Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 98

EDU

Print Profits

By Amy Harrop
EDU Print Profits

Legal Notice:
This eBook is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. You cannot
amend, distribute, sell, use, quote or paraphrase any part or the content
within this eBook without the consent of the author or copyright owner.
Legal action will be pursued if this is breached.

Disclaimer Notice:
Please note the information contained within this document is for
educational purposes only.

Every attempt has been made to provide accurate, up to date and reliable
complete information no warranties of any kind are expressed or implied.
Readers acknowledge that the author is not engaging in rendering legal,
financial or professional advice.

By reading any document, the reader agrees that under no circumstances


are we responsible for any losses, direct or indirect, which are incurred as a
result of use of the information contained within this document, including –
but not limited to errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.

i
EDU Print Profits

Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1

What Are Educational Printables? .................................................................................... 3

Selling EDU Printables Online ......................................................................................... 10

EDU Printables to Create ................................................................................................... 27

How to Create EDU Printables ........................................................................................ 51

Selling Your EDU Printables ............................................................................................. 72

Bundling Products ................................................................................................................ 83

Maximizing Your Profits..................................................................................................... 90

ii
EDU Print Profits

Introduction

Welcome to this training! One of the easiest ways to setup an income


stream is with low-content publishing. Creating coloring books, journals,
workbooks, and other low-content printed materials can be easy and
profitable.

One market where there’s a lot of demand is in printable educational


materials. Teachers and home-schoolers alike always need tools they can
use to educate kids, and creating many of these in-demand products is
simple once you know how. And I can teach you how to do it!

What You Will Learn in This Training

The goal of this book is to teach you everything you need to know to
conceptualize, create, sell, and market educational printables online.

I’ll start by giving you an overview of what qualifies as an educational


printable and why I think that creating these products is a profitable
venture. It’s not a print category that gets much attention, and yet
these products are in high demand.

After that, I’ll talk about selling EDU printables online, including where you
can sell them. Then we’ll review in detail the different products you can
create, and I’ll give you examples of each.

1
EDU Print Profits

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/October-Printables-First-Grade-Literacy-Math-and-Science-1434001

The next step is a walk-through of how to create different EDU printables,


including tips, tricks, information about the best tools to use, and sources
for clip art, vectors, and other useful components.

The last few chapters will focus on how to sell and promote the printables
you create. I’ve included information about where to sell your products, how
to get them noticed on social media, and how to create product bundles to
maximize your profits.

By the time you have finished, you’ll have all the information you need to
create and sell EDU printables online – and supplement or replace your
current income.

Let’s get started!

2
EDU Print Profits

What Are Educational Printables?

If you want to make money with self-publishing, you have a lot of options.
For example, you can create coloring books, journals, workbooks, and
other types of low-content books that you can turn around and sell quickly.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/83290967/

When most of us think of self-publishing, though, we may not think about


educational materials. Educational materials are a great source of
publishing income because this is a highly in-demand market.

3
EDU Print Profits

What Are Educational Printables?

An educational printable is, simply, a product that is designed to help


educate students. That’s the educational part of the word. A printable is a
product that’s designed to be downloaded and printed by the buyer instead
of being printed ahead of time and shipped to the customer. It is often low-
content where there is not a lot of writing, and there is room for student
response.

I like printables because the up-front cost of creating them is low. When
you’re ready to sell, you don’t need to pay a printer to print and
laminate your products. You can simply sell them on your website or an
online shop as a digital download.

There are many types of educational printables to consider. I’ll go into more
detail about these later in the book, but here’s a quick list of products that
fall into this category:
 Worksheets
 Journal pages
 Lesson plans
 Games
 Puzzles
 Flashcards

4
EDU Print Profits

In many cases, the educational printables you sell may be only one page.
You may – as we will discuss later – choose to bundle several printable
products together and sell them.

The main thing you need to know is that the educational printables
you create will be marketed to primarily teachers and parents. These
may include professional teachers who teach in public or private schools,
as well as parents who elect to homeschool their children.

Teachers and home-schooling parents are often looking for material they
can quickly and easily use with their students. Their workload is high, and
they do not have the time to create all their content from scratch.

That is where you come in! In addition to creating income streams for
yourself, you are also helping busy teachers and homeschoolers educate
their students. The key to creating an in-demand educational printable is to
consider what teachers need – and to know what they might not be able to
find elsewhere.

5
EDU Print Profits

https://www.etsy.com/listing/532551810/alphabet-trace-worksheets-
writing?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=education%20printables&ref=sr_gallery_9

Why Creating EDU Printables Can Be Profitable

Now that you know what EDU printables are, let’s talk about why I’m
enthusiastic about them as a business model. There are several reasons
that creating and selling educational printables makes sense.

High Demand
The first big argument for creating educational printables is that there is
high demand for them. As schools have embraced the Common Core
curriculum, textbook companies and educational publishers have been
slow to respond. That means that it can be challenging for educators to find
the classroom materials they need. Don’t know anything about Common
Core? Don’t worry; I’ve included a tutorial for you a little later in this
training.

6
EDU Print Profits

Because textbook publication lags behind the demand for new material,
there’s a real opportunity for people like you and me to earn money by
providing educational materials users need.

Low Content

Publishing books with a lot of written content is time-consuming. It’s


certainly possible to turn that kind of work into a paying gig, but it’s much
easier to do if you focus on low-content material that can be created
quickly.

Most educational printables are low-content. That means that the pages
aren’t densely printed. They may contain no more than a few words. Many
are attractively designed with clip art and other visual elements.

Easy to Create

The benefit of creating low-content material is that it can be done quickly.


You don’t need a lot of time or money to create valuable educational
materials.

Many of the tools and resources used to create the EDU printables are
free. Some are premium services, but even those don’t cost very much. In
other words, you can very quickly create an array of educational printables
to sell – and you don’t need to be a teacher or educator to be able to do it.

7
EDU Print Profits

High Profits

Finally, my favorite thing about creating EDU printables is that they are very
profitable. If you focus on popular topics, you can create something that will
be in demand from teachers and home schoolers across the country.
There are a number of people who have made thousands of dollars selling
education materials online.

For example, according to Business Insider: The top 10 sellers on one


of the most popular platforms have generated more than $5 million
in sales, netting around $4.4 million in total. And that is just one
platform…there are a number where you can sell your printables.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Halloween-Writing-Project-Make-a-Pet-Monster-Tons-of-Printables-307793

The cost of creating a single printable is low, especially if you use the free
tools and resources I’ll provide in this book. Once the printable is created,
there’s no limit to how many downloads of it you can sell. And – unlike

8
EDU Print Profits

other low-content print books – there are no up-front publication costs to


absorb.

What I hope you can see is that creating printable educational materials
is a quick and very easy way to create a stream of income. You don’t
need to be a teacher or have a lot of expertise in publishing to do it. All you
need is some guidance and the ability to learn.

9
EDU Print Profits

Selling EDU Printables Online

You probably already know about some online marketplaces. Almost


everybody has heard of places like Amazon and Etsy.

You can sell your printables on Etsy, but I also want to highlight some sites
that are specifically designed for educators. These sites offer you direct
access to the people who are most likely to need your products – and
be willing to pay for them. But let me answer one important question
about selling educational printables.

Do You Need to be a Teacher to Sell EDU Printables?

It’s natural to wonder whether you need to be a certified teacher to create


and sell the kinds of printables I’m talking about in this book.

The short answer is no, you do not need to be a teacher. The majority of
the platforms (including the ones I cover here) do not require you to prove
that you are a certified teacher to sell on them.

It is a good idea to establish your authority and credentials in any niche.


However, there’s more than one kind of experience and authority. Perhaps
you aren’t a science teacher, but you majored in biology in college. Maybe
you aren’t a writing teacher, but you’ve written a successful blog for several
years.

10
EDU Print Profits

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Prefixes-and-Suffixes-Plus-Roots-No-Prep-Printables-164836

Later in the chapter, we’ll talk about how to present your credentials
to establish your authority.

Overview of Sites Where You Can Sell Your Printable Products

There are several places where you can sell educational printables online.
Let’s review them and talk about the features and benefits of each. At the
end of this section you’ll also find a brief video walkthrough of each
site.

Teachers Pay Teachers


Teachers Pay Teachers is an online educational marketplace where
teachers and other educators can sell and share educational material. It
works in much the same way that Etsy does.

11
EDU Print Profits

After you create your products, you’ll have to sign up for an account, post
photographs of your printables, and set prices for them. Whenever you sell
a product, you’ll pay a commission to Teachers Pay Teachers.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-ULTIMATE-Printable-Phonics-Pack-2nd-Edition-1215351

TPT supports dozens of file types, far too many to list here. If you want the
full list, check their website here. Documents can only be 200MB (or 1GB if
you have a paid premium account). If the file is larger than that, you can
still add a listing, but you have to put the file itself on a third-party site
(which may require fees).

As for banned material, the list is fairly short. You can't include offensive
material, anything requiring additional steps or information to access (such
as passwords, requiring email addresses, etc.), links to other sales
channels and non-educational goods.

For more info, check here:


https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Help/Seller-Guidelines-27/What-is-

12
EDU Print Profits

and-isn-t-ok-to-post-on-TpT.

