Online Business for Teachers | TPT | How to Make Extra Money, Work From Home, Digital Products

What I Learned After My TPT Sales Flatlined: Funnels, Traffic, and Facebook Ads

If you’ve ever looked at your TPT dashboard and wondered, “Why are my sales suddenly… not moving?”  this episode is for you.

For months, I blamed everything for my plateau: the algorithm, SEO, the saturated market, AI, promoting my membership, even the season. But the real reason my sales flatlined? It wasn’t any of those things. It was something much simpler  and something I didn’t even notice until I sat down and compared my numbers.

In this episode, I walk you through the exact moment I realized what changed, the product line that suddenly tanked, and how turning off one small part of my funnel impacted my entire business. I’m sharing what I found inside my TPT analytics, what happened when I stopped running Facebook ads, and why traffic matters way more than we think it does.

If you’re in a season where things feel slow, or you’re not sure why certain product lines aren’t performing anymore, this episode will help you look at your data in a totally different way.

What you’ll hear today:

If you’re brand new and need help getting your TPT store started, I have a free starter mini course. You can get it here:

Free TPT Starter Mini Course

And if you’re in that in-between stage and you’re trying to figure out your next move, you can book a strategy call with me and we’ll map it out together.

Book a Teacher Business Clarity Call

📧 Got questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]. I read every message and would love to hear from you.

If you’ve been staring at your TPT store, your ideas list, or that half-finished product thinking, “I just don’t have the time or the energy right now,” this episode is for you.

We’re in testing season.

Today, I’m breaking down the 4 steps that helped me grow my TPT business while teaching full time, raising kids, and juggling all the real-life responsibilities we don’t get paid for. These steps are simple, realistic, and designed for the teacher who feels like they have zero time left in the day or zero brain cells left at night.

Inside the episode, we talk about:

How to organize your workday so you’re not giving all your energy to school.

How to protect your after-school time so you can rest and reset without guilt.

How to schedule focused business time (and what to do when you’re drained).

How to own your calendar so your goals and your rest both have space.

Mentioned in this episode: 

Episode 36: Why More Time Doesn't Make You More Productive

Leverage the time you already have with intention so you can build a TPT business that supports your life instead of draining you.

If you’ve been feeling behind, stuck, overwhelmed, or just too tired to even think about TPT right now… this episode will help you take a breath, get grounded, and see a clear path forward.

If you’re ready to grow your TPT business but don’t know where to start, I offer free consult calls to help you get clarity on your goals and your next steps.

Email me anytime at [email protected]. I read every message and I’d love to hear from you.

Have you ever wondered if you actually need another course… or if you just need to get to work?

In today’s episode, I’m talking about investing back into your TPT business and how to decide whether you need:

• A course

I break down the different stages of business growth and what kind of help makes sense at each one.

Because not every season requires spending money.

Sometimes you need to learn a new skill.

If you’re in that messy middle where not brand new, but not scaling yet either, this episode is especially for you.

We’ll talk about:

The difference between a skills gap and a strategy gap

Why over-learning can actually slow you down

When coaching makes sense

And how to figure out what stage you’re really in

If you’ve been asking yourself:

This will help you sort that out.

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If you’re brand new and need help getting your TPT store started, I have a free starter mini course. You can get it here:

Free TPT Starter Mini Course

And if you’re in that in-between stage and you’re trying to figure out your next move, you can book a strategy call with me and we’ll map it out together.

Book a Teacher Business Clarity Call

📧 Got questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]. I read every message and would love to hear from you.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re working hard on TPT but not getting the results you want, this episode will show you how to flip that dynamic. TPT is one of the smartest, lowest-risk business platforms available to teachers, but only when you know how to make it work for you strategically, instead of feeling like you’re endlessly creating without moving forward.

Today, I’m walking you through the exact mindset shifts and strategic decisions that helped me go from scared to charge $2 to confidently building multiple income streams. You’ll learn why TPT is more than a marketplace, how it quietly trains you to think like an entrepreneur, and how to identify when you’ve outgrown your old strategies and need a new level, a new plan, and a new mindset.

Inside the episode, we’ll cover:

Why TPT is still the smartest place for teachers to grow an online income

How to leverage the platform at any stage of business

The “mindset layers” every seller must peel back to grow

When to update your strategy so you don’t stay stuck

How TPT sets the foundation for memberships, courses, coaching, and more

What’s possible when you strengthen or expand your income streams

Four powerful questions to help you identify your next level

Whether you’re earning two figures or four, this episode will help you step back, reassess, and finally use TPT in a way that supports your goals instead of draining your energy.

Want clarity on your next step?

Resources & Links:

If you’ve ever opened your computer and thought, “Okay… but what do I even make for TPT?”  This episode will help you finally get clear.

Today I’m walking you through four simple steps to figure out what to sell on TPT, without chasing trends or guessing what teachers want. These steps work whether you’re brand new or you’ve been selling for a while and need a reset.

In this episode, I break down:

✔️ Step 1: How to look through your own files to find product ideas that actually work

✔️ Step 2: How to polish those activities so they’re ready to list on TPT

✔️ Step 3: Why publishing quickly matters more than getting it “perfect”

✔️ Step 4: Why you should leave your product alone (and stop checking the data every day)

If you’ve been wanting to start your store but you never feel “ready,” this episode will give you a clear place to begin.

