The holiday season is one of the most exciting times of the year for Teachers Pay Teachers sellers – not just because of the peppermint mochas, but because of the TPT site-wide sale! Whether it’s your first sale or your fifteenth, this is your chance to showcase your hard work, connect with new buyers, and give your store a big end-of-year boost.
If you’ve ever wondered how to prepare your TPT store for a site-wide sale (without the overwhelm), this is the episode for you!
I’ve been through a lot of these sales over the years – from the days I was uploading resources during nap time to now, as a top 1% seller.
These are the exact steps I use to get my store ready every single time there is a TPT site-wide sale.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you choose to purchase through them. I only share products I truly love and recommend!
1. Flip on Auto-Enroll (So You Never Miss a Sale)
The very first thing to do – and honestly, the easiest – is to make sure your store is automatically enrolled in every TPT site-wide sale.
Go to your Dashboard → Marketing → Throw a Sale and check the box that says automatically include my store in all future sitewide sales. This sets your entire store to 20% off automatically whenever TPT announces a big event.
During a site-wide sale, TPT will then add an additional 5% off with their promo code (usually something like CYBER25 or BTS23). That means teachers can save up to 25% total – and you don’t have to lift a finger to make it happen.
Why this matters: Forgetting to enroll is one of the biggest missed opportunities I see from new sellers. These sales are free marketing from TPT! Teachers are getting emails directly from the platform, and if your store isn’t included, your resources won’t show up when they click “shop.”
It takes 10 seconds to do this once and can benefit you all year long.
2. Let Your Data Pick Your Priorities
If you’ve been selling for a little while, your own store data is a library full of information. Before every sale, I always take a few minutes to look at what’s been selling well recently.
Here’s how I do it:
- Open your Product Statistics tab and look at your top sellers from the same time last year (if you’ve been selling that long).
- If you’re newer, look at your last 30 – 60 days of sales and see what teachers are currently buying.
- Make note of 5 – 10 resources to focus your attention on first.
These are the listings that are already performing well – and they’re the most likely to bring in more sales during a site-wide event.
Now, it’s time to polish them up:
- Update your covers and thumbnails are clean, bright, and filled with useful, scroll-stopping images.
- Add a preview file (and if you have time, a short video preview – even a 30-second Canva animation works great!).
- Update your titles and descriptions with SEO-rich keywords teachers are actually searching for. I love using SellerSpy for my SEO research.
- Clearly state what’s included – page count, grade level, answer key, print/digital format, etc.
The goal is to make it crystal clear what the resource is, who it’s for, and why it’s worth buying – because during a sale, teachers are shopping fast.
3. Front Your Storefront Like a Shop Window
Think of your TPT storefront as your own “teacher boutique.”
During sales, this is one of the few times buyers actually visit your main store page instead of finding your products through search.
That’s why I always refresh my Featured Listings before each sale. You can swap out your top four featured products to highlight:
- Seasonal best-sellers (like holiday or winter resources)
- Your most popular bundles or product lines
- Any new releases that you want to get eyes on
You don’t need to completely redesign your banner or add fancy graphics – it’s better to spend that time optimizing your listings. But small tweaks to your featured area can make your storefront feel fresh and shop-worthy.
4. Make Bundles the Star (and Consider a Growing Bundle)
Product lines and bundles are some of the most effective ways to increase your TPT income – and site-wide sales are the perfect time to promote them.
Teachers love bundles because they save time, money, and the effort of piecing together lessons one by one. For sellers, bundles mean higher-priced products (and bigger payouts).
Before each sale, I review my current bundles and make sure they have:
- A detailed bundle preview that shows what’s included, how long it covers, and the savings compared to buying items individually.
- A short video preview showing the bundle in action or flipping through pages.
- Clear titles and keywords so teachers can find them easily.
If you’re still building out a product line, consider creating a growing bundle.
A growing bundle means you upload the bundle before it’s complete and continue adding new products over time. Teachers who buy it now get all future additions for free – which creates a sense of urgency (“buy now before the price goes up!”).
Just make sure to clearly list what’s currently included and what you plan to add in your description.
5. Refresh Seasonal SEO (Then Step Away!)
The holiday season is the perfect time to update your SEO – but don’t go overboard.
Focus on upcoming events: winter holidays, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, even early spring. Teachers are planning ahead, and they’re typing those words into the TPT search bar right now.
You can use SEO tools like SellerSpy, Your Data Playbook, or Mr. Joel’s SEO Tool to research which keywords teachers are searching most often.
If you want more insight to TPT SEO, listen to this podcast with Colleen Swanzey, the creator of SellerSpy!
Once you’ve optimized your titles and descriptions, resist the temptation to keep changing them. TPT recommends updating a title no more than twice per year, because frequent changes can actually hurt your rankings.
So take the time to get it right – then let the algorithm work for you.her.
6. Announce the Sale (With Specifics, Not Just “Everything’s On Sale!”)
When it comes to promoting your sale, specificity beats general announcements every time. Teachers are busy – so the more clearly you tell them what to buy, the better.
Instead of posting, “Everything in my store is on sale,” try something like:
- “If your students are struggling with fractions, grab my Holiday Fractions Bundle – it’s 25% off through Wednesday!”
- “If you loved my Thanksgiving Color-by-Number set, don’t miss the Winter Pack – it’s live and discounted!”
- “Need something quick and engaging for the last week before break? Try these no-prep holiday activities!”
Where to share your sale:
- Note to Followers: Send one the day before or morning of the sale (you can only send one per week).
- Email List: Send one email encouraging followers to wishlist items 1 – 2 days before the sale, and another when the sale starts.
- Social Media: Post short videos or photos showing your resources in action, not just flat covers.
If you use links, track them using TPT’s UTM builder so you can see which promotions actually convert. Keep in mind that TPT only tracks link clicks for one day, so look at your email open and click rates for additional insights.
7. Have a Plan If You’re New (and Don’t Panic!)
If this is your first site-wide sale, here’s your permission slip to relax. Many new sellers don’t see sales right away – and that’s completely normal.
Instead of worrying about the numbers, use this TPT site-wide sale to get your systems in place:
- Upload consistently, even if it’s just one product at a time.
- Create a repeatable design template for your covers and previews.
- Start developing your first product line or bundle.
- Add short video previews to your top products.
- Keep an eye on what sells across TPT so you can adapt.
Every experienced seller started exactly where you are. Each sale gives you new data and new momentum for the next one.
Your Quick Sale Prep Checklist
Before we wrap up, here’s a quick checklist to make sure your store is ready to shine during any TPT site-wide sale.
- Auto-enroll your store for all site-wide sales
- Review your data and select 5 – 10 listings to optimize
- Update covers, thumbnails, and previews
- Refresh SEO (titles, snippets, and descriptions)
- Feature four seasonal or high-demand listings on your storefront
- Optimize existing bundles or launch a growing bundle
- Send “wishlist” and “sale is live” emails to your audience
- Post a Note to Followers with three to five specific product recommendations
Want a Step-by-Step Plan From a Top 1% Seller?
If you’re ready to take your store seriously, I’ve created a free training that walks you through how to set up your TPT store the right way, create profitable resources, and start making consistent sales – even with a full-time teaching schedule.
You don’t need fancy tech skills or a big audience. You just need a simple, proven plan that works.And if you want daily encouragement and behind-the-scenes tips, come hang out with me on Instagram!
