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

Once again, we all woke up bright and early.  We headed downstairs for the complimentary breakfast hosted by Team TpT.  

Keynote

The keynote started at 8am in the same room we were having breakfast.  Amy and Adam talked a bit about TpT before introduce the two keynote speakers.   Catherine Reed, The Brown Bag Teacher, talked first.  She talked about her journey on TpT and how she balances "all the plates."   After Catherine, Erin Cobb from Lovin' Lit spoke.   I went to Erin's session last year, so I knew I would love hearing her talk.  Erin is very real and doesn't hold back.  She is honest and funny;  I love how she doesn't sugarcoat anything.

Session 5: Product Quality with Erin Cobb

Erin talked about how to take your products and make them better.  She reached out on Facebook and had people submit products for her to review.  She gave honest tips about what these sellers could do to improve their product.  At the end, everyone got the sought after Teacher Seller planner.  I got one last year, and knew I had to have another.

Session 6: What's So Powerful About PBL?

April Smith talked about her success with creating products related to PBL and the importance of including some of these elements in your products.

Lunch

TpT brought in Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang to discuss "Emotions, Learning, and the Brain."  They provided lunch for everyone during her talk.  The line was very long, so two girls and I decided to head to the food court instead.  We really wanted to sit down for lunch and have time to talk, so unfortunately we did not attend this presentation.

Session 7: Panel:  Bridge Your Brand

I always love panel sessions, because I enjoy hearing different perspectives on a similar topic.  Jessica Ivey, Chris Kessler, Gretchen Vikingson, Joanne Miller, and Melissa Zaher discussed how they are growing their following and interacting with them.  They all use different platforms to do this, so it was great to hear so many ideas.

Session 8: Turn Your Followers Into Fans

Brittney Briggs (Miss5th) and Michelle Giffo (applesandabcs) discussed how they are building their brand on Instagram.  I LOVE instagram, so I really enjoyed listening to them talk.  I felt like I already knew a lot of what they were saying, but obviously need to implement a bit better.  

Session 9: Tailwind

Kevin Lorenz, from Tailwind, spoke about the platform and gave tips to utilize it better.  Once again I already knew most of what he was saying, but it was interesting to hear him discuss the direction Tailwind is going.  

Happy Hour with Team TpT

TpT hosted a happy hour at the Hilton, which is the hotel the conference was taking place at.  It was outside on an upper deck.  TpT provided a free drink coupon to all attendees, which was nice.  I enjoyed the Happy Hour because I felt like I was able to connect with a lot of people I "know" from Instagram but haven't met in person.  They had music playing and as the time went on the dance floor grew.  Everyone was having a great time.

Dinner

We left the happy hour after 8 and we were all starving!  We walked to Cheesecake Factory and had a delicious dinner.  Yum!

Day 4: Wednesday 

Breakfast and Welcome
Once again, TpT provided a complimentary breakfast for everyone.  During breakfast, they had a live interview with two administrators who are using TpT in their schools.   Personally, I did not enjoy this interview.  It was great to hear two administrators passionate about TpT, but this is just not the norm in my district.

Session 10: Build Your Email List

THIS was the session I was waiting for.  Chris Kesler broke it down and gave easy to follow steps to help build your email list.  I like how he explained how to do it, and then always gave specific examples of what it looked like for him.  

Session 11: Talking Teaching Trends

Marine Freibrun talked about some of the upcoming trends in education and how to tie them into your products.

Session 12: Take Photos that Capture Resources in Action

Natalie Kay Crockett is an amazing photographer!  Her session was a bit over my head, because she talked a lot about using a fancy camera.  I do not have a fancy camera (nor do I have any type of camera besides my phone) and I do not have intention of buying one.  She did give a few tips for editing photos in powerpoint, which was something I could use.  

Conference Wrap Up
At the end of the conference, TpT brought us all back together to make a big announcement.  The conference is being hosted in Nashville next year!!  I'm already excited. 

Private Event at House of Blues

On the last day of the conference, Teachers Pay Teachers hosted a private event at House of Blues.  They rented out the entire building!  It was great to walk in and see everyone having a great time.  The event was from 7pm-11pm.  Once again, the dance floor became more crowded as the night went on.  It was a great night and the perfect way to end the conference.

All in all it was a great conference.  I'm glad I went and I'm thankful for all the friendships I made.  I'm going to do another blog post in a few days on my biggest takeaways, but wanted to give you a detailed recap of how the conference went.  

Did anyone else go?  What was your favorite session?  My favorite is a tie between Erin Cobb's and Chris Kesler's.  

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