A push notification interrupts someone wherever they are, so each one has to be worth it. People who find push useful keep it on; people who get too many may turn notifications off, and most platforms don’t let a blocked app ask again.
Ask for permission at the right moment
- Ask after a reason, not on the first screen. For example, after an order (“Get delivery updates?”) or when someone saves a search. Safari refuses a request that isn’t made from a tap.
- Explain first. Show your own screen saying what you’ll send and how often, then ask the system’s question.
- Record consent separately. Allowing notifications isn’t consent to marketing. Ask for that too, and record it as push consent. See Who can receive push.
Write notifications people act on
- Lead with the point. The title is often all people read: Your order is on its way, not Update from Juniper Kitchen.
- Keep it short. Aim for a title under about 40 characters and a message that fits two lines.
- Make the tap worth it. Link to the exact page or screen, such as the order, not your home page.
- Personalise with care. A first name helps; an order total, a balance or a health detail shows on the lock screen to anyone nearby.
- Use images where they add something, such as a product photo. Remember iOS needs your app’s notification service extension to show them.
- Use a replace key for updates, so a newer order status replaces the older notification instead of stacking up.
Send at the right time and pace
- Turn on quiet hours, so campaign and journey push waits for waking hours in each contact’s time zone.
- Send in local time when your audience spans time zones. See Schedule and send a campaign.
- Set message limits, so nobody gets more marketing than you mean to, across email and push.
- Use topics, so people can turn off one kind of message, such as offers, and keep the rest. See Topics.
- Let time-limited messages expire. For a flash sale or a live event, set Stop trying after so a phone that comes back online tomorrow doesn’t show yesterday’s offer.
Use push and email together
- Push for the moment, email for the detail. A push says the order shipped; the email has the receipt.
- Push, else email. In a journey, point a push step’s If they can’t receive this, go to at an email step, so people without the app still hear from you.
- Judge push by taps and conversions, not by how many were sent. Set a conversion goal on the campaign or journey to see what each notification led to. See Conversion goals.
Keep your audience healthy
- Register devices every time the app starts, so active devices stay current and gone ones drop out.
- Watch for rejected devices in Device outcomes: a sudden rise on one platform usually means a setup problem, not unhappy customers. See Troubleshoot push.