Poshmark for Beginners: Top Tips for More Sales
Poshmark allows users to buy and sell fashion products online (plus a desktop version).
Poshmark is similar to Etsy. It has a loyal group of sellers and buyers, but unlike Etsy Poshmark focuses more on making it easy for users to shop their closets and boutiques. They only focus on “preloved” and new fashion products like clothing, purses and other accessories.
Poshmark is one of the easiest platforms for getting started, especially since it doesn’t take too much time to set up your profile. You don’t need to customize or design a shop.
You can actually get started in less than five minutes.
Poshmark, like all options, may or may not work for you, depending on the product and your goals.
Here are a few reasons why Poshmark might be a good choice (along with this guide).
- Get started now for nothing
- You want to get going quickly.
- There are items in your closet you would like to sell.
- If you are a boutique owner, you will want to make a few sales before investing in inventory and product.
- A platform that has built-in visitors is what you want.
- In the beginning, you will likely have low volumes of sales.
Here are a few reasons why you might not want Poshmark to be your first choice.
- You would like to create your own store using your custom domain & design.
- Your branding should be in control
- Poshmark does not approve of your product.
- Cross-sell and upsell are your goals.
If Poshmark doesn’t seem right for you, then I recommend my guide to the top ecommerce platforms.
Let’s get started.
Poshmark Profile Setup
Poshmark accounts are required in order to sell on the site. It is very easy to set up an account. This is for those who are interested in buying more than selling.
Poshmark will ask you to create a log in (or log into with Google or Facebook), and then you can select up to three brands that you would like to shop. This allows you to match you to sellers who sell brands you love.
Poshmark then creates your Personal Shopping Network. This is a collection you can automatically follow based upon the brands you choose.
These sellers also make up your Poshmark feed, so their listings will be what you see when logging in to Poshmark.
This is a great way for sellers to be seen by new customers.
Customizing Your Profile
Poshmark does not offer extensive customization options. Poshmark is designed to be used via their app. The focus of the platform is to make it easy for sellers to upload photos from their phones directly into their “closet”.
However, there are some customizations you can make to enhance your closet. These include creating a brief bio, filling out your personal details such as gender, college and graduation year, adding a picture and a link back to your website.
Add Your First Product
After you’ve created your profile, it’s time for you to upload your first product. The process is very simple and quick.
Before you can list your product, there are a few things you need.
It must be fashion/accessory items. (Poshmark also allows some home goods) and not in the banned product category
Also, you’ll need…
- High-quality photos for the product (Poshmark suggests using an eye-catching cover photo, as well as several quality photos showing product details).
- A descriptive product title
- Additional details are included in the product description (e.g. If applicable, the condition of the product
- Original price + listing price
Also, you will need to enter the brand information such as size and quantity. on the product listing pages.
Your closet will be officially open once you upload your first product.
You can add more items to your closet before you market by simply going to “Sell on Poshmark ‘, at the top of the screen, and filling out a new listing.
Setting Up Your Shipping and Other Logistics
You will need to first set up logistics in order to sell on Poshmark. This will allow you to ship items to buyers and optimize your profile.
Poshmark can handle almost everything for your benefit — which is why they charge fees when you make a sale.
Poshmark charges a flat commission of $2.95 per sale under $15 and a 20% commission over $25.
Once the sale is over, you will receive a prepaid and pre-addressed label. Just package the item and attach the label. You can either drop it off at the USPS mailbox, or have it delivered to your home.
First, navigate to Account Settings in the drop-down menu.
Next, click on My Addresses to enter your return address so buyers can return items if needed. If you shop at Poshmark, make sure you also include your shipping information.
Next, set up any seller discounts you wish to offer.
Poshmark lets sellers create Bundles. Buyers can get multiple items in a Bundle at a reduced rate.
A Bundle is a great way for you to get buyers to purchase multiple items if you are looking to expand your wardrobe with multiple products.
There’s also the Boutique Certification.
Boutique Certification is available to boutiques that want to sell on Poshmark. You get the following benefits:
- You can mark your listings as Boutique
- Shoppers will find you quicker
- Access to Unique boutique features
Boutiques must meet certain criteria. A boutique must…
- Wholesale orders / Distributor purchases
- Poshmark has items that are for sale to the general public for the first-time.
- Only list new and unworn items
- Only use original photography.
- Maintain high standards of customer service
You can find more information about Boutique Certification at Poshmark here.
Poshmark – Selling
Once you have taken care of all the logistics, and started adding items to your wardrobe, it is time to actually sell your items.
Your closet does not guarantee sales. Poshmark reported 5 million active buyers in 2019, and this doesn’t include your competitors on other platforms.
Yet, you can also create an instant market in a matter of seconds. It is your job to determine who you are selling to, and where to market to them. The answers to these questions will guide your marketing campaign.
Poshmark
Poshmark’s greatest benefit is their own community of Poshmark shoppers. You have an audience of over 50 million people.
It’s like selling a stall at the farmer’s market. People are coming to the destination. Once they arrive, you just need to grab their attention.
Poshmark offers a variety of options.
