10 Key Insights from TPT Froward 2024 for Teacher Sellers

I had the opportunity to attend TPT Forward 2024 in San Diego over the last week. I know that making this trip isn’t possible for all Teacher Sellers, so I thought I would compile my Top 10 Key Insights that I took away from the keynote speakers and break out sessions. These are just some super quick thoughts, in no particular order, for you to think about. I hope to use these topics as future more in-depth blog posts and emails for you to help you be a more confident Teacher Seller!

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Use the list below to jump to a topic that interests you!

Look Ahead of You – But Not Too Far

One of the things said in the closing remarks really resonated with me. “Look to the stores a step ahead of yours.” It was really easy to look at all of the HUGE sellers who had seemed to have “made it” and wonder if what I was doing made a difference. It was pointed out that looking to a store just one step ahead of you will keep you moving steadily forward without feeling overwhelmed.

Make Things Easy to Skim Read

It’s true – people are reading less online and relying on visuals and skimming more and more. When we create product descriptions, blog posts, emails… etc., it is important that our text is formatted to able to be scanned through quickly so that buyers can find the most important information FAST.

Pinterest Insights

Pinterest can be very overwhelming. But once you begin to think of it as a visual search engine instead of a social media page, some of the “scary” goes away. I have really enjoyed my own Pinterest page and hope you will find it manageable, too!

The key insights from the Pinterest session with Alyssa Broome were:

Add keywords to your Pinterest name and Bio so it can also show up in the search results.
Create all types of pins for the same products so you can captive individual viewers personal visual interests. AKA – some people may be visually attracted to bright colors, some more neutral .
It is important to create new images, but you can reuse links to your products or blog as often as you want.
Start with one pin a day, moving towards a goal of 8-10 pins per day. (I’m starting at one! haha!)

Minimize Customer Uncertainty

One of the biggest messages from many of the sessions was to minimize customer uncertainty. Use all of the resources TPT gives us to make customers confident with their purchases – previews, thumbnails, and scroll-stopping covers!

The key insights from Cindy Martin’s “Can’t Miss Product Must-Haves” were:

60% of buyers won’t buy a product without a preview
Create a branding kit that can be easily accessed and shared
Use a Table of Contents directly in you descriptions
She also introduced the next three topics: YouTube, Google Trends, and Freebie Submission

YouTube is HOT for Conversions

I do not have personal experience to add to this >>YET<<, but word on the street is conversion rates from products linked in YouTube descriptions and comments is HOT!🔥And remember – Monetize after you reach 1,000 followers. Whether you monetize or not, YouTube will make your viewers watch ads. You might as well get a little extra change from it!

Google Trends

I don’t know how I did not know about Google Trends! While this topic wasn’t covered in-depth, I am going to spend some time learning how to use Google Trends to improve my keywords and SEO descriptions for my TPT products! This is on top of my list of things to implement from TPT Forward 2024.

Submitting Freebies to TPT

You can use this link to submit paid and free resources to be featured in the TPT newsletter. I think I knew about this once upon a time, but I am going to give it a try! Your resource may not be displayed in a timely manner due to the large volume of submissions. Don’t give up! Keep submitting them weekly!

Don’t Be Afraid of New Tech

I came home from TPT Forward with a list of new digital programs to try! Some of those new products, programs or apps include: Blue Microphone, Descrpit, Lottie, Google Trends, Ideogram, and my favorite – Windows + ; for emojis! I even learned new tricks I can use with Canva to optimize creating visuals!

Email was discussed at more than half of my sessions. I know this can be overwhelming, but it is worth it! I personally like using FloDesk. << Save 50% off your first year with this link. #affiliate

AI is Here to Stay

One of the popular topics during the conference was the use of AI. Artificial Intelligence is not going to go away anytime soon. Several different aspects of AI were addressed including: how to use it to streamline your own store tasks & how to help shape how teachers are in using it in their classrooms. I did not attend the AI specific sessions. However, I hope to be able to share with you in the future about how it can be used to simplify your tasks as a Teacher Seller. I feel like I cannot do that topic justice at this point, but it is something to keep tucked in the back of your brain!

Dare to Dream Big

Last but not least, keep your dreams big. Each Seller who presented or was a keynote speaker all started out with their excitement over their first $.25 sale. That’s where I started – and where we all start. Make your store what YOU want it to be. Not what someone else thinks it should be.

Looking Forward…

If you were unable to join in on TPT Forward 2024, I would really encourage you to try to go next year! It was an incredible experience and I hope to see you in 2025!