What's spookier than a ghost or a haunted hayride to a designer? A product or service that is not well-designed. 

Have you ever taken a look at your storefront on TPT and shuddered? Maybe you cringe at how it doesn't go well together (but you just don't know what it's missing)? 

Today we're going to change that - because believe it or not, if a potential buyer takes a look at a store that is not well-designed, there's a pretty low chance of converting them into customers. 

In this episode, you will learn: 

• The definition of well-designed 
• What teachers and sellers look for in a TPT storefront 
• Tips on SPICING UP your storefront (it's easier than you think)! 
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Resources and Links 

The Spice Up Your Store Challenge for 2022 starts soon! Be sure to register and join the fun! >> thesouthernteach.com/tptchallenge

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Let's connect!

• TPT Store: ⁠The Southern Teach⁠
• Website: ⁠thesouthernteachdesigns.com⁠
• Instagram: ⁠@thesouthernteach⁠⁠.designs⁠
• Facebook: ⁠The Southern Teach Design and Branding
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Mentioned in this episode:

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Kirsten 0:00

you're listening to the creative teacher podcast, a show for busy teachers looking for ways to engage, inspire and make an impact in their teacher businesses. I'm Kiersten, a teacher business owner who is all about simple and actionable tips, strategies and resources that result in wins, big or small. If you're looking for that extra spark of creativity, you've come to the right place. Let's dive in together.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the creative teacher podcast. There's something that scares me a little bit something that is pretty spooky to me. I felt like this episode was a little timely because since it's Halloween, something that scares me as a designer more than anything is a storefront that is all over the place or is not well designed. That's not to say that I have not been there because I have my store for seven years was sitting there no logo no branding of any kind random resources just left it there for seven years. So that gives me some some nightmares. That gives me some nightmares. And so it pains me to see some really great resources some really great potential like it just gives me the chills. It's just so spooky, but that's why I'm here on this episode to talk to you about why a well designed store can make or break a TPT sale

Take it from me somebody who has a pretty good eye for design. And I've always been a pretty visual person since I guess I was a little girl. I want to give you some tips that will transform your store from a little spooky to spicy and spunky and ready to go and converting customers. So that's what we want. That's our goal. So first, let's talk a little bit about some design basics. What we want to think of when we think of a well designed store, what does well design mean? So if we look at the dictionary, well designed, there's actually a meaning for it. Artists statically or skillfully plan, especially for a particular purpose. When we have something that's well designed, it's skillfully planned out or an artistic. And it has a purpose.

Our purpose is to attract potential customers and get people to buy our resources. That's the main thing. The first step in determining what goes into a well design store doesn't actually have to do with visuals, it actually has to do with your brand in general. And I say this all the time. It's not about the visuals, it's about your brand identity as a whole, its visuals and about what you're selling. So thinking about what type of products you are selling, and what is, you know, what type of resources are you catering your storefront for? Is it for elementary? Is it for middle school? Is it for high school? Is it for Spanish teachers, French teachers, is it you know, fun, decorative classroom resources.

The reason why it gets a little scary is that like you go to a storefront and it's all over the place, you're not sure who it's for, that can spook some people out and people will just click right back to the search results and find something else. But if it looks like the storefront is geared to what they need, not just one resource, but most resources, then it can really help drive customers to click that follow button because they know that you're going to have more relevant resources. So thinking about what you what type of resources should you be focusing on also making, what you sell and who you're about clearer with those visuals.

So there's four different ways you can communicate your brand, in a storefront. It's number one, of course, the type of products you sell what you sell, what turns up as your best sellers highlight that make it known. But another couple of ways would be your graphics. So thinking about your you know, what you put on your product cover the type of screenshots that you have, or mock ups or photographs. Also thinking about your images? Do you have a banner that displays what you're about? Or what your brand name is? Or your TPT? store name? Do you have a logo that's eye catching? Do you have a quote box that is also eye catching? And is guiding your potential customers to check out certain resources? Or to follow you do? Is there some type of action plan? And the fourth one is the wording? So in general, you know, how are you conveying to people when they come on your storefront? That you are a really great resource and you offer good quality that you people have to check out. So that's something that you have to consider as people are looking in your storefront. So those are some kind of basics of what you need.

