Are you a teacher seller who isn't entirely sure what type of resources to create? Maybe you're not sure exactly what captures a potential customer's attention or what drives them to buy certain TPT products... and sidestep others.

You're in luck! This episode is a little close to home for me. I chat with my sister-in-law and fellow teacher Megan Hunt about what she looks for in a quality resource and listing.

Megan Hunt is a 1st grade teacher who lives and works in Magnolia, TX. She has 2 years under her belt and is all about SIMPLIFYING!

Megan shares tons of insights into teaching during the pandemic. She may even be your ideal teacher customer! This episode is a must-listen to for any TpT seller who wants to do some market research.

In this episode, you will learn: 

• positives and struggles of being a teacher during the pandemic 
• types of resources that stand out on TPT
• what teachers might look for when deciding which resources to buy
• the types of resources there could be more of to help support during this time
• the type of resources we should consider making less of
• 
  

Let's connect!

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

Kirsten 0:00

I know that this has got to be incredibly hard for TPT sellers, because they don't want people stealing their ideas or just being able to print off their work. And I know that a lot of work goes behind creating these resources for people. However, when I see even just a page where they've taken like the screenshots of each little piece of the resource and just put it small on that page, and I can see it or just a well thought out preview of what I'm getting. I need that because I trust that more than anything else. There have been so many times where I've just seen just hoping that it's the resource I'm looking forward because I can only see one tiny, small part of it, and then it comes up. And I've spent like a good amount of money on it. And it's just that one page, or it's just looking for. 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 there and welcome to another episode of the creative teacher podcast. This episode is a little bit unique in a couple of different ways. But in this episode, I actually speak with my sister in law, who is a teacher in Texas. And we talk about a lot of great things. One, particularly being what teachers need right now in the pandemic, as far as what they're looking for in a TPT resource. So if you create TPT resources, this would be a really great conversation to listen to, especially if you're not in the classroom right now. So you can get an idea of what teachers really need. And to get an idea of what you could create for your niche in your own TPT. Store.

All right, we have a special guest for this episode. Welcome to the show. Megan. Hey, how are you doing? I'm doing well.

Megan 3:17

Glad to be here. So excited to talk about some TPT stuff with you. Yes.

Kirsten 3:23

So first off, just tell us about yourself and your teaching experience. All right.

Megan 3:30

Well, as you said, my name is Megan Megan hunt. I used to be Megan Hammond, which might sound familiar to some of you guys out.

Kirsten 3:36

Yes. So she happens to be my sister in law. So that's pretty cool. Lucky. I have a built in teacher friend.

Megan 3:44

Kirsten 8:42

Yes. So tell us about the type of resources you like to buy on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Megan 8:50

So as I say before, teachers really need some to simplify this year, like I've heard it across the board, we need simplicity. So I you know, I believe we're trying to do too much at the same time. And we're stretched so thin, that valuable experience, teachers are just burning out and quitting. And they're dropping like flies, guys. So when I look for resources, I'm looking for something that isn't all fluff. It's okay to be cute, but I want cute with a purpose. And I want something that will take virtually no prepping time. And it's easy for me and for my students to put into practice. And just as it's more help than trouble to get everything prepped and do everything. So yeah, I'm just looking for simple resources that are easy to pull up printout or just put up on the board as a as a PowerPoint in we can just quickly use it.

Kirsten 9:41

Yeah, and I know that like I know pre printed pandemic we were all about, like interactive notebooks where they would cut it and glue it into their notebooks or do that craft Yeah, and like post COVID I feel like that's like, let's let's let's let's not do that right now. Like It's it's a little much law for kids. You know, all of that is cute. And it makes sense in an adult brain. And I do think as you get older, like I'm coming from a first year teacher or a first grade teacher experience as you get older, it's easier to do things with your kiddos like that. But in first grade those things confuse them. They just don't need all of it. You know? It could be a lot. What are your favorite like, so far out of all the TPT resources? Do you have any that come to mind that are your favorites?

