Tag: Ambassador

Poshmark Ambassador II & New Search Functions

A small note: My mission has always been to empower and inform sellers so that everyone stands a fighting chance to have a successful small business. I share information freely and not for profit.

That being said, please do not steal my content. This is my intellectual property. If you want to share any of it outside this post please – just ask. Chances are I’ll be more than happy to share, all I ask is you give me credit and let me know. I really appreciate it. Back to regularly scheduled programming.

We received a lot of wonderful information from Poshmark regarding the changes since February but some are asking me, “Now what? How do we operate under these new changes?” Today, I’ll talk about the new search, how SEO has been affected and how Ambassador II fits into the picture.

Poshmark has done two major things since February:
1) Added new parameters to search, including simple search
2) Rolled-out Ambassador II

As a reminder, SEO is irrelevant WITHIN the Posh platform in the context of using true SEO, which optimizes listings for outside search engines and brings traffic for search engine sales such as Google. After all, SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization” and is what we use to get ranked and get views on the Web. Using SEO + normal listing increases sales since you’re adding the element of guest buyers and hits to your closet from Web searches.

Posh has rewarding behaviors programmed into the platform, mostly related to listing, sharing and following. This has not changed. You should continue to list, follow and share as you always have. As with the original Ambassador program, Posh algorithms reward your closet activity by sending targeted users to your closet except now the Ambassador II closets are gaining even more “rewards,” notably enhanced traffic being driven to your closet. Per Nyzelle, the Ambassador II program is supposed to hustle for you; it will drive more traffic, more followers, more visibility so sales can be brought to our doorsteps and prevent us from being required to work so hard. More about the rewards system here.

Make sure you aren’t confusing the two new features(or other regards to sales slowing down) because they’re separate, they just happen to have been rolled out at the same time. The simple search functions within the platform are somewhat hurting the closets who have spent time on SEO’ing their closets. When we have very descriptive titles, sometimes it’s too descriptive and may miss a user who is simply looking for a “blue top.”

In order to combat the search function simplicity, it’s an extremely easy change. Listing titles should change from:


Louis Vuitton Petit Métis MM White Leather Satchel


To:
Louis Vuitton Leather Bag Satchel White Petit Métis MM

By simplifying the first few keywords it will satisfy the new search function and you’ll still have an SEO’d listing because you kept the main keywords needed for outside searches. If a user is searching for “blue top” on Poshmark it will return the listings that have the phrase “blue top”. It also looks for listings that are Just Shared and Relevant (two more filter factors that have been applied to Poshmark’s search features). This means that SEO’d titles will still work as well as they used to and we have the added benefit of having our listings show up for the user if “blue top” is found in your listing.

This brings up a really important point. I know what you’re thinking… You’re thinking, “OK! I’ll just put a lot of keywords and phrases in my listing description and I’m good!”

Nope.

That is called “keyword stuffing”. We’ve all seen the closets who put a huge paragraph of keywords at the bottom of their listings in the hopes they will cast a wider net, but this is actually counter-productive and kills the visibility of your listing. Posh specified that they are looking into putting in controls to deprioritize listings that do this, and search engines absolutely penalize listings that do this. Google (and other engines) have a lot of coding in place to fight spam – and keyword stuffing is spam. If there are tons of keywords in your listing, Google will actually de-rank your listing which hoses SEO.

If we’ve learned nothing else by being sellers on this platform it’s that we have to adapt with changes. This isn’t a change that’s going to kill your closet. In fact, it’s going to help you out a whole lot in the long run. Just remember, we are currently in the rebound period for Ambassador II. With the OG Ambassador program it took 3-6 months to see a full rebound in closet activity and PA2 is seemingly following the same trend. Poshmark is investigating these trends and will improve upon them if they can.

What does this all mean? Keep calm and carry on. I know your sales are suffering right now. So are everyone else’s. Poshmark is not in the business of losing money. If our sales are suffering so are Poshmark‘s. All we can do at this point in time is operate from past history, use the lessons we’ve learned over the years, and make smart, informed decisions. If there continues to be a large dip in sales, it’s a safe bet that Poshmark will course correct.

Just breathe!

XOXO,

Poshmark_Paige

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Hey Poshmark, Let’s Talk

I have worked in software development and e-commerce for over 15 years. I have an acute understanding of the software development lifecycle and how companies should develop and test platform changes because it is my job to do these things. 

One of the rules that is not broken, ever, is to test out platform changes on live data. When I refer to “live data” I am referring to users closets and real time activity. You can imagine my surprise when, listening to the fireside chat, I hear them speak about testing being performed on Group A and Group B, live closets on the Poshmark platform. The logical assumption is that the platform changes were tested out in the live, production system that is the Poshmark platform. I’ve never seen a company do this. It’s just not done. It’s not only unethical, it’s completely against everything developers KNOW to do. 

