If you’ve created amazing teaching resources, you could also be boosting your income with a Teacha! store. Whether you’ve already set up your store, or you’re still looking into it, you may be wondering how you can grow your business and ensure its success.
We touched base with Jenna Swano, one of Teacha!’s top sellers about how she started selling her teaching resources and what has made her store one of Teacha!’s top-sellers.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and where are you from?
I have always loved teaching! I think most of us teachers can relate to the teddy-bear classroom when we were little. Our poor younger siblings … any opportunity to play ‘school-school’. I have discovered something that I am even more passionate about though (who knew that was possible?) – working with teachers!
For my last six years as a Grade 5 teacher, I was also a Department Head and that gave me so much room to work with and mentor teachers, particularly those new to the profession. In 2020, I co-founded a company called SupportEd and our aim is to support education (see what we did there?) through the empowerment of teachers. I love it!
How did you find yourself in e-learning and what sparked your interest in this industry?
I’ve always worked in government schools. We were lucky enough to have access to sponsored technology and that’s where my love of tech in the classroom began. To be honest, though, I was the type of kid who would play with PowerPoint for fun, so I guess it’s always been there.
What made you choose the Teacha! resource marketplace as the platform for selling your resources?
I love how tailored it is to the local markets and classrooms. So often other resources available online are very American or European and require a lot of adaptation to fit another context. My kids really don’t care about Halloween or Thanksgiving and its ‘colour’! This is a place just for us.
What has your experience been like working with the Teacha! team?
The Teacha! team has always been really responsive and helpful. I like that they are geared towards helping and promoting local sellers.
Would you recommend us?
Absolutely. As a seller, it’s a great way to get your resources into local teachers’ hands. As a buyer, it’s a fantastic way to find something that will save you time and improve your teaching.
Do you have any advice for those wanting to start an online teaching resources store?
Start. Seriously, that’s the hardest part. Put a product together, write a description, and post it. You can’t sell something that’s not posted. The rest will come with time and practice.
What are your top tips for other sellers on creating a successful Teacha! store?
Step 1:
Create quality products
Step 2:
Make sure that people can find them through great covers, thumbnails, previews, and product descriptions.
About the author:
Jenna Swano was a high school English teacher in Cape Town before making the jump to primary school, as a Grade 5 teacher and Head of Department. She left teaching in 2021 to co-found SupportEd, a company focused on meaningful professional development for teachers.
