You probably know a thing or two about what becoming a TPT seller can do for you. I see you hustlin,’ teacher friend! Waking up early to grade those last couple of tests before tossing your hair into a messy bun and booking it to the classroom, thermos of medium roast in hand. I see you rocking your morning lessons like Gene Simmons (minus the facepaint), then eating the rice bowl you brought for lunch in 7-seconds flat, so you can spend the rest of your “break” tutoring students or fighting the copy machine. I see you showing up with that kind of passion and perseverance every. single. day — Whew, someone needs to get this teacher a gold star STAT!

Your willingness to put in all the work ain’t lost on me, but I’m here to tell you that there’s an easier way to impact the hearts and minds of more students (and teachers) while earning an income that reflects your value… And maybe even getting eight… okay, at least six… hours of sleep on the reg…

Maybe you’ve heard that TPT is a game-changing way for teachers to boost their bank accounts (and pay their Netflix bills if you’re anything like me) while getting their resources into the hands of those who really, and I mean really, need them. Maybe you’ve even bought a couple of lesson plans, only to open them and think, “Umm… I could totally be making these, too!”

But putting your passion into practice, starting your very own TpT store, and becoming a TPT seller seems like an uphill (okay, more like an up Mount Everest) battle. No matter how many times you Google “how to be a TPT seller,” you can’t seem to find the actionable, yeah-I-can-do-this steps you’re looking for, and there’s this little voice in the back of your mind wondering if all the time and effort it would take to list your first resource is really worth it.

How To Become A TPT Seller

If that rang true, guess what friend, you’re not alone — Before I became a TPT seller, I asked myself the exact same things. But hundreds of thousands of sales later, and I can safely say it was one of the best decisions I ever made, and I’m confident that even just a year from now, you’ll be saying that, too.

Even better news, your path to CEO Teacher® success doesn’t have to be as long and windy as mine was because you’ve got me to guide you, and today I’m giving you something I wish I would’ve had when I was just starting out: a simple, straightforward plan for becoming a TPT seller and making a bigger impact and income — I’m so excited to see the incredible places these steps will take you!

Get a breakdown of exactly what it takes to go from pipedream to profit and become a CEO Teacher® using skills and resources you already have (even if you have no idea where to start, zero tech skills, and a serious allergy to marketing yourself) with Start or Expand Your Online Teacher Business!

You’ll learn:

• What it takes to turn your lesson plans into a thriving teacher business and how to do it without adding hours to your already hectic work week.
• The difference between TPT stores that make consistent sales and those that result in crickets (hint: there’s more to your success than just creating a resource — I’ll show you what’s missing).
• How to mind map your way to more clarity and confidence so you know exactly where you’re headed on your CEO Teacher® journey and how to get there.

7 Quick Steps to Become a TPT Seller

Shift Your Mindset from feeling like “Just a Teacher” to CEO Teacher®

Change starts from the inside and if you want to make the CEO Teacher® transformation, then it *almost* goes without saying that you’re going to make a few mindset shifts. First things first, let’s get this straight: You’re so much more than “just a teacher.” In fact, there’s nothing “just” about being a teacher — Every day, you go above and beyond to make a difference in your students’ lives, and that’s powerful. You are powerful, but your impact doesn’t have to stop at the classroom door.

You have to really recognize that and own your unique ability to improve the lives of teachers, students, and parents across the world. Yes, world — I said it! That’s how amazing you are. Push yourself to dream bigger and see that your dreams aren’t dreams, they are real possibilities. You can make them happen. You’re the one driving this school bus after all.    

Find Your Niche

Now it’s time to explore the most important topic: your one-of-a-kind interests and strengths. Because once you get to the bottom of that, you’ll know exactly what niche you’re suited for, and I can’t tell you how important that is. Even though you have many talents and passions, your business will be so much more successful if you can hone in on just one main thing. 

When you free yourself from all the noise and focus on your main thing, you will move the needle in your business WAY more than if you tried to do a little bit of everything. That’s why it’s so important to get to know your niche early on. One of the best ways to do that is to ask yourself some questions. Get your pencil and paper ready ‘cause you’re going to want to write these down:

• What are you good at? What do other teachers in your building come to you for advice on?
• What are you passionate about? What do you talk about with your partner until their eyes glaze over?
• What do you have a lot of ideas, experience, and content for?

