Maybe you’re just starting out with TeachersPayTeachers and you’re looking for people to help you learn the basics of running a store. Or maybe you’ve ben selling for a while and are looking for ways to level up and scale your business. Or you could be a full-time TpT’er who is just feeling lonely after leaving the classroom. No matter your situation, you’ve probably felt a need to connect with others who are passionate about their TpT business and understand the life of a TpT seller. We all want to find other people who “get it,” so finding your TpT community should be a priority. In this post, I’ll be talking about all the benefits of getting active in the TpT seller community, and I’ll also share seven easy ways to make it happen.
Benefits of Finding TpT Community
Friendship
The best reason to meet other TpT sellers is so you can make some TpT friends. I’m so thankful for all of the TpT friends I’ve made over the years. Some of my TpT friends have even become my best “real life” friends too. If you have TpT friends of your own, you already know how nice it is to have someone to vent to about problems no one outside of the TpT community would understand. Sure, my wife listens politely when I complain about getting a glowing review but then only 4 stars, but she doesn’t truly “get it.” And only another TpT seller would understand the horror you feel when you accidentally add an ugly Christmas sweater with humping reindeer on it to an entire product line. (Yes, that happened. I’m still not sure I’m ready to talk about it.)
Other TpT sellers can also help you celebrate the joys of selling like when someone buys your biggest bundle, you reach a milestone, or people actually buy additional licenses before sharing your resource. TpT friends are also helpful when it comes to accountability and checking in with each other about your business goals.
Networking
Another benefit of getting active in the TpT seller community is that you can build connections that lead to business opportunities. For example, you can work with other TpT sellers to organize giveaways, hashtag sales, cross-promote each other’s resources, and more.
Fresh Ideas and Perspectives
We all have different ways of doing things, and I LOVE getting to see how other TpT sellers run their businesses. Teach me your tips, show me your hacks, convince me why I need your tools! There are so many other sellers with varying backgrounds, unique experiences, and different skill sets. Bringing all of those fresh perspectives together is beneficial for everyone and can help broaden your horizons as you grow your business.
Motivation
Meeting other teacher sellers is also great for motivation. Seeing other people work so hard to grow their businesses makes me want to work harder on mine. Even just seeing questions people ask helps me to think about things in new ways and inspires me to try new things. Other TpT sellers can also help with keeping a positive mindset and making things feel doable, especially if feeling overwhelmed with everything that goes into running a business.
Feedback
Finally, the last reason for getting to know other sellers in the TpT community is the opportunity to get feedback on your ideas. Sometimes it’s as simple as deciding which image best showcases a product. But it can also be more in depth like helping you brainstorm all the different ways to market a resource. No matter your question, I promise there are tons of helpful sellers who are happy to give feedback and advice.
So How Can You Find Your TpT Community?
Lucky for all of us, there are a ton of ways you can connect and build relationships with other sellers. Here are seven ideas for how to find your people within the TpT community:
Join TpT Seller Facebook Groups
There are a ton of different TpT seller Facebook groups you can join. Each of them seems to have their own personality. It should come as no surprise that my favorite Facebook groups are School of Sellers and School of Sellers 101. Both groups are filled with the nicest, most supportive, and overall just really fun people. You can find other seller groups simply by searching “TeachersPayTeachers” or “TpT” on Facebook. Remember that if you’re not loving a particular group’s vibe, it’s perfectly acceptable to unjoin.
Following Other TpT Sellers on Instagram
You probably already have some favorite TpT sellers anyway, so following them on Instagram should be an easy way for you to make more connections. If you’re looking for some inspiration or new people to follow, feel free to check out everyone hanging out with the School of Sellers and make sure to follow the official TeachersPayTeachers and TpT Events accounts too.
Join a Mastermind
A mastermind is a group of teacher sellers who meet regularly in order to work on growing their businesses. Masterminds are amazing for finding accountability partners, brainstorming different ways to solve problems, sharing new ideas for feedback, and more. Before joining or starting a mastermind, it’s helpful to think about factors such as niches, level of experience with TpT, long-term goals, diversity, and time zones. You can form a mastermind with TpT sellers you already know, or you can reach out to seller Facebook group administrators and ask to post about starting one.
Listen to Podcasts
There are several podcasts for TpT sellers that you can find on a variety of platforms. I love hearing about tools other sellers are using, systems they have in place, how they think about their business, what they do to keep a positive growth mindset, etc. Of course my favorite is the School of Sellers podcast. You can listen here on the website or on your favorite platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Spotify. New episodes are released every week, and Erin provides just the right amount of actionable tips to make your business feel doable. We also keep a School of Sellers podcast Airtable base with a list of each episode and any relevant links. Erin loves to know who’s listening to the podcast, so feel free to tag us on Instagram or leave a review to let us know!
Take a Course
Obviously your main goal with taking a course should be learning new things about your business. But don’t underestimate the power of a course when it comes to finding your TpT community too. I’ve met some of my best TpT friends through different courses I’ve taken. Now when I’m looking at different course options, I always consider whether they come with options for interacting with other sellers through a Facebook group, Zoom calls, office hours, etc. Not only do I get so much more out of a course when I can talk with other people about the content, but I usually make some new TpT friends along the way.
I also find that TpT sellers can help certain things feel a lot more doable. For example, starting an email list always sounded really scary to me. I read all about getting started, but still felt really intimidated. It wasn’t until I talked to other sellers who had already gone through the process that I felt comfortable enough to give it a try. Sometimes you just need that extra push from other people to let you know you’re perfectly capable of trying new things for your business. And of course it always helps if you have people there to answer questions along the way!
Attend the TpT Conference or TpT Meetups
TpT hosts an annual conference for sellers in July each year. It’s an awesome place to meet other sellers, as well as Team TpT. The 2020 conference was held virtually, and Team TpT has confirmed there will be a virtual option for 2021 as well. If you choose to attend virtually, there are usually virtual meetups to chat about the day’s sessions, major takeaways, questions you’re having, and more. We hosted virtual chats every night of the conference through the School of Sellers group in 2020, and we loved it so much that we’ll continue to do it for all future virtual conferences.
If you can’t make it to the conference, though, there are usually a few other opportunities to meet people at TpT Meetups hosted around the country. Keep an eye on your email to hear about any TpT Meetups taking place in your area.
Check Out the TpT Seller’s Forum
Did you know that TpT maintains a forum just for sellers? I’ll admit it’s not my favorite place to hang out since it makes me feel like I’m living in 1999, but it’s still a great place to stay informed. Team TpT regularly posts updates to the forum in the News, Notes, and Love from TpT thread. You can also see posts from other TpT sellers about a million different topics such as digital resources, using video, Pinterest, getting feedback on your resources, and more!
Have you found your TpT community yet? What are your favorite things about getting to know other TpT sellers? I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below!
Let’s connect! Follow us on the podcast, the Facebook group for new sellers, the Facebook group for established sellers, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok!
