Sell Your Original Teacher Resources on Amazon and Make a Full or Part-Time Income...
Are you a teacher or homeschooling parent who has designed original educational resources? If so, my self-publishing e-course will teach you how to publish your curriculum on Amazon's free publishing platform: Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
In 2016 my first self-published paperback was called Birdseed: A Guide to Teaching Emotional Intelligence in the Classroom. Birdseed is endorsed by New York Times best-selling author and positive psychology expert Shawn Achor and by the MTSS director for The CO Department of Education.
I've since published countless texts on Amazon including gratitude journals, blank journals, composition books, daily planners, coloring books, recipe books, children's books, and more.
Most recently, I decided to publish my original curriculum on Amazon (such as novel units and grammar workbooks) and now I'm wondering WHY I TOOK SO LONG TO DO THIS!!! I've had my teacher resources listed on sites like Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT), Etsy, TES, and others for years, and for some reason I thought those were the best platforms for my units and lesson plans and the Amazon publishing platform was for "everything else." I WAS WRONG. Amazon is an absolute game-changer, and I honestly can't believe it took me so long to figure this out.
While many educators are familiar with selling their unique materials on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT), Amazon KDP offers an untapped treasure trove for publishing your original resources. Sure, you should make your materials available on multiple platforms, but Amazon's platform stands out as superior and ultimately more lucrative. Here’s why:
Wider Audience: Amazon's global marketplace exposes your resources to a broader audience, giving you the opportunity to impact more lives and make more sales.
Less Competition: While TpT is saturated with materials, Amazon's platform provides a unique opportunity for your content to stand out.
Better Control Over Marketing: Running ads on TpT is not only expensive but also challenging, especially for ELA resources. There’s often a long wait list to run ads on your products. Amazon, however, allows you to run affordable and effective ads anytime you please
Enhanced Control Over Reviews: Reviews are crucial for your sales algorithm. TpT doesn’t provide buyer contact information, making it tough to encourage reviews. Despite thousands of downloads, my high-quality products on TpT have garnered few reviews, frustratingly resulting in lower visibility and sales. In this course, I’ll teach you how to generate countless Amazon product reviews without begging friends and family for help. More reviews = stronger algorithm = more money.
After years of selling on TpT and other similar sites, it took just a few short months to realize Amazon's KDP is far superior--and quite frankly a GOLD MINE!
Within your self-publishing e-course, I share 100 pages of instruction, 45 lessons, 40 + tutorial videos, and eight years of insight into the self-publishing business. You will be guided step-by-step through the formatting, designing, and publishing process. As an added bonus, I have included marketing tips and tricks that have transformed my publishing endeavor from a hobby and side hustle into a thriving business.
Keep in mind, listing a publication on Amazon by yourself is easy enough, and you can certainly find YouTube videos to guide you through the process. However, listing a product and selling a product are two very different things. There are thousands upon thousands of self-published resources listed on Amazon, but that doesn't mean they are visible or generating cash flow. I've spent the last eight + years learning the system through trial and error (and learning from others), and when I say this is your one-stop-shop to learn all the priceless tips and tricks that would take you years to learn on your own, I mean this in all sincerity.
Whether your goal is to retire and earn a passive income online or you just want to earn some extra spending money every month, the self-publishing course can help you achieve your goal.
As much as I love living in Hawaii, one of my long-term goals is to retire in Europe. In order to do this, I decided to build an online empire in the self-publishing world that would generate consistent passive income every month so I wouldn't need to worry about securing foreign employment. When I'm sitting in a little street cafe in Portugal savoring a cappuccino on a sunny afternoon, I'll be making money online. When I'm walking the cobblestone paths through a seaside Croatian village oblivious to time, I'll be making money online. When I'm visiting friends in London and lost in the wonder of the River Thames, I'll be making money online. It's not a dream. It's a reality well within reach, and I'm here to help others of a similar mindset.
Take your teaching materials to the next level with Amazon KDP and unlock your potential to reach a global audience, reduce competition, and gain better control over marketing.
Join me HERE, and let's make your curriculum a bestseller! If I can do it, YOU can do it, too, and I'm going to show you how!
For a very limited time, I'm sharing this course at 50% off to make it accessible to as many people as possible.
Questions Frequently Asked About This Self-Publishing Course:
Q: Once I invest in your course, will I need to pay for anything else before I can start selling on Amazon?
A: No, you won’t need to spend any additional money to publish your resource or book. I’ll guide you through the process of formatting, designing, and uploading your book to Amazon’s free publishing platform. I’ll also teach you how to create your own book covers at no cost. There are no services, software, or membership fees required. I also provide valuable tips for marketing your book once it's published.
If there are certain tasks you’d rather not handle yourself, such as designing your book covers, I’ll show you how to find affordable freelance artists who can do it for as little as ten dollars. However, every step of the publishing process is covered in the course, and you won’t need to make any additional purchases
Q: Do I need to handle shipping if I publish on Amazon KDP?
A: No, you don’t have to worry about shipping at all. When someone orders your resource/book on Amazon, Amazon KDP takes care of both the printing and shipping. Once you upload your digital file, Amazon handles the rest—forever. You simply collect royalties each month for every book sold.
