What I Would Do If My TPT Business Burned Down Tomorrow

What would you do if your TPT store vanished overnight? We walk through a clear, practical rebuild plan that trades guesswork for data and momentum. Starting with a fresh brand and a simple email funnel, we show how to plant the seeds for reliable traffic and repeat buyers by placing an opt-in inside every paid product and sending value-packed messages that earn trust.

From there, we map out the Create Three strategy: choose a niche you know cold, research rankable keywords on TPT, and build three distinct product templates. Launch two to three tightly focused resources from each template, then let the market speak. Early signals like views, favorites, and first purchases will identify your winner long before everything sells out. Once a line proves itself, double down fast, expand across adjacent standards, and bundle to raise average order value without adding friction.

Pricing and timing become your advantage. Pair one premium line in the $8–$10 range with faster-to-build $1–$2 and $3–$4 items that spark impulse buys and reviews for a new brand. Layer in seasonal versions from your existing templates to capture lower-competition searches around holidays, testing windows, and back-to-school. The combination builds surface area in search, speeds discovery, and creates natural upgrade paths for buyers who want more.

We also get real about mindset and visibility. Consistency beats bursts of inspiration, and most creators aren’t invited to the table—they pull up a chair. Reach out to hosts of summits, hashtag sales, and collabs with clear asks and follow-up timelines. Keep your titles precise, previews honest, and descriptions aligned with the exact phrases teachers use. Want more screen-share walkthroughs and step-by-step demos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel and join us there. If this playbook helped, share it with a friend and leave a quick review—what product line are you testing next?

Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0JvOOKTSIWA

Watch My Video on How to Start Your Email List from Scratch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPgMyw8lGN0&t=4s

Check Out My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/laurenfulton 

My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurentschappler/ 

My Other YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LaurenATsch 

Free Rebranded Teacher Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/749538092194115  

