3 Month Income Report as a New TPT Seller
Dec 09, 2024
“If you’re bored with life – you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals.” –Lou Holtz
It’s crazy to think that only 3 months ago I started my Journey as a Teachers Pay Teachers Seller.
That only 3 months ago, I was doing exactly what Holtz said: I was waking up without that burning desire for success.
In fact, I dreaded getting up in the mornings.
But ever since I opened my store “The Present Teacher,” I have had a passion for life.
I have been able to set goals and work hard to achieve them. Which has given me a hunger for success.
What’s even crazier is now I get to share my journey with you and my “3 Month Income Report” as a TPT Seller.
It wasn’t long ago that I was looking on Google and Pinterest as a new seller on ‘how much do TPT sellers make?’ Or ‘TPT Seller Income Report.’
I was so perplexed when I realized that there weren’t that many Income Reports for TPT Sellers. I felt like I was going into this journey with no idea what to expect.
That’s why I created this 3 Month Income Report. Not only do I want to share my journey with you, but I also want to help prepare you for what to expect.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying your journey will be the same as mine. You might have a different niche and different products and strategies.
But my goal is that this Income Report will give you TPT Seller Tips that I wish I knew at the very beginning.
So without further ado, here are my Income Report for July, August, and September as a new TPT Seller. And even better, what I learned my first 3 months as a Seller.
(This post may contain affiliate or external links. Meaning I get a commision if you purchase anything through my links at no cost to you. Read full disclosure here.)
July Income Report
It was around the beginning of July that I first opened up my store. That’s why I opened up my store for the following reasons:
- I needed a second job that was flexible and allowed me to still enjoy my summers.
- I knew I was good at technology. And with Distance Learning right around the corner, I wanted to prepare the best I could.
- I love helping others. So I wanted to share all the resources I made for Distance Learning.
Hence, I became a TPT Seller.
As a New TPT Seller, I had no idea what to look for. I knew I had a short amount of time to make an impact.
That’s why I made the following goals.
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal of idea.”
Earl Nightingale
July Goals
Goal #1: Make 25 Products
Now I know that making 25 products in one month sounds crazy! But I wanted to make as many products as I could before the summer ended.
I also already had my first 25 products planned so that made it a lot easier.
In my 25 products, I had 3 Free products planned. That way I was helping my audience and they could try out a product before they buy the whole set.
Which I highly recommend!
Goal #2: Have Pinterest Monthly Views at 1K
In my first month, I didn’t know what to expect for ‘Monthly Views’ on Pinterest. But I knew that this was the main platform I would use to drive traffic to my store.
Therefore, I made my goal 1K for July just to test the waters.
Goal #3: Sell My First Product on TPT
Okay, let’s be honest! What new TPT Seller doesn’t dream of hearing that magical cha-ching when you make your first sale?
I wanted to know that my products would be of value to other teachers and that I was creating what they needed.
July Statistics
In my first month, I learned a lot. And even though I didn’t reach all of my goals, I am still really proud of what I accomplished.
Looking back, I realize that a lot of my “struggles” made me a better seller and teacher.
But the real question is:
Did I reach my goals?
23 Products my First Month
Yes, you read that right!
In my first month, I made 23 products!
I know I was 2 products from my goal. But I still managed to make that many products in one month.
Honestly, I have my strategic planning to thank for that. When you start as a TPT Seller, I highly recommend planning out your first 25 products.
This saved me so much time! I also made Bundles for all of my similar activities. This also helped because I was making new products without having to start over.
I honestly believe this gave me a HUGE jumpstart for my store! That’s 23 products that people can search for to find me.
What I learned:
- Plan out your first 25 products as a New TPT Seller.
- Make Free Products as a Sample.
- Plan out what you can Bundle Together to save time.
4.15 K Monthly Audience on Pinterest
I had 4.15 K monthly viewers during my first month on Pinterest! That’s 3 K over my goal!
Throughout the month I created 15 Boards of my own. And I made sure to do keyword research for the descriptions of my boards.
This helped a lot because I was able to input these keywords in the descriptions of my products as well.
I also started my free trial of Tailwind which helped out pinning to my boards!
There were also 3 group boards that I joined that helped my pins reach more people.
What I learned:
- Make at least 15 Boards on Pinterest.