How can Poshmark explain away using these groups as test subjects when answering a question about why sales drastically decreased, why the search algorithms were not working correctly, why users were not given the opportunity to opt in or opt out of being in a beta test group?

Is Poshmark really saying they’re the direct cause of sales decreases / lost revenue for these two groups of real time, live closets? Is there really to be no mention of reparations that need to be made to the sellers who lost a lot of money during this undisclosed testing phase? A testing phase that was neither communicated nor truthfully represented in the following months when users were begging for answers?

I’m really disturbed. 

We are the First Poshers, who have been here since the very beginning. This platform was built on our blood, sweat & tears. We have developed the SEO Method, educated people about how software algorithms work, navigated not just one, but two Ambassador programs, and learned how to create a sustainable business working within the vague and unknowns. We figured it out. Poshmark has learned from us and has gone public on our backs.

We deserve truthful answers from developers who know what they’re talking about. I am offering to speak directly with the developers and can translate the meaning to the Poshers I’ve educated for years. 

It’s time we had some real talk. Y’all know where to find me.

Poshmark Paige

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PoshmarkTurns6 & What We’ve Learned about SEO, Algorithms & the Poshmark Styling Feature

From the mouth of Manish Chandra himself, we are on the right track with SEO methods and working the algorithms. Many people I know were fortunate enough to attend the #PoshmarkTurns6 party in San Francisco last week and one of the best things that came out of that event is validation from Manish of exactly what’s been discussed in previous posts.

  1. Algorithms run the platform & bring people to our closets
  2. Data and keywording are vital
  3. Closet activity will make or break you
  4. Poshmark is consistently working on improving the algorithms & how they interact with our closets
  5. New features are headed our way soon!

I’ve been seeing lots of positive feedback about how using these methods are making closets come back to normal & increased sales, which is fantastic! The platform is starting to settle back into itself. I’ve given the working-out analogy before and it still holds true. If you stay active most days and follow the activity guidelines, even if you have to take a day or two off, the work you put in prior to those break days is still going to work for you and your closet.

Confession time: I’ve been completely slacking off for over a week. Guess what? My sales have plummeted! It’s my own fault and I’ll take it. The thing is…I’m also confident that, when I get off my butt, it’s going to rebound right back up because what I’ve been talking about in my posts works!!

There is another new feature that has been rolled out for Poshmark Ambassadors – the styling feature – where Poshmark matches you with people who have brands and sizes similar to your closet and you style them by direct sharing some items to their closets. (No word yet on exactly when it’s going to be at 100% for all people, unfortunately.)

Admittedly, this is a feature that still needs some work. Some are complaining they’re getting styling requests from people who have nothing listed in their style card or that the style card doesn’t match anything in their closet. That’s ok! They’re working on it and it will get better. The most important thing to remember is to not ignore these in your feed and, for goodness sake, don’t turn it off! This is another activity type that really makes the algorithms happy. Here are some tips for making the styling feature work for you:

  • Always check the style card for the potential buyer’s listed sizes & brands. If there is nothing listed…
  • Check their Love Notes for items they have purchased. This will give you an idea of their style and sizes. If there are no love notes…
  • Do your best! If you have nothing to go on, just share a few things that could work for everyone.

The key is in the direct shares** and not ignoring the styling requests. I know these feel overwhelming at times but work through them as you can. It’s activity.

Activity = Happy algorithms

Ignoring requests/decreased activity = Unhappy algorithms

Unhappy algorithms mean you’re getting skipped over while Betty Sue who is working her little fingers off styling people will “trend” and get the sales you’re not.

**Side note: Do not direct share your whole closet to people! Four or five items is plenty; anything over that is just downright obnoxious. (Direct sharing is when you take an item from your closet and share it to a specific user’s closet. If you’re unsure how to do this, ask me or check out Poshmark FAQs.)

Make sure what you’re sharing makes sense. Put an outfit together. Provide an accessory if you have one. Make it affordable as a bundle. If a professional stylist was trying to get Jennifer Lawrence ready for an event do you think they’re going to throw three tops and a well-worn pair of Uggs at her? UmmmmNO. They’re going to put together a well-thought-out group of items that make sense together. This is what being a stylist is all about. If you’re fortunate enough to have your buyer bundle some items – send them a bundle offer! This is more happy algorithm activity!

The jury is still out if these styling requests lead to sales. So far, some have said they’re getting some sales but for the most part, a lot of these direct shares will be ignored. That’s fine! You’re still making happy little algorithms work for your closet and that is the benefit.

Now is not the time to get complacent! This is the busy season. People are buying gifts and spending money so keep at it! Follow as many people per day as you can. Share back all activity (and more), and don’t forget direct sharing! Share your closet multiple times/day. Keep adding new listings every day. Make Poshmark work for you by using the Poshmark SEO method, giving Posh great data to work with and staying active every day!