I do have to, um, schoolhouse diva is really good with their task cards. When I was teaching fourth grade for student teaching, fourth grade, I loved their task cards. And then daydreaming about data has some phenomenal backward decoding PowerPoints that I use in my Rilla routine quite often. And just with classic teaching, where you're drilling something up on the board, which my district is getting closer to, because we have really diverged from classic teaching, in many ways. So just being able to pull those up in in five seconds, have it up there. And we just drill different spelling patterns in different sounds, and apply them into words in it's all setups really nicely.

Yeah, that's awesome.

Yeah, like, I'm definitely a fan of rigorous. And bonus if I can like see which actual TEKS it will like that just makes it super easy to plug into my lessons.

So yeah. As you are looking for resources, let's say you're going through like you're searching for a particular type of resource, as you mentioned in those earlier answers, but what do you usually look at, like what cat catches your eye when you're looking for resources on Teachers Pay Teachers.

So I have three things that I look for. The first is obviously like the thumbnail, or the product picture, I'm not really sure what you guys call it on TPT. But I can tell those sellers that have a better handle on technology, a better handle on editing, and but just by the way it's presented. And typically when I see that I'm like, Okay, I know that this is going to be a clean resource. It's going to be formatted nicely, hopefully, obviously, you have to look through things. And I'm I'm not saying judge a book by its cover, because you have to look at the content. But when something is bold and well presented, I'm more drawn to it a simple title as well, just simple title, that when I search it in the search bar, it comes up just as I've searched it, it's not like, Have you ever read those wish descriptions where it's like, dog vest, Kitty, small, you know, like all these different? Yeah, like completely unrelated, just like blitz thrown in those trying to do that anytime you start something trying to catch something on it. And I can tell those ones. And then the second thing is a preview, I know that this has got to be incredibly hard for TPT sellers, because they don't want people stealing their ideas or just being able to print off their work. And I know that a lot of work goes behind creating these resources for people. However, when I see even just a page where they've taken like the screenshots of each little piece of the resource and just put it small on that page, and I can see it or just a well thought out preview of what I'm getting. I need that because I trust that more than anything else. There have been so many times where I've just seen just hoping that it's the resource I'm looking for. Because I can only see one tiny, small part of it, and then it comes up. And I've spent like a good amount of money on it. And it's just that one page, or it's just looking for. Yeah, that I can't imagine. And that's something I do like really love to like talk about with my audience is like, it's people are buying the resource not to copy it and like sell it on their own. They like they need to see if it's for them if it's going to help them solve a problem, too. Yeah, yeah, previews are important. And then the third and final thing I look for is just how easy I think it'll be to prep and use. If I think it'll take hours and lots of planning, I'm not that teacher. Many of us are becoming not that teacher. But for many very valid reasons. I feel. I'm just, you know, my whole team this year, I've been so blessed. I have this phenomenal team backing me and I'm sure I'm not the only one that you know, several of you out there. Like I would literally not get through my job without my team. But we are a simple team. We're not going to take something that takes millions of hours to prep, put it in every class and then hate it like I just cannot do it and my kids can't do it. They have had speaking of COVID They've had everybody hold their hand through everything. They haven't been waiting for parents. They haven't had the same social experiences. They haven't really been in school school right now. And that goes for almost for a lot of the young age. groups because it was like for everybody probably up to fourth or fifth grade right now that during some formative years of their lives, they were going through COVID stuff and still are. They can't take the mass, they can't take all of this class, all of the everything I need something needs something simple, guys. Yeah, simple, straightforward. And so that would probably be good to like, just making it clear in the description. And like, all those thumbnails, like, what like how it can how it works, and just make it clear that it's super easy to use and implement. Now I didn't talk about there is actually a fourth thing I look at. And I didn't even think about it until now. The way that you describe things inside, because it's oftentimes I can look at the preview, and I'm okay, but sometimes it's not sufficient. And I need to go down to those descriptions. And when it's just something broad, and like, whatever, it's just like blab put on there. Here's your resource. Take it as you will. I'm like Nah, no, you're my person to be handling my money right now. Because I do this on my own. I need. Yeah, you need a little bit more support. And surprisingly, I don't look at reviews at all. I've never done that. Unless it's like really on the edge of something that I'm like, no, no, no. And it's a high review. Yeah, if it's a high price point, then I might look a little bit but you know, kids, kids are and I've never done that unless it's a restaurant. Like people can be cruel in reviews, even if it's not the the sellers fault. They've been not using their brain and just not using the resource correctly, or they don't understand how to use the resource and whatever. And people using resource incorrectly, it just doesn't fit their classroom. And they might leave you a bad review, because it doesn't fit their kids. It doesn't fit their classroom. And I just like to make my own decisions. Price is also flexible. A big price tag for an amazing resource won't determine usually unless it's in the hundreds of dollars. And I'm like Well, guys, so that's good, like things that are out of like TPT sellers control, like reviews can like, not break. You know, even if you get a really bad review, or a four star review, that's not going to completely deter anybody else that is considering your resource that's always good to hear.

