If you’re a Teachers Pay Teachers seller and you want to increase your sales, there’s one strategy that can completely change the game: finding gaps in the market.
This works whether you’re brand new and don’t even have a store yet or you’ve been selling for years and feel stuck.
When you intentionally create resources that teachers are actively searching for, but that don’t have a lot of competition, you dramatically increase your chances of making sales.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only share tools and resources that I personally use in my own business or genuinely believe will help you grow your Teachers Pay Teachers store.
What Is a “Gap in the Market” on TPT?
A gap in the market is a keyword or topic that has solid search demand but relatively low competition.
In other words, teachers are looking for it… but there aren’t many quality resources available.
That’s right where you want to swoop in!
If you try to rank for something broad like “Kindergarten math” or “Sight words,” you’re competing with hundreds of thousands of products. Even if your resource is amazing, it’s hard to stand out in a sea of listings.
But if you get more specific, like “Christmas CVC sight word sentences” or “winter letter sounds worksheet kindergarten,” you may find keywords where:
- Teachers are actively searching
- The number of competing resources is much lower
How I Discovered a Gap on TPT (By Accident!)
Sometimes you stumble into a gap in the market simply because you need something for your own classroom and can’t find it.
That’s actually how I discovered one of my own.
I needed a specific resource, searched for it on TPT, and nothing quite fit. So I made it.
That product ended up doing really well because other teachers were clearly looking for the same thing.
One of my Teacher Resource Academy members had a similar experience. She was preparing to go on maternity leave and couldn’t find resources that truly met her students’ needs. So she created them herself and they have become one of her best sellers.
Using SellerSpy to Find Low-Competition Keywords on TPT
One of the most powerful tools for this is SellerSpy, specifically the Keyword Generator and Keyword Explorer features.
SellerSpy pulls data from TPT’s search algorithm and helps you see two important things:
- Popularity (how many people are searching for a keyword)
- Competition (how many products are already listed for that keyword)
When you see a keyword that is high in popularity but lower in competition, that’s your opportunity.
For example, something broad like “Sight words” may have very high popularity, but also extremely high competition. That’s not ideal.
But when you start getting more specific, you might find something like:
- “Christmas CVC sight words”
- “Sight word sentences with CVC words kindergarten”
- “Winter letter sounds worksheet”
These longer, more specific phrases often show better ratios between search demand and competition.
If you want a better idea how SellerSpy works, make sure you listen to this podcast where I sat down with Colleen Swanzey, the creator of SellerSpy.
How to Implement This Strategy for Your TPT Store
If you’re serious about growing your store, here’s what I recommend:
Set aside an hour or two just for keyword research. Open SellerSpy (or your tool of choice), and start searching broad terms related to your niche. Then begin narrowing them down.
Don’t just look at one keyword and move on. Try variations. Add seasonal terms. Add grade levels. Add skill types. Experiment with different combinations.
As you find promising keywords, create a running list in a Google Doc or spreadsheet. Over time, you’ll build a bank of low-competition ideas.
Then, whenever you’re wondering what to create next, you won’t be guessing – you’ll be pulling from a data-backed list.
If you’re serious about turning your Teachers Pay Teachers store into a real income stream, I have a free training that will walk you through exactly how to get started the right way.
In this 36-minute, no-fluff training, I break down the step-by-step strategy I used to replace my teaching salary and the same framework thousands of teachers have used to start and grow profitable TPT stores. You’ll learn what to create, how to position your products, and how to avoid the common mistakes that keep most sellers stuck.
Whether you’re brand new or ready to scale, this training will give you clarity and direction.
