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You might have thought about starting your own Teachers Pay Teachers store and selling your teaching resources online. You also probably have a million questions about how to start selling on TPT.

I frequently get asked ‘How did you start selling on TPT?’, “How do I know what is the first step to take as a TPT seller?’ Don’t worry, I had many of the same questions when I became a TPT seller. In this post, I’ll share a little bit of my TPT history and provide you with some tips on how start a Teachers Pay Teachers store.

I opened up my TPT store in 2013. I had zero experience with creating and selling online but decided to give it a shot! Through my own research and experience, I have learned a lot about creating and selling digital resources.

Tips for Creating a Teachers Pay Teachers Products

Find the Right Fonts & Clipart

If you are including clipart, fonts, or photographs in your products, you MUST purchase a license for commercial use. The majority of the clipart and fonts sold on TPT are for commercial use. Meaning, once you purchase these images/font you are allowed to use them in your products. Credit is not always required, however it is nice to include a credits page at the end of your product. 

You may find free downloadable fonts online. However, that does not mean you’re allowed to use them in your products. Make sure to always read the Terms of Use for every clipart or font you download.

Once I purchase a font or clipart set, I like to make a note of it so that I know I have permission to use it. 

Choose the Right Program

The next step in creating your TPT product is to find a program that will allow you to add images and text to your document. Personally, I’ve found that Powerpoint is the easiest program to use when creating TPT resources. It’s very practical and allows you to drag images and text around the page.

Secure Your TPT Resources

When you start your TPT store, you might hear the phrase “flatten and secure.” This just means that your product has been converted to a flattened PDF file and the elements on the page are secure. When you upload a product to Teachers Pay Teachers, you want to ensure that all of the clipart is locked and cannot be stolen.

I absolutely LOVE Flatpack. This Powerpoint add-in feature allows you to flatten your PDFs with the click of a button. It also makes creating editable resources a breeze!

Flatpack for Mac

Flatpack for PC

If you’re going to invest in something when you start your TPT journey, I highly recommend this!

Teachers Pay Teachers Premium

Once you have created your Teachers Pay Teachers resources and have started making sales, you might wonder if it’s time to upgrade to a premium seller account.

What is Teachers Pay Teachers Premium?

Getting started on Teachers Pay Teachers is completely free with a Basic Seller Membership. However, for an annual fee, a Premium Seller account provides a larger commission on sales and much fewer transaction fees. There are also some other perks to being a Premium Seller, such as the ability to upload larger file sizes, as well as access to other features.

When Should I Upgrade to a Premium Seller Account?

I started creating resources for my students and it slowly turned into my creative outlet. I created my first product in June of 2014 and did not make a sale until the following month. Man, was was I excited about that $1.20! (I even shared my success on Instagram!)

I made a little over $100 throughout my first year of TPT selling. During my second year, I made a little over $2,000. I was SO excited and could not believe that I had made that off just creating worksheets on PowerPoint! In 2016, I decided it was worth upgrading to a premium account so that I could keep a larger portion of my sales.

I recommend upgrading to a premium account once you start seeing a significant amount of sales. There is no need to purchase a premium account right away!

How to Balance Life as a Teachers Pay Teachers Seller

After reading about what goes in to creating, marketing, and selling digital resources, it might seem like too much work to balance TPT with the rest of your responsibilities.

Keeping track of my monthly sales and monitoring which products are selling the most helps me get an idea of what kind of resources to create next.

I have created a set of record-keeping sheets which includes product names and future updates. This will help me keep track of older products that might need some tweaking or additions requested by buyers. 

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Is Selling on TPT Worth It?

Teachers Pay Teachers has forever changed my life. Thanks to TPT, my husband and I were able to have a beautiful wedding, travel to Bali, and buy our first home within the same year. (We also had income from our full-time jobs, but TPT also played a significant role in all of this.) 

In 2020, I was able to step away from the classroom and pursue my business full-time.

This is why I feel the need to constantly encourage my teacher friends to open up their own store. This business has taught me how to grow as a person and entrepreneur. It has forced me to step out of my comfort zone by reaching out to others and building relationships. Most of all, it has showed me the value of hard work and dedication.

Getting Started with TPT? Reach Out!

I absolutely LOVE sharing tips and tricks with teachers that are getting started with TPT. Want to get weekly emails with more ideas and tips? Click here to Join the Sweet Teacherpreneur community!

If there is anything else you would like to learn more about, feel free to reach out and let me know!