All right. And then I have one more question about I guess, digital resources, I'm sure like, for free, like for first grade and kindergarten, it's probably not as, like applicable. But I do have a good digital resource, though.

Do you think Kat studios, they have their own website, but they're also available on TPT. They make amazing games for just about anything you're looking for. If you purchase the yearly subscription, it opens, it's so cheap, it opens it up to every single thing that they offer. They have really like every single skill you can ever look for everything you've ever wanted to teach your kid it's on there for them to just click. And that is amazing. For first grade. Now you have to do a little finagling to save it onto a home screen somewhere to where they can just, you know, use the linking from from the homepage. So it takes a little bit of work, it takes like two seconds for each kid to figure that out, and then just show them how to click it. That's amazing. I do love the PowerPoints, I would consider that a digital resource for me. That's, that's a really great addition to that.

That's really cool to hear. So let's talk a little bit about like, you know, what, you, you obviously use TPT as a really great resource, you know, supplemental resource, and maybe like you're trying to search for certain things and you wish there were more of or maybe you wish there was less of I kind of have a feeling of how you're going to answer this. But let us know what are some resources you wish there were more of to help support teachers and like you and your team or just in general teachers, and then what are some resources you would like to see less of

so resources I want to see more of obviously simple, can get to the root of what you're teaching or wanting the kids to practice or demonstrate. And also I also think it would be helpful to have some resources that are a little kid friendly. Regarding COVID There are a lot of resources out there that are trying there are a lot of books that are coming out now I understand it takes time to kind of tweak things. There are a lot of resources out there there for older kids for understanding COVID Because they can understand it on a deeper level. But just social lessons almost on on COVID and in again those kids really haven't had social skills much because they've been at home with mom and dad bringing those out saying you know what is appropriate right now and COVID times for for us to be doing in just fun little lessons that they can do this is where you can get a little fluffy you know with social lessons because they need on an engaging for them. So yeah, just just those, those things are really what I'm looking for. For more.

Yeah, those are some great ideas there. Yeah. And then thanks, resources. Alright, check it off a plus,

then I'd like to see less of, or just the ones that don't deliver what's advertised. That's extremely frustrating. And I don't really know if there's a way to get money back once you've purchased I don't think there is. So I could be wrong with that but, and then tagged the ones that are tagged with standards, but aren't relevant to them at all. So they clearly not actually looked at the standards that they're tagging. And, like they've either seen just the basic of something or synopsis of that standard, but it's not truly diving into the core of that standard. And that's really frustrating when you see and it's like, okay, well, and then resources that have a lot of mistakes in them. It's easy to proofread things. It's easy to ask friends to proofread. And I shouldn't be paying for things that have mistakes in it. It's just unprofessional. Yeah, and I've definitely, as a teacher come across some resources were just like, riddled with mistakes. And some of my students would catch it. It's like, it's almost embarrassing. Oh, you want to put out resources that are that are mistake free, I know, we're human, I totally get that. If it's like a tiny little mistake, and it doesn't affect the whole resource, then it's something to laugh about. It's like, oh, they accidentally miss type the word like, okay, but it's coming across plenty of them. And they're really affecting the resource. And it's making it hard for me or my kids to use, it's not helpful to the people that you're trying to provide resources for. So sorry, I'm being hard on it like it is. I am very much I don't have a filter, I'm sure you know by now. Yeah. So just basically like making sure you're aware of and understanding what are the core standards that are related to your resource and making sure you're tagging appropriately. And then just making sure you revise, edit, edit some more, is basically what you're saying you do when you ask a kid to? Well, honestly, maybe I have it, my kids go through the writing process pretty quickly in I haven't taught older writing in quite some time. But um, I know for me, like when I'm writing something, and often, like you're creating these things, so it's very similar to like a writing process. I take a step back for a couple days, and I don't look at it at all. When I'm reading poetry or paper or something I don't, because your eyes get tired of looking at the same thing and you miss things. They tell lifeguards to do the same thing. You can't be in the same spot for over you know, 1520 minutes. It's not healthy, you start just seeing things not as they are. So take time away from it, send it off to a friend to proof a bit, or just take a step back, wait, and then come back maybe three days later, and you will see your mistakes. You'll be like what was I thinking? What is this? I can't read this properly? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I do that. That's like part of my product creation process is like, okay, take a step back and look at it again. And I'll see like, like, what is this thing doing in the corner? This looks terrible, really bad or really misspelled a lot of things here? This is not.

