your life, but you have to be willing to do the work. And Shelly makes it much easier. I wish I would have had this course back in 2011 when I first started! Go get started with TpT Focused Success today!
If you’re wondering if this course is what you need at your current TpT level, here’s a better breakdown…
- TpT Newbie – If you have been on TpT for a short amount of time, not taken any courses specifically about TpT, and/or haven’t taken your store seriously – this is THE BEST course for your money. Shelly is an active TpT seller, she’s active in her Facebook group, and the course will walk you through basic, systematic steps to find success. I WISH TpT Focused Success had been around back when I first joined TpT.
- Intermediate TpTer – If you’ve dabbled in some free courses, read emails from TpT sellers, or maybe signed up for a meh course – you probably fall into this category.This is where I was at when I signed up for TpT Focused Success. I knew what I was doing, but I wasn’t having the success I thought I could. AND I wasn’t truly following all the steps I knew I *should* be. Shelly’s course was the kick in the pants I needed to get serious. And my store growth doubled that year. And I’ve been up 20% or more through 2021. Her FB group keeps me motivated, and the hashtag sales 2x a year have been a nice little boost on otherwise not-stellar sales days.
- TpT Pro – If you have been on TpT awhile or have already taken multiple courses, you know the ropes. Maybe you’re looking for a group of like-minded people. Or maybe you need a kick in the pants to take things more seriously. Regardless – that is this course and group! Shelly’s FB group feels like a family to me. People answer questions, typically quite quickly. I can go into the course and listen to it in the background #PodcastStyle for a quick refresher when I’m feeling uninspired. And the 2x a year sales have paid for the course over and over since I have established items included. This is why I truly believe TpT Focused Success is meant for TpT sellers at ANY level!
- The basics work, and we can all use support, positivity, and motivation on our journey!
Starting a Blog
While a blog is certainly not necessary, it can’t hurt your store or business any! Many people get started by using Blogger. It’s great, and it’s FREE! Before you take this on, make sure you can post regularly. Regularly may mean once a day or it might be once a month. My advice is to be regular so your readers know what to expect from you. (And it’s just flat out easier to be consistent about a schedule. I tend to start getting lazy if I don’t stick to my writing calendar!)
Not sure what to write about? Check out my Blogging Tips & Ideas blog post. It’s a great way to get some solid ideas for blogging inspiration specific to TpT sellers.
After blogging for four years, I made the switch to WordPress. Honestly, it was not necessary, and I’m not sure I’d do it again if I knew what I know now. It’s a great platform if you want to have your own store (although there are ways you can do that via Blogger), and I do love a few plugins – but otherwise you can do nearly the same things on Blogger. The biggest question/concern is – do you want to truly own your own content or do you want Google/Blogger to own it? THAT was another huge reason I switched.
If you need a host company, there are many to choose from. I was with LinkSky and Bluehost for quite awhile. They’re fine for smaller blogs, but customer service was not great for me. I switched to Siteground in March 2018. So far their customer service has been AMAZING. I needed to add the httpS to my site, and they helped me out in a days time. Plus I’ve had to reach out two other times, and my issue has always been resolved within 48 hours. (Just as an fyi… I think I hit 100,000 pageviews one month between both blogs, but I’m typically <50,000/month, with that number steadily decreasing since 2020 when I put out less and less blog posts. We’ll see if I can get it back up again in 2023 and beyond!)
Getting Organized
As a teacher, you’re already busy! As a teacherpreneur, you’re going to find that time is even more of a premium! You need to make sure you’re organized and using your time wisely. Scheduling blog posts, drafting product ideas for Teachers Pay Teachers, and getting everything published in a timely manner is going to take more time than you realize. It’s vital that you stay on top of everything! Check out this link for lots of great teacher blogger organization and planning resources on TpT.
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Phew! Those points alone are enough to get you started for quite some time! There’s a HUGE learning curve, so don’t worry if it takes you weeks, or even months, to feel like you understand what you’re doing. That’s ok! None of us got to where we are today overnight. It takes a lot of hard work and many long hours to make the most of your Teachers Pay Teachers store and blog. (Honestly? I’ve over five years into this journey and I still feel overwhelmed quite often!)
But if you are feeling extra energized, or you’ve been on TpT for awhile, you might be ready for more of the resources shared below.
Start a Newsletter
People, this is a biggie! You need to start a newsletter basically as soon as you start a blog (or honestly as soon as you start your TpT store!). Seriously! While I started this blog in November 2011, I didn’t even sign up for a newsletter subscription until March 2013. What.was.I.thinking?!? Anyway, you can definitely start with something free like MailChimp. That’s what I used until March 2016. It’s a nice little platform that is free until you get 2,000 subscribers.