So, what does TPT specialize in that's also easy to make?

Printables, a fairly open category including anything that can be printed, is


an exceedingly popular section with bestsellers exceeding 8,000
downloads.

For example, this is a bundle with several printables that would be easy to
create, centered on starting a writing center:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Center-Starter-Kit-
Printables-246843.

This one may not be quite as educational as the others, but it's certainly
useful for teachers. It's a meme product that teachers can use to keep their
students' attention on classes:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Memes-Posters-
Editable-Back-to-School-Class-Rules-1330648.

13
EDU Print Profits

As stated above, this website literally sells over 100 categories, from
general activities to active board files. You can easily find an audience here
for educational printables.

Note: Teachers Pay Teachers does require the first item you upload to
be a freebie. Adding freebies to your shop is a great way to drive
traffic to your paid listings.

New Teacher Pay Teachers Option

One of the exciting new developments from Teacher Pay Teachers is


their option for publishers. They have recently decided to open up their
doors to publishers, which according to their terms, is anyone who is not an
educator or is selling content that they didn’t personally author (like a third-
party publishing house).

14
EDU Print Profits

While there are some differences between these accounts and other seller
accounts, most of the differences are relatively minor.

You can find more information here:


https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Signup/Seller/Publisher. You can
also browse their list of publishers here:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Publishers. As you can see,
many have taken up the opportunity to join this huge marketplace and get
their content out there.

Now, you might be wondering what the catch is, or if there are any
differences between this and other accounts. There is a difference in
payout rates. Publishers get 50% of all digital sales.

Regular seller accounts get 55%, but premium sellers get a much
larger 80% of all sales. While you don’t gain access to these higher
rates, you still get a generous 50%, and you don’t have to worry about
any annual fees, whereas the premium account is about $60 a year.

Another huge thing you might be thinking about is exposure. If someone


runs a search for a product, then yours will show up along with any others.
While it’s typically easy to tell the difference between a teacher and
publisher based on their name, Teachers Pay Teachers doesn’t make a
huge distinction between the two, and most buyers don’t care as long as
the content is good.

15
EDU Print Profits

This is a huge opportunity. Teachers Pay Teachers currently has over 8


million members, making it one of the biggest marketplaces in this
niche.

Teachers Notebook

Teachers Notebook is another popular site. If you choose a free account,


you’ll get to keep 75% of the purchase price of each product you sell. You’ll
also have to pay a $0.30 transaction fee for each purchase.

If you choose to, you may upgrade to a paid account. If you do, you’ll get to
keep 85% of the purchase price of each product you sell, and the
transaction fees are waived. You might want to start with the free
account and, if your products do well and you earn enough to justify
the upgrade, switch to the paid account to earn more.

http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/ErinThomson/symmetry-drawing-fall

16
EDU Print Profits

Educents

Educents is an online educational marketplace that is popular with


homeschoolers. It works like Teachers Notebook with a few key
differences.

For regular products listed on the site, you’ll keep 85% of the purchase
price with the remainder going to Educents as commission. However, they
also offer “Daily Deal” products which are highlighted on the site. If one of
your products is featured, you’ll retain only 50% of the purchase price (but
you may make up for the difference in increased sales volume.)

Educents has positioned itself in quite an interesting corner when it comes


to educational supplies. They primarily sell the parents and homeschoolers,
but they do have a significant share of teachers who purchase items
through them. Also, they mostly specialize in physical products. They also
offer digital products, but you make a smaller commission on these. For
information on what file types they accept, along with general questions,
check this page: http://educentsacademy.com/faq-for-new-sellers/.

This website accepts most products that are educational or meant to


supplement or enhance students or parents/teachers. When it comes to
digital products, you can upload files up to 1GB in size.

As this website specializes in the homeschool market, the most popular


products tend to be all-in-ones that provide a comprehensive look at certain
17
EDU Print Profits

topics or grade levels, along with printed books and specialty products for
learning disabilities or unusual topics. The majority of these sell best as
physical products, but some can be converted to digital ones.

Printed books may be a little harder for non-teachers, but you can make it
easier for yourself by focusing on specific topics. Instead of a book that
spans hundreds of pages, you can make a smaller one around 20 to 50
pages based on only one topic (this is especially true if you target lower
grades).

Depending on the grade level, you can put together content entirely
composed of words or one with illustrations. Here’s an example of a book
series that is selling quite well: https://www.educents.com/life-of-fred-
elementary-math-series.html.

Teacher Lingo

Teacher Lingo is another online marketplace with free and premium


membership options.
18
EDU Print Profits

If you opt for the free membership, you’ll receive 65% of the purchase price
for each product you sell. However, if you upgrade to the paid membership
for $49 per year, your percentage will increase to 85%. Given the
membership’s low price, the upgrade makes sense if you decide to use this
site.

Though this website claims to have only real teachers create and sell
products, there is nothing in their terms that require you to actually be a
teacher, nor do you have to submit a teacher’s certification.

Therefore, non-teachers should have no problem uploading and selling


products. Unlike the other websites with a massive number of paid
products, it might be a little harder to make a profit here due to their
structure, but you can still edge out some of the market to accumulate
some sales.

The bread and butter here seems to be short printables that are generally
just a few pages and tend to range from $1 to $5 in sale price. You can
upload over 200 different file types to accomplish this, for more info check
here: http://teacherlingo.com/user/selectmembership.aspx

The problem you might run into is that the website’s search functionality
prefers free downloads, but you can take advantage of that by having a
few free products that later lead people to your paid products.

19
EDU Print Profits

Most of the products on TeacherLingo are smaller and simpler than those
found on the other websites, since competition is small and soft here. For
example, one of their most popular products is this free printable about first
grade reading:
http://teacherlingo.com/resources/items/first_grade_reading_comprehension_
worksheets_w_free_song.aspx.

As you can see, this type of document would be easy to create with nearly
any type of software. Other examples include
http://teacherlingo.com/resources/items/second_grade_reading_comprehensi
on_worksheets_w_free_song.aspx and
http://teacherlingo.com/resources/items/third_grade_reading_comprehension_
worksheets_w_free_song.aspx.

20
EDU Print Profits

The grade levels seem evenly dispersed, but the majority of sales seem to
occur within the K-10 area, with low dips in sixth grade.

While most of the products are priced on the low side, this also means that
there is very little competition in the premium market, or those over $10. For
comparison, there are 1,200 products in the $1-$2 range and 1,900 in the $2
to $5, but less than 200 in the $10 and higher price field. This represents a
small market with high potential for growth.

The majority of these products are workbooks and activities and games. For
example, there is this lesson plan about Buddhism:
http://teacherlingo.com/resources/items/siddhartha-lesson-plans.aspx
and this collection of reading games:
http://teacherlingo.com/resources/items/rainbow-reading-games.aspx.

Etsy

Etsy isn’t an educational site, but it is a huge online marketplace where


people go looking for a variety of products. The benefit of selling on Etsy is
that you’ll be able to attract traffic due to their SEO advantage.

There are other good reasons to sell your printables on Etsy. For example,
Etsy’s listing fees and commissions are lower than the other sites I
have mentioned. You’ll pay a $0.20 listing fee for each product and a
3.5% transaction fee to Etsy when it sells. You’ll also pay a 3% plus $0.25
payment processing fee for each sale.

21
EDU Print Profits

All told, these fees add up to 6.5% plus $0.45 for each product. Depending
on your prices, that might be significantly less than you could expect to pay
on other sites.

While most people know Etsy for arts and crafts (and there are many
teacher resources based on that, check here for common products:
https://www.etsy.com/search?q=teacher%20resources), there are also
many educational materials for sale.

Both physical products and digital downloads are available, so it’s up to you
to determine which is best. Since Etsy has grown into a large entity, you
can find a good mix of teachers and homeschoolers here, and you are
allowed to have a lot of creative freedom.

What sells well on Etsy? Flash cards are a popular item!These are
probably the easiest items to make. At the simplest, you just have to write a
word on one side and the meaning on the other.

22
EDU Print Profits

If you have some design ability, then you can also add graphics and
pictures. Either way, these are incredibly easy to make, and teachers eat
them up. Students also find them very useful as they can be used over and
over, and tend to be great for memorization and learning.

Educational games are also popular. This Halloween word game be both is
an example of being creative and educational at the same time:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/468827168/halloween-word-riddle-game-
printable?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gal
lery&ga_search_query=teacher worksheet&ref=sr_gallery_3.

As you can see, there is a lot of color here and some nice designs that
children will love, while also being fun and educational. Even if you aren’t

23
EDU Print Profits

very good at designing, you can easily add some flair with colors and
shapes for the same effect.

While the above are the most popular sites, there are a several smaller
ones and new ones coming out periodically. Here are some additional
sites to sell educational content:
 https://hootofloot.com/
 http://www.buysellteach.com/
 http://www.teachwise.com/

In this video overview of the sites covered, I go over how to setup


your account and get started : https://amyharrop.com/eduvid

If you’re wondering about Amazon, I haven’t included it here because it’s


not really a place where you can sell stand-alone printable products.

There are some educational printables available there, but they mostly
come packaged with a physical product.