Transcript

Welcome And Premise

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Welcome to the Rebranded Teacher Podcast. My name is Lauren Fulton. I'm a full-time teacher author and seller on Teachers Pay Teachers, and I help other teacher entrepreneurs grow their TPT businesses in a way that's purposeful and sustainable. So if you're looking for actionable, step-by-step ways to grow your business, you're in the right place. Let's get started. Let's talk about three things that I would do if I lost my TPT business tomorrow. Lord, please don't let it happen. And I had to start from scratch. If you're new here, hi, I'm Lauren Fulton. I've been selling on TPT for almost 10 years, and my primary TPT store is consistently in the top 1% of stores on TPT. However, I also have a new store that I started in May of 2024. It's kind of like a hobby store for me, and I have learned a lot over the years from starting a store in 2016 and then starting another store in 2024 when the market was way more saturated and things are way different. Let's get into it. So, first of all, if I lost my TPT store tomorrow, I would probably take a day to just sit and cry. Let's be real. That's one of the first things that I would do. But after I did that, I would get right up on that product creation train. So the very first thing that I would do is I would secure a new name. I would go ahead and do all of my branding, my logos, all of that good stuff, create my terms of use page, and I would start an email list. That is one of the things that I would do so that I could put an email opt-in link into all of my paid products. Now, if you want to learn more about starting an email list from scratch, you can check this video out right here, or you can check out the link in the description for that. I recently did an episode on starting an email list from scratch. It'll tell you everything you need from the very beginning. Now, once I got my email opt-in up and got my branding and everything like that, I would then start with a create three strategy. So this create three strategy is essentially where you go into the market that you're entering into. For me, that would be math because I know the most about that. And so I would go into the math market and I would try to look for types of resources that were popular but that I could also rank for. So I'm gonna share my screen with you guys for a second. And if you're listening via podcast, then I'm gonna try to describe what it is that I'm doing for you. So I would go to the TPT search bar and I would try to find something like partner eighth grade math, partner task cards or partner activities. So instead of just activities, I would do something really specific. And I would search by topic. So Pythagorean theorem, partner activities. And what I'm looking for is number one, is there a market for that? I'm showing up number one there. And it looks like there's not. It looks like there's not a lot happening. So when the search results show up, the very top result has 10 reviews. And then the next search result has one review. And that tells me that it's just not a super strong seller. Okay. I'm looking for there to be more reviews at the top of the page. So what about maybe like solving equations, partner activity or maybe if I try partner activity instead of partner activities? Nope, same thing. Okay, so I'm gonna do solving equations and I'm gonna start with things that are really typically really popular. So my niche that's solving equations, Pythagorean theorem, and I can see that there's a lot more traction for this search term. And so partner activity seems like a good idea, but I need to scroll down to the bottom and see if I could even rank for that. So I'm looking for there on the first page at the top of the first page to be resources with several reviews and at the towards the bottom or the middle of the first page for there to be resources with zero reviews. So I can see where my product could land if it had zero reviews. And I'm thinking this is probably not specific enough. So I'm gonna go with solving two-step equations and see where I end up with that. Again, I'm seeing a lot of resources that have reviews, and then right here in the middle, I see a partner activity that has no reviews, then one that has one review, zero reviews, zero reviews. So I'm just gonna double check. I would then go through and for a few more topics. I would try like one-step equations, multi-step equations, and then I would try other topics like comparing and ordering numbers or scientific notation, other topics within that same niche that would tell me that I could rank if I created a partner activity that I could rank on the first page for multiple search terms for different partner activities. So that would be the first product line that I would create in my create three strategies. So I would create a template for a partner activity. And then I would create two or three resources from that template, maybe solving multi-step equations, solving two-step equations, solving one-step equations, or again, comparing and ordering numbers, scientific notations, what have you. But I would create two or three resources from that one template. Then I would research another type of product. So instead of partner activity, I might look for a board game or escape room or something like that. And if I found some search terms that I could rank on the first page for that still appeared that they were in demand, then I would go ahead and create two more templates, each with two or three products from that template. So I would begin with about 10 products from three different templates. And then I would see which ones seemed to be taking off the best. Now you might not see things take off right away. You might not see that there are just people chomping at the bits to buy these products. But most of the time you're going to see that one or two will start selling before the others do. And once one of them starts selling, and I'm not saying you have to sell three of them, I'm just saying like you notice one of them sold. Okay, or one set is getting more views than the rest, even. Then I'm gonna start following the money. I am gonna start creating more resources from that same template, and that's gonna be the product line that I finish out first. So I would use the create three strategy to create three templates, three to four products from each template. And then whichever product line seems to be doing the best first, I would then go in and finish that product line out. Now, if none of them seem to be taking off, then you can just go ahead and you can create two more for each product line, or you can pick one