Yeah, well, that's good to hear that. Thank you for sharing that insight.

All right. So to end off this interview, I have some rapid fire questions. I'm gonna ask you three questions that you can answer any way you wish. So question number one, what is one word to describe this school year

growth? And I hope that word describes every school year whether even if it's painful, or not just keep on growing.

Yes, I love that growth. Okay, second question. If you could travel back in time, what period would you go to?

Okay, I am oddly passionate about this. Okay. So it would have to be the 16th century. They have really, they have the first probably close to the beginning. But I don't know if they have the first flushing toilets, y'all. They invented coil springs, so coil spring breads. Here we go. It's of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. And St. Peter's Basilica was built in the early to mid 16th century, I believe the Sistine Chapel was painted. The potato was brought to Europe y'all this changed our lives. And the pencil is invented in the late yeah, those are some pretty valid reasons. If only for the potatoes. Yeah, yeah. I heard potato and I was like, That's it.

Okay, question three, give us a movie that you really love.

And then I have to cheat on this question. I have too many movies that I love. I cannot just pick one. But I have recently watched within the past couple of months a TV show that completely changed my life and it changed the way I react to people and true people made on Netflix. It is so good. Guys, we do not give enough compassion and grace to people we just don't. So if if you want to change a bit of the way you're thinking, just watch me on Netflix get through it heartbreaking, but also amazing at the same time. And then if I recommend a TV show, I have to recommend a book because I can't just recommend TV. But Go Go get a copy of if I could tell you just one thing by Richard Reed, not the mass murderer, the writer, same name.

Got it. That's good to know, to Laos, you to step into some great minds of you know, a little bit of the past, I think some have passed away, I could be wrong, a little bit of presence.

And it just it's one, one piece of advice that each one could give you. And these are really, it's really good. It's from people from all over all walks of life. They're doing it from presidents to people that, you know, might have fought in wars, and, and all kinds of stuff. It's just really, really cool. It's cool. But definitely have to check that one out to you give me some good ideas or what to read next. And watch next. So yeah.

All right. Well, thank you for coming again on the show. I'm so glad to have this nice little chat with you. So thank you again, for coming.

Thank you for having me. It was fun to talk a little bit about these topics. And hopefully it'll help somebody out there.

Yes, I think it definitely will. I think it was super amazing that Megan was able to come talk on the podcast, I think it's so important to get the perspective of somebody that is in the classroom, especially during this time, and give feedback to what they see or what they like in TPT resources or what they could see needs some improvement. So I loved getting her perspective and opinions on that.

So your creative action tip for this is to just check out all of the amazing things that we talked about. And just take one of those into heart and apply it to your TPT store. Whether it's the type of resources you start to create. Maybe you could focus more on the something that's super easy to prep and simple, especially for those primary kiddos. Just think of some tip that she shared or something that we talked about, see how you can apply it into your own TPT store. Well, that's the end of this episode. I hope you have an amazing day and I'll talk to you again soon.

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.