How to create TpT product Listings that sell

Often, teacher sellers spend so much time working on their products that by the time it’s time to post them, they’re feeling pretty burnt out. So the TpT listing itself ends up being an afterthought, with product description, thumbnails and previews just getting thrown together.

The problem is that if you don’t put the same effort into your product listing, no one will ever find that resource or be persuaded to purchase it.

TpT Product Covers

Your product cover is usually the first thing that a potential customer will see when they are browsing search results on TpT. Without a strong cover, it won’t matter how great your actual product description is, because no one will ever click through to see it.

Best Practices for Product Covers:

• Preview your cover at both a large size (as it is on your product page) and at a small size (as it is in search results) to make sure it is readable
• Use only the most essential text, and keep that text as large and bold as possible
• Use one or two product photos or screenshots. Showcase the product front and center.
• Use clip art sparingly – too much takes away from the product. (Your product photo should always be the biggest thing on the cover)
• Learn the basics of design to help you make covers that are pleasing to the eye
• Use a few common elements on every cover to help customers recognize your work

TpT Product Title

The product title is the single most important factor in how your product shows up in TpT search results. It is important to make sure that you are using your product title to describe the product as your CUSTOMER would be searching for it.

The product title is NOT the place for cute product names. Use keywords in your title that your customers are likely to be searching for at the time they would most need your product.

Best Practices for TpT Product Titles:

• Don’t be cute. Keep title wording simple and to the point.
• There is no rule that the actual name of your product needs to also be the title. Don’t use the product name unless it’s something that customers who don’t know your work would actually be searching for.
• Don’t keyword stuff. Describe your product using readable phrases.
• Use all the space you have available. Room leftover is a chance to fit in more keywords!
• 2 Essential keywords your TPT Product title Is Missing

TpT Product Description & Snippet

The top part of your product description is often referred to as the snippet, and it has two very important jobs. The first job is to contribute to your search ranking within TpT’s search, so it’s important that it include the keywords that customers would be most likely to use when searching for this type of product.

The second job of the snippet is to show up in the actual search results. Approximately the first 180 characters show up in the search results under the product’s title, next to the cover. Because of this, it’s really important to make sure that the text that you place there is not just keyword rich, but also enticing to shoppers.

• Keywords on TPT – It’s about Your Customers, Not Search Engines

What You Should Leave Out of Your Product Description

It is important to remember what the job of your product description is – to help convince your target audience to buy your product. Some sellers have an “everything but the kitchen sink” attitude towards their product descriptions, but the truth is this – if it’s not something that helps with the buying decision, it shouldn’t be in there.

This includes:

• Links to your social media (why provide a link that takes them AWAY from the page where they buy?)
• Requests for reviews (why would you ask someone for a review when they haven’t bought yet?)

TpT Thumbnails

You have three spaces available for thumbnails in addition to your product cover. Don’t waste these! The job of the thumbnails is to entice customers enough for them to read your product description and download the preview.

• You can post screenshots of your best pages here, but you can also create custom images with additional text to highlight features and benefits.

Preview & Video Preview

For most customers, viewing the preview is the last step before purchasing (or not purchasing) a resource. By clicking to view the preview, your customer is telling you that they are interested in buying but want to learn more. For this reason it is important that your preview provides additional information.

• Show a few pages close up, or a full spread of all the pages in the resource
• Highlight your best reviews
• Use product photos so they can visualize how it would be used in their classroom
• Don’t make ugly previews