NO, we are not talking about stealing people's good ideas.
In a previous "episode" we have discussed the great value of being yourself. Stealing other people's great ideas will only take away from the time you could be using finding out how GREAT YOU are and what you have to offer.
What we ARE talking about TODAY is RESEARCH.
A friend of mine told me that MOST BUSINESSES fail withing three years due to lack of research and not knowing the market or the business fully when entering. Despite all of the caveats I thought of about why making teacher resources was different - there's very little overhead! I'm in it for the long run! - after hearing his story I saw that a business is a business, and perhaps I should listen to him. You should, too.
Greg Loxton - Unaffiliated with TpT.
1. If you keep offering your customers souffles with truffles when they want scrambled eggs, you are essentially turning away your customers.
Gregg is my friend Jen's husband, and he has made of life of selling ideas. He has sold the program Money 101, which is still in operation and made a hobby out of thinking ahead of the next person. He is currently thinking of a way to sell the idea of vertical landscaping in urban areas where it would be most beneficial.
The best advice he gave me came by way of a true story (admittedly written like a bad joke).
Friends of his opened a bed in breakfast in a region THEY liked, that THEY always wanted to live in. And it was there that they cooked the food that THEY really liked because one of them was interested in the culinary arts.
Every day, she cooked breakfast. At a B&B, the proprietors either cook before everyone gets up or at least set the menu to simplify things. People kept asking for scrambled eggs, but she hadn't made that. She had made something altogether more luscious, complicated, more, uh, French or in keeping with what she wanted her bed and breakfast to be.
Her brother comes down for a visit. He sees these shenanigans going on and finally says, "People are telling you what they want and you're not giving it to them? How many times do you have to have people ask you for scrambled eggs before you make it for them!"
Greg continues by saying, either move to a more artsy area where they want souffles with truffle oil, or give customers what they
want.
So HOW Do We Correlate Greg's Lesson to TPT?
2. USE RESEARCH TO LEARN YOUR MARKET. Greg said several things. All of them true. You will fail if you do no research into your industry, and, if you refuse to give people what they want, they will go elsewhere.
TpT is VERY different from a bed and breakfast. People often will not tell you they want scrambled eggs. In fact, you often will stumble around blind wondering what you're doing wrong. Conversely, you may be doing great but you wont' know where that money is coming from. Pinterest? Facebook? Your blog?
Despite this, TpT is a great place to ask for help, or to do some research on your own. It also can shed light on why you are making the amount you are making.
It is up to you to:
be at peace with the little you make, knowing you are doing what you love (making souffles for the few who appreciate them),
improve if you can by learning a trick or two (getting those eggs to the table on time when people want to eat, and finding that you can provide something both you and the customers like), or . . .
deciding you need to be where you will be most appreciated (opening a new bed and breakfast somewhere else where people love your culinary acumen),
But no matter what, research will INFORM you about who you are, what you want, and how you will get there. Just remember to be yourself every step of the way.
3. Use the HOME PAGE, "VIEW SELLERS"
BOX . . .
There are several ways to research on TPT that are beneficial or damaging! If you go to the main, Home Page, (See Picture Below)
You will notice a BEIGE "VIEW SELLERS" Box on the LEFT HAND SIDE. So what can you learn?
- Learn from the Top Sellers.
Click on Top Sellers.
Ways You Can Learn
- How many of them are providing elementary resources?
- How many of them are providing secondary resources?
- Specialty items?
- How many of them are providing very general items that are
easy to download, open and use for a one-day class?
- How many of these items are complicated or full units?
- How many of these are for all grades - like decor or forms?
- How are these top sellers describing their items?
- Are the top sellers using links inside the product descriptions?
- What do the best covers look like, generally speaking?
(Remember no one is copying anyone here, but ask
yourself what you might be most drawn to see what your
biggest errors might be)
- What else do you notice that perhaps I am not asking you?
I feel like this is a mini-lesson plan, but the point is, we do have to learn what customers want, and what works well, while also being true to ourselves. YES, the forum is wonderful, but DATA is wonderful too, and wonderfully clear!
4. Making a List of YOUR Top Observations is the Best Thing You'll Ever Do. Then Assess.
You will learn something fascinating, something you can use in your existing products or future products. Make up your list of observations and compare it what your doing. Then get to work.
You might think you already know what you'll find (Oh the top sellers do elementary stuff - I know! And I sell high school music so why bother?).
But after you do this exercise you can answer more nuanced questions. Not merely what kinds of materials the top sellers are offering but what is the nature of these products, and how are they advertised?
Do you think you don't have time to do all this observational study and research? Greg might argue you can't afford not to do the work. Businesses fail because people do what they love without doing any research at all and without putting in the necessary time to know what the customers want. If you are doing TpT as a hobby, fine. If you'd like to join the $1000+ club, put some time in to just looking around on that page. In the long run, it will shorten the path to success.
- Are you saying I should change what I'm making and doing?
Yes and no. Do not be something you aren't or make what you aren't comfortable making. I WILL say I just recently realized - or at least I believe - that my products might be a tad too complicated. It is possible that some people want to print, hand out, and go. It is possible that if you have to learn about my product in order to use it, you might not want to buy it. In changing what I am doing, I am not being something I am not, I am merely improving my product. Looking around has helped a great deal, and spending the time is worth it - I assure you it will be worth it for you too. You will learn something completely different but equally valuable.
5. And the Dangerous Part - Going Too Far
Of course, you can also look at Top Sellers, and keep going through the pages, for hours and hours and hours, until you find your all time sales ranking. I found mine once, and for about a week I kept checking it relentlessly like a squirrel caching acorns for winter. It was a sickness I wouldn't wish upon anyone.
It makes FAR MORE SENSE to look at the top seller to see what folks are doing right, and see what strategies align naturally with your own personality to help you see success sooner than it does to waste time watching a number you ultimately have very little control over.
Finally, we are teachers and are always preparing students and expecting them to explore the world and to do research. Why wouldn't we expect anything less of ourselves when undertaking what is essentially a business venture?
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