Happy Poshing!

Kim aka @poshmark_paige

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“Poshmark Ambassador Has Killed My Sales!”

Many have expressed concern about the recent changes to the Poshmark platform, the Ambassador program and even proclaiming plummeting sales as a result. As a software architect and someone who works in eCommerce (online retail), I thought I’d help explain what happens when a major retail platform undergoes an overhaul, what to expect and how you can adapt to bring your sales back to normal.

Poshmark has lots and lots of mathematical code that runs in the background called algorithms. Think of those algorithms as the blood that runs through your body. It keeps the heart beating, notifies you when something is wrong, and works with your organs to keep you healthy. The algorithms collect data every millisecond and Poshmark uses that data to do *everything*. Data tells them when things are trending, when something is failing or is broken, finds the spammers and removes them automatically, everything you can imagine (times 1,000,000,000). In short, the two most important things the Poshmark app has to work with are the ALGORITHMS and DATA.

1. Why did all the closets go to crickets when they made these changes? Everything has been reset and it takes time to build back up. The algorithms have had to start from scratch which means the DATA has to start from scratch too. It’s like going from being in a coma to running a marathon. Think that can happen overnight? Nope. Lots and lots of data has to be collected, lots of physical therapy (fixing what’s not working, tweaking, analyzing the data) and building back up to what it once was. As the data builds back up, the app gets stronger and stronger & will eventually be back in the Boston Marathon…but we aren’t quite there yet.

2. The Poshmark Ambassador program is another set of algorithms, an engine that is collecting data from your closets to bring people to you. It’s sweeping through all of your closets, checking brands, sizes and activity and then using that data to target other Poshers. That engine then displays us in their feeds, under the “Find People” section and shows our items when people are searching for things. This is a BIG DEAL. It’s free advertising!

How to leverage the Poshmark Ambassador program.

First and foremost, you have to spend time on your listings in your titles & descriptions. When the app is searching for brands, colors, sizes, condition…it’s searching the words you use (keywords). If you want to find a large, black Tory Burch Kensington Tote are you going to search for “black bag” or are you going to get more specific? If your title says “Black Bag” and mine says “Tory Burch Black Large Kensington Tote” who do you think is going to come up in search results first? Furthermore, if I find several of those totes and I see a listing that has “excellent condition” and not much else vs. all of the measurements, condition, even disclosing any tiny flaws, who do you think I’m going to buy from? All that being said, the algorithms are also looking at those keywords (data) and storing it up to make the program better. Only by collecting lots and lots and LOTS of data is Poshmark going to be be able to send people our way. Ever heard the expression “garbage in/garbage out”? If you feed Posh garbage that’s exactly what you’re going to get back.

Secondly, you MUST be active, but in a way that makes the algorithms happy. You have to follow, share, welcome new Poshers, create no less than three listings every day (even if it’s relisting something old) and following & sharing back the activity you get in return. Making the algorithms happy is like doing a workout everyday. The more you do it, the better shape you get in and the stronger you are. Poshmark recognizes this activity and rewards you by sending you buyers, putting you high up in the “trending” results and basically giving you a giant chocolate eclair with zero calories.

So, for those who feel like the Ambassador program has crashed your closet you’re only partly correct. Sure, it slowed things down for a bit but you can “work out” and get back into shape by keeping at it. If you refuse to change and adapt to the way things are now you cannot expect to be successful. You also need to be patient. This is not going to happen overnight and they have lots of kinks to work out, lots of data to gather, lots of physical therapy. You can be sure that YOU not making sales is not doing them any favors. Poshmark made these changes in order to make the platform super “in shape” and running like a top. It WILL work for you if you put the effort in now and KEEP making the effort.

If you have done all the things I have mentioned above and are not seeing your sales back to where they were, don’t give up yet. Before you argue that you’ve already done all of that, remember we are still in that settling-in time. Poshmark has to build up the data and keep tweaking before it will fully bounce back. It takes time! The more active you are, the faster the platform will get better.

For those who are considering opting out of the program I would strongly recommend you think long and hard about that decision. Opting out is permanent and when Poshmark is back in shape you’ll be left in the dust while everyone else who has put in the work will sail across the finish line. So, buck up, Buttercup! Buckle down and get to work. Revamp your listings, focus on quality, and stay active!

Kim aka @poshmark_paige

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The SEO Method & Poshmark – How to Use Keywords to Build Your Closet

Using the SEO Method in your Poshmark Listings (Search Engine Optimization) is one of the top tools for any serious Poshmark seller.

First, I’m going to start out by saying you don’t really need to read all the websites and watch YouTube videos that tell you how to optimize your webpages (eBay, retail pages, ecommerce, etc.).

