The crazy summer heat has finally broken here, and I have to say it is a relief! We aren't used to such temperatures in this country. With it being a little cooler I feel like I can actually get on with some work! Except.....

I have completely fallen out of the swing of things. I don't know about you but if I stop doing things for a period of time (illness, summer hols, mad heat! Any reason) I kinda forget how to do it. I know the mechanics but I can't seem to get functioning! I need to finish my dissertation for my MA. It is due September and I am still writing it! I need to prep for the TPT sale (coming on the 1st and 2nd of August EEEEEEEeeeeeee) and I really really really need to sort out my junk and buy some new clothes, this is getting a bit beyond sane now. So this blog post is as much for me as for you because we all need a reminder sometimes to just get on with it!

Ok so here are my tips for when you just feel like you cannot get anything done!

1- Set a timer

When it comes to my dissertation I tell myself silly things like 'I can't do it right now, I don't have my study brain on' but then, of course, it doesn't get done. So I set a timer for 15 mins and tell myself I will write for 15 minutes, and I just do it, it doesn't matter if it is not very good (that's what editing is for) I just need to add something to it. If after the 15 minutes I still feel like I cannot carry on I take a break and do something else but then make sure I come back to it and try again after completing a different task. I do this 4 times and then if I still am not getting anywhere at least I did an hour's work today and I can try and get more in the zone tomorrow. Set a timer guys! 

2 - Help someone else 

I need to redo a lot of my covers (did I mention there is a sale coming?). I can't seem to find the omph! However, a friend of mine recently opened her own TPT store! (She is fab by the way run over and follow her please! Platinum Pedagogy) I helped her set up and get started, I gave her lots of tips and advice that I had learnt from making my own resources and in doing so it reminded me how much I enjoy doing this. It is fun I don't know why I have been putting it off! 

and finally...

3- Set a reward

I have been binge watching Son's of Anarchy recently, yes I do realise how far behind the rest of the world I am, on top of that the latest season of 'Orange is the New Black' has hit Netflix! I really, really, really, would rather be watching these than doing the things I need to do. But I am strong! I do not get to see Jax getting angry at everyone until I have reached a goal, it might be 5 new covers, it might be writing 1,000 more words, what ever it is I am strict with myself and then when I get to settle down and watch it I am happier and not worrying about how much work I am not doing.... Well mostly. 

Have a great summer everyone :)

P.S. I recently upped my Instagram game and would love some new fun followers to connect with so please hop over adn take a look at my story :)

 

Hello lovely teachers!

I am so excited for the BTS sale! Not only is everything on TPT on sale but my store is also being discounted by an extra 20% so it is a great time to jump over there and get some bargains! 

You lovely people :) 

Hey!

I have been working really hard recently on getting my new Pinterest course up and running and it's nearly ready! With this in mind I am looking for some first time testers on the course.

If you are thinking about taking a Pinterest business course please fill in the form below. On the first of March I will be selecting 3 at random to recieve the course for FREE! All I ask in return is some feedback and hopefully some positive recommendations to your friends :)

Anyone else who fills in the form before the end of February will be entitled to 50% off once the course goes live so. come on jump in!


Form is here!

So here's a little video I made to explain why TPT is so great! I really enjoyed making it and I love TPT so much! If you are interested in my Seller Starter Pack you can find it here! Hope you like the video :)

Please check out my latest video, reminding everyone why joining TPT is so great!

Join TPT today

So guys we made it! Last day of the challenge.

Today we are going to reflect on how far we have come and make a real solid plan for future goals. Over the last 30 days we have dabbled in all sorts of areas which can improve our businesses so now we will make solid plans and goals and stick to them to keep our stores growing and improving.

If you are still interesting in improving your store further please take a look at my Seller Record Binder. It is designed to help all sellers new and experienced to keep business in track and also to push you that little bit further.

Have a great summer everyone. The linkup will still be open until the end of today, link up your stores and blog posts and don't forget to visit other people's in the link up with you.

It's been fun!

An InLinkz Link-up

Well Hello you lovely reader!

Lots of my lovely TPT friends are now, or very soon will be, on summer holiday (You lucky things!). Over here in the UK we still have 7+ weeks until the last day of the school year.



With all this in mind I thought it was time for us all to take part in a bit of a challenge. So for the month of June I will be offering you all a great big seller challenge, with one things to do each day in the month of June to promote your store and raise your TPT profile.

It is really easy to join in. Just follow me on blog lovin' here  Follow
and then pop back everyday to pick up the new challenge. If you are really feeling involved and excited you can blog about it and join the daily link up or just share the seller challenge logo for that day, on your favourite social media to let everyone know you stepped up that day :)

I have posted a simple record sheet that can be used with this challenge if you wish. :) Big Challenge Record Sheet

You don't have to do every day of the challenge but let's give it a go and see how many you can get done!

