Since early 2019, I’ve worked as an SLP TPT VA (in the PNW). So many acronyms, so little time. But what does that mean exactly, and what exactly do TeachersPayTeachers Virtual Assistants help with? This post goes over the very very very basics.
What is TPT?
If you’ve found my website, or have ever worked in a school, I’ll assume you’ve heard of TPT. TPT (formerly TeachersPayTeachers) is an online marketplace where thousands of educators (including me!) create their own products to sell. TPT reports (as of November 2022) 170,000 sellers on the platform, 6 million educational resources, and 7 million educators active on the site.
Who sells on TPT:
- Teachers of surely every subject
- SLPs
- PTs and OTs
- Counselors
- Seller coaches
Who buys on TPT:
- All of the above
- Administrators
- Parents
What is a VA?
A VA (virtual assistant) is someone that assists virtually (what?! I know, unbelievable). VAs exist across a ton of professions. If you search for information online or in Facebook groups, you’re bound to find general information and ideas catering to specific industries.
Now considering there are 170K sellers on the site, some (definitely not all) need help too! More and more, selling on TPT can be overwhelming, and these days it takes a hundred moving parts to have a successful store. Sellers need to consider not only product creation, but their own websites, product photography, previews, marketing, email, ads, design, and more (and more and more 
). DIYing a store is completely possible, but a lot of sellers turn to VAs to take some tasks off their plate, especially as their stores grow.
A TPT VA can work on a *ton* of things, but here are the top 5:
Product creation and editing
When VAs help with product creating, it is typically based on a template provided by the seller. Sometimes the seller will request the VA make a product from scratch, but in my experience this is rare. VAs also update/edit older resources (with new fonts, content, and/or clipart), or write reading passages.
Digital conversions and creation
My speciality! I was a VA during the year that shall not be named when everyone was looking for a digital conversion. Still popular, most sellers use Boom Cards™, Google Slides™, or interactive PDFs to create digital versions of printable products.
Product photography
There has been a big push from the Voices of the Seller-Coaches to use product photography vs PNGs of worksheets, so these VAs are a hot commodity! If you like photography and have the correct equipment (backgrounds, props, lighting, etc.) this could be the jobbo for you.
Video previews
Much like product photography, video previews have risen in popularity. Take a look at a few on TPT to get a few ideas, but these range from a quick video of the product in action, or a longer video that includes all of the details.
Graphic design
There is a lot of need for design: making logos, storefront banners, covers, thumbnails, previews, ad images, and/or social media images.
Other
Here’s a quick list of a few more popular tasks outside of the top 5:
- Audio and voice recordings
- Customer service
- Social media manager
- Pinterest manager
- Email/newsletter
- Website design
- Ads manager
- SEO
Want to learn more? Read more about the most profitable specialties here.
This may seem like a lot, but most TPT VAs settle themselves into a certain niche, and I highly recommend doing so (product photography or SEO, for instance). I myself specialize in digital conversions, and I’ve built a successful business. Finding a niche is the best thing to do to improve your knowledge (you want to be the expert!), expand your client base, streamline your systems, and frankly, make more money.
Also, I cannot emphasize enough how being a “fill in the blank” here helps as well. And I don’t mean anything spicy, I mean being an SLP, being a math teacher, being a social worker, etc. If an elementary school teacher finds a VA with 3rd grade teaching experience, that is a built-in trust factor! In my own experience, SLP sellers love an SLP VA.
I hope this helps with some general ideas of what a TPT VA can do!
If you’d like a list of more ideas as well as a brainstorming activity to help narrow down your niche – download the full free list here.