If you want help making your TPT storefront look clean and professional from day one, check out my TPT Store Starter Kit Mini Course. It’s six short videos on:

If you have questions or want to share your progress, email me anytime at [email protected]. I love hearing from you.

Are you wondering whether you should sell your teacher resources on your website or if it’s just one more thing everyone says you “should” do?

In today’s episode, we’re breaking down everything you need to know so you can make the right decision for YOUR stage of business.

We cover:

Why so many teacher-sellers want their own website

Shopify vs. Squarespace vs. WordPress (and what I chose)

The truth about uploading your entire product catalog

How long it really takes to see sales

What you must have in place BEFORE you open a store

Website pros, cons, and deal-breakers

When a website becomes more profitable than TPT

Whether you should add a TPT “buy” button on your product pages

Why email list + trust = the secret to website sales

The long-term payoff most teachers never talk about

If you’ve been confused, overwhelmed, or unsure whether you’re “ready” to add a store to your website, this episode will give you the clarity you’ve been needing.

If you’re not sure whether you’re ready—or you need help figuring out the next right step in your business, I offer 1:1 coaching to help you grow with clarity and confidence.

I support teachers with:

TPT store strategy

Website setup + offers

Messaging + positioning

Mindset and overthinking

Anything your teacher brain is stuck on

If you’re craving real progress with way less overwhelm, book your coaching call:

Squarespace (my website platform)

Shopify (another popular website option)

Emily Bryant, CPA for TPT sellers

My 1:1 Coaching: yourteacherbiz.com/coaching

If your teacher business feels harder than it should, you’re not alone. Most teacher entrepreneurs are making decisions based on emotion, guesswork, or daily dashboard checks that send them into panic mode. In today’s episode, we break down why your business feels overwhelming and how simple data tracking can instantly bring clarity, calm, and direction.

We’re talking about what to track (and what NOT to track), how to set goals that actually fit the season you’re in, and why focusing on the right metrics will make your business feel lighter, more grounded, and easier to grow.

Plus, I’m sharing the tool that completely changed how I make decisions in my own business:

If you want your business to feel less emotional and more empowered this year, this episode is your roadmap.

👉 Teacher Business KPI Tracker

👉 Book a Free Teacher Business Clarity Call

Social media can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling teaching, life, and a growing TPT business. Do you really need to be on Instagram? Does marketing actually work? And how do you promote your resources without living on your phone?

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Ashley Mickelson, a longtime teacher seller and self-described accidental entrepreneur. Ashley shares what she’s learned over nearly a decade of selling on TPT, building relationships online, and using simple marketing systems that don’t lead to burnout.

We talk honestly about social media, automation tools like ManyChat, and why relationships (not hacks), are what truly grow a sustainable teacher business.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between wanting more visibility and wanting more peace, this conversation will meet you right where you are.

How Ashley accidentally turned teaching into a long-term TPT business

Why relationship-building matters more than posting perfectly

What ManyChat is and how teachers actually use it (in simple terms)

How automation can save time instead of adding stress

When it makes sense to invest in tools and when it doesn’t

How introverted or camera-shy teachers can start showing up online

The difference between content that lasts vs. content that connects

How Ashley balances family life, marketing, and running her business

You don’t need to do all the things to grow your business. You need to connect with real people, show up as yourself, and build systems that support your life, not consume it.

YouTube name

If you’re a teacher who wants to build income outside the classroom, whether through TPT, digital products, or mindset work, I’d love to support you.

What if working from home and “passive income” aren’t as stress-free as we’ve been led to believe?

In this episode, I’m sharing a very honest reflection on what it’s actually like to run a business full time, especially as a former teacher who was used to a steady paycheck. I’m recording this at the start of a new year, in the middle of selling our house, and coming off a season that felt busy, heavy, and lacking joy. That reflection led me here.

If you’re a teacher dreaming of leaving the classroom, working from home, or building “passive income,” this episode is for you. Not to discourage you, but to help you make the best decision at the right time with clarity instead of fantasy.

In this episode, we talk about:

This episode is about grounding your dreams in truth and making empowered decisions instead of emotional ones. You absolutely can build a business and work from home. I just want you to do it in a way that protects your peace, finances, and future.

Here’s to 2026:

Book a 1:1 coaching call if you want personalized guidance on income planning, product strategy, or your next step out of the classroom

Why More Time Doesn’t Make You More Productive

In this episode, I’m sharing honest lessons I’ve learned from staying home to work on my business full time, and what that taught me about productivity, time management, and execution. If you’ve been working hard but not seeing results, this episode will help you see what’s really getting in the way.

We talk about why time isn’t the real issue, how planning can turn into procrastination, and the simple strategies that helped me move from busy to actually getting things done.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Key Concepts Mentioned

How to Apply This to Your Life & Business

If this episode hit home for you and you know you’ve been busy but not productive, this is exactly what I help teachers with inside my one-on-one coaching calls.

We look at what you’re working on, what actually makes money, and what you need to stop overthinking so you can start executing. No fluff. No endless learning. Just clarity, a plan, and action.

If you want support applying what we talked about today to your business, you can book a one-on-one coaching call with me.

Connect With Me

Got questions or want to share your story?