Teachers Pay Teachers Conference – Anaheim

Hello again, friends!  It’s been awhile since I blogged.  I almost continued that sentence with “but things are going to change,” then I remembered how often I have said that.    Hopefully I can get into the habit of blogging more often, but I’m not making any promises…. yet.

Last week I attended the 4th annual Teachers Pay Teachers conference in Anaheim, California.  This was the second conference I had attended.  If you are selling (or trying to sell) on TpT, you NEED to be at this conference.  I won’t go into details about last year, because I blogged about it.  You can check out my recap of last year HERE.

Day 1: Saturday

This conference was different because I had to travel across the country.  The flight was long (and expensive), but I was lucky to get a direct flight.  I woke up at 4am to leave for the airport at 5am for a flight at 7am.  TIRED.  With the time change, I arrived in California at 9am.  The time change through me off the entire week and I’m pretty sure I never adjusted.

The shuttle was very quick and I was at my hotel a little after 10am.  Check-in wasn’t until 4pm, but I decided to try to check-in early.  I GOT LUCKY and was given the last room that was ready.   After dropping off all my stuff and sitting for about 5 minutes, my roommates texted me that they had arrived.

People said I was crazy for sharing a hotel room with 3 girls I had never met in person.  The TeachersPayTeachers community is unlike any other though.  After talking to these girls for months on Social Media, I felt like I knew them.  Within 5 minutes of talking to them in person, I just about forgot that I haven’t known these girls for years.   Instant friendships.

Sunday, the day I arrived, was very relaxed.  I was exhausted.  My roommates and I sat in the foodcourt for almost 3 hours just talking.  We went to dinner, and spent a couple more hours talking.

Day 2: Sunday

We all woke up early on Monday.  The time change was 3 hours for me, and my body did not adjust.  After having breakfast at Starbucks, we made our way to the registration area for the conference.  The energy was at an all time high.  Team TpT was all around getting everyone excited.   We were gifted a TpT backpack and a conference shirt this year.

My roommates and I decided to go to a little meet up for people attending the conference for the first time.  All but one of us had attended previous years, but we thought it would be a great way to meet some new people.  About 50 people showed up, and it was great getting to talk to new people.

Session 1:  Networking, Region #2
The first session of the day was for networking.  They split everyone up into 8 different regions and we had an hour to connect with people who lived near us. I enjoyed this, as I don’t know many people around me who sell on TpT.  There were some activities, but I honestly did not follow them.  I mostly just talked to people.  I was able to find two girls who live somewhat near me in Florida and are at very similar stages of their TpT business.  I already know these girls will be lifelong friends.

Session 2:  TpT Town Hall LIVE
We all gathered back together to listen to a TpT Town Hall.  Team TpT talked about some initiatives they are working on and invited questions from sellers.

Session 3: Team TpT Breakout: The Nuts and Bolts of TpT Search
Adam Freed and Charlotte Weiskittel talked about how the search engine works and gave some tips for improving where our products show up in the search.

Session 4:  Team TpT Breakout: Make the Most of your Store Dashboard & UTM Code
Benson Perry, Bruce Hogan, Spencer Wright, and Susan Jones discussed UTM codes and how they can benefit your marketing.  I have heard the term UTM code, but have not taken the time to figure out what it meant.  UTM codes basically help track where traffic to your TpT store is coming from.  It makes it easier to see what type of pins or blog posts are bringing people to TpT.  I’m going to start using them, and you should too.

The first day was more of a “pre-conference.”  The last breakout session ended at 5pm.  My roommates and I got back together and headed to Bubba Gumps for dinner.  Delicious!

Day 3: Tuesday

Day 4: Wednesday