Q: I have some shorter lessons and unit plans. Do I need to publish a lengthy book?
A: Amazon requires a minimum of 24 pages for publishing a resource. If your content is shorter, you can easily combine it with another resource to create a small bundle that meets this requirement. In fact, while some of my resources are 300+ pages in length (such as novel units), some of my top-selling resources on Amazon are just 30 pages long, including cover pages and decorative pages at the end.
Q: Do I need to publish a lot of material before I start seeing sales? I only have a few completed resources.
A: No. You can earn substantial income from just one well-crafted resource. In fact, most of my monthly sales come from just three listings.
Q: My resources are designed for use in Google Docs or other digital formats. How can I publish them on Amazon if they weren't intended for a paperback format?
A: I have several resources listed on Amazon that are best used as Google Docs or printable materials. I simply convert these resources to PDF format for publishing, and within the book, I include coupon codes that allow buyers to download the digital versions for free from my website. I specify in the Amazon product description that links to digital files are included with the paperback. You also have the option to publish a resource in e-book format on KDP.
Q: I have several listings on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) that aren’t selling well, but I believe they’re valuable and well-written. Should I still consider publishing them on Amazon?
A: TpT is an extremely saturated marketplace, so even if you have a great resource, it might be getting lost in the search results. If you’re confident in the value of your material, I strongly suggest publishing it on Amazon. Listing on Amazon doesn’t cost you anything, so there’s no risk involved. Plus, in my self-publishing e-course, I provide detailed lessons on crafting effective SEO copy and selecting the right keywords to ensure your target audience finds your work.
Q: I'm a homeschooling parent with original content. Do I need to be a licensed teacher to publish educational materials on Amazon?
A: No, anyone can publish educational resources on Amazon. While your work needs to be of high quality to attract buyers, there is no screening process that restricts who can publish teaching materials.
Q: Can’t I learn how to self-publish by watching YouTube videos?
A: While there are thousands of YouTube videos on self-publishing, you'll spend a significant amount of time searching for the right information, and you need to know exactly what you're looking for to find it. This approach also requires a lot of trial and error, which can be both time-consuming and frustrating. The longer you spend figuring things out on your own, the more potential sales you could be missing. In my course, I share insights and strategies that took me eight years to master through trial and error, along with insights from various courses.
Q: I’m not very tech-savvy. Will I need to learn a lot of technical skills to be able to format and publish a resource?
A: Not at all! I guide you through every step with easy-to-follow videos and written lessons. I’m not particularly tech-savvy myself, so when I say that if I can do it, anyone can, I truly mean it.
Q: Will selling on Amazon KDP affect my copyrights?
A: No, you retain full copyrights for all your original work. Amazon KDP does not claim ownership of your content.
Q: Can I sell my resources on Amazon internationally, or is it restricted to the US?
A: When you publish your resource, Amazon automatically makes it available for purchase in every country where Amazon operates.
Q: I've struggled to make money selling my teacher resources on TpT, Etsy, and TES. Why would I be successful on Amazon?
A: TpT is crowded with resources, making it challenging for your products to stand out. Even if your materials are excellent, they may not get the visibility they deserve. Plus, driving traffic to TpT products and getting reviews is incredibly difficult. Ads are nearly impossible to run on TpT because you have to sign up for advertising slots (that only lasts a few days) months in advance and the ads are expensive. As for reviews, you’re basically at the mercy of buyers (if you have any), and on average, less than 5% of buyers take the time to leave feedback. Amazon, on the other hand, offers affordable advertising options that you can run anytime and as often as you please and within my course, I’ll show you how to get immediate and ongoing reviews, which will boost your algorithm and increase visibility and sales. With around 80 products on TpT, I’ve found that I can earn ten times more on Amazon with just five listings. This is truth–not a sales pitch! As for Etsy and TES, I have also used these platforms, and I think the challenge with these sites is that fewer people are searching there for teacher resources. Etsy is typically known for hand-crafted goods, and very few people even know that TES exists. I used to teach internationally in Istanbul, Turkey, so I learned about TES from other teachers working abroad, but few educators list their work on the site and even fewer are searching the site for curriculum.
Q: How is pricing determined on Amazon KDP?
A: You have full control over the pricing of your resources and set the prices yourself.
Q: Is this self-publishing course for people who want to publish books or teacher resources?
A: Both! I have published numerous books across several genres for years, and I recently started publishing my teacher resources on Amazon as well. The publishing process is the same, but I do give specific tips for each type of publication.
Q: I have an idea for a book, but I haven’t started writing it yet. Can you assist with that?
A: While I can’t directly help with the writing process, I do provide some bonus resources at the start of my course. These include free book templates for creative writers to help you outline your story and spark your creativity.
If you have questions that were not addressed here, please feel welcomed to email me at anamcaracat@aol.com, subject line: "Self Publishing." (I know, AOL is archaic, and yes, I do have Gmail, but I look at my AOL inbox more frequently...)
With much love and aloha,
Cat
Much love and aloha from your anam cara,
Cat