Do you spend an endless amount of time creating to-do lists to hustle to increase your TPT sales? Goal-chaser, task-doer, go-getter, hard worker, deep thinker – have you ever given yourself any of those descriptions? If so, I’m glad you’re reading these words today. I recently finished the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, and the truth bombs hit me in the face with a nice little reality pie. My goals and to-do lists are great, but my systems and how I accomplish everything else…well, they were seriously screaming all aboard the CEO Teacher® struggle train. So what teacher train do you wish to board today? The struggle train or the tried and true systems express?

You Don’t Need to Hustle to Increase TPT Sales

I vividly remember dropping my boys off at school when they were in Kindergarten and First grade and pulling into the Ellianos Coffee drive-thru line in my hometown about five years ago. No, we don’t currently have a Starbucks (But we will soon! And all the tired mamas say AMEN!). Anyways, my hometown does this tiered bus system where elementary students have to be at school at 7 am so the buses can grab the high school and middle school students.  So that meant I had 45 minutes before I had to be at work, so I usually would grab a coffee and think of what I would say to my Instagram fam. I was one of the first chicks on Instagram stories, and watching one of those old stories is the equivalent to watching one of my old YouTube videos. It makes my skin crawl, but we’ve made progress! So that’s where I would get my material for the day: on the drive to the coffee shop. And once that caffeine hit my lifeless body, I was ready to story in my teacher parking spot. That day, I decided to share this ridiculously immature statement, “Nobody will outwork me.”

What in the world? I thought that was a cool thing to say. Like, “Hey competitors, you can’t outwork me.” Anyone can outwork you, my friend. But, can you say that you’ve got the systems to make sure your work isn’t in vain? I will teach you how to use five systems to transform your teacher work muscle into a real replicable model. It doesn’t matter if you’ve made $0 or $100,000 yet because systems don’t require years of experience of fancy tech skills. They only require methodical and strategic preparation. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from James Clear:

System 1 to Up Your Sales on TPT: Mind Map

You’ve decided to start selling your teaching resources or expand your TpT store, but your head is spinning with 537 ideas and actions you need to take. So instead of just jumping headfirst, you decide to do nothing. We call this procrastination paralysis. A little bit of excitement but no way to actually move the needle forward. You’re just stuck. Stuck thinking you want to get stuff done but lack the actual ability to get it done. I created this system to get you out of procrastination paralysis and into the rhythm of taking massive action toward increasing your sales on TpT.

Mind mapping is something I came up with as I was trying to organize all the thoughts swirling around my brain, and it has caught on like WILDFIRE inside of my online community. In fact, inside of The CEO Teacher® Income Challenge, I have a 4 part kickstart (not your typical teacher training)  that’s full of highlighters, flair pens, sticky notes, and Post-It posters. If that doesn’t get you excited as a teacher, I don’t know what will!  From there, we take those 537 ideas and dissect them piece-by-piece to make a business plan. A real-life business plan that will help you thrive.

Here’s how to get started: first, choose your MAIN thing. “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing” (thanks to Stephen Covey for that quote), so figure out what brings you the most joy AND what the online education world is missing. Then, flesh out some product line ideas for your TpT store. Product lines will help you increase TpT sales because teachers and parents can try one product, fall in love, and then scoop up other products like it! Finally, think about VALUE. How will you provide value to your ideal customer?

Mind map your blog content, social media posts, your podcast episodes, Facebook lives, etc. Once I started mind-mapping everything, my TpT sales drastically increased because I had a plan and was systematically taking action to see it through.

System 2 to Increase TPT Sales: Templates

Templates prevent mistakes by enforcing consistent essential content. Templates are a framework of elements required to be present to complete a Teachers Pay Teachers product. They make turning out product after product a breeze by efficiently replicating product lines and products in general. Templates encourage repeatability and efficiency. Reworking your TpT products for every project or product wastes valuable time and money. Instead, focus on content and completing tasks. Also, they allow you to keep your brand consistent. All of these affect your TpT sales, so implementing templates is essential for exponential growth.

You Need a Support System

Perhaps the best system of all is a support system. Before I began leaning into my vision for The CEO Teacher®, there wasn’t anywhere you could go each month to show up and be coached by a mentor or friend.

I was a member of a few TpT Facebook groups that were just breeding grounds for negative nancies and overzealous sellers looking to name-call and point fingers at everything under the sun. I wasted countless hours of my life and my business inside of there instead of finding true support with others trying to grow their TPT sales authentically. I tried a few peer-lead masterminds that ended up being the same thing, a people-bashing party, and that’s just not my style. 

As I worked through problems using Youtube, books, and experience, I realized that our community needed support, weekly dependable, reliable support. Each month, we have coaching calls inside of The CEO Teacher®, where we teach about habits to help you sustain this business and data-tracking and why it’s vital to your success. We also have business auditing calls where a team of professional CEO Teacher® Coaches go over products, social media, blogs and more with you via Zoom. It’s a life-giving group of teachers that runs on community, positivity, and growth. You can join our community too! We’d love to have you!

Boost Your TpT Sales with This System

In the same token as support, checklists CAN help boost your TpT sales if they go hand-in-hand with your templates and support. From checking off how to upload a TpT product from start to finish to polishing your blog posts from draft to publish, having a checklist can ensure you take a template, complete it, listen to support and feedback, and then upload it with ease. Again, it adds a level of checks and balances that most sellers never use. It’s as easy as 1,2,3, and it’s been a game-changer for my students as they learn how to increase sales on TpT!

It’s Time to Analyze Your Data, TpT Seller!

Last but certainly not least, you need a system for data analysis. Inside of your TpT dashboard, you’ll see things like TpT sales, conversion rates, views, and so much more, but dissecting those into REAL numbers that help move the needle forward is always the tricky part. From google analytics to blog views, tracking key metrics help you see “what’s working” and “what just makes you excited to post.” Our goal is to find both and marry those two together. How can we figure out what people actually want and need and transform that into something that sets your soul on fire? 

With data analysis by tracking important keywords, we can easily see what’s worth your time to increase sales on TpT and what isn’t. One of the essential modules inside of our membership is module 4, all about search engine optimization. This is what we like to call the “Willy Wonka Golden Ticket,” and the key thing that took my TpT store from a couple of hundred dollars a month to over $10,000 a month. Data tracking isn’t saved for our math-loving friends because, let me just say – that’s not me. But understanding what and how to track is for everyone, especially for those who want to learn how to increase sales on TpT!

I can’t wait to see which systems you implement to grow your TpT sales today and beyond! These have been an integral part of my continued success. I know that, with determination, clarity, and action, they will help you move the needle forward in your business. If you need some more help getting started making an impact and more income this year, click here to grab a spot inside the brand-new challenge that's bursting at the seams with tips, actionable strategies, and more to help you grow!