Amazon can be a good choice if you want to pair a physical product with
printables, but there are places that are better suited to selling printables on
their own. Of course, you can bundle your printables and repackage them
as a book you sell on Amazon. I’ll share some bundling strategies later in
this training.

24
EDU Print Profits

Tips for Highlighting Your Experience and Credentials

To close out the chapter, let’s talk about what you can do to highlight your
experience and credentials. Here are some tips to help you.

In addition, the terms of service for most of these sites require you provide
accurate information about yourself, so these aren’t the platforms where
you want to create an avatar or provide false information.

First, focus on your experience. The printables you create will be more
appealing if you create them in an area where you have some education or
practical experience. For example, if you’re a writer, you’ll want to highlight
your writing experience as you market grammar worksheets or journal
prompts..

Second, highlight anything you’ve done that might be considered


teaching. For example, were you put in charge of a training program at
work? Do you teach Sunday School on the weekends? Were you a tutor in
college? These things demonstrate that you understand that subjects must
be broken down to be understand and can reassure potential customers
that they can trust your products.

Third, talk about any experience you have looking after children. If
you’re a parent, then you can talk about the things you’ve helped your kids
learn. If you’re an aunt, uncle, family friend, or babysitter, you can share
what you learned from those experiences.

25
EDU Print Profits

Fourth, share your education. You don’t have to have had hands-on
experience teaching something, but if you majored in Physics or French
Literature and that’s relevant to what you’re selling, make sure to share it.

I hope you get the idea. Your job is to present any information or
experience that underscores why parents or teachers should trust you to
create worthwhile educational products.

26
EDU Print Profits

EDU Printables to Create

When it’s time to decide what kind of EDU printables to create, you have
plenty of choices.

In this chapter, I’ll review the main types of printables you can create and
show you examples of each. I’ll also give you an overview of some of the
most popular niches to consider. At the end of the chapter, I’ll give you
some tips about how to find top selling products in popular niches.

Types of Content to Create

Let’s start by talking about the types of educational content you can create.
In each category, I’ll give you at least one example and talk a little bit about
what you’ll need to do to create an in-demand product.

Worksheets

Worksheets are always popular, and you can make them in any subject
that kids might study. For example, you might make worksheets for:

 Math
 Science
 Grammar
 Foreign languages
 Government/social studies

27
EDU Print Profits

 Health
 Music
 Art
 Writing

Here is an example of worksheets that teach reading comprehension to


young children:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Read-and-Sequence-NO-PREP-Packet-Set-1-1668935

As you can see, this is actually a set of 36 printables that are bundled
together for sale. Later in the book, I’ll share some information about how
to bundle and price printables to improve your sales and attract customers.

When designing a worksheet, you’ll want to keep the worksheet to one


topic or at the very least, to a set of related topics. It should be designed to
help kids learn one skill or put one theory into practice. If you try to include

28
EDU Print Profits

too much, it muddies the water and may make your worksheet less
desirable to teachers and parents.

Flashcards

Next, you may want to consider making sets of flashcards. People can and
do sell printed flashcards, but you don’t need fancy lamination or card stock
to sell flashcards for students of all ages, as you can sell them digitally.

Flashcards are intended to be study guides. They can be helpful for


memorizing things like multiplication tables, vocabulary, important dates, or
parts of speech. Even very young children can use flashcards to learn
shapes, colors, and days of the week.

Here’s an example from a set of printable math flashcards that are


designed to help young children learn addition. You can see that the design
is quite simple but still attractive:

https://www.helpingwithmath.com/resources/online_flashcards/flashcard_addition01.htm

29
EDU Print Profits

When you’re designing flashcards, the key is to put one problem or piece of
information per card. These are designed to be quick study guides to aid
students with memorization. They don’t need to be fancy, but they should
be clean-looking and have large enough print to be legible at a distance.

Games and Puzzles

Kids learn better when teachers find ways to make learning fun and
interesting. One of the best ways to do that is to turn education into a
game. Some games may be designed for the whole class to play together,
while others may be puzzles confined to one page that each student may
work on alone.

Any games or puzzles you create should be designed to teach something,


whether it’s a mathematical concept, a scientific principle, or a rule of
grammar. A game without an educational bent to it may be sellable but it’s
not suitable for this category.

Here’s a collection of games called Brain Breaks. These are designed for
teachers to use in the classroom with the purpose of helping students focus
on their work.

30
EDU Print Profits

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brain-Breaks-229497

The product description explains that the games may be used to transition
from one lesson to the next, to refocus the class, to raise or lower their
energy, or to build camaraderie and improve teamwork.

Journal Pages

Journal pages and journals are popular because kids need to learn how to
express themselves in writing. While the internet has changed written
communication with its use of hashtags and emoji, it’s still necessary to be
able to write clearly.

Journaling can also help students learn how to organize their thoughts, do
research, and improve their facility with language. Here again, you could
create stand-alone journal pages with prompts or instructions or create a
bundle of pages to sell. Here’s an example of the latter:
31
EDU Print Profits

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Response-Journals-2612523

You can see that this product includes some extras, too, including divider
tabs and mini lesson plans. When you are creating printable journal
pages (or any printable product) you don’t need to confine yourself to
the main product. Adding extras like these can help justify a higher
price and increase your profits.

Lesson Plans

While some teachers create their own lesson plans and others use plans
mandated by their school districts, some seek out printable lesson plans to
use in the classroom. And, as you might expect, printable lesson plans are
very popular with parents who homeschool their children.

32
EDU Print Profits

Lesson plans may be arranged by subject and grade. For example, you
might create a series of lesson plans designed to help kids learn about
fractions or one to help them learn about American history.

Here is an example of a set of lesson plans to teach kids about Earth Day.
As you can see, these are for children in kindergarten through third grade.
The creator made Earth Day lesson plans for kids of varying ages but
bundled them together for sale. A bundle like this might be especially useful
to a homeschooling parent with more than one child – or for someone who
wanted to get a few years’ worth of Earth Day lessons all at once.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-Day-230221

Exams and Quizzes

It’s always helpful to teachers, whether they’re in a public school, a private


school, or at home, to have a way to measure their students’ progress in a

33
EDU Print Profits

subject. That’s why most educators give regular tests and quizzes to their
students.

Creating exams and quizzes requires you to research a topic thoroughly


and use what you find to create your printable products. Many people who
sell educational products do a whole range of products.

For example, they might create math lesson plans, math worksheets, math
flashcards, and math quizzes. All the products they create are designed to
work with each other to help teachers educate the children in their care.

Here’s an example of a series of assessment tests aimed at 2nd grade


Common Core mathematics students:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-Grade-Common-Core-Math-Assessment-BUNDLE-377579

You don’t have to create quizzes that are this comprehensive, but if you are
creating content around a topic, you may also want to create quizzes.

34
EDU Print Profits

Each one of these printable types is something you can create. Some
require more time and knowledge than others. For example, creating
journal pages and flashcards is relatively simple compared to creating
lesson plans or tests. You can choose the formats that most appeal to you
and best suit your skills and interests.

Overview of Popular Niches

One of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs who want to sell


educational printables is choosing the best niche for what they are doing.
With so many options, it can be hard to narrow your choices and pick a
niche. With that in mind, let’s run through some of the most popular niches
so you can get an idea of where to focus your attention.

Common Core

What is Common Core?

For decades, every school at every level has had standards to uphold.
While every subject is treated with respect, the two that teachers have
been most concerned about is English and math. Without the ability to
properly read, write and perform simple mathematics, people will often do
poorly at school, college, work and life.

35
EDU Print Profits

This is why Common Core was formed. By creating a unified standard that
is both evidence-based and teacher-backed, students were encouraged to
learn at specific speeds and to understand certain subjects and ways of
solving problems.

These standards are regularly updated and maintained by the NGA Center,
or National Governors Association, and CCSSO, or Council of Chief State
School Officers. Currently, 40+ states are using Common Core with the
intent of raising educational standards throughout the country

You should be familiar with the Common Core standards in order to


target your educational printables and get more buyers.

For example, let's say that you make a very basic worksheet with fractions.
Nearly every educational marketplace requires that you specify what grade
level the materials are for. Even for those that don't, it's good to specify this
so that teachers know if what they are buying will suit their needs. So, what
do you mark your fractions worksheet as?

Many people find fractions difficult, so maybe you should market it towards
a higher grade, like sixth grade. Well, that's a problem. According to
Common Core, sixth graders should no longer be focusing on fractions
(though they may be doing advanced work with them), and instead should
be working on ratios and statistics.

36
EDU Print Profits

Since you made it about basic fractions, maybe second graders will be able
to understand it. Wrong again. They are still doing the most basic
mathematical equations along with intros to algebra and geometry. The
ideal grade for very basic fractions would be third or fourth grade, but fifth
grade could be good as well. You can see a little more about what is
expected of students here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Core_State_Standards_Initiative

Common Core demands specific information be shown in a specific way


so that students can properly understand the concepts and move on to the
next level. While Common Core is just considered a guideline, it's followed
very carefully by the majority of teachers due to its successes and
evidence-based approach.

Creating Materials That Adhere to Common Core

Before going any further, it's important that you read the Common Core
standards, which can be found here: http://www.corestandards.org/read-
the-standards/. This website succinctly lays out what each grade is
expected to learn and how they are expected to perform based on the
subject.

