The Rebranded Teacher
The Rebranded Teacher
How to Create TpT Products People Will Buy
Ever feel like you're pouring your heart into creating educational resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, only to hear crickets from potential buyers? You're not alone, and this episode of the Rebranded Teacher Podcast promises to guide you toward discovering the secret sauce of resource creation that actually sells. I, Lauren Fulton, walk you through the essential steps of identifying and filling those elusive gaps within the TPT search engine algorithm. Through real-world examples, like third-grade educational materials, we'll uncover how to find less saturated topics and position your products for maximum visibility and success.
Join me as we explore the art of designing products that teachers genuinely want to purchase. The frustration of having brilliant resources overlooked can end here. We'll break down the process of finding niche-specific gaps and turning them into opportunities. By focusing on search engine strategy and understanding market needs, you'll learn to create resources that not only appear on the first page of search results but also stand out as highly sought-after items. This episode is packed with actionable strategies that will empower you to transform your TPT business, ensuring your hard work translates into tangible success.
Check out Selling 101!
https://rebrandedteacher.kartra.com/page/jpH254
The TpT Profit Plan: Build The Business of Your Dreams in 2025:
https://rebrandedteacher.kartra.com/page/hun253
Welcome to the Rebranded Teacher Podcast. My name is Lauren Fulton. I'm a full-time teacher, author and seller on Teachers Pay Teachers, and I help other teacher entrepreneurs grow their TPT businesses in a way that's purposeful and sustainable. So if you're looking for actionable, step-by-step ways to grow your business, you're in the right place. Let's get started. Let's talk about how to create resources that teachers or people will actually buy.
Speaker 1:Because if you're thinking about starting a TPT store or if you've been on Teachers Pay Teachers for a while but you're creating resources and like nobody's buying them, it's kind of the worst feeling because you think, oh my goodness, did I just waste all of this time? Am I missing some big secret? Like, what am I doing wrong? I don't wanna continue to waste my time doing things the way that I've been doing if it's not gonna work. I also don't wanna look like an idiot creating resources, telling all my friends and family about it and then make $13 over the next six months. So we wanna figure out how can you create resources that are actually going to sell, that people actually going to sell, that people actually want to purchase. And it really comes down mostly to three things. Now there's a lot more that goes into listing a product, search engine optimizing, all of that good stuff, but really just in terms of designing a product that people want to purchase, like the product itself. That really boils down to mostly three things, okay. So let's talk about what those three things are. Number one you need to find the gaps, okay, and if you've been around in this world for a while, people talk about gaps in your niche, gaps in your niche, gaps in your niche all the time, right Ad nauseum. And you might be wondering what does that even mean? Finding a gap in my niche? And we're going to talk about some specifics here. So we want to find little gaps, not so much in your niche, because I want you to think about finding gaps in the search engine algorithm. That's what we really want to think about gaps in the search engine algorithm.
Speaker 1:So if I search for a third grade ELA or ELA or literature, third grade literature, task cards, right, I'm going to get 1000s of products that are going to pop up and all the products in the first page are probably going to have hundreds, if not thousands, of reviews, and it tells me that there's no way my brand new product is going to be able to compete with those. It's not going to show up on first page of search. People are not going to find it. It's going to be a mess, right, I'm going to waste my time. So what I really want is I want to find a gap.
Speaker 1:If I want to create task cards for third grade literature, then I need to find some sort of gap in the market. Maybe there is a specific topic or a specific standard that has not been covered for third grade task cards that I could find, or maybe it has been covered, but it's just there aren't as many to choose from. Right, maybe the first product for third grade? I'm trying to think of an ELA standard. I don't know third grade ELA standard, so let's move to math, because I know math. So let's say that we're talking about, you know, multiplication for third grade multiplication, maybe third grade multiplication task cards. Maybe that's saturated, but maybe specifically typing in two digit by two digit multiplication task cards for third grade, maybe that's not nearly as saturated, maybe I've got a little window of opportunity there. Or maybe getting more specific, like three digit by two digit, or maybe multiplying by 10 isn't as saturated.
Speaker 1:So finding little pockets in the TPT search engine where, okay, if I type this in, is there a little gap? Do the reviews come down significantly? Is there a spot on the first page for me? And by spot on the first page for me I mean, are there other resources showing up on the first page of search results that don't have any reviews? Because that's gonna be what my brand new product is gonna be like. But I'm also gonna wanna look at the top of that first page of search results and I do want to see that the resources for those search results are selling. So I'm really looking for, as I'm looking for the first couple of resources on that first page of search results to have a few reviews. You know, maybe 10, 20, 30, 40, even 50. And then, as I scroll down, we get down to one or zero reviews, so that I know that there's a chance that I could rank on the first page of search results for that search term.
Speaker 1:And then there's my gap.
Speaker 1:This could also be a seasonal gap, maybe.
Speaker 1:Third grade multiplication task cards is saturated. But what about third grade multiplication Valentine's Day task cards? Is that saturated? Is there a little gap in the market for me to create a seasonal resource that could get found by someone searching in TPT search, maybe getting a little bit more specific to help my buyer find my product, because the same thing that's happening to you is happening to them. They're going, they're typing in third grade test cards, they're getting all of these resources. They're kind of all over the place right. So they're going back up to the search bar and they're getting more and more specific and as they see something like maybe it's February, they see some Valentine's Day cards. They're like, wait, a second Valentine's Day, why don't I just go ahead and look for Valentine's Day cards? They're typing in Valentine's Day. They're getting more and more specific and as you're getting that more and more specific buyer, you're increasing the odds that they could find that resource if you're creating a very specific resource.
