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!
