What common mistakes are holding back your Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) business, and how can you avoid them? Join us as Kirsten Hammond, a seasoned teacher and thriving TPT seller, shares her journey and insights on developing a clear business strategy from the start. Drawing from her own experience transitioning from teaching various grades to honing in on upper elementary social studies, Kirsten emphasizes the importance of finding a niche and building a cohesive brand. Learn how a scattered assortment of resources can confuse buyers and hinder your store's growth, and discover the benefits of a focused, strategic approach to the TPT marketplace.
Consistency is key, especially when it comes to visual branding. Kirsten and I delve into the critical role that consistent visual branding plays in making your TPT store stand out. We tackle the balance between refreshing your brand and maintaining its core identity, offering practical tips for updating your resources to keep them relevant and competitive. From subtle tweaks like deepening color hues to updating fonts, you'll get actionable advice on evolving your brand without causing disruption. Plus, get a sneak peek into Kirsten's upcoming session at the Teacher Seller Summit, where she'll share expert strategies on brand strategy, resource design, and setting up a successful TPT store. Tune in for a treasure trove of tips that will help you elevate your TPT business to new heights!
What common mistakes are holding back your Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) business, and how can you avoid them? Join us as Kirsten Hammond, a seasoned teacher and thriving TPT seller, shares her journey and insights on developing a clear business strategy from the start. Drawing from her own experience transitioning from teaching various grades to honing in on upper elementary social studies, Kirsten emphasizes the importance of finding a niche and building a cohesive brand. Learn how a scattered assortment of resources can confuse buyers and hinder your store's growth, and discover the benefits of a focused, strategic approach to the TPT marketplace.
Consistency is key, especially when it comes to visual branding. Kirsten and I delve into the critical role that consistent visual branding plays in making your TPT store stand out. We tackle the balance between refreshing your brand and maintaining its core identity, offering practical tips for updating your resources to keep them relevant and competitive. From subtle tweaks like deepening color hues to updating fonts, you'll get actionable advice on evolving your brand without causing disruption. Plus, get a sneak peek into Kirsten's upcoming session at the Teacher Seller Summit, where she'll share expert strategies on brand strategy, resource design, and setting up a successful TPT store. Tune in for a treasure trove of tips that will help you elevate your TPT business to new heights!
Welcome to the Rebranded Teacher Podcast. My name is Lauren Fulton. I'm a full-time teacher, author and seller on Teachers, pay Teachers and I help other teacher entrepreneurs grow their TPT businesses in a way that's purposeful and sustainable. So if you're looking for actionable, step-by-step ways to grow your business, you're in the right place. Let's get started it. This week on the podcast, we have a really exciting guest and I'm so excited to have her back. Kirsten Hammond is here to share three things that you're doing in your TPT business that you probably shouldn't be doing, or maybe it's not the right time for you, and I cannot wait for you guys to hear all of her words of wisdom. The last time she was here, it was a fantastic conversation, so let's go ahead and dive in. Hi Kirsten, how are you today? I'm doing great. How are you? I'm wonderful. I'm so excited to have you back. For those who may not have been here the last time that you were here, can you just briefly tell everyone a little bit about you before we kind of jump into everything today?
Speaker 2:
Sure, my name is Kirsten Hammond and I am a teacher seller based in the Austin area in Texas. I sell mostly upper elementary social studies resources, but I've also taught in the classroom, both ELA and social studies. I'm currently not in the classroom, but I taught for about eight years. I taught kindergarten. I started in kindergarten, third grade and fifth grade, and now I'm just working. I started in kindergarten, third grade and fifth grade, and now I'm just working full time in my TPT business and I also have worked with other TPT sellers on branding and I offer courses many courses on branding and graphic design. So that is what I currently do.
Speaker 1:
I love it, and at your Teacher Seller Summit session, you're going to be talking about three things that you should be doing to grow your business, and I know that we're going to kind of come back to that at the very end, but today we're going to kind of do the opposite of that and talk about things that maybe you shouldn't be doing, and I want to throw you a little bit of a curveball. This isn't something that we talked about ahead of time, but is there something in your business that when you first started out, you were doing that you look back and you go. If I had it to do over again, I would not have done that.
Speaker 2:
I do have a couple of things, quite a few things, I would say. One of the big things I think was and I'm sure many sellers are guilty of this it's what we just do when we're getting started in TPT is we're just uploading just random resources that we might have used with our students. Like we create real quick with our students and then we're like, oh, maybe this could sell on TPT and people will buy it, and so we just upload it there. Then, just like in the Word document, we just upload it as it is and see what happens. Sometimes it sells, and that's kind of that for me.
