Have you ever wondered if running ads on Teachers Pay Teachers is worth it?
TPT offers a feature called Promote Products, which functions like an internal advertising tool. I recently tested it out so I could share exactly how it works, what results I saw, and whether I’d recommend it to other sellers.
What Is the Promote Products Function on TPT?
Promote Products is TPT’s internal advertising option that allows sellers to pay for premium placement in search results. When a product is promoted, it appears at the very top of certain category searches in a section labeled Resources Sponsored by Teacher Authors.
In theory, this gives your resource maximum visibility before buyers scroll through organic listings.
You can access this feature inside your seller dashboard by going to Dashboard → Marketing → Promote Products. This is also where you schedule sales, so it’s part of TPT’s broader marketing toolkit.
While the idea sounds simple, it wasn’t the most user-friendly, in my opinion. The interface is clunky, and availability depends heavily on timing and category demand.
How the TPT Promotion Process Works
To promote a product, you first choose a subject category, then select a specific resource from your store, and finally pick an available date. TPT releases promotion slots up to three months in advance, and popular categories tend to sell out extremely fast. Many sellers report that slots open around the 19th of each month, and some are gone within minutes.
If a date is available, it shows as a green square on the calendar. Gray squares mean the slot is already taken. When I went to schedule my promotions, nearly all of the “good” dates were already sold out.
The Dates I Chose to Promote on TPT – and Why That Matters
Because availability was limited, I ended up choosing dates that weren’t ideal: December 15, December 20, and December 24. These were not peak buying days. Many teachers were already out of school or mentally checked out for winter break, which likely impacted performance.
That said, I intentionally chose these dates so I could test the system and share real data rather than speculate. If I had secured earlier or more strategic dates, the results might have been slightly better – but the overall experience still revealed important limitations.
What Results Did I Actually See When I Promoted Products on TPT?
Each promotion cost $5 per day, for a total spend of $15. Across all three days, I made two sales from one promoted product and earned $4.80 total. That means I lost money on the promotion itself.
The two sales happened on December 15, which was a Monday. Teachers were likely still in school and planning lessons, so that day performed better than the others. December 20 fell on a Saturday, which seasoned TPT sellers often refer to as “Slow Saturday,” and it lived up to the nickname. December 24, unsurprisingly, did not generate sales.
While those buyers could potentially become repeat customers, the promotion alone did not provide a positive return on investment.
Where Do Promoted Products Show Up in Search?
Promoted products appear in a large sponsored box at the top of certain category-based searches. However, visibility isn’t always consistent. Sponsored listings don’t always perfectly match the filters buyers select, and in some cases, the promoted products feel irrelevant to the search intent.
From a buyer’s perspective, these listings are very easy to scroll past, especially if they don’t closely align with what the teacher is looking for in that moment.
Would I Promote Products on TPT Again?
Personally, no.
Based on my experience, Promote Products was not a good use of my money. Between limited availability, lack of targeting control, and inconsistent relevance in search results, it didn’t deliver the kind of results I’d want from paid advertising.
I’ve also seen a general consensus within the TPT seller community that this feature is hit-or-miss at best, especially for smaller stores or sellers without a large ad budget.
A Smarter Way to Use Ads for Your TPT Store
If you’re interested in running ads, I strongly recommend looking outside of Teachers Pay Teachers. I personally run Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram), and they offer far more control and long-term benefits.
With Meta ads, you can drive traffic directly to low-priced TPT resources or send buyers to a freebie that builds your email list. Unlike TPT promotions, this allows you to create a system where buyers can come back again and again – rather than paying for one-time visibility.
At the end of the day, you can experiment with Promote Products if you’re curious and able to grab a good date, but based on real results, it’s not something I recommend relying on for growth.
Strong SEO, well-designed listings, and external traffic strategies are far more effective ways to build consistent sales on Teachers Pay Teachers.
If you want to learn how to get more eyes on your resources without wasting money, I have a free training that walks through proven strategies for growing a TPT store the smart way.
