6 TPT Tips I learned in Vegas

A couple days ago, I blogged about the adventures I had in Vegas, but I knew I was far from done with sharing about this conference. The whole reason I went (aside from the free drink coupons) was to learn about the business!

 I know so many of us have had similar experiences on TPT – we start out as basic sellers and plug along for a few months (or years) and decide that maybe we’re ready to take the plunge. We debate the pros and cons of spending the 60.00 to become premium sellers. Finally, we decide to “just go for it” and “hopefully I’ll make the 60.00 back!” 

So we put up products, sell items, get feedback and cheer, get feedback and cry, make adjustments, and try to figure this mess out. But it’s better to share, because, as Rachel Lynette said (that JRK said before her), “A rising tide lifts all boats.”



During the sessions at the conference, I heard a few specific and concrete tips that I have begun implementing and I though you’d like to as well. Here’s what I learned in Vegas:

Tip # 1 
This one was big. I know that, because we’re teachers, we love cute. We say it all the time, “Oh, that’s so cuuuuute!” But in several of the sessions, they mentioned the importance of having functional product names. If your product is titled “Pop the Top!”, NO ONE is searching for it. It’s cute, but the only people who will end up on that page are the ones who clicked through from a place you’re advertising it. Name the product something functional, like “Mixtures and Solutions Science Stations Activity and Game” and people might actually search for some of those words. The product cover can include any name you want, but the name of the product on TPT when you “Add a new product” should be searchable. BIG TIP for me!

Tip # 2
This one’s easy. Just do it. Add a custom category and then put you products in it! It makes your store more easily navigated. And it’s easy to do! On a Mac, to add more than one custom category for a product, you can select the first category, hold down the command key and then select the second or third one you want. 

Tip # 3
For me, finding a community is tricky. I tend to be a bit of a lone wolf and it’s hard for me to sustain relationships when I’ve never seen you. Consider me like a two-year-old – the face on the screen in the little TPT circle is hard for me to connect to a real living, breathing, problem-solving person. So I have to really work hard on building a community that I consistently communicate and organize with! This conference, I think, really helped me in that respect. I met real people and I’m looking forward to organizing with them!
Tip # 4
I spent all day yesterday doing this one. When a piece of feedback is clicked on the little “Marked as helpful” button, that piece of feedback is cycled to the top of the string of feedback for that product. The more times it’s clicked, the higher it goes up the chain. You as a seller can only click it once, but DO IT! Read through your feedback and click “Mark as helpful” for any feedback that is specific and highlights the strengths of your product. That feedback will show up first and it will give your buyers a good picture of why they might like to buy your product. Because let’s be honest: “Thanks” or “:)” never convinced anyone to buy anything.
Tip # 5
Rachel Lynette told us this one, and I was like, “Oh. Duh.” You know that little quote space on the top of your store? Well, on mine, and apparently on many sellers’, it read, “Follow my blog, Buzzing with Ms. B, for teacher tips and tools!” Well, Rachel, (this is so duh that you probably already know it, but I’m going to say it just in case) said, “Don’t do that. Don’t send people away from your store when you’ve finally gotten them there. The purpose of your blog is to drive people TO your store, not the other way around.” O.M.G. that was embarrassing. Because she was talking to me.
Use your blog, pinterest, and facebook to provide content at least 80% of the time. Don’t do freebies all the time, because then your followers/fans/viewers expect something tangible all the time and they’ll wait for it. Do freebies and giveaways randomly and infrequently. 


Tip # 6
Possibly my favorite piece of advice. Rachel Lynette was describing how to work with other TPT sellers, and she encapsulated several guidelines into this one guideline. “You know, don’t be a jerk.” I wrote it down verbatim, because I knew I wanted to quote it. It’s my kind of advice. It applies not just to blogging, or selling, or any other specific niche, but to the world. If you’re a jerk, according to Rachel Lynette, “you will not get invited to play in other peoples’ reindeer games.” So if you’ve made some mistakes, ask for forgiveness and try not to do that again. 
I hope these TPT tips I learned were helpful to you, too. If you got something out of this post, click over to check out all the other blogs that linked up with Mrs. Russell’s Room for her Learnin’ in Vegas: My Reflections Link-Up. It’s worth the visit!


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18 Comments

  1. Chrissy!
    Thanks for linking up! 🙂 I loved your 'Mark as helpful' tip! 🙂 I was at that session with Rachel Lynette too! 🙂 She was really great! 😉 My big take away from her session was your number 5. Girl! You know as SOON as I got home I whipped that blog link right off of my TPT page and imbedded a product link in my store! 🙂 This conference was so life changing, was it not? I'm up right now working on things because I'm so excited about all that I learned! It means a lot that you linked up! 🙂 So glad that I get to collaborate with you more this year! 🙂
    XOXO,
    Tamara

  2. Thanks!! I am really working on the community one and sprucing up my products. I think my content is good and works for me….but it is getting people there and helping them to see how it can work for them. I will keep on working!!! 🙂
    em
    Curious Firsties

  3. So funny that you used that quote. I didn't use that word at all during my rehearsals at home. It just kind of popped out during the real thing. But I guess it makes the point! Thanks for writing about my session on your blog!

  4. I hope it's ok that I directly quoted you! I just appreciate frankness, and so I really liked it. Sometimes our most poignant statements pop out without any rehearsal at all lol. I really enjoyed your session!

  5. Thanks so much for this post! As someone that didn't get to go to Vegas and is still learning TpT I really appreciate you taking the time to share these tips and help lift my little boat 🙂

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