In March 2016 I went to ConvertKit. I LOVE THEM. I get people to sign up through a variety of ways, and then I send out “drip” campaigns (or sequences) where it automatically sends them little updates from me on a regular basis with NO extra work on my part. I just set it up and forget about it. How awesome is that!? If you’re interested in checking out ConvertKit, I’d love for you to use my link here.
In April 2018 I made the switch to MailerLite, but then I switched back to ConvertKit in January 2019. MailerLite is probably a better option if you’re on a budget, BUT I had a friend lose over 4,000 subscribers one day on MailerLite. They weren’t able to help her recover them. She lost them all. 🙁 I will probably stay with ConvertKit for the long haul. They’re a bit spendy, but that holds me accountable to my list. (To be 100% transparent, ConvertKit is the #3 traffic source to my TPT store – only after TPT itself and the blog I started in 2011 with thousands of pins being redirected to it from Pinterest.)
You really need to send out a newsletter regularly. If people took the time to subscribe to your list, then they want to hear from you! And if you go months at a time without sending anything to them, there’s a good chance they’re going to delete your emails when they do show up. So be consistent! If you’re going to send an email every Saturday, do that! If you’re going to send one each month – great! Just pick a realistic goal and stick to it.
FloDesk is another, more affordable, option. I have not personally used it, but enough of my TpT friends use it that I currently feel comfortable leaving the link here.
Consider a PopUp
Now that you’ve started your newsletter, it’s time to consider a pop-up. Yes, I know they’re super annoying – but they work! There are a variety of options to choose from. I’ve used the SumoMe popup, which you can get here. In the past I’ve used Hello Bar because it’s slightly less invasive. Another one I’ve used is the WordPress plugin Optin Forms. All three have free versions, so there’s no cost unless you choose to upgrade. They’re a great way to get newsletter subscribers with very little work after the initial set up. I’ve also used ConvertKit’s built in option. Click here for that information.
Media Kit
Once you feel you’ve built a solid following of social media followers or blog pageviews, you might want to consider creating a media kit. This will allow you to highlight how wonderful your online presence is and how you can help brands reach your followers. I’ve created a basic template that you can purchase here. {To my knowledge, there are not a lot of TpTers who create media kits, but if you ever have a brand reach out wanting to work with you – this is a great way to show them how valuable you are!}
Choose or Take High Quality Pictures
When blogging you want to make sure you have high quality pictures. You can take your own or use stock photos. I use DepositPhotos and absolutely love them for blog posts. You can check it out for yourself here. Stock Unlimited is also growing with the number of photos they provide. (In all honesty I find them a bit harder to search, but they are improving.) I’ve got a lifetime membership. You check them them out here. I’ve also been trying to take more of my own photos. I bought a Nikon DSLR camera recently, and I love it! You can see if it’s the right camera for you by clicking here.
While I use the photos mentioned above, I also LOVE supporting fellow TpTers! There are many stock photo options available via a Teachers Pay Teachers search, but I have to give a shout out to my good friend Amy. She runs the store Snapshots by Amy. If you’re wondering how stock photos can help you as a teacherpreneur, Amy has you covered with this free guide. (And there’s even a special offer on page 4 just for you!!) 😉
Here are some other TpT sellers that I love –
Scheduling Social Media
It can be exhausting to keep up with all the different social media platforms out there! Let me say this right away, you do not have to keep up with all of them. If you can rock Instagram like no one’s business, do it! If Facebook is your gravy – good for you! If you love to pin – work it! Find what works for you and go for it!
I am becoming a social media bum. Pinterest is where it’s at for me, so I’ve basically become a bum at the other platforms. (Truly! I actually uninstalled Instagram from my phone for six months in late 2018 through early 2019. It was glorious!)
Currently I am using the free version of Publer to schedule to Facebook groups. And then I use Tailwind for IG (links below) and push those out to my FB page too. Once in awhile I will live pin to IG, FB groups, or my FB page – but I don’t stress about it. Posting 2-3 times a week helps me stay relatively “active” on those platforms – but I personally saw little to no sales from them – even while giving it my all…
I have used programs like HootSuite and SmarterQueue in the past, but I didn’t believe they were a good long-term fit for me.
As of November 2018, I am no longer posting to Twitter. While I don’t see a lot of engagement or traffic from IG or FB, I view them more as brand awareness. My 2018 sales were about double my 2017 sales. My 2019 sales were up 44% from 2018. And so far – even with the pandemic – my 2020 sales are up over 30% from 2019. Pinterest is what works for me, so I’m pushing that full steam!
Getting Started on Pinterest
There are SO many tutorials out there for Pinterest. And you’re going to hear people with a variety of opinions. Please do NOT get overwhelmed. My Pinterest strategy has stayed nearly the same since 2016. Yes, I went to looping and then back, but there have been no significant changes to my overall strategy.