For example, if you check literary concepts that seconds graders should be
working on, you'll see that teachers should be asking about the five W's
(who, what, where, when and why). Students should also be able to pick

37
EDU Print Profits

out key sections of the text and show comprehensive understanding of the
words and structure of the literature.

Again, you are not expected to be the authority on Common Core, but your
educational materials and printables should show the basic concepts being
utilized. Since this guide is writing using plain language, you should have
no problem understanding what is expected of students depending on
subject and grade level.

While it may seem like each grade is its own separate entity, learning only
certain things and nothing else, the truth is that the best way to make
money is to create materials that are good for several grade levels. If
you only market your materials as suitable for third graders, then you'll
attract that crowd exclusively. However, if you can craft a worksheet or
flash cards that are good for grades 2-5, then you instantly open up
your pool of buyers and make your material more searchable and
profitable.

For example, let's look at this overview of Operations and Algebraic


Thinking: http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/OA/. Just briefly
looking at grades K-2, you'll find that all three grades should be able to
perform adding and subtracting within 10 (with first and second grade being
able to go up to 20). So, you can make materials that include adding and
subtraction up to 10 or 20 and easily market it to several grades.

38
EDU Print Profits

After making your educational materials, you'll want to upload them and
add keywords to make it more searchable. While it's best to analyze
relevant keywords and see what is and isn't working, there are a few you
should definitely add so that teachers know what they are getting.

Be sure to include what grade levels the materials are for, their subject or
subjects (such as geometry or literature), and that they adhere to Common
Core. These three are essential just to ensure that you get good buyers.

Common Core Resources

These are some of the best websites and resources you can use to better
understand Common Core, what it achieves; how to abide by the
guidelines, and just how to create better materials for educators.

 Common Core Standards (http://www.corestandards.org/): The official


website for Common Core, you can read the standards and
understand what is expected of students based on their grade level.

 Mathematical Musings (http://commoncoretools.me/): A regularly


updated blog that covers Common Core and new changes, tools and
implementation. Great for the nitty-gritty information.

 Teach Thought (https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/50-common-


core-resources-for-teachers/): A wonderful list of 50 relevant websites
that can help you learn more about Common Core.

39
EDU Print Profits

Special Needs

One of the most popular niches is special needs. While most schools have
textbooks and educational materials aimed at neurotypical kids, many are
lacking in resources for kids who have learning disabilities, emotional
problems, or other challenges that affect their educational experience.

If you have a child who has autism or work in a classroom with students
who have special needs, then creating educational materials to help them
can be both rewarding and profitable. Here’s an example of an educational
bundle that provides positive reinforcement to kids with autism:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Working-Cards-Positive-Reinforcement-Pack-for-
Students-with-Special-Needs-590343

The person who created this product has a host of other products in this
same niche. Because most products are aimed at neurotypical kids, both
teachers and homeschoolers in this niche are hungry for quality products
they can use.

40
EDU Print Profits

These aren’t just strictly school-based topics, they can range from social skills
and coping mechanisms to make common tasks easier for them and parents.
This product talks about changes in routine:
(https://www.educents.com/social-story-unit-changes-in-routine-it-s-different-
today.html).

As you can see, it’s a fairly short product, but it’s full of graphics that make it
easier for autistic people to grasp and comprehend. Most of the bestsellers
follow similar formats.

Minecraft

There are also specialty topics that aren’t quite within a normal school
curriculum, but still educational in focus. The most common products in this
category tend to concern computer coding and modding, especially in
regards to Minecraft.

Here’s one such product: https://www.educents.com/minecraft-modding-


fundamentals.html. You can get an overview of this hot niche here, with
my Minecraft niche research report bonus: CLICK HERE

Most people who know kids know at least one child who is obsessed with
Minecraft. It’s a popular computer game that allows kids to create buildings,
bridges, and other structures using simple blocks made of a variety of
materials.

41
EDU Print Profits

It might be tempting to fight against using a computer game as a teaching


tool, but there’s a reason that Minecraft-themed printables are popular.
Teachers know that if they can wrap a lesson around something that their
students already like, they have a better chance of getting their point
across than they would with a dry lesson. Minecraft appeals to kids and it
can help them learn.

To give you an idea of the kinds of products that might fall into this niche,
here’s an example of Minecraft-themed learning games aimed at children in
kindergarten, first grade, and second grade

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Minecraft-Themed-Learning-Games-1290497

Of course, Minecraft isn’t the only kid-friendly theme you could choose.
However, if you decide to piggyback on a popular game, book, or
character, make sure to check licensing requirements before you proceed.
You don’t want to run into copyright problems after you’ve already invested
your time and energy into creating a product.

42
EDU Print Profits

Holidays

The next niche you may want to consider is holiday-themed educational


material. Most teachers enjoy tying their lessons and classroom activities to
holidays and seasons. It’s a way of connecting the classroom to the outside
world and, also, a way of harnessing the excitement kids feel about
holidays.

I already showed you an Earth Day product, but you may also want to
consider creating printables that are seasonal. For example, you might
do autumn or winter themed products. Holidays to consider include
Christmas, Hanukah, Thanksgiving, Easter, Memorial Day, and New
Year’s.

Here’s an example of a Thanksgiving-themed product being sold on


Teachers Pay Teachers:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Math-and-Literacy-Activities-101455

43
EDU Print Profits

This product combines math and literacy, tying every lesson to the
Thanksgiving theme. You can see why this might be appealing to both
parents and teachers.

Alphabet Tracing Pages


Young children have to learn how to write and what each letter sounds like
and means, so these books are both very useful for children and very
popular with parents. They are able to teach children while still being fun.
Teachers like them as well because they keep students entertained.

You typically just need one or two pages for each letter, and be sure to
include both uppercase and lowercase. At its most basic, these have letter
outlines (typically as a dotted line) and children are expected to draw the
shape with their pencil. Others usually have a small image for each letter to
help children understand the letter and associate it with words.

For example, A might have a picture of an apple and then say “A is for
apple.” The design work is very basic and easy to accomplish. Books for
older children who are perfecting their understanding of the alphabet may
omit the graphics, or just make them smaller.

This allows you to put more room for letters, which lets the children trace it
more times without running out of room. In general, the larger and more
prominent the graphics, the more it targets younger children. Smaller
graphics are best for older children who are mastering the alphabet.

44
EDU Print Profits

Many of these books also include a small section of numbers at the end.
However, you can also make a whole tracing book just about numbers and
target the same audience. Just be sure to make the designs fun so that
children actually like using your book.

You can use either random graphics that are associated to common and
easy words (like apple, bee, carrot, etc.), or you can use designs centered
around a niche, for example, dinosaurs, animals, sports or oceans and sea
life.

http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/trace.htm

How to Find Top Sellers and Popular Niches

To close out the chapter, let’s talk about how to research some of the top
selling products and niches in the world of educational printables. Research
is important because it can help you:

 Understand the marketplace


 Learn what teachers and parents are buying
45
EDU Print Profits

 Learn what kids like


 Identify gaps in the available products

The last point is in many ways the most important. If you can identify an
area where there are few available products, or if you have an idea for a
sub-niche, you may be able to get in on the ground floor. Creating a
product that doesn’t already exist in some form can be highly profitable and
rewarding.

With that in mind, here are some ideas to help you research products and
niches and find the gaps that can turn into opportunities for you.

Website Categories

One of the easiest ways to get an idea of what’s selling and what’s not is
simply to look at the categories listed on websites like Teachers Pay
Teachers and Etsy.

For example, here’s a list of the subjects on Teachers Pay Teachers. This
is only a partial list, but it gives you an idea of where most of their products
are.

46
EDU Print Profits

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Type-of-Resource/Printables

These topics can help you learn about what area your printables should
cover. You can also try looking on Etsy, Amazon, and some of the other
sites I listed earlier to get an idea of what products are bestsellers.

Google

Another option to try is using Google’s suggestions to help you find


potential niches. If you start typing something on Google, you’ve probably
noticed that the search box opens and shows you a list of popular search
terms. Those terms can help guide you to a niche you may not have
considered before.

Here’s an example of what Google provided when I started to type the


keyword “printable flashcards” into the search box:

47
EDU Print Profits

www.google.com

You can see that addition, alphabet, and sight words cards are popular.You
may have to try several variations of a keyword before you find something
that interests you, but this is an easy way to get ideas for your printables.

Piggybacking on Ideas

Sometimes, the options available in a printable category may lead you in


the direction of the product you want to create. Let’s look at an example.

I clicked on the Art History category on Teachers Pay Teachers to see what
was available. This is a partial view of what I found:

48
EDU Print Profits

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Type-of-Resource/Printables/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Art-History

As you can see, there are two options here for Picasso Portrait Drawing
and Op Art. What I don’t see – at least not in the first few pages – is any
kind of art history lesson based on the paintings of Frida Kahlo or Claude
Monet. The absence of any products to teach students about these artists
points to an opportunity for me.

I hope you get the idea. Popular search terms and product categories can
give you the inspiration you need to create a product that will appeal to
teachers, parents, and kids.

