Teacher 2 Teacher: How do I become a seller on Teachers Pay Teachers?

Monday, March 7, 2011

How do I become a seller on Teachers Pay Teachers?

Note: This article is a condensed version of a longer one which includes step-by-step directions as well as ideas for increasing sales on Teachers Pay Teachers. Download the full article (PDF) for free to read more.

Making the choice about whether or not to start selling your lessons and materials can seem like an easy one; but knowing the best way in which to get it going may take a bit more finesse. We're here to provide some assistance.

When you create your membership you have two choices of how you want to join to sell products: premium and free. We highly recommend the premium seller account. It may take a while to build up a customer base and to create products, but it will be worth it in the long run.

We also recommend that you create a Paypal account. It's the fastest and easiest way to get paid each quarter. Just click the link to sign up.

With those steps out of the way, you are now ready to start listing your products! Here are some important tips to keep in mind when posting new items.

The “Upload Preview File” is recommended for products with more than 3-4 pages. For this process, only copy a small portion of your document to be previewed. Save the preview with a separate file name.
Create a title for your product that you would search for if you were looking for a similar product on Google. You may want to look at other product title listings from us or from other sellers to get a good idea.
Include a detailed product description. Your product description should basically tell a potential buyer about the product. Avoid saying that this is the greatest product in the world.
When you get to generating thumbnails, you will have a choice. You can either choose to use the thumbnail generator provided by TPT or choose to use your own thumbnails. Generally, we generate our own thumbnails using a program that you may have called “Snipping Tool”. Sometimes the generator from TPT is either slow or just doesn’t work too well.

Here’s what we recommend in regards to posting products:

Post products that are of the highest quality. In general, poor products will result in poor sales.
If possible, include pictures on your products to make them more attractive. Your pictures must not be copyrighted photos or pictures from the Internet. We recommend subscribing to Clipart.com or another reputable site.
Your prices must be reasonable. Even though you may have spent twenty hours creating a document, it may only sell for $6.50. On the other hand, don't under price your products. If you're unsure about pricing, look around the site for products similar to yours to get an idea.
Make sure when you post an item you have an appropriate grade level in mind. Posting a product for K-12 is not reality.
Boost your sales by including an attractive cover page. This gives your work a professional, polished look. You may want to model your cover page after the style of teacher resource books.
Include an answer key if appropriate for your product, along with detailed directions for the teacher and students. Make it easy for a teacher to pick up your product and begin using it right away.