Create Your Ideal Customer Avatar

Now that you know what you’re offering, it’s time to figure out who you’re offering it to. An ideal customer avatar is a fictional person who you create as the north star of your business. Give them a name, story, and what they need — What’s their #1 I’m-going-to-flip-my-lid-if-I-don’t-figure-this-out struggle, and what can you do to solve it? Give yourself permission to have fun with this, but remember that from here on out, every resource and piece of content you create should have the goal of helping that person.

To get started, think about which grade level you will most likely be creating resources for, which subject, and whether or not you want to create resources for multiple grade levels. If the answers to these questions aren’t perfectly clear, that’s 100% okay — take action and you’ll find the clarity you’re looking for.

That’s a promise.

Decide on a business name

This one really stumped me for a long time. In the beginning, I didn’t see myself as a business, so I didn’t really see the significance of naming my “business.” I didn’t realize the marketing that needed to take place day in and day out. Luckily, you don’t need to make that same mistake, teacher friend.

My #1 tip is to try and come up with a business name that’s easy to remember, but that could also become a brand. And if you’re stuck for ideas, give this a go: brainstorm 20 words that really resonate with you, then go through your list and narrow it down to only 3 business name options. But before you get too attached to any one of them, make sure to do a quick trademark check to see if they’re available on social media and TpT.

Create your TpT Store

• Here’s some basic info about the types of TPT seller accounts the platform offers. With information from setting up your store to how they pay you, you can find a basic overview here.
• Create or switch your account on TpT to a Seller Account
  • You can choose a Basic or Premium account, but I recommend starting with Premium if you can because the percentage of what you make is higher. (more info here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Signup)
• Then, you’ll create your store profile with a profile picture (your logo or a picture of you), store name, and other information.
• The TpT Seller Forums are great to get help and find more tips for selling on TpT!

Mind Map your ideas

Get out some giant Post-Its and Sharpies in every color ‘cause it’s time to take your swirling CEO Teacher® ideas and turn them into a concrete plan. Mind mapping is one of my all-time favorite tools for gaining clarity and direction, especially in business, and here’s how you can start using it, too: with your niche in mind, brainstorm some potential product lines and which products those lines will include, and if you aren’t sure, think back to your zone of genius and which ask yourself what type of products will best allow you to share it with the world.

Start Making Resources

Now that you’ve laid the foundation, it’s time to start building your CEO Teacher® business, but you can’t do that without a few key resources — I’m not talking about a hammer, wood, and nails, I’m talking about the lesson plans, projects, and worksheets that you’ve already spent hours creating. 

Go through the teaching resources you’ve created for your classroom and decide which ones you could tweak to sell online! And, while doing that, make sure to keep your ideal client avatar in mind. Think about what resources they would find most valuable — What would make their life (and lessons) easier? 

And heads up, in order to become a TPT seller they require you to list one product for free first. They recommend making it 10 pages or less, which is still more than enough room for you to give your ideal customers a taste of what’s to come from your store. 

To make that first impression really count, before listing your product, make sure that you’re including a cover page, terms of use page, table of contents, and a page on how to use the resource. These don’t count as pages in your resource, but they are important and can totally make or break your customer/creator relationship!

Do You Feel Ready To Become a TPT Seller? 

That’s it — Follow those 7 steps, and you’ll be well on your way to increasing your impact and income as a CEO Teacher®. It doesn’t happen overnight, but with a sprinkle of commitment and a pinch of consistency, you can absolutely do this…

If you are still on the fence about selling on TPT (or just starting your own teacher business in general), check out what these teacher-authors are saying:

• Kayla Hair from Move Mountains in Kindergarten- How I Grew my TPT Store
• How a Resource Library Changed the Face of Education for Tam Millege
• The Game Changer in my TPT Business and Reaching Milestones with Erin Tabler

And if you want to fast-track your CEO Teacher® transformation, don’t forget to grab the Start or Expand Your Online Teacher Business guide! It’ll give you everything you need to get your TpT store up and running and start selling enough resources to swap the hustle for some much-needed ease.