This month marks my seventh year as a TPT seller, and every April I like to pause my usual blogging to write out some thoughts on the state of my business.
So, if you’re looking for grammar or Creative Writing tips, go ahead and skip this one. But, if you’re a fellow TPT seller looking for solidarity or just nosey and wondering what goes on behind the scenes here at It’s Lit Teaching, stay tuned!
I’m going to talk about the highs and lows of the last year in my business as well as my plan for the next year.
Curious about the evolution of my business? Check out some of my past blog posts:
- How I Made $1,000 in my Sixth Month Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers
- How One Year of Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Has Changed My Life
- Full-time TpT: 8 Realities You Need to Consider
- 5 Ways Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers Has Changed
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.
TPT Seller Year 7: The Highlights
I feel like the context of my personal life is somewhat important, so let me catch you up really quickly. My son is now 21 months old. We have part-time daycare (he goes three days a week), and I SAHM it for the other two.
This is great in terms of saving money, but less great as a business owner trying to make a full-time income.
So my biggest achievement in the past year has probably been surviving it all. Regardless of the daycare illnesses, tantrums, and new milestones, my business has stayed at the top of my priority list.
I even hit the gold milestone!!!
In fact, I was so excited to start daycare and get back into things, that I added a ton of products! In 2024, I added 37 new products to my store!
That might not be much for many TPT sellers, but I really pour my heart and soul into each and every one. Most of my products include multiple versions, answer keys, examples, supplemental resources, etc. Each resource takes hours and hours for me to produce.
So ramping up production and finishing a big bundle–my World Literature Class–felt really good!
TPT Seller Year 7: The Disappointments
Despite the increase in resources offered, however, that increase did not translate to my TPT earnings.
My 2024 earnings were almost identical to my 2023 earnings.
Now, let me pause here and note that I am super grateful for all that TPT allows me to do! Earning the same amount of money as the year before while taking care of my son two days a week is crazy!
There’s no way I could do that if I was still full-time in the classroom and reliant on my teaching salary.
I also recognize that TPT’s algorithm has changed over the past few years, and many full-time sellers are seeing their earnings drop dramatically. The fact that I didn’t see a huge drop, too, is a big win!
But still. We entrepreneurs are hungry for growth, and it was disappointing not to see any for the first time in my business.
It was also terrifying.
If my earnings plateau or start declining, I’m in pretty big trouble. TPT is now my full-time income, so if it disappears, it will hurt my family. We use that money to pay our bills!
When you work for yourself, you realize that no one is coming to save you. You’re responsible for the wins, but you’re also responsible for the losses.
I knew by the summer that I was not going to see much growth, if any, in 2024. So I made a plan to do something about it.
What I’m Trying Going Into Year 8
I signed up for a new offering from Chynell Moore, her Making Moore community program. The goal was to walk participants through her method of scaling products so TPT sellers can finally hit.
I won’t go into too many details, but I’ll share two takeaways from that program that I’ll be moving forward with for sure.
New Tool #1: Business Coaching
The first is Chynell Moore herself.
Any time I was able to talk to Chynell one-on-one, the lightbulbs just went off. In just a few moments on our first call, she was able to dig into my dashboard and give me a roadmap for building my business.
She has a knack for seeing what’s working, what’s not, and helping you use that information to scale.
For me, that means leaning into my blog (which I love!) and not letting myself feel bad about my sad Instagram (I hate social media!).
Talking to Chynell was the first time in a long time that I felt like I was learning and being challenged in my TPT business in a way that was helpful.
I signed up for private coaching after her program ended. At the point of writing this, I’ve only done one private call so far, and I can’t wait to see where Chynell and I go from here.
Check out her work and offerings here. I can’t recommend her enough!
New Tool #2: Facebook Ads
Another tool I’ll be using this year is Facebook ads.
During the Making More program, I tested some ads to grow my email list and saw some great success. It’s really fired me up for playing with ads and focusing on my email list this year.
My email growth has been pretty flat, so I’m excited to fine-tune some opt-ins, sequences, and use FB ads to grow and scale my list. I’m hoping that growing my email list will have a positive ripple effect throughout my business.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a TPT seller who has moved beyond the beginner stage, you’re probably feeling my struggle right now. Maybe you’re not seeing the growth you want or expect. Or maybe you’re tired of the lack of resources for learning new skills.
I feel you.
2024 left me incredibly frustrated with my lack of progress.
But it also reminded me that there are always ways to improve and to learn. It reminded me that we have to invest in our business sometimes to see it grow. And it reminded me that sometimes, we need other people to help us meet our goals and potential.
I really hope that next year I’ll be able to write my annual review with tips and tricks for other sellers to use to leverage their sales.
Until then, I’m meeting 2025 with a renewed sense of energy for my business. I’m excited to get messy and try some new things. I plan on doing this for a long time.