Update: On November 2, Amazon informed publishers in its Digital Educational Resources program that the program would be discontinued due to “relatively low demand for its products.” The ability to publish new items will be removed December 9, and products will be removed from the storefront January 30, 2023.
Low-content creators have been interested in selling digital printables on Amazon for a long time. Many sell journals, planners, and the like on Amazon via its KDP self-publishing arm (formerly called CreateSpace). They find success there due to the high volume of high-intent buyers on the site. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that traffic looking for your printable products? Now you can, provided that your printables are educational and tailored to teachers, parents, and Kindergarten through 12th-grade students.
Amazon Ignite is open for business
In November 2019 Amazon launched its educational resources marketplace which it has named Amazon Ignite. Its goal is to “connect educational content creators with Amazon customers.” The marketplace lets you “sell your original teaching resources—like printables, lesson plans, and classroom games—as digital downloads.” It is competing with buyers who now frequent sites like Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy to find classroom resources. Amazon tends to eventually dominate the niches it enters. It is likely that before long the site will be the “go-to” place for educational printables and digital downloads.
Ignite: What’s in a name?
Think of this brand name in relation to Kindle, and it makes perfect sense. Educators (and of course parents) seek to ignite children’s curiosity and love of learning. The definition of “ignite” is to “arouse or inflame (an emotion or situation”. To kindle is “to arouse or inspire an emotion or feeling.”
How to find Amazon Ignite products
Find the products listed on Amazon Ignite by filtering a search with “Digital Educational Resources” from the dropdown menu on the home page.
You can also find the marketplace here. To get a feel for what’s already listed, try typing in “student planner” or “worksheets.” Sponsored product ads, which may or may not be items from this section, are displayed at the top of the search. This is common with other Amazon searches throughout the site. If you are interested in publishing resources on the platform then research what is currently for sale there to get ideas.
Types of resources sold
Buyers of educational resources on Amazon may come at the platform in multiple ways. When browsing, here are the subjects which are filterable on the platform:
- Arts & Music
- Classroom Management
- Computers
- English Language Arts
- History & Social Studies
- Math
- Religion
- Science & Engineering
- Specialties
Shoppers can also filter by Grade Level, Resource Type, Educational Standards, Average Customer Review, and Price range.
The educational printables market is hot
Why did Amazon choose to get into the educational printables market? The question may be why it didn’t start sooner. Amazon has achieved its success by finding areas of friction between buyers and sellers. It then eases that friction, taking a share of the profits. Large and powerful publishers who win lucrative contracts with school districts still dominate the educational materials market. The textbooks and workbooks they supply are still pricey compared to other books and workbooks.
Teachers often create supplemental materials to use in their classrooms. A former public school teacher founded Teachers Pay Teachers in 2006 to help teachers share these resources and earn money for their efforts. TPT is a dominant educational resource marketplace today. Teachers Pay Teachers says that over 2/3 of teachers in the U.S. have used a resource on the site. Etsy is another popular place to sell and buy printables, including printable educational resources.
Homeschooling parents, tutors, public, and private school teachers use digital educational downloads. Usage is growing. In Covid-19 era, especially, parents have been seeking out additional educational resources to supplement their child’s learning. Parents are fed up with the uncertainty of whether school will be in session as usual, or at home. Some have decided to take control by home-schooling their children.
As virus cases ebb and flow, school districts may be forced to abandon in-person traditional classroom learning for virtual on-line education multiple times during the upcoming school year. Printables help to fill in gaps in both content and time. Students may need reinforcement in certain areas. Parents who are working from home may find that their younger students especially are zipping through the school-provided curriculum. Students may need more to do to keep them occupied on educational pursuits.
Sell printables on Amazon Ignite
It isn’t complicated to start selling on Amazon Ignite. First you need to “request an invitation” into the program. Visit the site and click the button. You will need to sign in to an Amazon account, either a personal account, or with an existing or new separate business account (maybe one you established for selling on KDP). Fill in the application form and submit. Once accepted you will receive a welcome email with tips for publishing your first resource.
Earn $ for your educational printables
Publishers on Amazon Ignite receive 70% of the list price (set by the publisher) for items priced at $2.99 or over. Digital educational resources purchased for less than $2.99 are subject to a $0.30 transaction fee. If Amazon discounts your item (maybe by running a promotion) then the publisher receives 70% of the customer price less the transaction fee if applicable. Amazon may occasionally run promotions and still pay royalties on the list price, taking the discount from its profits rather than publishers. The company pays its Ignite sellers within 60 days of the month in which items sold and direct-deposits royalties into the bank account you enter when setting up your account.
If you sell printables, expand your reach with Amazon Ignite
If you are already creating printables it is a great time to pivot into educational printables. Maybe you have experience as a teacher; if so, then all the better, but parents, school volunteers, and even former students can learn what makes a good entry into this space. Though the Ignite marketplace is still relatively new, the traffic that Amazon can bring to items on its site and its willingness to invest in its new ventures indicates that it won’t be long before it is a dominant player in the educational printables space.