POSHMARK IS NOT in that arena!!!

The Difference: Retail pages, eBay listings & websites all have static pages (and all kinds of stuff in the background you don’t even want me to get into). They don’t really change. To a search engine, those pages sit out in the wonderland of the internet and chill, and the search engine Gods “find” the content and do this thing called “indexing” where they find keywords and give it a score. When a page hits a certain score it goes up up up in the search engine results as its score gets higher – listed in the top 10 instead of number 10,156, for example. That’s called ranking. High ranking = Optimization.

Poshmark listings do not rank. They are not static pages. They change every time you share them. These listings do not have the capacity to *rank* so you have to be strategic in a different way to get them to come up in search engine results.

How Do I Get My Listing to Show-Up in Search Engines and in Insta/Pintrest/etc.?

1) Have a Perfect Title

Example of a “perfect title”: Michael Kors Mercer Snakeskin Tote Mulberry

Example of the same bag in a not-so-perfect title: Micheal Kors Lizard Bag in Red

What’s wrong with the NSP title?

-Spelled “Micheal” incorrectly

-Did not use the product style name

-Did not use the correct color or material

Note: ALWAYS put the brand in your title!!! That’s your main buzz keyword(s)! Search engines do not search on the brand listing tag that you use when posting a listing. The *only* search engine that uses that is Poshmark!

2) Have a Perfect Description

Research your product! If you search for the MK Mercer online you should go to the manufacturer’s website whenever possible. If you cannot find it in a current manufacturer site, search for it as a “comp” on other sites like The Real Real, eBay, etc.

Example of a “perfect description”:

Picturing the Mercer Tote from Michael Kors in color Mulberry.

**STOP**

Notice that first sentence?? It has a very specific formula!

-It’s no more than 10 words! (Important – search engines look at the first 10 words at the beginning of a section)

-It has all the same keywords BUT they are changed-up a bit (search engines HATE repetitiveness!!!)

…..Continuing…..

Picturing the Mercer Tote from Michael Kors in color Mulberry. Style# 30H7GM9T3L

Genuine snakeskin, with an ultra-rich take on the MK original Mercer tote. The streamlined silhouette features structured top handles, a removable shoulder strap, with a median zippered compartment for smaller items. Finished with a new MK minimalist lock charm, this tote combines signature style with a wild spirit.

DETAILS

• 100% Water Snake

• Gold-Tone Hardware

• 12.5″W X 9.75″H X 5.5″D

• Handle Drop: 5.5″

• Adjustable Strap: 15.75″-18.25″

• Interior Details: 2 Open Compartments, Center Zip Compartment, Back Zip Pocket

• Lining: 100% Microsuede

• Imported

OBSERVE LAST LINE (I’ll come back to this)—->Grab the Mulberry Mercer Snakeskin Tote & embrace the wild!

Awesome description right?? IT SHOULD BE! I grabbed it from the MK website, BUT I changed it just enough that it kept all the buzzwords without being outright plagiarism.

Know what that does?? It piggy-back’s on an already-proven top-ranked website and uses the same keywords which will automatically put you right up at the top, too.

Don’t forget to include that style number (and style name)! People will search for those just to find a very specific product. Clothing has an RN# on all the inside tags. Replace the style number with the RN# on all clothing.

Check out that last line though… Also VERY important. I’m closing the listing with the last ten words containing a lot of the same keywords used in the 1) Title and 2) Description First Sentence. You don’t have to have all of them if you can’t make an only-ten-word sentence, but you should keep the most important. Search engines will look at the beginning ten and the ending ten for those keywords so this completes the SEO formula. Just remember to change it up! Keep it within ten words, use the same keywords but don’t duplicate the same sentence anywhere because search engines hate repetitiveness (even though I’m repeating it to drill it into your skull!).

Obviously this listing example has a very specific product in mind. If you don’t have those kinds of details just think about what people would search for! If you have a royal blue racer back tank then use “Royal Blue Racer Back Tank Top” in your title and in keywords. Do NOT say, “Blue Top” because it’s not specific enough. No one looking for a racer back tank is going to be taken to your listing with a title like that…

I know this seems confusing and like a ton of information but it’s genuinely quite easy once you have done it a few times. If you follow the formula, you’ll always pop up in those searches!

To recap:

1) Have the perfect Title – ALL the right product descriptive keywords that people would search

2) Have the perfect Description – First ten words have keywords and last ten words have keywords, but in different orders/sentence structure. In the middle, make sure your product description is as close to the manufacturer’s as you can get without plagiarizing.

3) And, for goodness sake, have most-excellent pictures!

It’s truly that simple! Happy to have a Q&A about any of this content. I know it’s A LOT. Just read through it slowly and practice. You can’t get it wrong and kill your listings – you can only IMPROVE your results by following the SEO method!

Kim @poshmark_paige

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