49
EDU Print Profits

You can watch a video going over niche selection here:


https://amyharrop.com/eduvid

Now that you know a little something about how to get ideas for your very
first educational printable product, it’s time to get into the details of how to
create these products. That’s what we’ll talk about in the next chapter.

50
EDU Print Profits

How to Create EDU Printables

Creating educational printable products is, as I have said already, easy to


do. It’s far less time-consuming to create a series of worksheets or a set of
flashcards than it is to write a textbook or how-to manual.

In this chapter, I’m going to share some of my favorite free tools and
resources with you. I’ll also give you tips on how to create many of the
specific product types we have discussed so far.

Copyright

In this section I want to address any copyright issues with many of the
popular education sites. For the most part you can use your own content,
or content you have the rights to. This is very powerful, because it
means you can incorporate templates, Private Label Rights or
rebrandable content, or even public domain content.

We will go through the policy of the main educational websites so that you
know what you are able to do. Not only will using this content make your
job easier and faster, it can also make your products more recognizable to
students or teachers.

Teachers Pay Teachers


According to the Teachers Pay Teachers policy
(https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Help/Copyright-Trademark/What-is-
TpT-s-policy?aref=1frtr551) all content should fall into one of two
51
EDU Print Profits

categories: original content that you created yourself from scratch, and
content that you have the right to use. Since the first category is self-
explanatory, we’ll dive a little deeper into the second one.

This includes public domain content, content that you have a license
for commercial use, explicit authorization from the original creator or
any content that falls under fair use. If you fail to obtain the proper
license or authorization either by contacting the original creator or
purchasing a license and checking all the terms of use, then the infringing
product may be removed from the website and your store closed.

If using any PLR, it should be modified so it is more unique, and just to


improve the value of your product. This will dramatically reduce the
likelihood of someone assuming that your licensed content was “stolen,”
and it will prevent potential buyers from seeing that same content
associated to other products.

Teachers Notebook
The copyright policy of Teachers Notebook can be found here
(https://www.teachersnotebook.com/copyright/). According to their policy,
you must obtain authorization to use any copyrighted material. However,
public domain material can be used freely (as long as you ensure that it
truly is public domain, always be careful). Be sure to properly show
authorization if you intend on using copyrighted material by getting
permission from the copyright holder.

52
EDU Print Profits

The copyright policy here is very straightforward and easy to understand.


You do not have to use your own original content as long as you take the
proper steps to either modify public domain or PLR content, or if you obtain
permission from the creator.

Educents
You can find Educents’s merchant policy here, which lays out their terms
for using copyrighted material: (http://educentsacademy.com/educents-
merchant-terms-of-use/). Look under section 3.3 for the information.

According to their policy, any merchant will only use content that either he
or she holds the copyright to, or content that has express permission from
the original content holder. You must properly obtain and then display any
authorization from the other copyright holder if you use third-party
materials.

There is no express mention of public domain or licenses. However, even


though nothing here says that you can use public domain and PLR, there is
nothing saying that your content must exclusively be made by you. It only
says that you cannot violate copyright and that you must have authorization
to use the content.

Public domain does not have a copyright anymore since it has expired, and
licensed material can be lawfully used by you. Since the policy does not
specifically say that you must be the original creator, you should have no

53
EDU Print Profits

problem using PLR or public domain content. Make it unique in some way
so that you can claim the copyright for adding your own touches.

Teacher Lingo
Teacher Lingo makes it a little harder to find their copyright policy since
there's no direct link to it, but when signing up for a seller account, you
must mark a checkbox say that you agree to the policy and there will be a
link there that makes the policy appear on your screen.

The Teacher Lingo copyright policy is somewhat vague in that it doesn’t


say much about what you can and cannot use. It mostly says that you
agree not to submit content that violates another creator’s intellectual
property rights. However, the policy does not say that you have to be the
original creator. Therefore, you should be safe with public domain content
and modified PLR and licensed content so that you can claim the copyright.

Etsy
Much like Teacher Lingo, Etsy doesn’t say much about what can and
cannot be used, but their wording is clearer. You can find their terms here:
(https://www.etsy.com/legal/terms-of-use#yourcontent). According to their
terms, you must ensure that you have all necessary rights to the content
that you are uploading. You must also ensure that you are not violating
anyone’s rights.

Since use of public domain does not violate copyright, and because you
have legally obtained a license to use PLR content, you should have no

54
EDU Print Profits

problem using either in your products. Be sure to obtain authorization for


third-party copyrighted material.

Etsy typically won’t close your store at the first sign of infringement, but
they are still very strict about copyright usage and violation. Just be careful
and ensure that you are doing everything properly before using content that
you didn’t originally create.

Tools to Use
To create educational printables, you need the right tools. If you’re a
graphic designer by profession or have a lot of experience designing
printables, you might not need my advice in this area. But for those of you
who are new to this, I want to share the tools that I use to create printables
that look appealing.

Canva

Canva is an online tool that you can use to create many types of content for
the educational market. They have a free option (you can sign up with
Facebook) and a premium option. As you might expect, the premium
membership gives you access to additional photos and design elements,
the ability to collaborate online, and more. However, for most needs, the
free option is likely to be sufficient.

Canva has many free templates in different categories. You can use the
templates as they are, or you can edit them to suit your needs. To get an

55
EDU Print Profits

idea of the kind of things they have available, let’s take a look at one of
their templates for a math worksheet.

https://www.canva.com/templates/posters/MACY0kPIOw8-white-and-purple-geometric-math-games-worksheet/

This is a nice-looking math worksheet. It has some color and geometric


design elements, but you can change those if you want to. In fact, you can
change almost anything on this template so that it suits your needs,
including:

 The text
 The font
 The background colors
 The textures
 The shapes

56
EDU Print Profits

That’s one of the reasons I like Canva. It takes most of the guesswork out
of creating a template, but at the same time, it provides users with a lot of
freedom to create unique and appealing designs.

Checkout this short video on Canva and their licensing requirements:


https://amyharrop.com/eduvid

PowerPoint

Perhaps you’d prefer not to use an online tool to design your EDU
printables. Another favorite of mine is PowerPoint. While it was originally
intended to be used for business presentations, it’s very easy-to-use
software that you can bend to suit your purposes.

You may already have PowerPoint on your computer. If you subscribe to


Microsoft Office, it’s part of their regular suite of software along with
Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

Like Canva, PowerPoint has many built-in templates that you can use to
create your printable products. One nice feature is that you can use
PowerPoint to search online templates in many categories, including
education. It will also link to templates in other Microsoft products, including
Word, Excel, and Publisher. For example, Microsoft Word has several
flashcard templates you can use.

57
EDU Print Profits

I particularly like PowerPoint for creating multiple products with the


same design. It’s easy to create a new slide using the same template as
one you’ve completed and that can streamline the process and make it
easy. Here are a few places you can find free templates for Powerpoint and
Word:
https://templates.office.com/en-us/Education
http://www.free-power-point-templates.com/category/ppt-by-
topics/education/

Other Tools to Consider

Canva and PowerPoint are two of my favorite tools to use for making
educational printables, but here are some others to consider.

1. Adobe makes several software options that are good for graphic
designers, including Photoshop and Illustrator. They cost of these
tools may be more than you want to pay, but they can certainly help

58
EDU Print Profits

you create professional-looking and appealing designs if you can


afford them.

2. Tiff is an online tool you can use to figure out the most attractive fonts
to use on your printables. It supports most standard fonts and all
fonts in the Google library.

3. Pictaculous is a tool you can use to choose a color palette for your
designs. It’s a good way to get an idea of what different colors will
look like when put together and it can help you make good design
choices.

4. Instacontent Generator This is my drag and drop tool that makes it


easy to create simple printables fast! It’s easy to use and you can
save and reload templates.

Resources for Creating Specific Types of Edu Printables

In this section I’m going to share specific tools you can use to create your
printables. Also, I have a very valuable resource for you: my specialty
list of curated facts and resources for children’s content creation. This
makes it easy to grab whatever content you need without having to spend a
ton of time with research. You can download it here: https://amyharrop.com/fedu

59
EDU Print Profits

Tips for Making Puzzles

Creating puzzles for kids is easy and fun if you know how to do it. Most kids
love doing puzzles, and teachers like them because they encourage logical
thinking and creativity – both important skills in and out of the classroom.
They also encourage hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, shape
recognition, memory, and other skills.

The key to creating puzzles is to make them age-appropriate. A


crossword puzzle for very young children should have simple clues and
vocabulary. You can include a couple of harder words to challenge
students, but most of the answers should be words they know.

The same is true of word searches. These puzzles can be used to teach
kids vocabulary and spelling, but using words that are too long and
complex can backfire on you.

Other puzzle types to consider making include mazes, logic problems,


connect the dots, rebuses (picture words), and word games that
incorporate rhyming and other literary devices.

60
EDU Print Profits

https://www.etsy.com/listing/488509811/monsters-dragons-heroes-printable-
puzzle?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=printable%20puzzles&ref=sr_gallery_7

When you’re creating a puzzle, you’ll want to make sure that it’s visually
attractive and easy to read. Don’t use small text or crowd the page. These
things can make your puzzle difficult to use and enjoy. Remember that
white space is your friend.

