Are you a new Tes author who’s seeking some further support on how to thrive on the platform? Below you can take a look at the tips provided by our experienced resource sharers which may help you get started on your journey!
What would your advice be for new Tes authors?
Ask yourself these three questions:
1 Is the resource relevant to teachers’ needs at the time of publication? For example, is it up to date to meet the demands of the new national curriculum or the new-look GCSEs?
2 Does it look slick and professional? Would you buy it? Are you proud to show it to other teachers? What makes it so much better than a free download? Does it save the teacher lots of prep time?
3 Does it have substance? Is it detailed and purposeful? Would it help improve lessons and students’ learning? If the answer to all of these is yes, then the chances are it’s a good resource!
Visit online_teaching_resources Tes Shop
My message to all readers: If you wish to become a successful TES Author, you must find a unique way of developing resources which engage students and “trick" them into enjoying the learning process.
Visit ScienceSpot’s Tes Shop
Keep it simple to start with. Focus on one or two concepts that are reinforced with short activities in the lesson.
Twitter is a great tool to raise your profile and I strongly recommend using social media to become known in the education community.
Visit doctorharves' Tes shop
Make your resources look good and ask yourself if it's something that you would find useful in the classroom.
Visit The Primary Teacher Resource Centre Tes Shop
Start small and get some proof that people are interested in the resources you want to create. It will also give you the opportunity to see if it is something you really want to do.
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Develop an excellent resource, make it better and different from what is already out there. If it only took you an hour to make, then it will only take someone else an hour to make, so it won't stand out as a valuable resource.
But if you've researched it, developed it, tested it, taught it, improved it, nurtured it and it's something you can truly be proud of – and if it receives outstanding feedback in a lesson observation – then not sharing it would be a shame, and we should all be ready to pay you a small fee!
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Be confident that your resources are going to benefit teachers and their pupils. When you think a resource is ready, take a step back from it and put yourself in your customer’s shoes: would you be happy if you had paid money for this resource?
Get as much feedback as possible, from colleagues and on TES from users’ reviews. Remember to act on the feedback you are given!
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Give it a go! It's great to see resource ideas that were developed in my head now being used all over the world!
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Go for it! If you have poured time, energy and passion into making high quality resources for your own class, then selling your resources could benefit other teachers and pupils across the globe.
If you know the sort of resources teachers like you need, then why not earn money from sharing them with others too
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Try out your resources with a number of classes to see what works and what doesn’t. Change them, add to them, and make them engaging. When you are happy with the result and you believe it is going to make a difference to students and other teachers, then it is time to publish your resource.
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In order to get noticed, a resource should look professional, especially if people are paying for it. There are a few quick tips I normally use to make a resource look professional in a few minutes:
1. Use coloured boxes to highlight titles. Gradient shading can be eye-catching too.
2. Apply shadow to pictures to make them leap from the page.
If you are just starting out, try making a general resource that is adaptable and can be used again. These could get more views and probably more paying customers, giving you positive reinforcement to make more.
My final piece of advice? Authors should be creating content for the love of teaching, and if you can put in that extra little bit of time to make it look professional, then I am sure it will be popular.
Visit erhgiez's Tes Shop
I very much live my TES life by two mantras: "Sharing is caring" and "If it's not good enough to share, then it probably isn't good enough for the classroom".
Be confident that your resources work effectively in your own classroom first. I always get verbal feedback from my students, and tangible feedback from the work they produce, to make sure that I am happy with it before putting it on TES for someone else to teach from.
Make them as attractive as possible and remember to cater for students of all abilities.
With new features like author shops and the ability to comment back to someone, which is pretty amazing, I think now is a good time for anyone thinking about publishing resources to take the first step.
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Get them uploaded! Everybody out there has an idea, but it's worth taking time out to make it accessible and ready for other teachers to use.
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