The images of your resources and products are crucial to the success of your business.  You know that oftentimes it is the image of a product and not necessarily the product itself that draws you in and piques your interest.  Previously, I shared  3 Tips to Take Great Photos That Will Sell More Products and I encourage you to take a look at that post for a few foundational thoughts on how you can improve your images and photography.

 This week I wanted to expand on a couple of the points from that post and ENCOURAGE YOU that you can drastically improve your product images with $15 of props that are available at your neighborhood Dollar Store.  The Dollar Store is a treasure trove for great props and tools that I use for my private clients and monthly membership and here are a few MUST HAVES for your studio as you begin or want to improve. AND you don’t have to break the bank!!!

#1 WHITE FOAM POSTER BOARD (4 pieces x $1 = $4)

Foam poster board is a...

My husband and three sons are BIG college basketball fans, so March is a sacred month in our house. The NCAA basketball tournament is one of the greatest sporting events in the world and even draws in the casual fan with the annual tradition of filling out a bracket and guessing which Cinderella (small school) can make a run to the Final Four (oooh, I think we were all rootin' for ya, UCLA!). The screams of joy, disbelief, and amazement that were absent during the cancelled 2020 tournament have been back with a vengeance this month as an historic number of upsets has taken place as teams have fought to earn their spot in the Final Four (and maybe just maybe, get to experience the thrill of a buzzer beater as unbelievable as Suggs' last night! wow!).

As I’ve watched games over the last couple of weeks and learned the back stories of many of the schools, players, and coaches, I’ve noted 4 points that have helped many of the teams excel and I think can help each of us...

What’s One Prop That You Already Own That Will Help Your Resources Sell?

(Hint: You’re using it right now!)

In the last post, I shared 3 tips to take images that sell more of your resources.  This week here’s an added idea based on Tip #2: Use Props to Tell a Story.  Remember that one way you can draw attention to YOUR resource, win that “click”, and differentiate it from the others in the marketplace is to use it in a photo that creates the scene of a student working on it.  There is something about a beautiful visual of a setting where your resource is in action that garners curiosity in the resource itself.

I regularly shop for specific props for the images I take for my private clients and the Styled Stock Market membership (the Dollar Store is a GREAT place to find some treasures for your photos-stay tuned for more posts about that!) and my studio is packed with these little gems. But, I’ve found that one prop that I...

3 Tips to Take Great Photos That Will Sell More Products

Recently I came across a post in a Facebook group I am part of in which a member shared that he was having some financial challenges and needed his Teachers Pay Teachers store to generate more revenue. He was an expert in his focus area with years of experience and had produced some terrific and helpful resources, but his store just wasn’t selling.  He was open to suggestions and members of the group were gracious to share great tips, ideas, and encouragement (a huge part of what I love so much about the teacher-author community!). Maybe I’m biased, but the one that jumped out at me was from a member who suggested that he invest in some colorful and professional photos of his resources and use those photos in his store and on social media to reintroduce his audience to his works. She said that it is the image and not the content that first catches her attention and gets her to click on a product or link to...

Jon Gordon is a fantastic author, speaker, and motivator whose writings often take the form of simple parables enriched with golden nuggets of wisdom, relatable characters, and thought provoking questions.  I’ve been a big fan of Gordon’s books since reading his best-seller The Energy Bus and didn’t think another one of his writings could inspire me more than that one!  That was until I read another one of his works, The Carpenter.  Wherever you are in life and whatever the goals you have for your future, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of The Carpenter; it has something for you and may end up helping you to adjust your priorities or to refocus on your “Why.” Let’s dive in for a quick overview, and two of MY big takeaways that I hope will add value to YOU this week.

The book begins by introducing us to Michael.  Michael is like so many of us (particularly coming off 2020 with its spillover start into 2021)--He is tired,...

One of the blessings the past year has given me is the opportunity to reflect.  As a homeschooling mom of three and owner of a business, life has simultaneously sped up and slowed down.  There has certainly been a “Groundhog Day” effect as weeks have blended together, but in the beauty of the monotony I’ve also intentionally sought time to think, plan, and question, often with a cup of coffee or on a walk.  Maybe you can relate!  As time has moved both fast (seeing how quickly my boys are growing or the seeming blink of time between product launches) and slow (did we really have time in the spring to watch every Pixar, Harry Potter, and Star Wars movie 

*any other boy-mom turned Star Wars nerd out there?*

and wonder what was next in our queue), I’ve thought a lot about the precious value to this limited and fleeting thing we all enjoy called time.  

When you can’t visit family for the holidays or your child’s...