10 Ways to Build a Push Notification Strategy for Publishers

Push notifications are a highly effective and engaging way for publishers to interact with their audience. However, leveraging their true potential requires building a solid, well-planned push notification strategy. 

Let’s look at 10 ways to build an impactful push notification strategy to send messages that not only captivate readers but also enhance key business performance metrics.

What are Push Notifications?

Push notifications are brief, concise messages that pop up on mobile devices or desktop screens, even when the user isn’t actively on the sender’s website or app. They’re widely used across several sectors, including eCommerce, SaaS, health, education and more.

For instance, eCommerce push notifications might inform users about a flash sale or a price drop for an item in the wishlist. Similarly, SaaS products might send alerts about a new feature release or a change in service status via push messages.

The content industry, particularly publication platforms and apps, has also made good use of this approach. Publishers routinely send push notifications to update users about the latest articles, breaking news, exclusive content and any significant updates.

Let’s take a closer look at how push notifications can help publishers.

Push Notification Marketing for Publishers

Push notifications assist publishers in optimizing key performance indicators (KPIs) — such as total time reading — by informing users about the content pieces they are most likely to engage with based on their past reading habits. At the same time, this process improves the user experience (UX), freeing the reader from having to manually hunt down the content that will most interest them. 

Additionally, notifications about new features, premium content, exclusive offers or special events can effectively drive website and app users back to the platform, increasing retention and fostering loyalty.

This strategic use of push notifications is known as push notification marketing — enabling publishers to keep their users engaged, retain them for longer durations and transform them into loyal readers. 

And it doesn’t stop there; notification marketing allows publishers to gently nudge users towards desirable actions such as sharing content, signing up for a newsletter or subscribing to premium content.

Now it’s time to dive into the 10 simple ways for publishers to build a robust push notification marketing strategy, ensuring consistent value for their audience while boosting key business metrics.

10 Ways to Build a Push Notification Strategy

1. Find the Best Pages to Launch Opt-ins

Opt-ins are an essential part of push notification services, as they get the publishing platform’s permission to send pop-up messages from the reader.

Placing opt-ins on pages that draw the most traffic, engage users and retain their attention offers a higher likelihood of success. This could be the home page, a trending article page, or a resource page that consistently drives high engagement.

Identifying high-performing pages can be done by tracking metrics such as average time on page, bounce rate, reader retention time and search engine results page (SERP) rankings with tools such as Google Analytics (GA) and Ahrefs. Pages that have lower bounce rates and higher retention time and SERP rankings are the pages where placing opt-in messages to send permissions could produce the best results.

2. Offer Targeted Value Every Time

Remember, each reader on a platform is unique and has different expectations, interests and needs. Some might be seeking educational content, while others might be looking for practical tips, insights, or fresh ideas. 

Delivering exactly what readers want and need is key to driving higher engagement and improving reader satisfaction.

Here are some action items to help create engaging push notifications for readers that provide targeted value each time:

• Audience segmentation: Categorize the readers into various groups based on their reading habits, demographics and interests to tailor push notifications that address their specific needs.

• Relevance: This could be an update about a new article in their area of interest, a tip that they would find useful, or an exclusive offer tailored to their preferences (based on segmentation).

• Timing: Use analytics to understand when the audience is most active and schedule them accordingly.

Publishers send push notifications like this to keep their readers updated.

Source: Washington Post 

3. Send Memorable Welcome Messages

A well-crafted welcome message can significantly enhance a publisher’s push notification strategy by immediately making web and mobile app users feel valued and appreciated, setting a positive tone for future communications.

A welcome message can include information about what readers can expect from push notifications, introduce them to the publishing platform or share useful resources. It’s all about making that first impression count and showing the readers that they’ve made a good decision by subscribing to the notifications.

Here are a few tips to help craft effective welcome messages:

• Focus on the reader: Thank them for subscribing and make the appreciation of their interest clear.

• Set expectations: Push notifications could be updates on new articles, special offers or exclusive content. Inform the audience right from the get-go what they might receive.

• Provide value right away: This could be a link to a trending article, an exclusive offer or a useful tip.

• Keep it short and sweet: The aim of a welcome message is not to overwhelm but to greet and appreciate. Keep the message succinct and friendly.

4. Use Other Channels to Encourage Subscriptions

Leveraging the reach and authority of other channels can help increase subscription rates, enhance user engagement and allow for more comprehensive data collection.

Some common channels that publishers can use to encourage push notifications subscriptions include email newsletters, social media platforms, YouTube videos, podcast episodes and even physical events. 

The idea is to capitalize on every opportunity to promote push notification subscriptions and provide the audience with ways to stay updated.

Here are a few actionable tips to help maximize the impact of multi-channel push notification promotion:

• Value-driven promotion: Pair the message with valuable content. This could be a helpful tip, a preview of exclusive content, or a teaser for an upcoming event. The idea is to demonstrate the value that subscribing to push notifications can provide.

• Occasional reminders: Include a short tip about the push notifications and the value they bring to the audience in regular content such as an email newsletter, social media post or podcast episode. Don’t spray and pray, however, as including reminders in every single content piece can quickly become irritating.

• Make it easy: Remove any barriers to subscribing. Provide clear instructions and ensure that the process is straightforward and quick. The easier it is to subscribe, the more likely the audience is to do so.

5. Add Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons on High-Traffic Pages

Adding call-to-action (CTA) buttons on high-traffic pages increases the chances of conversion by placing the push notification opt-in in front of a large number of visitors. 

Here are some best practices that can help:

• Pop-ups: A well-placed and well-timed pop-up can significantly increase a push notification subscription rate.

• Non-intrusive placement: It should be noticeable but not intrusive, allowing the visitors to continue engaging with content without feeling pressured or distracted. Floating CTAs and banners are a great way to do this.

This pop-up allows readers to interact with the content.

Source: PushEngage

• Limited frequency: Limit the frequency of the CTA display to maintain a balance between visitor awareness and reader experience.

6. Map On-Site User Activities and Other Actionables

Learning how readers interact with the platform’s content and delivery mechanism (website or mobile app) is essential to customizing push messages that contribute to a higher total reading time.

Here are some of the behavioral parameters publishers should consider tracking:

• Areas of content focus: Monitor which sections or topics users spend most of their time on. This can shed some light on their preferences, helping tailor push messages accordingly.

• Tags of preferred articles: By keeping an eye on the tags of the articles the readers prefer, publications can send notifications related to similar topics, increasing the chances of content engagement.

• Content length: Some users might prefer short, concise articles, while others might be more interested in long-form content.

7. Discounts, Deals and Special Offers

Discounts, deals and special offers are powerful incentives for readers to enable push notifications. These notifications allow them to stay updated about new deals and closely monitor upcoming sales — increasing app engagement and potentially in-app purchases.

Publishers can send notifications about offers to their mobile app.

Source: Stack Overflow

Here are some incentives publishers can offer their readers:

• Subscription discounts: Offering discounts on subscriptions is a great way to increase the number of long-term readers and reward them for their loyalty.

• Premium content offers: Publishers can also entice readers with offers related to premium content access, giving them a taste of more in-depth, high-quality material gain through a push notification subscription.

• Early access deals: Giving readers early access to certain articles or resources not only increases engagement levels but can also make readers feel valued.

To maximize this strategy’s impact, here are some best practices to follow:

• Personalized offers: By collecting information on the reader’s preferences, publications can personalize the offers as much as possible.

• Send reminders: If a reader hasn’t acted on a deal, don’t hesitate to send them a reminder. However, make sure to limit the number of reminders to avoid coming across as spammy.

• Seasonal offers: Deals related to holidays or significant events can also attract readers. Schedule the offers to keep readers engaged throughout the year.

8. Provide Succinct Message Permissions

The “Permission request” message’s purpose is not only to ask users’ consent to send push notifications but also to explain why these messages will be of value.

Here are some best practices to make these pop-ups effective in increasing the opt-in rate:

• Make it relevant: If readers understand why the notifications are beneficial to them, they’re more likely to opt in. Try to frame the permissions request in a way that relates to their interests and reading habits.

• Avoid jargon: Niche-specific and technical terms could make push notifications request messages difficult to understand, thereby decreasing their effectiveness.

• A/B test different formats: Using “Recommended for you” and “Based on your preferences” headings in similar requests sent to two different audience segments will allow publishers to pick the most engaging format.

9. Onboard Users in Real-Time

Properly onboarding users to a website or app is an effective way to amplify push notification strategies. This process familiarizes users with the platform and its features, making it more likely for them to engage with the platform and its push notifications.

Real-time onboarding is all about guiding users through the platform as they’re using it. This could involve highlighting various sections of the site, explaining how they can personalize their reading experience, or walking them through the process of enabling push notifications.

Here are a few best practices for real-time user onboarding through push notification services:

1. Ask before onboarding: Check with the reader to see if they’d like a tour of the platform. This respects their autonomy and prevents them from feeling overwhelmed.

2. Make it interactive: Consider using interactive elements like clickable prompts or drag-and-drop components to make the process more engaging.

3. Use visual aids: Screenshots, arrows and highlighted areas can all help to visually guide users through the onboarding process.

10. Get the Timing Right

When a push notification lands on a user’s device at an opportune moment, the chances of user engagement increase. Moreover, timed notifications enhance the user experience by appearing considerate and personalized rather than disruptive or intrusive.

So, how can publishers ensure they get the timing right? The answer lies in leveraging data analytics. By studying user behavior and demographic data with the tools mentioned earlier, publishers can deduce the optimal time for sending push notifications.

For instance, if data reveals that a majority of the readers are active on the platform during their lunch break, scheduling push notifications for that period could boost engagement rates.

Final Thoughts

Building an effective push notification strategy is about more than just broadcasting messages to readers — it involves a strategic and informed approach, with a focus on personalization, timing and offering tangible value.

The world of digital publishing is competitive, with the difference between thriving and struggling platforms often boiling down to how effectively they engage their audiences, not just content quality. By pairing the push notification feature with a robust, data-backed strategy, publishers can boost their engagement and retention rates.