that you like the best that you feel the most confident in, and you can finish that out and get it bundled up before moving on to the next one. So if there's no clear winner, then just finish one out and bundle it up and then move on to the next one. But most of the time you'll have one that will sell first and you just follow the money and kind of lean into that one. So what this does is it prevents me from wasting a lot of time creating resources that aren't gonna sell. So rather than splitting my effort and attention across three different product lines, I've been able to put feelers out for what the market is going to respond the best to. And then I'm leaning into what's working and I'm focusing my efforts there first. Now, again, these resources don't have to be resources that are selling straight away. You can just see which resources are getting the most views, and that's gonna be probably a good indicator for which ones are going to sell the best. Work with are the gonna be the ones that people can most easily find on TPT and are getting the most views. So we lean into that. And when buyers find those products, you'll be able to more quickly and more easily give them an option to bundle or purchase more products like them be from a completed product line. So the next two things that I would do, and these two things kind of really work in harmony with number one. So I'd fit all of these strategies together when creating the product line, is I would make sure that I have diversified price points. So I would create one product line that's maybe a higher ticket price price point, somewhere between eight and ten dollars. And then I would create another couple of product lines that are either like at the three, four dollar mark, and then maybe one that's around the dollar fifty to two dollar mark. Listen, I know there's a lot of talk about really wanting to hit that three dollar price point. And the reason for that is very strategic, and it's honestly a really good reason, and that is that once you hit that$3 price point, you don't have to worry about paying the 15 cent transaction fee. And that's justifiable. It's perfectly reasonable. We don't want to store filled with dollar resources and we're constantly getting dings at 15 cents. 15 cents on a dollar resource is 15% of your earnings for that product. So we don't want to hit that. However, that's not to say that you shouldn't create resources under$3 ever. In fact, you very well might find that because buyers don't know you, they don't like you and trust you because they don't know you, that they're more likely to spend their hard-earned dollar, dollar and fifty cents, or two, two fifty before they'll commit to spending three, four, five, ten dollars on a product from an author they've never tried before. These one to two dollar products are also more impulse purchases because they don't cost very much, they're more likely to convert better. And so having a variety of price points within your store allows you to do two things. Number one, it allows you to make more sales and to build your no like and trust factor with people who may not be ready to spend$10 with you yet. And number two, and maybe even more importantly, this allows you to create resources faster. If I'm only focused on creating high dollar resources, those resources are gonna take me more time to create than a one or two dollar product is going to take me. So I can create more of the one to two dollar resources than I can of the five or ten dollar resources. And then lastly, in that strategy, something else I'm really gonna consider is creating seasonal items alongside of Evergreen. So I'm not gonna just create all seasonal resources, but you will find that seasonal resources are on market that's a little bit easier to kind of dip your toe into, like a little bit easier to get a sale with. Because for SEO purposes, right now it's a search engine optimization purposes, it's a little bit easier to rank a lot of times for seasonal resources than it is to rank for Evergreen because there's less competition. So using that create three strategy to maybe diversify your price points. And again, it doesn't need to be that each one is at a different price point, but maybe making one at a higher price point and two at a lower price point or two at a higher price point and one at a lower price point, diversifying a little bit could really help. And then secondly, including some seasonal resources from those same templates can be really helpful for getting you more views and for getting you more sales when you've just started your store. So the very first thing I'm doing is I'm running branding, I'm starting my email marketing and creating that email opt-in so that I can slide an email opt-in advertisement into each one of my products so I can start to grow my email list. And then the next thing that I'm doing is I'm getting really strategic with creating products because I'm not gonna have a lot of time to stock my store. And I want to make sure that the products that I'm creating are going to yield the most bang for my time buck. And then the last thing that I'm gonna do is I'm gonna keep a really positive attitude. When you create something, it is so personal. And I feel like this is maybe we talk about this, but maybe not often enough, is that you are putting a lot of your time, energy, effort, and creativity into something and then asking people to pay money for it. And it can feel really defeating when you don't get the kind of response that you're hoping for. Like you're hoping, I'm gonna put this product out there. I've put so much of myself and I've sacrificed to create this resource, and you want that sacrifice to feel worth it. And most of the time it doesn't feel worth it right away. You're gonna make a few dollars here and there off of that product that you worked so hard on, and you're gonna feel maybe a lot of self-doubt or even a little bit self-conscious that you created this store and that maybe even people know about it and they're asking you how it's doing. You're like, oh no, you know it's doing. And it can kind of be a little bit vulnerable to kind of put your content out there in a way that you're asking people to purchase it because you're basically asking people to validate your offer and say, yes, what you're making is good. And it feels like if they're not buying it, then they're saying it's not good. But that's just not the case. Most of the time your product is good, you're doing a great job and you created a solid product. It's just that there are a lot of resources out there for teachers, and most of the time it's just hard for them to find your product. But in