Speaker 2:
That was my starting point of like, oh, wow, somebody bought this two page worksheet that I created for my third graders and I made 50 cents on it. That's awesome. So, looking back now where I am, that helps me get motivated into where I am today. But I also know that there's a few other things I would have probably done differently. Not saying that there's like negative effects of like what I created at the very beginning, but looking back, I wish I would have had more of a plan, and that kind of goes into one of the things like of what not to do that I'm excited to share with you.
Speaker 2:
Go ahead and start us off. So, just kind of, the first thing I would think about is just not having a strategy. Of course, we're all getting started and we have to start somewhere. A lot of the times, just like I did, you're just uploading a hodgepodge of resources that we create and sometimes, I think, not thinking long-term, we really set ourselves up with having to maybe completely have to revamp our store or change things out because we don't have a clear business strategy. So a lot of the time, let's say, you start like I'm just going to use my example I taught kindergarten at the very beginning of my teaching career, and so I happen to also upload kindergarten related resources.
Speaker 2:
I have like a, I think, some kind of ice cream alphabet matching game and just other kindergarten resources that I've created. But my business isn't like that at all today. I ended up teaching upper elementary much longer than I did teach kindergarten, and then a bulk of my niche has to do with upper elementary social studies. Now I'm left with older resources that are there that I could possibly deactivate, but they do make some sales. And I'm left with older resources that are there that I could possibly deactivate, but they do make some sales, and I'm just. You know you're in you when you don't have a clear business strategy or just a strategy in general of what your niche is going to be. Number one it gets confusing for buyers. They're not sure if you're there going for your store for those kindergarten alphabet resources and like why are there only two? Or if you know, they go back and they see eighth grade reading resources or third grade math resources. So one thing I like to tell people is that you don't always just because you taught that grade level, it doesn't mean you have to always create resources for all the grade levels that you taught or all the subjects that you taught.
Speaker 2:
Personally, I love science in upper elementary. It's really fun. I love math. It's one of my favorite subjects to teach when I was self-contained. I loved third grade math because they got to do fact fluency and all of that learning multiplication, division.
Speaker 2:
But you will never see in my TPT store any third grade math resource because it's not part of my overall brand strategy, it's not part of my niche that I have in my TPT store and if I decided to start doing that, a lot of customers and people looking would be very confused seeing what I already have in my store. So that's just one main thing. And sometimes knowing your niche doesn't happen overnight and you can't always predict what that might be. It could be something that you learn about years down the line as you're growing your business, as you see what's working, what's not working, and you're kind of digging a little bit deeper in just kind of focusing on what is selling. That's just kind of one of the main things to think about is just relying on just all of the hodgepodge of resources that you've created and thinking short-term versus long-term strategy.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I think a lot of times people's strategy is I'm going to do what I can do until I get where I want to be, and then I'll develop a strategy.
Speaker 1:
I'll make resources for my students, put them up on TBT, and that will be my strategy until I get to where I want to be. But then the problem is like they change grade levels multiple times or even then like they're just not taking it as seriously and even within a niche of, say like third grade math, you can still kind of be all over the place in terms of what you're creating and meeting buyers needs. I think that that's definitely one that people fall victim to, myself included when I first started. I think almost everybody does. You don't want to spend time treating it like a serious business if it's not making you serious money. So you kind of think well, when the money comes, the commitment will follow. But really, if that's how you play it, you're just kind of hoping that you're going to luck into something versus having a committed strategy of this is what I'm going to do and I'm going to work this plan until it works, until I get to where I want to be.
Speaker 2:
Exactly.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, speaking on to that, you know, when they're uploading random resources, like that's what they want to do and they're like you know, I love teaching, I love my job, I want to stay in education and I just want to help others where I can, and you know that it's definitely like, if you want to do that, by all means do that.
Speaker 2:
But if you're really looking to take your TPT store to the next level and you want to see consistent three figures, four figures, want to see consistent three figures, four figures, five figures each month, there is some type of focus you need to do or have some type of strategy in place in order to see that growth over time, like not just short term, but like really see something along the lines. And if you're really looking to take it seriously, to the point where, like, you're working on this full time and you, this is like your main, this is where you make the bulk of your income, that that is like one of the main differences, so for sure, like if you want to do the hodgepodge of resources, that's totally valid. People do that all the time. But if you're looking to get serious, it is important to keep in mind really thinking about having a strategy.