Many puzzles for kids have a thematic element. You may find that you
have a lot of success selling holiday-themed word searches, for example.
You can also make puzzles organized around other ideas, like animal
names, colors, or countries. The most important thing to do is to keep the
learning aspect of the puzzles you create at the front of your mind.

Puzzle-Maker is a free site that you can use to create crossword puzzles
and word searches. All you need to do is enter your clues and the answers,
and the site will create a crossword puzzle. For a word search, just enter
the list of words you want to include. And, you can use these for

61
EDU Print Profits

commercial use as well. Here is an image to give you an idea of what you
can do with their templates:

https://www.puzzle-maker.com/Example-Puzzles.htm

Here are a few other puzzle resources to consider:


1. Puzzle Maker (Discovery Education) is a free puzzle maker for
educational purposes

2. Crossword Express is an online crossword puzzle tool

3. Anagram Genius makes – you guessed it – anagrams for educational


purposes

4. Web Sudoku has Sudoku puzzles with publishing options

5. Maze Generator can help you create mazes (you’ll have to pay a fee
if you plan to publish in a book)

These are just a few of the online tools available. Before you use any
online template or puzzle creator, check to make sure that you are allowed

62
EDU Print Profits

to use them for commercial purposes. Some sites require attribution and
others require fees, so make sure that you protect yourself before using
them.

I also want to give you this list of sites where you can find themed
word lists. These can be helpful for word search and crossword puzzle
creation, but they may also be useful for flashcards and other printable
products:
http://thewordsearch.com/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/fun-activities-word-searches-themes-
subjects-3925-2-1
http://www.english-for-students.com/Words-by-Theme.html
http://www.englishvocabularyexercises.com/vocab-categories.htm
https://www.thegamegal.com/printables/
http://www.homespellingwords.com/themed-list
http://www.psychpage.com/learning/library/assess/feelings.html
http://www.word-buff.com/word-lists.html
http://www.words-to-use.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_English_words
http://www.shakespeareswords.com/List-of-Themes
http://www.outpost9.com/files/WordLists.html
https://www.seattlescrabble.org/study.php

Puzzles offer you the opportunity to be creative and have fun while creating
something that’s useful to parents, teachers, and kids.

63
EDU Print Profits

Tips for Making Flashcards

Flashcards are popular with kids, teachers, and parents as easy-to-use


study tools that can help kids memorize new information and prepare for
tests.

As I mentioned before, the information on each flashcard should be


limited to one problem or piece of information. They’re meant to be
used to aid with quick memorization and recall, not to teach complex ideas.

Keep in mind that your flashcards need to have both a front and back
design. The front should feature the problem or the item to be memorized
and recalled, and the back should feature the answer, definition, or
explanation.

When you’re selling sets of flashcards, you’ll want to design them so that
several cards print on the same page. You may want to include guidelines
for cutting the cards to make it easier to use them once they’re printed.

Flashcard designs don’t need to be complicated – in fact, it’s best if they’re


not. They should be clean, simple, and easy to read.

One of my favorite tools to use to create flashcards is Kitzkikz. It’s a free


flashcard creation tool. They provide you with an entry grid:

64
EDU Print Profits

http://www.kitzkikz.com/flashcards/

All you need to do is enter the information for the front and back of the
card. You can use the import option for advanced text editing, then
download the cards as a PDF file when you’re done.

The two other tools I recommend for creating flashcards are:


1. Rasmussen has detailed instructions for how to create a set of
flashcards in Microsoft Word, including how to find online templates.

2. As I mentioned earlier, Canva is my favorite online design tool and it’s


great for making beautiful flashcards.

3. Word flashcard templates

4. Instacontent generator has two different card deck sizes you can use
to create flash card designs.

Flashcards are always popular. You can target educators, parents, and
children with them – especially if you make them fun to use.

65
EDU Print Profits

Tips for Making Worksheets

Worksheets are another perennially popular choice in educational


printables. They can be used alone or in conjunction with a text book or
lesson plan. You can sell them one at a time or bundle them to create
products that are geared toward kids at certain ages or intended to help
them learn a particular subject.

As I mentioned before, a worksheet should be confined to one topic or a


series of related topics. For example, you might create a worksheet that
focuses on adding simple fractions or one that covers the proper use of
adjectives. An effective worksheet should include the following:

1. A header with general information that puts the worksheet in context


and connects it to a lesson.

2. A clear set of instructions explaining what the student needs to do to


complete the worksheet.

3. The exercise itself, including highlighted points, illustrations if


necessary, and plenty of space to provide answers.

Depending on the nature of the worksheet, you may also want to include a
sample answer with your instructions to eliminate confusion and ensure
students know what they’re supposed to do.

66
EDU Print Profits

I recommend Instacontent Generator, or Canva to quickly create


worksheets.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Money-Worksheets-and-Money-Games-and-Activities-
HUGE-Unit-2373308

67
EDU Print Profits
https://www.canva.com/templates/worksheets/

Handwriting Worksheets is a good source if you want to create worksheets


to teach students cursive writing or basic lettering.

I also like this math worksheet generator which you can use to create
worksheets teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,
equations, and basic geometry. It lets you choose a difficulty level and
format and then generates the worksheet for you.

Tips for Making Quizzes and Exams

Finally, let’s talk about some tips for making quizzes and exams. As I said
before, quizzes are handy tools that teachers and homeschooling parents
can use to evaluate kids’ progress through a lesson or subject. Kids may
dread them, but they’re a necessary part of any education.

Here are some tips for creating quizzes and exams.

1. Write questions that support the core objective of your lesson plan or
topic. The best quizzes and exams have a tight focus.

2. Don’t try to trick students. You can include incorrect answers on a


multiple-choice quiz, for example, but they shouldn’t be designed to
confuse the person taking the quiz.

3. Use parallel construction for multiple choice answers. If one answer


begins with a verb, they all should – and the verb should be in the

68
EDU Print Profits

same tense. In other words, if one answer starts with a past tense
verb, the other should, too.

4. Avoid true/false questions – they’re too easy to guess and don’t really
test the student’s knowledge.

5. Avoid “all of the above” or “none of the above” as answers to multiple-


choice questions. They can be confusing to students.

6. Vary your question types. A quiz doesn’t have to be all multiple


choice. You can vary it by including fill-in-the-blank questions and
essays or sentences.

7. Make sure to leave plenty of room for students to write their answers.
It’s better to have too much room than not enough.

Remember that your goal should be to test the students’ knowledge of the
topic being tested, not to trick them, confuse them, or leave them feeling
frustrated.

Here are some of my favorite tools to use for creating quizzes and exams:

1. WonderShare has an online tool for creating quizzes that you can
download to Word or Excel. You can also use it to make online
quizzes.

2. ProProfs is another online quiz-creating tool. They offer a free


membership as well as a $9 monthly membership for teachers.

3. Quiz Star is another free online tool to check out.

69
EDU Print Profits

4. Easy Test Maker is a tool you can use to create online tests or
designs tests and export them to Word or PDF documents.

Creating quizzes can be a great way to earn money, particularly if you


market to homeschooling parents. They may lack the skills or resources to
make quizzes and you can provide what they need.

List of Educational/Common Core Resources

To make it even easier for you to create educational printables I’ve


compiled a fantastic list of categorized educational resources:

Teach4TheHeart has compiled a list of the 50 best websites for teachers.


Many of them are helpful for purposes of creating educational printable
products as well.

Teach Thought has a page listing Common Core resources for parents and
teachers. It’s a comprehensive list that includes apps, toolboxes, and blogs.

List of Clip Art/Vector Resources

When you’re creating EDU printables, it’s helpful to have access to clip art,
vectors, and other design elements to use. Here’s a list of some of my
favorite places to find them.

Megapixl is a subscription service with a huge library of clip art.

70
EDU Print Profits

The New York Public Library has made public domain images available for
use.
Openclipart.org has a massive collection of scalable clip art.

Clker has a huge collection of vector and clip art that’s free to use.

Wpclipart is possibly the web’s largest collection of free clip art.

Vexels is a site that offers thousands of pieces of editable vector art.

Freedesignfile has tons of free vectors – but make sure to check that
they’re approved for commercial use before using them.

Free Vintage Vectors is the site where you can find – you guessed it –
vintage vectors. If you’re looking to illustrate a history lesson or just bring a
touch of whimsy to your printables, you can probably find just the thing on
this site.

Now you know what you need to do to create educational printables. The
next step is to learn how to market them – and that’s what we’ll cover in the
next chapter.

71
EDU Print Profits

Selling Your EDU Printables

You can sell your printables without doing any additional marketing if you
want. You’ll want to write effective product descriptions, use
keywords, upload compelling images of your products, and price
them appropriately.

If and when you want to scale up, you can promote your printables with
social media, video, and Pinterest. There’s no denying the power of sites
like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter for building an audience and letting
people know about your products. I’ll share my best tips to help you choose
which social media sites to use, how to attract an audience, and where and
how to spend your marketing budget to sell your products.

Tip for Selling Printables

I want to start this chapter with some general tips about selling educational
printables. I’ll give you some basic insights and then provide specific
information about selling on some of the sites we’ve covered, such as
Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy.

General Selling Tips

There are a few basics you need to keep in mind regardless of where you
decide to sell the printable products you create.

