How we bring buyers to The Lesson Stand
I know how this goes, because I've watched it happen. A new site opens, everybody's excited about it, and then the views never turn into sales.
The Lesson Stand is new and we're starting small, so here's how we're actually going to get teachers in the door. We post every day on social media and Pinterest featuring sellers' products, and we write a Teacher Questions blog that answers what teachers are really asking and links to products that fit. We also run seller spotlights and seasonal collections, and we email the buyers who've told us they want to hear from us. Pro sellers can bring their own followers in with referral links, there's a free resources section that gives teachers an easy first look, and we answer questions in teacher Facebook groups the way a good colleague would.
None of that is flashy, but it's steady work we do every day, and I go through each piece below so you can decide whether it sounds like a plan you believe in. We'll also share our real traffic numbers with sellers, the good months and the slow ones.
Daily posts and pins for your products
Every day we post on social media and Pinterest, and those posts feature sellers' products. Pins are especially worth it because they last, and a good pin for one of your products can keep sending teachers your way for months.
We write those posts the way a teacher would talk about the product, with a real way to use it in a classroom, instead of just a picture and a price.
It really helps if you follow The Lesson Stand on social media and share our posts, too. Every share puts your products, and everyone else's, in front of teachers who might never have found us otherwise.
A blog that answers real teacher questions
Our Teacher Questions blog takes questions teachers are really asking in teacher groups, like how to teach a certain skill or what to put in a center, and answers them. Each answer links to sellers' products that fit the question.
Search engines like sending people to helpful answers, so over time this turns into a steady stream of teachers who showed up needing something and found your product. I'll be honest that it's slow at first, but a post keeps working for you long after it's written.
Down the road, we'd also like to have sellers write guest posts for the blog. A guest post needs to be on a topic that genuinely helps teachers, not a sales pitch, but of course you can mention your own product in it and link to it.
Spotlights, collections, and email
We feature sellers in spotlights that tell a little of their story along with their products, and we share those on our site, on social media and in our emails.
We also put together seasonal collections, because teachers look for different things at different times of the year. Back to school, fall, the winter holidays, spring testing and the end of the year each get a collection, and we promote each one when those searches start picking up.
And we do email buyers, but only the ones who told us yes. Every email features sellers' products, and we don't sell or share anyone's email address.
Bring Your Team
If you're on Pro and you bring your own followers in through your referral link, you keep 90%, and those buyers can see everyone else's products while they're here. A seller who brings people in helps every other seller on the site, and I wanted that seller to get paid for it.
There's also a free resources section, because free things are usually how a teacher finds a seller before ever buying anything. You can add free items there to bring in new buyers and followers.
And we show up in teacher Facebook groups the way a good colleague would, by answering questions. We follow each group's rules, and we don't post links anywhere they aren't allowed.
You will see the real numbers
Every month we publish real traffic numbers to our sellers, showing how many people visited, where they came from and what they bought. You'll also have a live dashboard you can check any day you want, so you're not waiting a whole month to find out how your store is doing.
Built to last, built safely
The two questions I hear most are whether this site will still be around next year and whether it's safe, so here's what we have in place.
Stripe handles every payment and all the card data, so we never see or store anyone's card number. Seller identity checks and tax forms go through Stripe Connect as well. When sellers sign in, they use proven sign-in software with two-step verification.
Your files are stored privately, and when a buyer downloads a PDF, you'll have the option for it to be stamped with their name, which discourages people from passing it around. We back everything up every day, and we watch the site for errors so we can fix problems fast. We have a clear process for copyright complaints, and our DMCA agent registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is underway.
Come build it with us
I can't promise you sales, and no marketplace that's being straight with you can either. What I can promise is that you'll see us working steadily to bring teachers to your products, and that you'll get a fair share of every sale along with numbers you can check for yourself. If that sounds like a place you'd like to list your work, join the seller list.