Speaker 1:
No, I totally agree because it's like and you understand, like I get that and I don't think necessarily that it's a bad strategy for everyone. I think we still hear stories of people who, like that's what they were doing. They were just like, hey, I'm just gonna upload what I'm making and then all of a sudden they start making six figures. So I think that for some people that kind of thing works. They happen into this incredible niche. But if you are wanting and you have different goals for your business like I want to leave the classroom, I want to do this, I want to do that I think you're absolutely right. Like it has to be an intentional game that you're playing.
Speaker 2:
So what's the second thing? So the second thing I would say is just related to when the times change, which, of course, are always going to change. There are styles that change, there's topics that are trending or just more relevant compared to maybe in 2014 or 2015. So I would say another major mistake that sellers might make is just not adapting and improving the quality or content in the resources. So I don't want to say amateur design, but if we know that the quality of a resource might be better if it's utilized or created in PowerPoint versus in Microsoft Word, if you're trying to, let's say, you're making something editable or something like that, and maybe you know now there are better resources that you can utilize, whether that's in a Google Drive or Google Slides, powerpoint, rather than having an editable document in Microsoft Word. And even just the style of like having you know borders that look like they're outdated, like they haven't been updated in a really long time, clip art that doesn't look like it's been updated in a really long time. Some people might say, oh well, it's still selling. People want it still, but over time, other competitors are going to outsell you just based off of whether or not it looks relevant or looks appealing or it looks like it's to the times, and this isn't just in the resources themselves, but this could be on the covers or on the thumbnails. If it looks like it hasn't been updated in a decade, it's probably less likely to sell. There's better ways of making resources. There's better ways of having appealing looking covers and all of that stuff. I think right now a lot of resources are going from cutesy little clip art and distracting all of that stuff to more simplistic thinking, more accessibility wise, how it could help students understand the content better. Just making things a little bit more professional looking is the other thing Because, as we know, there's a lot of hoopla about like, oh, districts don't want to purchase things off of TPT.
Speaker 2:
And when we have these type of resources that look like they've you know they came from the days of Chevron and Polkadots and all of that it makes it less convincing for admin and other districts to want to buy those type of resources, which that's a whole other story about having districts buy on TPT. But when there is the ability to purchase on TPT, you really want to stand out with the professionalism and the quality of what your resources look like on the inside and how it's packaged in the product listing. So that's just kind of like a big roadblock is not wanting to adapt the design just because it might be selling, not want to improve it. There's always room for improvement.
Speaker 2:
I go back on some of my older resources and I see typos or just things that as we grow in our business and we do things as the years goes on, we learn new things. We learn better, more efficient ways to create our resources and to create our listings, and so it is important, even in those older resources, to go back and make those improvements. Maybe you have a newer template that you use that you just got to copy and paste all the information, but it makes a difference, I think, and not doing that can really limit your potential for sales in the different resources you have in your store.
Speaker 1:
I love that I have a resource that I'm thinking about right now, actually a line of resources that has gradually started to perform lower and lower and lower over time, and I feel like that's the problem is that at the time it was something that was really great on the market and there wasn't a lot of competition for this type of resource.
Speaker 1:
Thinking about how it would function in the classroom and what that would look like, it was a lot. It wasn't really something that the buyers had anything to compare it to, like oh, this one looks simpler to implement, or this one, you know, the students have more workspace on the page, or anything like that. You know. Now it's time to go back and even though the resources are still selling, it's about time to go back and to do that refresher and take a look at what's on the market and bring it up to code, basically because it doesn't matter how much you update the previews, how much you update the covers and how much you're updating your thumbnails If the product itself is outdated. You're kind of wasting your time.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. If the product itself is outdated, you're kind of wasting your time Absolutely. And I've seen this in stores where it's like really nice looking photos, like very up to date photos, and then the resources themselves, you know, very, very outdated. Then I've seen it on the flip side where it looks like a you know pretty nice, relevant looking resource, but just the way it's advertised on the listing, just the styles that are used, it doesn't make it keen for me to want to think about adding it to my wishlist or add it to cart. And so I'm sure buyers might be thinking the same thing, especially related to other resources.
Speaker 2:
A lot of people that are potentially buying on TPT. They're looking at a ton of other resources other than our own and if they happen, you know if our resource happens to be up there in those top couple of pages, there's a lot of competition depending on you know what people are looking for. So I think you have to stand out, not just in the cover and the thumbnails but in the actual content, in the actual resources, the screenshots like, as nice as the cover might be, you got to also make sure your screenshots with the actual resource looks is up to date as well.