- Make sure to do Keyword Research for your Board Descriptions.
- Join at least 3 Group Boards that are in your Niche.
- Use Tailwind to make pinning easier.
Sold 0 Products
I’m not going to lie, the fact that I didn’t reach this goal hit my confidence at first.
I would be a part of Facebook Groups where other New TPT Sellers would talk about their first sales.
The fact that I didn’t get a sale in my first month, made me wonder if I made the right products or if my strategies were not working.
In July I made 0 Sales. Which meant that my conversion rate was 0%.
On the bright side, I had 315 views, which was amazing. This told me that my Pinterest strategy was working, but I needed to adjust my products.
Why I Am Glad That I Didn’t Reach This Goal:
On the other hand, I am really glad that I didn’t sell anything in my first month.
Because it taught me that if you’re making the right products, it shouldn’t matter if you make a bunch of sales.
What I mean is I made those products for myself and my peers to use.
FYI they loved them and we are still using them!
So even though I didn’t sell anything, it impacted my kids and was a resource we needed. And that’s what matters.
I’m also glad that I didn’t reach my goal because this is where a lot of New TPT Sellers quit.
Income Reports are so ‘taboo’ for TPT Sellers. So we often have this glorified idea of ‘how much New TPT Sellers make.’
The final reason I am grateful that I didn’t reach this goal is that I learned a lot of other skills that I needed for my next product lines.
What I learned:
- Prioritize making resources that you will utilize for your class first.
- Don’t quit because you didn’t sell a product.
- Reflect on your goals and what you have learned in the process of achieving them.
“The secret of life is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”
Paulo Coelho
August Income Report
Despite not selling a product during my first month on Teachers Pay Teachers, I decided not to give up.
That being said I made the following goals for August:
August Goals
Goal #1: Make 10 Products
As the school year started the 1st month of August, I decided to cut back on how many products I made a week.
I decided that if I could take anywhere from 2 to 3 products a week, that would put me at 10 products a month.
Goal #3: Make 1st Sale
Since I didn’t reach my goal in July, I kept the same goal for August. My goal for August was to sell 1 product for the month.
Goal #4: 10K Monthly Viewers
Because I passed my goal of reaching 1K Monthly Viewers on Pinterest, I decided to more than double my goal.
My goal for August was to reach 10K Monthly Viewers on Pinterest.
This seemed attainable to me because I had more time to focus on Pinterest since I was making fewer products.
August Statistics
9 New Products
For August I only made 9 new Products. This brought me to a total of 32 products in my store.
Even though I didn’t reach my goal, I was able to figure out what my audience was looking for.
This allowed me to make a complete product line that my audience was interested in.
I realized that not as many people were looking for worksheets since so many were doing distance learning. That’s why I created these Digital Resources.
I honestly believe these were a hit because I did my research, and I was creating something that no one else had yet.
In my first month, I also created all of my clipart by hand. This saved me time and money.
What I learned:
- Do Your Research to Figure out what your audience will be interested in.
- Make product lines once you figure out what your audience wants.
- Learn to make your own clipart. If you can.
More than 1 Sale
Once I was able to figure out what my audience needed, I was able to completely transform my store.
During my second month as a TPT Seller, I made $31.72!
Now that may not seem like a lot, but this was a good indicator that I was taking a step in the right direction.
My conversion rate was 6% and I had 422 views on my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.
In total, I sold 26 products!
This was a remarkable improvement from last month. It’s amazing how doing your research and putting your keywords in your descriptions can make a difference!
What I learned:
- Make sure to put Keywords in the Descriptions of your products!
- Don’t give up.
- Figure out what your audience is looking for.
26K Monthly Viewers on Pinterest
In August, I had 26 thousand monthly viewers on Pinterest!
I made 5 times more viewers in just a month!
And you know how I did it?
That’s right Tailwind! With Tailwind I went ahead and paid the annual amount and joined Tailwind Tribes!
You guys, Tailwind Tribes was a HUGE gamechanger! Please check it out because I am telling you it is so worth your time.
And trust me I made even more growth the next month.
I also used Tailwind’s scheduler and pinned about 20 pins a day.
Another thing I did was I created 6 more boards that utilized SEO and Keyword research.