Alright, so I'm gonna share with you a few things that me you know, as I bought resources as a teacher, what I looked for, and what probably a lot of other teachers are looking for as well. The first thing I'm looking for is if there is some type of name to face. And I know it's a little scary to have your face out there out for the world to see, such as in your logo. But sometimes having a name to face kind of gives some the brand a little bit more personality. And especially if it's a very friendly smile. It's you know, it looks like it's updated to current times. And it is fun. It's something I can identify with. And she or he seems like something you know, somebody who would create really fun, great resources for my students. Another thing I'm looking at is the custom categories like what do they have to offer? I know there's usually generic categories such as grades and subject and price and all of that stuff. But sometimes having custom categories on the left hand side of your store friend can kind of give me a really succinct view at what is being offered, for example, as a storefront maybe there's lettering sets, student crafts, or a bunch of resources for certain holidays or seasonal resources that can really stand out because I can see oh wow, there's a lot of really great resources. This friendly face has a lot of great resources. I'm going to make sure I follow another is they you come on to the storefront and they have some type of action or must do for that person on the storefront. So maybe it's a quote box saying something like, don't forget to follow for really great ideas, or click here for a free resource. Another thing I'm looking for is, you know, usually, at the very top, you have featured items, you have featured resources, are there any resources that maybe I wasn't even thinking about, but it's something that is relevant to a certain time of year or period. That's something that can really capture attention. And last but not least, just the brand vibe that it gives off. I've talked about brand vibes, you have a brand, you've got all the colors and visuals together and the type of resource together, it's all coming together in this vibe, what is your vibe? Is it professional? Is it fun and bright, and you know, you're just having a happy time with your students. It depends on who you are, you know, the type of teacher you are. Me personally, I love bright and colorful brand vibes that you know are fun for my students fun for me, it's super neat, it's really organized looking, those are the type of storefronts I'm really attracted to. So that's something that can really make a difference. As far as somebody just coming on your storefront and connecting with you, you only have a very limited time, there's not going to be people that are going to, you know, stay at like looking through like, I mean, some people will but for the most part, you really have only a few seconds to really, really stop the show and attract customers.

Alright, so we've talked about what goes into a brand. We've also talked about what goes into you know, what people see in a store what I noticed in a store, and I'm gonna give you some tips to make your storefront not so spooky. So the first tip that I have for you is to think about your logo, is it connecting? Is it something that hasn't been updated in a while, maybe it is, you know, it's just really hard to get the font really huge and easy to see it's a little blurry. Just really, really, really, really think about if your logo is connecting to others. Sometimes if you have a really nice picture, you can always do that. And then there's a lot of tools like Canva, where you can crop out a really nice photo of you and add a fun pop of color like pink or blue or green, maybe you can highlight one of your main brand colors, that can be a really great way to make sure your logo stands out in some way. Another thing to think about are are you using those leaderboards in a way that helps guide a potential customer and attracts them. So not just having some text where it has a you know where the quote boxes, but actually uploading an image or even better some type of gift in the quote box that rotates and features different resources and kind of gives a broad overview of the type of brand you have the type of resources you sell, I should say the quote box is the gray area that's right next to your reviews and next to your free download. If you're looking on a desktop and a banner is that small rectangular graphic that you can put right above your featured items. So both of those the quote box and the banner, you have some type of way to communicate who you are and what you sell. And also something that's little known you know, is if you scroll down a little more, there's actually a spot where you can add a mini banner, it's really small, but this is a great way to link maybe to your social media or to a specific category that you have. The next tip I have for you is to make sure you have featured items that are relevant to the time of year. So if it is October and it's Halloween, hopefully right now your featured items have to do with the fall or Dia de los Muertos or Halloween, whatever it is, it's related to some time of year that whenever you're listening to this, hopefully you've got that. Another thing to think about is your custom can categories. So I'm a big proponent of less is more, I usually like to make sure my custom categories are not too long and not too broad. They're just right. They're specific to certain product lines that I have that are not really well known, or not something that you can just easily finding the new generic category section, I want to have something that is really stands out. So maybe you could have something like social emotional learning, or you can have your reading response product line linked up at the custom categories near the very top. So somebody who's an ELA teacher, or somebody who's a social studies teacher, or wants to incorporate SEL, can go to your storefront and they see to the left that you have some relevant resources, not even something they were thinking on before they were coming to your storefront. So those are some things to think about when you are trying to get your storefront in order, and less spooky.

Thanks for tuning in to the creative teacher podcast. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode, feel free to subscribe and leave a review. I'd love to hear your feedback. You can also find me on Instagram at the southern teach. I cannot wait for you to join me in the next episode for more tips and inspiration. Have an amazing day.