Speaker 1:
That's so perfect, okay, so tell us something else that we're doing that's holding us back in our business.
Speaker 2:
So the other I guess the third and final thing I would say is inconsistent visual branding is something, and just really thinking about inconsistent visuals in general, so like inconsistent logos. Even maybe you had an updated logo and you still have your older logos on some of your covers, but it's beyond that. You know you're using a hodgepodge of different colors. Maybe you might be using just a bunch of different fonts just based off of, oh, I really like this font and then, two years later, oh, I really like this font, and the two fonts are not cohesive. It looks like they're two completely different stores. So if your TPT store looks like it's a combination of different sellers, then that's something to consider is do you have something consistent as far as like the same colors that you use, same fonts that you use? And, of course, not saying that, like your resources also have to match your product listings and your website, but there needs to be some consistency in how you're packaging your store and then, if somebody goes on your website, how you're packaging that website, is that connecting? How you're packaging on your social media, what the colors look like, the fonts look like? Having that consistency across platforms, what it can do is it can dilute your brand recognition because people aren't making that connect of like oh, this really great resource that I found. This is the same person I'm finding on Instagram. I'm seeing all this content. These are the same people.
Speaker 2:
A lot of people are visual learners. A lot of people are visual in general. It's just connecting the dots for people, whether they're on TPT or browsing something on TikTok or browsing something in their inbox maybe they are subscribed to your email list. It's just really important to think about how, if you don't have some type of consistent visual brand, this can undermine your credibility, undermine your trust. And it's again with competition. It's very competitive. There's a bunch of people selling pretty much the same thing for a lot of people. You want to make sure you're standing out and just eliminating that like who's this over here, who's this over here? Are they the same people? There's eliminating all of that and you're seeing that consistency. Your audience is seeing that consistency and it just helps you continue to stand out, gain credibility and gain trust.
Speaker 1:
I love that because it kind of connects back to what we're talking about in your very first point of having a strategy working that plan. Because if I am doing all the work to try to create resources and fill my store so that when they go there they're like oh, she has more, you know, alphabet tracing, or she has more multiplication facts, resources or what have you, I'm doing that for them, for when they go to my store. But I'm also doing it so that the next time they're in search they're like oh, I remember that. That that looks familiar, like I remember having a good experience with that person before, with a very similar resource, but for a different topic, right, or for a different skill. So it kind of goes, ties right back into that purpose and working with a strategy in the very beginning.
Speaker 1:
Now, what would you say to someone who maybe has a little bit of branding shiny object syndrome where, like every couple of years, they're like oh, I don't like my branding anymore, let me redo that. So then that's why their store is sort of a hodgepodge. What would you say in terms of like, how do you even go about beginning to fix that? Or do you say, no, I'm going to stick with this branding for X amount of time, whether I like it or not. Like what does that look?
Speaker 2:
like that is a good question, because I have definitely been there, especially at the very beginning of my stages of, you know, really really taking my business seriously. I started with a lot of pastel colors in my store For me. It just not giving me the ick but I don't know how else to describe it. But I was just like, oh, this is really like not hitting with what I envision, what I want, like there's something about it that's not really hitting and it had to do with really just you know, standing out and that's one of the main things I very big on. I felt like with the muted colors I felt like it was not really my brand, like it not really aligning with my vision of my business in general. So I went more bold with the colors and I think one of the main things is it's hard to know if those are the colors you like or what you know, the fonts you like, and I say kind of, I don't think it's a good idea to like, just every two years, completely change everything. Like you want a complete fresh start. There's so many other things you could be doing. That is a better use of your time, number one, and sometimes, like, if you start to feel the itch of like oh I really want to change a bunch of stuff maybe. Like feel those feelings but like don't do anything, like give yourself a couple of days and usually for me it kind of runs down, you know, it goes away. But I will say that I've gradually evolved now, like my brand is gradually evolving, like very subtle changes I'll make. Recently I changed on my website the body font that I use and I've also kind of deepened the hue of my colors, so they were just like a tiny bit lighter, but they're the same colors. I just kind of increased I guess I should say I increased the saturation of some of the colors, not all of the colors. So it's like very subtle changes where it's not like a complete shock to the system. It's like you can still recognize it's the Southern Teach Same with like different fonts used. Like I'm starting to insert some new ones.
