Onward and Upward!! Post Teacher Appreciation Jackpot Thoughts....

This particular post is for the new teacher bloggers. I am new to blogging myself, I started at the end of December. Since then I have learned so many great tips from so many great people. Teaching Blog Traffic School by far was THE best purchase I made in 2011. If you are serious about blogging, I would definitely make the investment. What I wanted to share are my thoughts and "ahah"moments that I've been  picking up along the way.....especially this weekend. Some of you may have visited my TPT store, I recently started selling resources that I make for my students (or just because). This weekend I participated in my first big TPT event and this is what I learned:

#1. When you see that there is about to be something BIG (like the Teacher Appreciation Jackpot) jump on the bandwagon EARLY! Communication moves so fast in the blogging world. If you miss one day, you might miss the entire boat! SO, when information starts to come out, don't take it for granted. Read it and move into action (even if you don't "get it" or quite understand the details, letting the info sit in your inbox isn't going to get easier to understand if you put it off!). If you have any questions, ASK. I know working with Laura Candler, April McNair, and Adrianne Meldrum was extremely easy because they shared the information day by day. They made it very easy to participate!! So initially I was hesitant, but I just did it. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized how EASY the process really was. So if you feel overwhelmed, just start! It may be easier than you think. Follow ALL directions (making a small mistake might end up being a big mistake if you don't catch it early (and this may lead to you getting bumped out of the event). Also, when it is something big going on and there is a linky party involved, the sooner you link up, the closer you are to the top....the more visibilty your link will recieve. and you can pretty much figure out why that is such a big deal!

#2. NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK! Blogging is NOT a solo sport. Collaboration is mighty! Find your blogging buddies and share information, tips, and cross promote!!!!!

#3. Have your item and blogpost prepared the night before. At midnight (for the addicted blogger) or first thing in the morning (and remember you can schedule this out) you want to hit the ground running!!!! Don't let the day get away from you!!

#4. There are sooooooooooooooooo........oooooooooooooo many great resources out there. If you want to be a seller on TPT....FIND YOUR NICHE! I downloaded tons of ideas (that I already started using with my students!!!!) that I would've never thought about. That isn't saying that my ideas aren't good ( I think they are) but it is important to understand that you cannot do it all. There are tons of resources out there. So, what you do, you want to do well! Find your niche and master it! If you don't believe me type in something/anything in the TPT search bar. See how many hits you get!!! That isn't saying that you cannot make these items too. However, like I said, whatever you choose to do, you want to do well!!

#5. PIN! PIN! PIN! PIN! and then collaborate with your blogging buddies and PIN some more!!!!

I hope that this was a tadbit of information that you can find helpful. They are just some of the things I picked up over the weekend that I figured any new blogger can benefit from. If you had any lightbulb moments (or brain farts I call it in the classroom), feel free to share. I would love to read your insight!!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day/ Week : )