This allowed me to have even more topics that my audience was interested in. And it allowed me to reach even more people on Pinterest.
What I learned:
- Use Tailwind and Tailwind Tribes.
- Schedule at least 20 pins a day.
- Have at least 20 of your boards on Pinterest.
September Income Report
And finally, my September Income Report.
At this point, I was honestly addicted to transforming my store.
I didn’t want to stop the momentum and I was so excited to see what my 3rd month had to bring.
With that in mind I made the following goals:
September Goals
Goal #1: Make 8 New Products
In August I realized that making 3 products a week while Teaching was not very plausible.
That’s why I brought my goal down to 2 products a week or 8 products a month.
If I reached this goal it would also put me at 40 total products in my store.
Goal #2: Make 30 Sells on Teachers Pay Teachers
Since I made 26 sales in August I assumed that 30 was a fair enough goal to achieve in September.
Goal #3: Reach 50 Thousand Monthly Viewers on Pinterest
I know this may seem eager. But I hoped that since I more than doubled my views in August that I could do it again in September.
I also had a new resource that I felt confident would help me reach my goal.
Spoiler Alert: It did! And I will tell you about how I did it later.
September Statistics
I made 8 New Products
In September I was able to reach my 8 product goal which put me at a total of 40 products in my store.
In my products this month I made holiday products that were similar to my top products.
I know other people would not recommend making Holiday Products your first year as a Teachers Pay Teachers Seller. However, they were a huge hit.
Plus I needed them in class and my kids love them! I think if you are creating Holiday Products you just need to be strategic about how you are marketing them.
I also started using Canva for my thumbnails. This was a huge improvement that helped the appeal of my products to my audience!
And like the previous months I planned out my products ahead of time so I knew exactly what had to get done.
What I learned:
- Create Holiday Products Strategically of your Best Sellers.
- Use Canva to make your thumbnails and covers for your products.
- Plan out the products you want to create for the week or month.
Made 55 Sales on Teachers Pay Teachers
In August I made 55 Sales which came out to…
Are you ready?
$76. 91!
I doubled what I had made from my second month selling on TPT!
That is insane and I cannot tell you how grateful I am that I was able to create valuable resources that my Audience wanted to buy.
This month I also had 588 views on TPT. That left me with a conversion rate of 9%.
The transformation from making no sales my first month to making 55 sales my 3rd month is extraordinary!
This month I continued to do Keyword research, and create quality products that my audience was looking for.
I am extremely grateful for the growth in my business and I am eager to see where it goes next month!
What I learned:
- Keep at it.
- Give it time!
51 Monthly Audience on Pinterest
Okay, this was by far the key to my success:
In September I reached 51 Thousand Monthly Viewers on Pinterest!
I nearly doubled my Pinterest Monthly Viewers from 26K to 51K in just one month.
So here is how I did it:
I read this book: “The Blog Hustler.” And it completely changed my blog and Pinterest Strategy!
The creator of this book, Catherine Manning, is an amazing Content Creator who has a ton of free videos on SEO and Pinterest!
She has a ton of free resources on Youtube and her Blog The Content Bug which has improved my business.
I talk more about Catherin and how she helped transform my business in “Why You Need to Mentor.”
What I learned:
- The importance of having a Mentor.
- Go to people who specialize in the area you want to achieve.
- “The Blog Hustler” is an amazing tool that completely revamped my business and Pinterest Strategy.
The Biggest Takeaways
And just like that, that is my 3 Month Income Report as a New TPT Seller!
If you read all of the Income Report (if you did then you just read 2,600 words!) you would have learned the exact strategies I used to grow my TPT Store.
Overall, if you take anything away from this, please remember the following:
- Don’t give up!
- Make goals and Stick with them!
- Use Keyword Research in your Board Descriptions on Pinterest.
- Check out “The Blog Hustler” by Catherine Manning.
- Use Keywords in your Product Descriptions.
- Research what your audience is looking for.
- Utilize Tailwind and especially Tailwind Tribes.
I know this was a long Income Report but I hope you learned a lot! And that you have some Key Teachers Pay Teachers Seller Tips to take away with you as you start your store!
What are your best strategies when it comes to growing your Teachers Pay Teachers Store?
Tell us down below in the comment section!
Happy Teaching!
The Present Teacher