What Are People Saying About Livestream Dec 19, 2023

@paulaplumer5091

I’ve never turned on the Ka-Ching, since I’m trying to maintain some small boundary between my business and personal life. This conversation is so interesting. Many of the big public-school districts where I live no longer allow teachers to celebrate holidays in their classrooms because of the religious diversity of the students currently attending. It’s a trend that has been growing for the past decade or so. The “dress as your favorite book character” around Halloween time and the 100th day celebration around Valentine’s Day are examples of celebrations that were added in recent years to compensate for the situation. Clearly, Enrica has found the perfect niche for her fabulous products. Bravo! All three of the options for the next video are interesting, but my vote goes to Printable vs Digital. I’d be curious to see if there is a difference in preference between the teachers of elementary students versus older students. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you both!

@paulaplumer5091. – Wed Dec 20, 2023

Reply from @matemaths

Merry Christmas and happy new year to you too! I think the reason why my stuff sells is because it’s not religious, a stolen snowman or an elf who lost his keys are perfect for the season

@matemaths – Fri Dec 22, 2023

Reply from @jaycampbell6177

That’s not right to ban the celebration of Christmas. I think almost all of my Christmas stuff has some religious aspect to it. They’re not religious specific resources, but some of the images might include the start of Bethlehem, an angel, or of Jesus Christ or if it’s questions some will include the reason for the season. And they sell. That’s what Christmas is after all. Even if districts try to ban it, just use those types of resources anyway. Maybe a teacher didn’t notice a couple images or a question or two. And as much as they try to push the generic “holiday” without mentioning what holiday it is, and TpT even groups the Christmas category with other holidays, look at the search bar on TpT around this time of year and you see a list of the word Christmas. You don’t see a list of Holiday.

@jaycampbell6177 – Wed Dec 27, 2023

Reply from @SEOTpreneur

Hi @jaycampbell6177 thanks for leaving a comment here in the SEOTpreneur YouTube community! One of the exciting things about the world (and TPT land) is that there are a bunch of different points of view.

So I find it neat to see how different school systems in different parts of the US (and the world) approach inclusion and make sure all students see themselves reflected in the curriculum (or not. There definitely are voices that are more invisible than others!)

If we keep the conversation focused on TPT land, I don’t really think because some school districts do one thing (ie discourage conversation about religious holidays, block TPT from school internet, etc) it will have an impact on all sellers. (This is why I’m not worried when I hear that TPT is blocked in some school systems. The world is a big place.)

I think that’s the beauty of having a large, established teacher marketplace like TPT.

As a teacher buyer, chances are you can find what you’re looking for (and if you can’t, then that’s probably an underserved niche that you could create content for and do quite well.)

So teachers who don’t like the explicit religious imagery in a Christmas resource might pass up your resource in favour of another one and vice versa. Someone who doesn’t mind (or would prefer) to have an image of Jesus Christ might select yours.

Out of curiosity, can a teacher tell from your product preview or description what sort of images are inside your TPT resource?

No rush in responding! I’m only do YouTube on the weekends, so I may not reply right away. Trying to figure out that TPT work/life balance!

Happy New Year! See you in the next comment! Cheers, Mike

@SEOTpreneur – Sat Dec 30, 2023

Reply from @SEOTpreneur

@matemaths – what do elves keep locked up? Do they have pockets? Where do they keep their keys normally?

@SEOTpreneur – Sat Dec 30, 2023

Reply from @SEOTpreneur

Hey @paulaplumer5091 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well!

To add to the conversation, think another reason why @matemaths has done better is because her resources are no prep (which is what most of TPT is looking for.)

My resources are more confusing with different links and pages.

I’ve been thinking about that. One of my goals is to try to 10x resource production. Usually I provide editable versions of my resources but things would be a lot quicker (to make and use) if it was just print and go. I think then, my products might appeal to a larger demographic!

We had an interesting conversation in the Zoom Homework club about how to prioritize the mountain of things to do. You seem like a methodical teacher who’s able to assert boundaries (work life)… I’d be curious to hear your thoughts about how you say no to things you could do…

Check out the recording here

Happy New Year! See you in the next comment! Cheers, Mike

@SEOTpreneur – Sat Dec 30, 2023

Reply from @paulaplumer5091

@jaycampbell6177 that may be true in many places, but in the large public school district where I used to work Halloween was the first to go, probably more than a decade ago, then Christmas soon after, and even Valentine’s Day was no longer allowed to be celebrated in our schools right after Covid. Teachers weren’t able to incorporate any imagery related to the holidays at all, even if it seemed more of a cultural symbol than religious. In our school, teachers did follow the directives given by the district administration, because there would be consequences if they didn’t. I heard through the grapevine that two other big suburban school districts near Minneapolis, Minnesota stopped celebrating holidays with religious affiliations this year. The urban areas in Minnesota have a very diverse student body in our schools from a variety of religious backgrounds, including many Muslim students. I’ll be curious to see if this trend spreads over time. Clearly, TPT sells a lot of holiday-related products; that’s what they seem to promote!

@paulaplumer5091 – Sat Dec 30, 2023

Reply from @paulaplumer5091

@SEOTpreneur I’m so sad I missed Homework Club today! I got back very late last night from a Christmas trip to California. I will definitely check it out!
Best, Paula

@paulaplumer5091 – Sat Dec 30, 2023

Reply from @jaycampbell6177

Thank you for the replies. I won’t get in a back and forth on that issue, but to me diversity, or having a lot of foreigners or newcomers brought into the district shouldn’t mean the holidays of the native population should be legally, or through policy be banned.

To answer the question my previews on my resources show a lot, so people should know what they’re getting. But if something is labeled as Christmas, then it’s on Christmas. It’s accurate advertising. Sellers should look for things specifically labeled as generic holiday, or taking the religious aspect out, such as “religious-free”. I don’t have to say Christmas is included in my Christmas resources. That said, I’m not hiding anything. I have previews.

I hope sales are healthy for us sellers heading into January, if what you sell gets that new year bump.

@jaycampbell6177 – Sun Dec 31, 2023

Reply from @paulaplumer5091

@jaycampbell6177 I totally understand your feelings on this issue. There are plenty of private schools where they still celebrate the traditional holidays. I hope you have many sales in 2024!

@paulaplumer5091 – Mon Jan 01, 2023

Reply from @SEOTpreneur

@jaycampbell6177 Hey Jay, thanks for answering my question about your previews! I always find it interesting to hear other sellers experiences in communicating what is or isn’t in a product.

There have definitely been times when I thought my preview explained pretty clearly what’s in the resource and then someone will leave a review about how the product didn’t meet their needs. Leaving me to wonder how I could have communicated more clearly.

Either way, thanks for coming back to reply. My January sales are on par with last year, but I’m trying to 10x my revenue this year so I’m tinkering with different things.

Hope Jan sales are going well and see you in the next comment! Cheers, Mike

@SEOTpreneur – Sun Jan 14, 2023