Let's get going!

An InLinkz Link-up

I have been selling resources online now for nearly a year and it has been exciting, terrifying and very dull in equal measures and sometimes all at the same time! With that in mind here is a light-hearted look at the nine emotional stages of selling our resources online.

Stage one: Interest

• You find out about online selling from a friend or a post online and your interest is peaked, "ohh, I could do that" you think to yourself.

Stage two: Excitement

• You do a bit of research and before you know it you have found Deanna Jump! "I'm going to be a millionaire!"
• You set up your store and wait!

Stage three: Panic

• Why would I do this? NO one is going to buy my products what do I know?

Stage four: Celebration

• First sale! People are buying things!
• First feedback! People love me! I'm fabulous.

Stage five: Optimism

• My sales are climbing, I could really make something of this
• There's a sale on! My sales are looking really healthy
• Working out how much you would need to give up work

Stage six: Reality check (sometimes coupled with summer)

• Oh, no I'm not giving up work just yet.
• Where has everyone gone????

Stage seven: Distraction

• Life gets in the way, busy, busy, busy.
• Your store takes a bit of a pause

Stage eight: Back on track

• Why did I leave it so long?
• Look at all these fantastic ideas I have! I must get working!

Stage nine: The cycle

• repeating stages seven and eight over and over...

On Friday I am off to lovely Brighton for the Young Teacher Conference with the NUT! I am very excited and not just because I can still (just!) be considered a young teacher :)

The conference is about shaping our future and the impact teachers can have on their own future careers and the profession as a whole. I am very excited about this as I think too many people just accept when things are a bit rubbish and get on with it!

I will update once I have been.

Is anyone else going?

Happy New Year Everyone!

A friend of mine recently told me her new year’s resolution was to start selling teaching resources online. She asked me for some advice and I was happy to point her in the right direction. Then I realized this is actually a really good resolution and more people may want to start the new year this way.

So get started today on your new year’s resolutions. Start selling resources online and change your life!

There are more and more resources sites popping up but I only use TES and TPT if it were in my best interest I would only use one. At first it seems like a good idea to put your products everywhere but it just dilutes your brand and does NOT help sales. The only reason I use TES and TPT is because the TES American site is not as popular as I need it to be and the TPT English site isn’t as popular as I need it to be. So I cater for Americans on TPT and English on TES (change spellings and currency etc.) Later this year when TES Australia starts up I will be looking into that but for now these are my sites.

The first thing you need is an account on TES (get one here www.tes.com). I’m not going to go into details about how to sign up it is really straight forward.

You will also need a seller’s account on teachers pay teachers (TPT)  please sign up for one with my link I get credit for signing people up J https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Signup/referral:charleei

Once you have an account think about a good name for your shop. Don’t stress about this too much at first you can use your own name or think one up. You can always change it later if you change your mind but it is a hassle to go back and change the name on all your products!

The first product you upload to TPT has to be free. When I signed up I uploaded a simple (and bit rubbish if I’m honest) worksheet just because it was the freebie and I didn’t want to ‘waste’ something great on a freebie. This is really the wrong way to look at it. Make your first freebie fab because it will drive business. Just this morning I sold 3 sets of activity cards because one of my freebies is a sample of the activities. If you give people free bits which are really, really good they will want to come back and buy the whole package!

So make your freebie product. Something you have used in the classroom is always a good idea because not only do you know it works already but you can also use pictures of it in progress or the finished work (products with real life pictures really sell well).

Right, so you have made your product now turn it into a PDF and make a cover page. There is so much information on both these topics and I will come back and write a more detailed blog post on these later. 

Here is one of my cover pages but you will find your own style. Put yourself on the cover page somewhere, either your name or logo, so people know it’s you they are buying from.

Then in TPT click dashboard – add new product in TES click resources – new product. If you want more detailed advice on uploading to TES I have a video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQVY8YWKMvk

They is really how you get started at first. You need to get some products in your store and you need to make sure they are good quality. Once you have done that you can start marketing them. There are loads of ways to market products – pinning parties, link ups, blog hops, forums, email, conferences. The list is endless but you need something to market before you get on with that part. So try to get about 15 to 20 products ready and uploaded and then start marketing. If you do sign up with my link I send out regular advice to all the people signed up under me.

That’s all I can think of at the moment I didn’t want to throw too much into the first advice post or go over the top with steps, you’re smart people J

Please let me know if you have any questions.