Poshmark Search
Poshmark searches can lead to visits. Poshmark’s search engine differs from other web search engines such as Google and Bing. Although there isn’t much information about the search engine used by Poshmark (or if an algorithm exists), it’s important to have clear, memorable product names with clear, readable descriptions.
It all boils down to listing listings you would buy if you were a client.
Posh Parties
Posh Parties can be described as virtual, real-time events that use themes to connect shoppers. This is a great way for you to increase your listing’s likes and comments, and to make sales to people who are actively searching for your products.
One theme could be “Office Attire”, a brand-specific theme, or an item like “Best in Jeans”.
You can learn more about Posh Parties by clicking.
On Social Channels
Poshmark closets and listings work well on social media platforms. Another advantage to Poshmark?
Pinterest, Poshmark and are a perfect match in marketing heaven. Pinterest should be able to see every description and every photo you post.
You can either share individual listings or create an entire board devoted to your closet.
Pinterest is also an excellent place to market research and spend on promoted pins.
Here’s Poshmark’s guide to Pinterest sharing listings, and another great resource for Pinterest marketing.
If you’re a business, Facebook is becoming increasingly “pay-to-play”. You won’t see much traffic if your page is only viewed by organic sales. If you share your listings on your personal Facebook page, it won’t allow you to spread them beyond your circle of friends.
Facebook has amazing paid options for business pages. With very little budget, you can target extremely specific audiences and test your ads.
Another great platform for marketing your Poshmark wardrobe is Instagram.
Instagram, like Facebook, is becoming more pay-to-play. It doesn’t allow direct hyperlinks in your posts. You can promote your listing with a button or link to your closet from your bio. Like Pinterest, you should make sure that every description and every photo you post is well-written.
Poshmark’s built-in “Share on Instagram” capabilities make it easy to share your listings to Instagram directly without any hassle.
Twitter / Other
There are many niche social networks that you can use to market your products. It is important to reach your target audience. This is why it is important to decide who you are selling to.
It could be Wanelo or Polyvore, or Instagram. It could be Twitter, Reddit. It all depends on the product and audience.
Other Channels
Once you have mastered Poshmark and social networking, you will need to think about your domain and your long-term brand.
Once you have started to build your brand through organic search, paid media, and PR, you need to ensure that you are building your own brand and not Etsy’s.
External links will need to point to your domain. Advertisements should point to your domain with your analytics and tags in place. Your PR mention should send people to your site with your experience.
You don’t need to start the right way.
You can find my complete marketing strategy for ecommerce here, if you’d like to save it for future reference.
Organic Search / Search Engine Optimization
Google/Bing will index your Poshmark listings. Google/Bing may bring you traffic – but your search terms must be very specific.
Due to the competition, you won’t rank in Google for product terms that have volume (ie: “Used Louis Vuitton Bag”) because of your low ranking. Such a search may lead you to Poshmark’s search page but not directly to your listing.
Niche terms are also possible to rank for, but they will likely have low volume (e.g. “vintage LV cruiser bag with insert”)
It doesn’t matter what, it’s a profitable channel that you should plan for. Optimizing your Google listings will help you optimize them for other channels.
PPC / Paid Media
Small paid campaigns can be run to your Poshmark listings. However, you cannot (and should not) add analytics or conversion tags on your Poshmark listing.
Multi-touch sales make up the majority of ecommerce sales. People leave, then come back to buy later. You should avoid spending too much on awareness or direct response ads.
To be sure, you should definitely test your campaigns before you plan to launch larger campaigns.
Expanding Your Brand Beyond Poshmark
Poshmark is a great way to sell your fashion items. What about when you want your own brand to grow? How do you grow a boutique?
Poshmark may allow you to go beyond the closet restrictions, create a custom design, or avoid transaction fees.
Here’s how to open your own ecommerce store.
Owning your domain
Your brand’s foundation online is a custom domain. For future use, you can buy one from Namecheap and GoDaddy. You can also set up a redirect so your custom domain can be sent directly to your Poshmark account if you aren’t ready to build a website.
You can’t use a custom domain on the Poshmark platform. You can only redirect your closet’s URL.
Build an ecommerce store
Poshmark sellers often launch their own ecommerce shop on their custom domain. They will keep their Poshmark store – but they will use it as an additional marketing channel to market to buyers who are already on Poshmark.
There are many solutions, and this guide does not cover them all. These are the resources I have compiled –
- Best Ecommerce Platform For You
- Creating an ecommerce store using WordPress & WooCommerce
- The Pros and Cons of Shopify to create an online store
- The Pros and Cons of Using BigCommerce to Create an Online Store
Expanding other marketing channels
After you have built your ecommerce shop with your domain name, there are many options for growing your store. These are some resources I have compiled.
- Inbound Marketing Plan
- Website Data To Track Or Lose Forever
- Pinterest used for Marketing Research
- Ecommerce Guide for Free Shipping
Next steps
This is a lot of information. But, like any large project you want to succeed at, you need to take it one step at a time.
- Begin by creating your Poshmark account and filling in your information.
- Upload your first product.
- Get initial sales & feedback.
- Start planning, improving, and growing with an eye to your ultimate goals.
