Push notifications are messages that pop up on your mobile device or browser, usually triggered by an app or a website. They can be a powerful way to engage your audience, drive traffic, and increase conversions, but only if you write them well. In this article, you'll learn how to write copy that is optimized for push notifications, based on some best practices and tips.
Before you write anything, you need to have a clear goal for your push notification. What do you want your users to do after they see it? Do you want them to open your app, visit your website, buy something, sign up for something, or take some other action? Your goal will determine the tone, style, and content of your copy, as well as the call to action. For example, if your goal is to increase sales, you might use a catchy headline, a sense of urgency, and a discount offer. If your goal is to increase retention, you might use a personalized message, a reminder, or a value proposition.
Keep your target/goal clear and play with smart taglines or headlines that bound users to visit your website, app or targeted call.
Push notifications have limited space and time to catch your users' attention. You don't want to overwhelm them with too much information or confuse them with complex words. You want to convey your message in a clear, concise, and compelling way. A good rule of thumb is to use no more than 10 words for your headline and 20 words for your body. You can also use emojis, icons, or images to add some visual appeal and emotion to your copy. However, don't overdo it and make sure they are relevant and consistent with your brand.
Do not use logos and brand information because in some cases you will get few clicks and try to arouse the user's curiosity to click on the ad.
Not all users are the same, and neither are their preferences, behaviors, and needs. If you want to increase the effectiveness of your push notifications, you need to segment your audience and personalize your copy. Segmentation means dividing your users into different groups based on criteria such as demographics, location, interests, activity, or purchase history. Personalization means tailoring your copy to each group or individual user based on their data, such as their name, preferences, or previous actions. For example, you can send a push notification to users who abandoned their cart with a reminder and a discount code, or to users who completed a purchase with a thank you message and a cross-sell offer.
Writing copy that is optimized for push notifications is not a one-time thing. You need to test and optimize your copy constantly to see what works best for your audience and your goal. You can use tools such as Google Firebase or OneSignal to create and send push notifications, as well as measure their performance. You can also use A/B testing or multivariate testing to compare different versions of your copy and see which one gets the highest open rate, click-through rate, or conversion rate. You can test different elements of your copy, such as the headline, the body, the call to action, the timing, the frequency, or the tone.
Last but not least, you need to follow the rules and regulations that apply to push notifications. Depending on the platform and the country you're targeting, there might be different requirements and restrictions that you need to comply with. For example, you need to get users' consent before sending them push notifications, and you need to respect their preferences and settings. You also need to avoid spamming, misleading, or annoying your users with irrelevant, intrusive, or excessive push notifications. Otherwise, you might risk losing their trust, loyalty, or even access to their device.