Speaker 1:So finding gaps in your market is really as simple oftentimes as finding gaps in TPT search. With what keywords could I use to be found? And then let me create a resource that's going to fit those keywords, for example. Okay, so finding gaps whether it's niche specific, standard specific or seasonal gaps in your market, so that you can create a resource specifically for that gap, so you can get found, that's one of the first steps to creating a resource that's going to sell, because ultimately, you can create the best resource in the world, but if no one can find it or you don't have an audience to tell about the resource, then no one's going to purchase it. So we really need people to find it. So first step is making sure that you're creating a resource that can actually be found. Step two is going to be making it your own. So chances are you're not creating a resource that's never been created before. Be kind of difficult, but you can take a resource that other people have created and you can make it your own. This is going to be really, really important.
Speaker 1:You do not, under any circumstances, want to ever copy someone, ever. Not only is it wrong to do that, but you could be violating copyright laws, and so you definitely do not want to do that. But also you're kind of setting yourself up for failure, because if I'm creating a resource where there are other resources like it already on the market, like Christmas coloring sheets or something, then I'm setting myself up to compete with something that probably already has reviews, already has testimonials and social proof. And that's kind of setting myself up to fail, because if I have to choose between a set of Christmas worksheets that already has 10, 20, a thousand reviews on it and choose between a set of Christmas worksheets that has zero reviews. If they basically do the same thing, then I'm gonna choose the one that already has the social proof, even if it costs me just a little bit more money.
Speaker 1:So I need to find a way to stand out and to set myself apart. So maybe you make differentiated Christmas coloring sheets where maybe some of them are multiple choice and some of them are not multiple choice. Or maybe you give the teacher options, maybe you have them editable, so that you're not having to compete with top products, you're able to stand out against those top products. So really making it your own and bringing something of value to the market. So again, this could be anything, but you wanna be sure and try to make it your own. Make it a little bit more unique from what's already out there, maybe add to it in some way, shape or form or give more value than the existing products of the market, so that buyers have a reason to purchase your product instead of what's already out there.
Speaker 1:Number three I cannot overstate this and I feel like, especially if you're a secondary seller, this is even more important to understand is that visual interest is key. When you're creating a product, you really need to think about what is this going to look like on the cover, like if I'm creating a resource, what is this resource going to look like to the buyer who's purchasing it on TPT? Is it boring? Is it just like a bunch of text? Is there clip art? Is it arranged in a beautiful way? If I'm making a set of notes, does each page pretty much look the same, but with different information on each page?
Speaker 1:I really want to think about the visual interest of the product, because you are selling a product based on a visual, so the buyer can't see the whole product. They can't hold it in their hand or use the resource before they purchase it. So you really have to think about giving them the visual and lending visual interest to your resource. Another thing about visual interest that it signals to your buyer is it signals professionalism and it signals student engagement. If they are visually interested in your product, then they know that their students will be more likely to be visually interested in the product as well, which means they're going to be more likely to engage. So you really want to think about when you're creating that resource. How can I make this visually interesting, visually appealing, very polished, very professional looking resource? How can I make this visually interesting, visually appealing, very polished, very professional looking, and how can I make it beautiful so that it stands out as buyers are scrolling through search and they see that product, that it stands out to them and it makes them want to click on through and see more and ultimately makes them want to purchase the product because it looks like something that their students would want to engage with.
Speaker 1:So let's recap Number one you wanna make sure that you're finding gaps. So take a look at the search engine and see what are some keywords that you could show up for and then create a product to meet those keywords. Number two you wanna make sure that you are making it your own. Create a resource that's going to stand out against the competition, versus stand toe-to-toe with the competition, because you're gonna lose if you're trying to go toe-to-toe and create essentially the same product that does essentially the same thing when you're competing with resources that have already been on the market and already have reviews. You're gonna lose that battle. So make sure you're creating resources that stand out and give the buyer a reason to purchase yours and give the buyer a reason to purchase yours, and give the buyer a reason to purchase your product over the competition. And then finally, number three, make sure, as you're creating that product, that you're creating a product that has some visual interest, that it is beautiful, that it is appealing and that it makes buyers want to click on through and students want to engage with. All right you guys.
Speaker 1:If you are brand new on your TPT journey and you want to learn more about creating resources that are going to stand out in a saturated market, you want to learn more about how to create resources that are going to get found in TPT search, check out my membership Selling 101. We have all kinds of coaching and templates available to help make this journey really easy for you. If you are brand new to creating resources, I want you to check out my upcoming workshop called Make a Resource. It's very simple, where I'm going to show you live how to create a product, how to create a visually appealing seasonal resource that can help you stand out in a saturated market and help you get a product listed on TPT right away. It's absolutely free.
Speaker 1:You'll find the link down inside the description. You'll get all the templates and everything that you need to create your first, 10th, 15th or maybe even 100th resource. You'll find a link to that down in the description, and if you already have a TPT store, then you need to join my TPT profit plan workshop. It's coming up on December 30th. You do not want to miss it. I'm going to teach you how to plan your way to the business of your dreams in 2025. Find the link to that down inside of the show notes and I am going to see you there. Thanks so much for being here, you guys, and make sure and check out the links down in the description to those two workshops. I'm going to see you guys right back here next week.