Speaker 2:
I put in one new font in the last year on some of my covers not all of my covers and then ideally I'd like to go back and change all of my covers, but I'm not doing it all in one go and in this way you're still keeping that visual consistency. It's not going to be 100% perfect. We're not robots. I have three kids. I have no time to just like, if I change one thing, going back and change every single thing all the time.
Speaker 2:
Just kind of, if you are going to change things, like, does it kind of match the vibe, does it match the consistency of your current brand, and see, like, how you feel about it and, if you like it, continue with it.
Speaker 2:
If you don't, maybe like revert back to what you're doing, if that makes any sense.
Speaker 2:
So I guess, to like sum that all up, if you have that shiny object of like, oh, like, I really like this new font that I found, just think, does it align, can it fit in with something that I'm already doing in my brand, or is it completely off the rails, like different, and then just kind of wait, if you'd like think about it, wait a couple days, give it some time. You can also maybe test it on one product or one product line and then gradually change that way. So that's a tricky one to answer, just because it's like it depends on like what is it that you see that you know, are you like looking to change things completely different or is it just like a couple of things you see that are like oh, I really like that color, I want to add that in my brand, or I want to add this font in brand, or I want to add this font in my brand, or I want to take out this font, you know. So those are some tips on that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I like what you said about how you just sort of like deepened the hue of some of your branding colors or changed like the body font of one of your fonts, like small changes that made you like your branding more but also kept it consistent. Or you mentioned at the end, like adding in an additional color or adding in like maybe one additional font that still kind of goes with the existing branding that you have. I think that that's a really great idea. So if someone's like oh, I really hate all of my branding, I can't look at this for one more minute and it's been bothering me for a year Like maybe it's time to truly scrap it and start all over.
Speaker 1:
But like if you're just kind of looking at it and you're like you know, I feel like it's not as bright as I would like for it to be, or it's not as maybe cheerful as I would like for this to be. Making small changes that will still allow your old branding to not clash with your new branding, I think is a really genius idea.
Speaker 2:
Again, it depends on the situation and, like you said, if it's like you're hating it, like maybe somebody did branding for you and you're like, oh my gosh, this makes me cringe in everything in my brand, my fonts, I don't like anything in it. If it makes you cringe, then yeah, I would definitely make maybe do like a bigger revamp. But if it's just like I think you know I really like this font, like if it's something very like small, then you can try it out, cause then you might try to change it all up and you're like, actually I don't really like it, you know. So just depends on the situation.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so tell us what are we going to learn about at your teacher seller summit, because I'm really excited for your session.
Speaker 2:
So my session at the Teacher Seller Summit is about three keys to setting up your TPT store for success. So I'm going to be sharing with you specific tips on helping you create and sell and market your resources. That includes different ways of like having a brand strategy, designing and making appealing resources and graphics, and then just having a consistent visual brand. So basically everything I talked about of like what not to do. I'm going to share with you more specific steps for each of those, each of those different parts.
Speaker 1:
So how to do them correctly. So, instead of what?
Speaker 2:
yes, basically what to do? I love that, yes.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I also love that you mentioned making the resource itself appealing. We've talked about that a lot inside of RTA, where, if you have a really great branding and appealing, your products themselves are well branded and are really appealing. You don't have to do nearly as much work with all of your covers and your previews and all of that kind of stuff, because the products can explain for themselves, so I love that you're going to be showing people how to do that. Where can listeners find you if they want to learn more from you, kirsten?
Speaker 2:
So I have two Instagrams. You can follow along on my teacher seller side with branding tips and product listing design tips, and that is at the southern teach dot designs. And then if you ever are interested in upper elementary social studies resources that are T's aligned for Texas, then you can follow me at the southern teach and you can also. You know websites. All of those are, you know, same URL.
Speaker 1:
So I love it Well. Thank you so much for being here. I sure appreciate all of your time and all of your expertise, and I cannot wait to hear your session at Teacher Seller Summit.
Speaker 2:
Yes, I'm super excited to be there and I'm excited to also be a learner, because there's so many great sessions that I've already saw like a preview of. I'm like, ah, I'm super excited, super pumped.
Speaker 1:
Well, if you want to learn more from Kirsten and connect with her, you'll find links to do that all inside of the description below. Or if you're listening on podcast, you'll find that inside of the show notes. Thanks so much for being here. We're going to see you guys right back here next week and hopefully Kirsten and I will both see you at Teacher Seller Summit.