Best Weekend EVER! (#TPTVegas2014!)

I just got back from the first (of many, I hope!) TPT Conference in Las Vegas, and I honestly can't even put into words how great it was! I learned so much, that I typed up 13 pages of notes on the plane on my way home. Seriously, if you were on the fence this year, or thought it was too expensive, start saving now! I guarantee the amazing things I learned will earn back every penny the trip cost me!

Today, I wanted to share my top takeaways from the conference. Many of these are things that were mentioned by multiple top sellers, so I'm thinking they're important! FYI - I went to sessions by Jen Jones from Hello Literacy, Nikki Casassa from Melonheadz, Rachel Lynette from Minds in Bloom, & Erin Cobb from I'm Lovin' Lit. They were all fabulous! Thank you, ladies, for sharing your expertise with us!

*If you aren't a TPT seller, I'm sorry... There's some good stuff in here for you too, but most of it is directed at other sellers. Scroll to the end and check out my Vegas pics!

Here goes...

This really resonated with me. I think something similar was said by both Deanna Jump during her keynote and by Erin in her session. Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged if we aren't selling as much as we want or if our newest product doesn't seem to be taking off. It is true though, every single sale is someone who believes in us & thinks our product is worthy of their hard-earned money. Every sale is a classroom that will see our work and learn from it. (If that doesn't make you feel good about what you sell...)

The theme all day, from Paul & Deanna in the keynote to all of the individual sessions, was that this is a family. When one of us is successful, it brings attention to the site, and helps us all. When we are nice and play fair, everyone wins. When one of us is...not so nice or fair... it hurts our reputation as a whole. Lesson learned: Help each other, be nice, and always play fair! Remember that you represent not only yourself, but thousands of other teacher-authors and TPT as a whole.

I'll admit, I haven't been in the sellers forum very  much at all. Apparently, there's a lot going on in there, because this was mentioned in at least 3 of my 4 sessions. Lots to learn from TPT staff & other successful sellers, updates on new stuff and special opportunities. I'm heading to check it out when I finish up this post!

Again...not something I've done well with. Sellers who have had something in the newsletter have seen immediate increases in store traffic & sales. I hereby promise to submit to the newsletter on a regular basis from here on out! Scout's honor!

Raise your hand if you've seen boards that are full of products, and not much else... Now raise your hand if you've unfollowed those boards... I thought so! No one wants to follow boards that are only full of product pins! Pin stuff people can use without making a purchase. Keep your boards clean and organized. Get out of collaborative boards that are too product-focused unless you know for sure they are bringing you lots of traffic.

Seriously, y'all...no one wants to be bombarded with advertisements for our products constantly! The 80/20 ratio means that 80% of  what you post should be real, relevant, and valuable on its own, no purchase required. The other 20% can be direct marketing of your work.

Don't post something as a freebie simply because you think it isn't sellable. Aside from those things that *have* to be free for copyright reasons, like Daily 5/Cafe, 7 Habits, etc., if you're posting it as a freebie, it should be something worthy of selling as a paid item. That also means to include everything you would normally include in a paid product (see more below on that).

TPT offers you four places to convince shoppers to buy your product. Use all of them! Every time! They are: product name, thumbnail images, product preview, & product description. Every product needs to include a few things...don't skip out on these, even on freebies. Here's the list: an eye-catching cover page, copyright info on every page, and a credits page for clip art & fonts used.

Get to know other bloggers/sellers. How? Visit their blogs & social media. Leave comments on their posts. Buy their stuff, when it works for you, and ALWAYS leave specific, positive, meaningful feedback. Why? See #2 above. We are a family. We need each other! We learn from each other and improve through our interactions.

Deanna said that someone told her this before her store took off. It is so true! For most of us, if not all, success isn't just going to happen! We have to work for it! Find what sells for you, promote it, build relationships, go out there and work for your success!

Here are a couple of fun pics that you may have already seen on Facebook or Instagram, but since I like them, I'm sharing again! This was such a fun & inspiring time, I am already planning for next year! #tptvegas2015, y'all!

     

     

Head over to Deirdre's What happens in Vegas linky at A Burst of First to see more fun stuff & learning from the conference!