The best advice I can give to you is to start pinning. Get in there. Pin up to 30 times a day, but even just 5-10 pins a day is fine. (I think I’m currently doing 15-20.) Pin your image to the most relevant board first, and then up to nine other boards. STOP worrying about joining or creative collaborative boards. Pinterest doesn’t like them, and they are largely a time suck.
MOST OF ALL – focus on your pin descriptions! Pinterest is a search engine, and they read your pin description to show people your pin in the search. So make the most of those 500 characters!
Ready to get started on Pinterest, but you’re not even sure what boards you need? Check out this link to get a FREE boards list. I have worked with over 70 different TpT sellers on their Pinterest accounts, and this is the list I recommend to each one.
Scheduling Pinterest
Pinterest is definitely my favorite platform, and it’s one of the teacherpreneur resources I couldn’t go without. However, I simply can’t spend hours each day sitting there live pinning. That’s where a Pinterest scheduler comes into play. I’m currently using Tailwind. However, I know plenty who use the free scheduler that is build into Pinterest as well. (Do a YouTube search to find recent videos on how to schedule. Even if someone isn’t a teacherpreneur, there are plenty of bloggers out there with great videos who you can learn from!)
If you’d like to try Tailwind, click on that link to check it out. It includes a FREE trial so you can set them up and give it a go for free.
Hiring a Virtual Assistant
There may come a point where your TpT business is too much for you to keep up with. If that happens, it may be time to hire a virtual assistant! Sometimes you have to spend money to help you make more money, and this is that time!
If there are tasks you simply dread doing or are ineffective at, then start looking for a VA. This book will give you tips to help find a virtual assistant (or perhaps help train a family member or friend), AND it’s also a great guide for the new VA. Click here to get your copy today!
I have been running a virtual assistant business since June 2015. You can check out my blog and see even more helpful TpT information and blog posts by checking out The Academic VA. (I no longer offer VA services as of December 2019, but I kept the posts up since many of them are still relevant.)
If you want to entirely go the DIY route, that’s no problem. This FB group helps you connect to a VA, just make sure you vet them properly. And I always recommend starting with small projects, that way you don’t lose a lot of money. Finally, know that it can take a few tries to find a good fit.
Join Facebook Groups
There are Facebook groups specifically for teacherpreneurs. Check out a group such as TpT Seller Success or Wallflowers TpT Think Tank.
But – a word of caution – these Facebook groups can sometimes be a time suck. Make sure you have the discipline to only go into them sometimes. When I look at how much time I spent scrolling Facebook from 2011-today, I wonder how many more resources I could devote to my own store and business. This is precisely why I now limit the amount of groups I belong too. #noselfcontrol
Have a Plan for the Future
Stick with me on this one. I don’t know about you, but I am pretty organized and like to have everything together. Plus I’m a bit of a worrier. Actually, I like to think of it as hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
I’ve been trying to figure out a system to keep track of all my business “things” so that my husband would know what to do if something ever happened to me where I couldn’t work on my TpT store/business or passed away.
In 2019 I came across this “In Case of Emergency” Binder, and I had to grab it. There is SO MUCH in this binder – personal information, basics for kiddos so their lives can remain as normal as possible, financial information, burial wishes, investments, what we hope to be done with life insurance money, medical info, pages for our pets, and much more. But she also included pages on what to do with your online business!
She has you write down usernames and passwords for social media accounts and all of your website information. I added a page specific to my TpT store. And then one page of my financial planning pages I talked about where I would like the proceeds to go. I also created a list of people my husband could contact to help him decide all of this (like my accountant, TpT friends who would guide him in the right direction, my VAs, and more).
My hope is this “In Case of Emergency” binder never needs to be used, BUT I am incredibly grateful to have all of this together so my family could continue to be blessed by my TpT income after my passing. And – for the record – I met with an attorney to have everything set up officially as far as wills and trusts go. I want to protect my loved ones.
Other Helpful Links
Mobile Friendly Site? – Check to see if your blog is mobile friendly by using this link.
Create Related Links – This link let’s you create the html code so you can put a list of related resources on any TpT product you so choose. Fast, easy, done!
Product Description Editor – This handy website allows you to edit the TpT html in a more quick, user-friendly manner. I love it!
More Tips and Ideas! – I have a Pinterest board FULL of ideas specifically for blogging and Teachers Pay Teachers. You can access it here.
More From HoJo
You can follow my YouTube channel here.
I offer coaching services for other TpT sellers. If that’s something that interests you, learn more here.
You can also join my weekly teacherpreneur email series by signing up here. In this weekly “Teacherpreneur Tips Tuesday” email I send out a freebie (typically clipart or a mockup), helpful tips or ideas specific to TpT sellers, interesting articles that can help move your business forward, strategies or resources that I personally use, and more. Click here to sign up!
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My plan is to continually add more teacherpreneur resources as I find them. If you come across something that would be useful to other teacherpreneurs, please contact me so I can update this page!
~Heather aka HoJo~
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