Selling my teaching resources online: why I started.

As teachers, we spend hours a day/week/month creating resources for our class. If we’re not creating them, we’re scrolling through the internet searching for the resource or lesson plan that we want. (This can sometimes take longer than actually making the resource yourself, if you’re like me and don’t stop until you find exactly what you’re looking for).

*Links to Amazon are AF links. See more here: Disclosure Policy.

I’m a fussy fuss pot when it comes to what resources I use for my class. Stubborn as a mule, I get an idea in what way I want to teach, resource and extend my lessons and I don’t budge from it. For English, Maths and Science, it is important that my lessons are:

• Engaging and fun (to teach).
• Differentiated.
• Contain CHALLENGE for each ability.

The truth is, a large majority of teachers make resources for their class at some stage during the year. Maybe not all of the time, but at some stage, right? After a year of making lots of teaching resources, I started to think about the fact that I’d spent all these hours making resources for my class that were used once. Once.

After all that time and effort, no one other than me and my children benefited from these lessons. This led me to start selling my teaching resources. Knowing and appreciating how time consuming teaching is, I hoped my teaching resources would save someone else time and hassle. Considering I had made them ANYWAY.

Platforms I use to sell my teaching resources

I have my resources on four different platforms (yikes!).

Teachers Pay Teachers

Mash.ie

TES

Lesson Plans.ie

I know what you may be thinking, surely this takes even more time and effort out of a teacher’s day. If like me, you already have the resource made, the hard part is done. Within a few clicks, you could be sharing your hard work with other teachers like you that may need exactly what you’ve created.

If you are teaching in Ireland, I would definitely recommend setting up a Mash account. However, for world-wide I would set up a Teachers Pay Teachers account as it reaches more teachers. The market is quite saturated BUT, with that said, if you know you create quality products that are beneficial and you describe them well, then you will make some sales.

Is selling your teaching resources worth it?

On my Instagram, I set up a Q&A about selling teaching products and this one caught my eye as it was my exact thoughts this time 3 years ago. The main thing I wanted to know was ‘is it worth it?’.

My answer is YES. It’s a fantastic way to earn some extra money for the work that you’re doing anyway! It’s a no brainer in my eyes, like why wouldn’t you do it? Let’s say you upload a product at the weekend that you had taught that week to your class, that resource is now there for the foreseeable future, earning you money anytime another teacher buys it.

How I sell my teaching resources.

To be perfectly honest, I put most of my attention into my Teachers Pay Teachers account. I make resources for my classroom, use it for the week, edit/add anything that I felt should have been included/taken out and then upload it to the 4 platforms I listed above.

Why I use it first

This isn’t the way all teachers sell on these platforms, but in my opinion, it’s a way to standover your products. If they are good enough to be used in your classroom, then they’re good enough to share with other teachers. It also looks better from a consumer’s point of view, if you USE your own resources.

How I advertise my teaching resources

This is an area I didn’t even think about for the first 3 years of my selling of resources. I pinned them on Pinterest (unaware what I was doing) and shared them on Twitter aimlessly. My sales were coming in purely through a quick search on these sites. However, now I video myself using my own resources on Instagram and Facebook to showcase exactly how these resources could be used. At the very least, you can give people ideas for their own classroom (even if they don’t buy your product).

That video is me describing how I used this resource  in my own classroom. The consumer can see exactly what they will get with their purchase, but also a clearer idea of how to use this resource best in their classroom. I don’t know about you, but I struggle to teach from someone else’s plan without a lot of detail. By videoing it, you give them the clearest insight there is, while building up a trust between you and the consumers.

Creating eye-catching, informative cover photos

Teachers are generally visual people. Don’t forget, when somebody is searching for a particular resource, they get hit with hundreds of results in the form of cover photos. You want your cover photos to stand out in two ways.

1. Be informative of what it is without needing to click on it for more information (teachers have little time generally).
2. Contain your logo/style so that people can recognize your resources from a large list of cover photos.

If you see the example below, I have my logo attached in the bottom corner, but also, all of my cover photos are of that style. A lot of the time, people rush their cover photos for their resource and just upload a blurry screenshot of a worksheet. This is a big no no. If a teacher is going to spend their hard earned money on a resource, they will have their eyes open for resources that look:

• professional
• well put together
• detailed

I create my cover photos on PowerPoint, click Blank TpT cover page for products to download a template for creating your own cover photos.

Why set up an account?

It’s not a consistent income as there’s no telling when your products will sell, but the market is there, so why not avail of it? Your resources could be exactly what another teacher is looking for and they’re currently where? Sitting in a folder on your laptop/desktop gathering (virtual) dust! Take the chance. Upload your resources and join this exciting, online teaching resource author community. You’ve nothing to lose, you can’t lose money so why not try earn some?

Teachers, who could be waiting for something like yours to come along! Over on my Instagram, I have created a highlight where I talk about adding products to certain sites and just how easy it is! Take a look there for more of a step-by-step guide or have a browse in one of my stores: Teachers Pay Teachers

Initially, selling my teaching resources was for my “holiday fund” that slowly built up and up. Now it’s really growing and it’s very exciting! What are you waiting for? Get uploading!

If this is something you are interested in, I have put together an eBook: the Ultimate Guide To Earning Extra as a Teacher to walk you through everything you need to know from figuring out your niche area to creating and promoting your resources online.

Find your copy here.

 

If you’ve any questions about uploading or selling your teaching resources online, please ask. As well as that, let me know if you’ve set up an account, I’d love to share your page to help grow your business!

Good luck!