Push notifications are a great way to remind your audience not only that your app exists, but that it cares to elevate user experience by introducing new issue releases and updates. That said, writing a good push notification can be tricky. Depending on the app marketplace, you’ve only got limited characters to work with. Also, if your message is intrusive, you could lose the audience. They might change their settings to stop getting push notifications, or they might — gasp! — delete your app altogether.
So what makes a push notification impactful? The key factor in sending great notifications is to give your audience exactly what they want and when they want it. You need to actually push something useful, right into the hands of your audience. To guide you through, we have listed the qualities of good push notification:
Segmentation. Sending similar notifications to every reader might hamper your relationship with them, even before you create one. A welcome notification, sent to a new user might not sound relevant to an existing and loyal customer. Similarly, a health freak has different preferences than a cuisine lover and might not entertain a post on gymming tips. To avoid these situations, segment your users into different lists and enjoy targeting.
Frequency. Don’t send a push notification just for the sake of sending one. Yes, all the marketers are telling you to send them. But, don’t do it until there’s a compelling reason. The more often you send notifications, the more intrusive your brand will be perceived. Determine how your audience reacts to the sent notifications and strategize the frequency.
Time. Pay attention to what time your audience is most active and consume content. As per the study, entertainment notifications are most engaged at 10 PM while travel notifications between 3 PM and 7 PM. Analyze what time is best to send the notifications to your audience. If it’s an off time for you, schedule your posts and improve the overall user experience.
Relevant. Some relevant reasons to send notifications include: breaking news your audience cares about; a great, time-limited product offer; something your customers desperately wanted is back in stock; a new edition of your digital magazine is ready and it includes this article that’s already going viral. Say for example, here’s a not so relevant reason: “Hey, we were really hoping to improve our stats today so we’re just saying ‘Hi’ to get you to click here.”
Readable. This may seem totally obvious, but think how many times you’ve stumbled over clunky phrasing? Push messages need to be super clear and succinct. Use short, powerful words and save detailing words for someplace else.
Actionable. This answers the question “what should I do with this feeling?” that you hopefully created in the reader. Your calls to action should use words proven to help click-through rates such as “come,” “only,” and “off.”
Every time you write a push notification, create a few drafts. Then pick two or three that you like the best and test them. You’ll quickly get a feel for the type of message that outperforms others, for your specific audience — rather like figuring out how they’ll react.
With mag+, start creating your content apps today and engage users with push-worthy content!