72
EDU Print Profits

1. Choose your platforms wisely. Earlier, I told you that you might want
to sell on more than one platform. You’ll need to compare fees and
potential traffic and make the best decision to launch your business.

2. Price your products appropriately. If you sell on some of the sites I’ve
recommended, you might be paying as much as 50% of your
purchase price in fees. You need to do some math before you commit
and make sure you understand what your net take will be for each
item you sell.

3. Add new products regularly. No matter where you set up shop online,
it’s important to let people know that you’re serious about what you’re
doing. You should launch with several products and then add new
products on a regular basis.

4. Build a consistent brand. If your specialty’s going to be creating


printables for parents whose kids have autism, make sure your brand
name and image speaks to what you’re doing.

These things can help you get started regardless of which platform you
decide to use. Now, let’s talk about some of the specific sites you might
want to consider.

Teachers Pay Teachers

Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers is easy, but there are a few tips that you
should keep in mind before you start:

73
EDU Print Profits

 Choose a compelling name for your store. It should reflect the


products you sell as well as who they’re intended for.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lessons-By-Molly

 Check out the top sellers on the site to get ideas about how to market
and bundle your products. There’s no shame in getting inspired by
other people’s ideas!

 Edit everything before you post it for sale. The ratings on your store
can make a huge difference in your success and the last thing you
need is a review that talks about the spelling errors in your products.

 Create a beautiful and compelling cover page for your store. It will
draw customers in.

 Be responsive to customer questions and complaints. Your attitude is


part of what will help customers trust you and come back to you store
in the future.

 Find comparable products and compare prices. You don’t want to


price your lesson plans at twice what others are charging. You need

74
EDU Print Profits

to be in line with what people are willing to pay or you risk


disappearing into the crowd.

These tips can help you become a top seller on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Remember to keep your fees in mind when you’re setting your prices.
That’s the difference between failure and success.

Etsy

Now let’s talk about selling on Etsy. There’s some overlap here, but I’ll
cover the key things you need to know even if I’ve mentioned them already.

 Doing some preliminary prep work can help make the process of
opening your Etsy shop an easy one. You can check out their guide
here to make sure you have everything you need to get started.

 Choose an appealing name for your shop. Because Etsy has many
stores, you may need to tweak your desired name if your first choice
is taken. Don’t let it discourage you – even a minor change may be
enough. Keep in mind that you can change your name as often as
you like before you open your shop but only once after it’s open.

 Make sure your product images are clear and captivating. Each
printable you’re selling must be clearly legible in your store. You don’t
want customers to have to guess what they’re buying. If a product
has multiple pages, make sure you explain what’s on them and show
screenshots where you can.

75
EDU Print Profits

https://www.etsy.com/listing/546354347/alphabet-worksheets-find-and-trace-
abc?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=education%20printables&ref=sr_gallery_7

 Use keywords in your shop description and product descriptions. Etsy


sellers have a huge SEO advantage, but you’ll squander it if you don’t
use the right keywords. You can use the keyword tools I gave you
earlier in this training.

 Speaking of keywords, use them in your product names, too. Only the
first few words of your product name will appear in a search, so make
sure that customers can tell what they’re getting.

 Organize your store in a way that makes sense. In other words,


categorize your products appropriately so they’re easy to find. You
may choose to organize by product type or by grade level, but make
sure that your customers can find what they need.

 Use tags appropriately. Tags can be keyword rich, but their main
purpose is to classify products and help potential customers find them
in search.

Following these tips can help you make the most of your printable shop on
Etsy.

76
EDU Print Profits

Many of the tips that apply to Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy apply to
other sites too. Ultimately, your goal is to make your products look and
sound good, and to make it easy for potential customers to find your shop.

If writing marketing copy isn’t your strong suit, you may want to hire
someone to write it for you. All the writing in your shops must be clear, easy
to read, and grammatically correct. You can’t afford to have lackluster
descriptions or spelling mistakes, so make sure to get out of your own way
if that’s not something you can accomplish without help.

Social Media Marketing Tips for EDU Printables

Now let’s talk about how to market the educational printables you create on
social media. As you probably know, social media use is huge and growing.
Facebook alone has more than two billion users, and sites like Twitter and
Pinterest number their users in the hundreds of billions.

Considering how prevalent the use of social media is, it makes good sense
to market your products on social media sites. Social media has some
unique targeting options that can help you reach new customers and grow
your business.

77
EDU Print Profits

Choosing Which Sites to Use

The first question to consider is which social media sites you should be
using. You know that your target audience is parents and teachers, and
that can help eliminate some choices right away.

For example, LinkedIn is mostly for business-to-business marketing. You


could try to market your printables there, but the time you spend may very
well be wasted. There are better options.

My two favorite sites for marketing EDU printable products: Facebook and
Pinterest.

Facebook

Facebook is by far the world’s largest and most active social media site.
With more than two billion users worldwide, there’s no question that plenty
of teachers and parents who might be customers are using the site – and
you can find them.

The first step is to create a page for your products or brand. You can do
that from your personal account. Make sure to:

 Choose a memorable page name that lets people know what you’re
selling

78
EDU Print Profits

 Write a brief, compelling profile that links to your website if you have
one and to your online shops
 You can sell products directly on Facebook, so if you choose to do
that you can use Shopify and other methods. You can find a guide to
how to do it here.
 Create a content posting schedule. You should plan on posting at
least once a day. You can post original content, but you may also
want to curate content that’s of interest to your audience. You can
follow educational pages and other interesting feeds from your new
page.

Here are some other things to keep in mind when marketing on Facebook.

 Running a page promotion can help you attract new visitors to your
page – and those visitors can turn into customers.
 Facebook targeting allows you to target groups of people based on
their age, geographical location, marital status, and interests. For
example, you might decide to run a page promotion to people living in
the US who are interested in home schooling.
 Running contests and promotions can help you build brand
awareness and attract new customers. For example, you might give
away a free bundle and offer a chance to win to everybody who
shares your post.

79
EDU Print Profits

These tips can help you make the most of your Facebook marketing. And
remember, Facebook Insights will help you track the performance of your
promotions, so you can adjust your targeting as needed.

Pinterest

Now, let’s talk about Pinterest. The average Pinterest user is female and
fairly affluent. Selling products on Pinterest is common – and in fact, more
customers buy items on Pinterest than on any other social media site.
Pinterest is very popular for showcasing EDU printables.
Here are some things to keep in mind when you’re marketing on Pinterest.

1. Creating boards that are specialized is a good way to attract


customers. Give your board a name that speaks directly to what
you’re selling. For example: Beautiful Math Worksheets. Then add all
of your math worksheets to it.

80
EDU Print Profits

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AY-z1yh7VuvTJWX7izbeylFLnKipwRvAbGvluVJMtPxPOZTGAB5pEFU/

2. Use descriptive, keyword-rich captions. For every image you pin on


Pinterest, you can add a brief description. Make sure you provide key
information such as grade levels, subject matter, and any special
designations.

3. Feature your best images and target them appropriately. Pinterest is


owned by Facebook, so you’ll have the same targeting options on
both sites. That means you can target your featured Pins to people
who are most likely to buy them.

4. Create boards that will be useful to your customers. In addition to


featuring your products, consider sharing educational infographics,
magazine articles, and anything else that might be helpful to the
people you’re targeting.

81
EDU Print Profits

5. Get approved for Buyable Pins so you can sell directly from Pinterest.
You can learn how to do it here.

For all social media marketing you do, here are a few more basic pointers.

1. Create a consistent brand voice and use it in all your social media
posting. You want customers to see you as an educational authority,
so you probably won’t want to be too casual or flippant. Being warm,
approachable, and smart is a good combination.

2. Don’t leave your customers hanging. If people comment or send you


messages, respond to them promptly. On Facebook, your page will
display a response time for customers to see – so make sure you
stay on top of these things.

3. Track the performance of your promotions and adjust them as


needed. Monitoring your ads and promoted posts and Pins will let you
know if your targeting is correct. Tweaking your targeting can help
increase your engagement and sales.

Social media can be very useful for marketing printables if you use it
properly. In fact, Facebook and Pinterest can allow you to interact with your
customers in a way that fees personal – and that can help you build
authority and turn one-time customers into loyal, repeat customers.

Next, we’ll talk about bundling products and how it can help you maximize
your profits. Keep reading to learn more!

82
EDU Print Profits

Bundling Products

Many of the product samples I have shown you so far have been bundled.
In other words, instead of selling a single printable page or one product
with several pages, like a quiz or test, you can bundle several products
together.

Bundling allows you to add value to your products. It may also allow you to
charge a higher price than you otherwise would. Bundling can increase the
perceived value of what you’re selling.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Color-by-Code-Sight-Words-Bundle-Three-Themes-
FoodPirateOcean-128-Words-3124160

83
EDU Print Profits

The key to bundling products is to know how to bundle them and which
products go together. In the first part of the chapter, I’ll explain the benefits
of bundling and talk about some ways to approach pricing your bundles. In
the second part of the chapter, I’ll review some ideas for bundling, including
thematic bundling, age bundling, and other options.

