Hi Becca - I started my store over Spring Break, but I just recently got serious about product creation. I’m having so much fun, and have learned so much from you. Thank you for encouraging us newbies to focus on creating products for now. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel like nobody is ever going to find me in the big TPT ocean, but I keep thinking of it as having a brick and mortar store. I wouldn’t invite people inside until the shelves were filled. Knowing now that that number is around 50 resources helps a ton with patience and focus. My store is Becky’s Learning Loft and my niche is early elementary - especially second grade level. I’m working on making social studies products for now because that was a part of the curriculum I didn’t have much help with as a new second grade teacher, and also classroom decor because I really enjoy that creative process. I’m learning something new everyday. ❤ You’re the best and so appreciated! Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge.
Thank you so much for sharing your TPT journey . Your advice and story have truly been a source of strength and inspiration for me. Because of you, I’ve taken the leap to start my own TPT store: Light Nerd BV. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!😊♥
I started in mid March and your videos were extremely helpful! I started with actual photos like you suggest, and they looked okay. But then the sun papering moved, trees filled in, and my spot to photograph stopped working. I tried editing but they just looked too edited or too dull. So i went back to screenshots. However, I started adding shadows when layering screenshots and it looks much better than dull photos. I'm a lesson DIYer too and it amazed me that people will buy simple lessons! But they do!! One thing I changed this summer was my previews. I followed the common advice of adding "Preview" as a watermark and not including all pages, and not doing much more. Then i found out previews can be downloaded!! So now I'm layering, adding graphics, etc, and adding links. I haven't had any of mine downloaded but i have heard of others having a lot downloaded and they were often the full product with the watermark. My store is Steady Musical and i focus on music, grades 4-8 for Ontario teachers without a music background.
This was so helpful and encouraging! Thank you! By the way - I like planning, too. Unit planning was my absolute favorite thing to do EVER! And like you, I have a tendency to get too excited by all the possibilities and try too many new things at once. Self-inflicted overwhelm! Hhh. I’m paying special attention to the “focus” tip. It seems like a good excuse (or clear permission) to keep creating all the things on my list, so yay!