keeping a positive attitude, the other thing about this is a lot of times it can be easy to get imposter syndrome, and that can keep you from doing the things that you need to do in order to be successful in your business. One of the primary ways is that it can keep you from being consistent. A lot of times people let imposter syndrome keep them from being consistent, and so they'll create when they feel motivated, they'll create when they feel confident, but they won't create when they don't. And so you want to make sure that you keep the positive attitude, push past that, and continue to create even when you're not feeling motivated. But that imposter syndrome can also keep you from asking the right questions in order to get where you want to be. I think a lot of TPT sellers and people in general kind of wait to be invited to sit at the table. And that's just not how it works in the business world. And oftentimes in life, that's not how it works either. Most of the time, the people who are sitting at the table being presenters at a conference or the people who are sitting at the table being involved in a hashtag sale or a collaborative sale or something together and doing something together to be a part of an event, those are not people who were asked. Those were people who asked to be a part. Most of the time, you have to kind of pull up your own chair at the table, be like, hey, can I join you guys? And it's usually very, very welcome. If you think about the teacher community, when you go to a teacher conference or something like that, every now and then in the teacher community, you'll walk up to a table of teachers that you don't know from Adam at a conference. You'll say, Hey, can I sit here? And you'll see an empty seat or they'll pull up a chair and say, Hey, can I sit here? And they'll kind of be like, uh, and kind of act like maybe they don't want you there. But that is very, very rare. As most of you know, the teacher community is extremely welcoming and inclusive and they want you to feel apart. And they are very, very kind people. And that same spirit is mostly in the teacher seller space as well. Most people would love for you to take part, they just don't know you exist, they don't know to ask you, or they're content with how things are right now, and so they don't go looking for someone else to be a part of an event that they're hosting. So if you see something that you would like to be a part of, contact the person. If you see a group of sellers working together on Instagram, if you see someone putting together a summit, if you see someone putting together a collaborative sale, ask them, say, hey, I know it may be too late for me to join this time, but if you do this again, I would love to be considered for X, Y, and Z. And most of the time, you know, they will tell you yes. And if they tell you yes, say, great. Is there a good time for me to contact you about being a part next year? So if it's a part of a summit that you see happens during the summer, say, when can I contact you next year to ask about this? Or when is a good time for me to follow up? Get that info, write it down, and actually follow up with them. Most sellers are making a place at the table for themselves. And again, it's not because people don't like you, it's not because you have to be at a certain level of achievement. It's just that we're all kind of living in our own bubble and we're all focusing on our own businesses. And sometimes we're not always finding the people who would love to be a part and we would love to have them be a part. I know for myself in Brooklyn, when Brooklyn is recruiting for like Summer Mass Summit or recruiting for some of our other events, one of our favorite things is when people reach out to us and say, like, hey, can I do this next year? Because it saves us so much time because we already have someone who's familiar with the event and wants to be a part. And the answer is almost always yes, if it's not too late. So you could actually be doing someone a favor by asking if you take part. So those are my four big things that I would do if I were starting a store tomorrow. Very first thing that I'm doing is I'm starting out that email opt-in and getting my branding and everything ready. And then I'm doing the research to create three templates for product lines. I'm gonna make sure that I have a solid pricing strategy and seasonal item strategy for those product lines. And then I'm gonna make sure that I keep a really positive attitude, understanding that it's really easy to feel overwhelmed or to feel that imposter syndrome when you first start creating. But I'm gonna keep a positive attitude and know that the people who are successful on TPT do not have something that I don't already possess. I have the knowledge, I have the skill set, and I have the ability to learn and to grow and to be successful just like they are. That's they're not the only people who can be successful. I can be successful too. So I'm gonna keep that positive mindset when I'm creating resources and when I'm reaching out to be a part of things that are gonna grow my brand and build my audience. If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you check out our YouTube channel. I know I announced it in a previous episode, but this podcast is going to be going away this year. I know, I know it's so sad, but I'm focusing my efforts on YouTube. And a lot of times it's so much easier to share my screen and just show what I'm doing on YouTube rather than try to explain that in a podcast. And so I'm trying to move everyone over to YouTube. Go to YouTube. I'm also going to be cutting back on the number of episodes here pretty soon. So we're gonna scale back to about two a month instead of once every week so that I can spend some more time with my family, have more Saturdays with my family. Right now, Saturdays are the only days that I can record or film content for the podcast. And so I want to make sure that I'm not filling up every single Saturday that I have with work. And the only way to do that is to sadly cut back on the podcast and video content. So make sure you check out my YouTube channel. I'm gonna drop a link down in the subscription and go subscribe. And if you're a listener and you're like, but I like to listen, one of the things that you can do is you can listen while you cook, listen while you're folding laundry, listen while you clean. Most of my YouTube videos you can listen to. And then every now and then there's something that you might want to look at the screen for, but most of them can be enjoyed via listening. Thanks so much for being here, you guys. I'm gonna see you right back here next week.