If you’ve ever opened your Teachers Pay Teachers dashboard, stared at the graphs, and quickly clicked away… I’ve been there.
I sat down with my team member Johanna (also a former math teacher and serious data lover) to walk through how we use my TPT dashboard and product statistics to make smarter decisions – what to update, what to promote, and what to create next.
You can also watch the episode on YouTube to see exactly where we click, but this post will walk you through the big pieces so you can start using your data even if numbers aren’t your favorite.
This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you choose to purchase through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools and resources I truly love and use myself.
Why Your TPT Data Matters
It’s really tempting to run your store by what is trending and your gut feeling,especially when you’re tired and squeezing TPT in between teaching and family life. But your data quietly answers questions like:
- Which products are actually driving your income?
- What needs a better cover, preview, or title?
- Which topics teachers are buying right now?
- Where is your traffic actually coming from?
Once you know where to look, your dashboard stops being scary and starts feeling like a roadmap.
Let’s Talk About the Basics of Your TPT Dashboard
When you go to the little store icon and click Dashboard, you’ll see the main graph you’re probably used to – the one that shows how much you’ve earned.
You can change what that graph shows: earnings, units sold, views, conversion rate, or earnings per cart. I usually keep it on earnings, but switching to units sold or conversion rate can give you a very different picture of what’s working.
You can also adjust the date range. That’s really helpful when you want to:
- Look at this month or this year so far
- Compare a month to the same time last year
- Zoom in on a specific window, like last year’s Cyber Monday sale
One tip: if you’re comparing to a previous period and it’s still early in the day, uncheck “Include today” so you’re not comparing partial days.
If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see your top products for whatever range and metric you chose. You might notice that your top earners are often bundles or curriculums, while your top sellers by units might be lower-priced activities. Both are important – one is bringing in frequent sales and the other higher-ticket sales.
First-Time vs Repeat Buyers
One newer feature I love is the Buyer Type breakdown. It shows how much you’ve earned from first-time buyers and how much from repeat buyers.
In my own store, a large portion of my income comes from repeat buyers. That tells me a few things: people are happy with what they bought, they’re coming back for more of the same type of resource, and product lines and bundles are really doing their job.
If you see a healthy amount of repeat buyers, that’s your nudge to keep building along those same themes – more resources in the same style and topic, plus bundles and growing bundles that allow teachers to upgrade easily.
Using Your TPT Dashboard for Seasonal Planning
Your dashboard is also really helpful when you want to plan for sales and holiday seasons.
Before a big sitewide sale, you can set a custom date range for last year’s sale dates and see which products sold best during that window. That instantly tells you what to prioritize updating – covers, previews, SEO, and descriptions – and what to promote in emails or Notes to Followers.
You can also look at a slightly longer window, like December 1–20, and see what was selling well then. That gives you clues about what topics teachers are teaching or reviewing around the holidays and can help you plan holiday versions of strong-selling topics.
How are Buyers Finding Your TPT Store?
On your Traffic tab, you can see how buyers are finding your products. You’ll probably see a lot of “Direct,” which usually means teachers are searching on TPT and clicking your listing. You might also see things like non-TPT search (often Google), email (if you’re using tracking links), TPT emails, Pinterest, YouTube, or your own website.
There’s also a URL Builder button. That lets you create a special, trackable link for a specific product that you can use in emails or social posts. When someone clicks that link, TPT can show you how many clicks and same-day sales came from it.
One important note: TPT only attributes a sale to that link if the person clicks and buys on the same day. So if you see lots of clicks and very few earnings tied to a URL, it doesn’t necessarily mean the email or post didn’t work – people may have wishlisted and come back later.
TPT Product Statistics: The Deep-Dive Tab
Now for the really fun part: Product Statistics.
From your store menu, click Product Statistics. You’ll see four tabs: Sales, Activity, Easel, and Reviews. You’ll mostly use the first three.
Sales: Units, Conversion Rate, and Earnings
The Sales tab shows you total units sold, conversion rate, and earnings for each product.
You can sort by units sold to see which resources are your most popular, or by earnings to see what’s bringing in the most money. For many sellers, those will be different lists—small activities vs big bundles and curriculums.
You can also sort by conversion rate. A high conversion rate on a product with plenty of views can be a sign that your price might be a bit low and could be nudged up. Just don’t make big decisions based on a product with very few page views.
Activity: Views, Previews, and Wishlists
The Activity tab tells you how many people viewed the product page, how many opened the preview file, how many wishlisted it, and (if you have them) how many watched the video preview.
This is where you’ll spot quick wins. For example:
- A product with lots of views but low conversions might need a stronger cover, preview, or title.
- A product with a high wishlist count is a perfect candidate for a flash sale or a targeted email.
- A paid resource with zero product previews is a clear “to-do”: it needs a preview file.
One easy trick is to sort by previews, go to the last page, and look for active products with zero previews and no downloads. Those are paid products with no preview—exactly the kind of listing that can improve fast.
Reviews: How Your Store Is Landing
The Reviews tab shows your average rating, total number of reviews, and which products have the most feedback.
If you notice a product sitting lower than the others, it might be worth revisiting the description or preview to make sure teachers know exactly what they’re getting and how to use it.
Helpful Tools: SEO Mantis and Your Data Playbook
There are a couple of tools that make working with data and SEO much easier.
SEO Mantis is a Chrome extension that overlays extra information on your Product Statistics page. It gives each listing an SEO score, a conversion score, and even shows where your product ranks for a given keyword, plus average pricing for that market. It’s great for tightening up titles, snippets, and pricing.
Your Data Playbook (YDP) is a more advanced tool that pulls in your TPT data and gives you dashboards and action lists. It literally tells you things like “update cover on this product” and then tracks how that change performs over time. It’s more of an investment, but really helpful if you’re ready to scale and want data-backed decisions instead of guessing.
Easy First Steps for Using Your TPT Data
You don’t have to become a full-time analyst to use your TPT data. Start small. For example, this week you could:
- Look at your top 10 products by earnings and make sure the covers and previews are strong.
- Go to the Activity tab and find three paid resources with no preview and create preview files for them.
- Check your Buyer Type and make a note of how much is coming from repeat buyers—then brainstorm one product line or bundle you could create to serve them better.
Those little data-informed tweaks add up over time. That’s exactly how my store has grown – one small change at a time, guided by what the numbers are telling me.
And if you’re ready to go deeper with your TPT business, I have a free training that walks you through setting up your store, creating resources that sell, and building consistent income – even if you’re short on time.
