How To Track Stats for TpT Sellers

Howdy, Friends...and TpT Sellers!

Today I am coming at you with six simple steps to start tracking your TpT Seller statistics! I have been part of the TpT family for two years and have learned so much a long the way.

Teachers Pay Teachers is making data collection easier than ever with their new Dashboard for sellers. Personally, I have several different platforms to share ideas with other teachers, including this blog, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. Followers here, followers there, followers, followers everywhere! I figured new sellers especially could benefit from a starting point.

Create a convenient place to store the data you will be collecting. For the past year, I have been using a 1/2'” binder. I didn't like that my binder had to be planted on my desk. I often found myself taking screen shots of my stats at certain times of the month when I remembered what day it was...I'd forget, delete the photo, and well, it wasn't very successful.

I recently purchased a planner that fits in my purse and that is large enough for all of my important information I like to keep within it. I can now take everything I need to track my stats with me everywhere I go! So, pick a house…binder, planner, folder, etc. I have used the random sticky note method...but I can't seem to keep track of all of them!

Select or design pages to go inside your house, (binder/planner/folder) that meet the needs of the audiences that you reach. 

Basically, I want to track my TpT store and my social media accounts. When thinking about what sheets are best suited for you, think of what platforms you are a part of...and what platforms you will soon grow into as a seller. You may not have an account yet, but may be interested in expanded into that space soon. I started one at a time and tried to get proficient before moving onto another. There are many free and paid resources of stat trackers/data collectors right within the TpT site that are specially designed for its sellers. 

Decide how often you want to collect your stats (daily, weekly, monthly, and annually). Personally, I track my stats when I am able, but ALWAYS try to record them faithfully on the 15^th of the month (middle of the month) and on the last day of the month). This allows me to see growth…and growth motivates me. If I haven’t posted a new product, I might have the inspiration to finish one of my many “works in progress.” The great thing about the data sheets I use is that they are based on a monthly calendar with boxes for tracking data daily, so I just fill in the boxes whenever I am able to do so!

*TIP: A great thing about TpT is you can always go back to specific dates and track your earnings and how many products you sold. (So you can backtrack with this information as needed!)

If today is a "Data Collecting Day," log into each of your accounts TpT and social media and record the number of followers you have on recording sheets or calendars. (Data sheets I use in the calendar format are shown in the photograph to the left.)

Sometimes I make additional notes in extra notes or on the margins if something exciting happens on a particular day, such as "I hit 400 followers today!" or "The Top TpT Seller started following my account."

I like to note when I post new products and on which day I sold my first one. This is another way I encourage myself to stay persistent!

Using the new TpT Dashboard is great for analyzing data. You can look at how your store is doing this week as compared to last year. If you a new seller, you can look at your sales and decide which days are your best days and which are your slowest days. There is definitely a pattern! The most obvious pattern you will note is the summer slide…readers and sellers have this problem! The beginning of summer is pretty slow for most sellers and then it tends to pick up as the Back-to-School rush starts.

I tend to look at weekly and monthly data, more so than the day-to-day data. Within a month, I look at which products were most popular. For instance, this summer my biggest seller is pacing guides. I can make an apparent correlation about this as it is the summer and many teachers are planning their new school year. Also, there are many new teachers who are looking for a starting point so they can begin to look up resources for their new class. You know, Pinterest, and now Instagram are the most popular places for summer professional development! 

I would be amiss if I didn’t include Step 6. Now, that you have reflected on your data, make business decisions based on your data. If you sell Product A during testing months, you might want to change that to your "Featured Product" a few weeks before it usually starts selling. Last summer, I committed to revising some older looking products to bring them up to my current standards! (I still have a ways to go with that being said!) 

Another example of an analysis might be: If I am selling a lot of puzzle type resources, I might want to expand my line in this area.

Think of ways that you can expand on the good things that you are noticing.

If you are using a binder or planner, feel free to check out this resource which is what I am currently using to track my stats. Whatever you use, commit to looking at your data, analyzing it, and making a plan for the betterment of yourself as a teacherpreneur!

Planner or Binder Inserts for TpT Sellers

Happy Tracking!