How to Bundle Products to Earn More Money

Bundling products is an art. You can’t just throw any products together and
expect people to buy them. The bundles you create should be carefully
thought out and designed to appeal to your customers.

There are some significant benefits to bundling products.

1. Bundling increases the perceived value of a product. Customers want


to find bargains. When you bundle products, you make people feel
like they’re saving money – and that’s true even if you’re not
discounting the price.

2. Bundling is convenient for customers. Instead of having to sort


through individual products and keep track of them, bundling allows
them to buy a whole year’s worth of math worksheets, for example. It
streamlines the buying process.

3. Likewise, bundling is convenient for you. Once you have enough


products to bundle, you can figure out the best way to put them
together. It allows you to sell multiple products at the same time and
to build more authority with the customer who buys one of your
bundles.

84
EDU Print Profits

4. Bundling can help bring attention to other products you sell. For
example, you might try including a bonus page with a bundle of math
worksheets – only it’s a science worksheet or a social studies
worksheet. Including something like that can help customers learn
what else you can do and ultimately, convince them to buy from you
again.

You can see why bundling is a good idea. It can help you increase your
sales, but it’s helpful to customers too.

When it comes to bundling, there are some questions you need to keep in
mind:
 What kind of products can/should you bundle together?

 How should you bundle them?

Here, it may be helpful to think about what your customers are most likely
to want. For example, a customer who’s in the market for 1st grade
grammar worksheets might also be interested in quizzes and puzzles for 1st
graders. A customer who wants Common Core products might be
interested in a big bundle that combined math and science.

Ideas for Bundling

Now, let’s review some of the ways you might decide to bundle products.
There are many categories and options to consider. I can’t cover all of them
here, but I’ll give you some basic ideas and you can play with them.

85
EDU Print Profits

Bundling by Product Type

The first option is to bundle products by their type. For example, you might
bundle a group of worksheets together or a collection of crossword puzzles
for young readers.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Crossword-Puzzles-2nd-Grade-Journeys-Aligned-1343822

This type of bundle can be useful for people who might already have some
textbooks and are looking for supplementary materials to buy. They can
also be helpful for parents and teachers who are working to develop lesson
plans or curricula for their students.

86
EDU Print Profits

Bundling by Subject

The next option is to bundle products by subject. For example, if you have
lesson plans, worksheets, puzzles, and quizzes all aimed at teaching 4th
grade math, you could create a math bundle that would give the teacher or
parent who bought them everything they need to teach the subject in
question.

This type of bundle might be better suited for homeschoolers than teachers
in a classroom, but it can be a good way to provide something very useful
at an affordable price.

Bundling by Age

If you have created products covering multiple subjects, you may want to
consider doing an age bundle. For example, you might bundle by grade
level. Some bundles on Teachers Pay Teachers focus on a single school
year while others span a range of years.

This type of package, again, may be very useful to homeschooling parents.


A mom who has just decided to try homeschooling might find it very
convenient to buy a 1st grade bundle that includes reading, spelling, math,
science, and social studies lessons.

87
EDU Print Profits

Bundling by Theme

Finally, you may want to consider bundling by theme. Themes may include:

 Holidays
 Activities
 Sports
 Pop culture (like Minecraft, for example)

The benefit of creating themed bundles is that they provide a fun option for
parents and teachers to use in the classroom. Kids might be bored by a
regular math worksheet but enthralled by one with a Halloween theme.
Little things can go a long way in making your products appealing to kids,
parents, and teachers.

Pricing Bundles

Pricing bundles appropriately doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are a few


things to keep in mind:

 Because people like to feel that they’re getting a bargain, you should
probably discount your bundle just a little. For example, if you would
normally charge $0.50 for one printable worksheet, you might try
offering 20 of them for $9.00. That’s enough of a price cut to make

88
EDU Print Profits

people feel that they’re saving money, but still a high enough price to
offer you a clear profit on each unit you sell.

 Keep your prices in line with what others are charging. If the top shop
on Teachers Pay Teachers is only charting $19.99 for a 60-page
bundle, you probably won’t want to price your product higher than
that unless you have a good reason to do so.

 Make sure to consider the site’s commissions and transaction fees


when you’re setting your prices.

Bundling educational printables makes a lot of sense. It allows customers


to feel that they’re saving money while also making it possible for you to
sell many more printables than you could if you only sold them individually.

Coming up, I’ll share my best tips to help you maximize your EDU Print
Profits.

89
EDU Print Profits

Maximizing Your Profits

Any time you create an income stream, you should be looking at ways to
maximize your profits. Selling a product as a stand-alone item and bundling
it are two ways to do that, but they aren’t the only ways you can increase
your profits.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Science-Lesson-Plans-Supplemental-Bundle-NO-LABS-2306416

In this chapter, I’m going to provide you with some of my proven ways to
make the most income from the educational printables you create

Partnering with Teachers and Ex-Teachers

The first thing you can do is to partner up with a teacher or ex-teacher to


create and sell products. Pairing up with someone can reduce the time you
spend creating products, and give you more content to sell.

90
EDU Print Profits

If you don’t know any teachers, you can try reaching out to someone local
or putting out feelers to your friends. You can even try putting a call out to
teachers on free local ad sites like Craigslist or Facebook groups. You can
also make your offer attractive by offering income sharing.

How to Repurpose Products

Repurposing products is simply repackaging them in a new way. We


already talked about bundling, but what are some other things you could do
to extend the life of the products you’ve created? Here are some
suggestions:

 Collect some of your products into a printed book and have it


published on CreateSpace and sell it on Amazon or Etsy.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/503924610/channies-one-page-a-day-single-
digit?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=workbooks&ref=sc_gallery_8&plkey=9f02852cf676c9e9
7f2df67c302bf92d30ce01ec:503924610

91
EDU Print Profits

 Create video lessons inspired by some of your worksheets.


 Make a coloring book that relates to one of your subjects.
 Create other products, like mugs and pencils, using some of the
same designs as your printables.

These things can help you maximize your profits by giving customers who
may already have bought printables something else to spend their money
on.

Benefits of Selling on More than One Site

Earlier, I told you that you might want to consider selling your EDU print
products on more than one website. Now it’s time to talk about why.

There’s no question that it’s more work to set up multiple shops. There has
to be a good reason to do it. Here are some of the reasons I recommend it.

1. Different sites have different audiences. For example, Teachers Pay


Teachers may give you access to professional teachers, while Etsy
might be a better way to connect with homeschooling parents.

2. Etsy has a bigger SEO advantage than most of the educational


sites we’ve listed. People go there expecting to find printables – but
that doesn’t mean you can’t find a worthwhile audience on other sites.

3. Selling on multiple sites can help you build brand recognition more
quickly. The more people know who you are, the easier it will be to

92
EDU Print Profits

scale your business, attract new followers on social media, and


maximize your income.

None of this means that you must sell on multiple sites. However, if you’re
looking to build a business quickly and maximize your reach, then you
should consider setting up several shops to sell your products.

Resources

Now, as promised, here’s a list of additional resources that you can use to
research, create, and sell your educational printables.

First, here are some links about places to sell products online and
information about Common Core and other popular categories to consider:

https://theworkathomewife.com/5-places-to-sell-teaching-materials-online/

http://www.businessinsider.com/teachers-made-millions-selling-lesson-
plans-2013-4?op=1

http://www.sellingtoschools.com/

https://theworkathomewife.com/make-money-selling-lesson-plans-
printables-on-teachers-pay-teachers/

https://teach.com/blog/teachers-sell-curriculum-and-materials-online-for-
extra-income/

93
EDU Print Profits

http://www.1099mom.com/2013/02/i-want-to-be-online-educational.html

https://frompond.blogspot.com/p/making-and-selling-your-own-digital.html

http://www.slate.com/blogs/schooled/2015/06/03/teachers_pay_teachers_w
hy_the_site_for_teachers_to_sell_their_lesson_plans.html

Here’s an article about selling Montessori materials on Shopify:

https://www.shopify.com/success-stories/montessori-123

And here’s a site where you can sell lesson plans:

http://www.edgalaxy.com/sell-us-your-lesson-plans/

These resources, along with those provided elsewhere in the book, can
help you get started creating educational printables. This is a business
model that requires an up-front investment of research, time, and creativity.

However, since each printable can be sold an unlimited number of times at


no additional cost to you, the potential for profits is virtually limitless.

94
EDU Print Profits

Conclusion

There’s a high demand for quality educational printables. Teachers are


scrambling to keep up with Common Core requirements and frustrated by
the lag in textbook publishing. They need lesson plans, worksheets, tests,
and other classroom materials to keep their students engaged.

The same is true of parents who homeschool their kids. Even the parents
who are most passionate about homeschooling can have a hard time
coming up with the materials they need. After all, they’re parents too – and
they’re likely to be wearing many hats in a day.

In other words, creating and selling educational printables makes good


business sense. There’s a demand for the products and they are easy to
create and sell.

Remember, if you need a quick recap of the best way to get started, check
out the included quick start guide. It has all the basic information you need
to create and sell your very first educational printable product.

If you get started now, you can turn the educational printables you create
into a steady stream of income. What are you waiting for? It’s time to build
your educational printable empire starting today!

If you enjoyed this training…please leave a review here:


https://amyharrop.com/edurev

95

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi