Are you sending enough push notifications
to maximize user retention?
The chances are you're not.
Being too concerned about driving users away with push notifications
may mean you are missing out on a huge opportunity
to engage and retain more users.
For many apps
chances are that a user won't return after their first session.
Therefore, the first few days are your big chance
to help the user build a habit around your app.
So, you should pull out all the stops
to convince them to stick around.
So, not sending push notifications
highlighting the app's value in those first days
has a huge opportunity cost.
A carefully crafted set of notifications
is unlikely to turn users away.
As most of your new users will churn anyway
you have very little to lose
by testing new notification strategies on new users.
The right set of notifications
can increase the number of users who stick around.
Want to get notifications right?
Here are five tips for designing and building
a great push notification strategy.
Step 1: Give people control.
Notification control shouldn't be just about opting in or out.
Give people options for the kind of push notifications they want
and when they want to receive them.
Allowing people to set their own goals
makes them more likely to buy into receiving notifications.
Drive opt-in at global level by telling users
why notifications are helpful and asking them to turn them on.
Ensure users have the option to change their granular settings later.
Step 2: Be relevant.
Personalization is key.
Customize notification content using the insights you have from the user.
Think about sharing recommendations
based on users' tastes, behaviors, and social interactions.
Being timely and delivering messages
when the user is most likely to be engaged.
Delivering localized notifications
using external triggers and events like local weather.
Step 3: Filter the firehose.
As you build triggers to customize your notifications
you may end up with a firehose of events that generates huge numbers of notifications.
If you do, filter and carefully rank them to match relevant events to specific users.
Also, don't just cap the number of notifications per user.
Personalize the frequency cap
so you send more to people who engage with notifications
while putting those who do not engage
into a quieter track.
Step 4: Win back people who opted out.
Users may opt out from push notifications during onboarding.
However, there might be an opportunity to get them to opt in
when they've engaged and see the app's value.
An effective campaign to increase the opt-in rate for active users
is to prompt them to update their phone's notification settings.
Step 5: Let data lead the discussion.
Analyze your retention, conversion, and opt-out data.
Run tests to find out how effective reactivation efforts are
and explore notification performance.
This analysis and testing can give you insights
into when to intervene to reengage a user
how often you should try to reactivate the user
which type of notifications are performing better
which notifications should be prioritized
and more.
Look at more than whether a user opens a notification.
That metric is a useful signal.
But you'll also want to know if they're sticking around longer
or engaging with key features and actions in your app or game.
A successful notification strategy is about balance
sending just the right number of notifications
to optimize your engagement and retention.
On your journey to finding this balance
remember to give people control.
Be relevant.
Filter the firehose.
Win back people who opted out.
Let data lead the discussion.
If you want to dive deeper into app growth, check out the links in the video description.
Stay tuned for our next video
and let's grow together.