Ding! You have a new notification!
How many times a day do you see a notification like this on your phone or desktop browser?
Users of apps like Facebook and WhatsApp are already used to this type of messaging. Most mobile apps have a similar messaging system.
These are called push notifications .
This technology has been used by large enterprises and Fortune 500 companies for many years and this simple gadget has contributed a lot to the growth of these businesses.
Thanks to the growing number of startups, bloggers and small business owners can now use this technology for their blogs and websites.
If you’re not using push notifications on your website/blog, you’re missing out on a lot.
How do web push notifications work ?
Web push notifications allow you to send clickable messages to your subscribers' browsers (available on desktop and mobile). They use an opt-in/opt-out mechanism where users can click to subscribe or adjust their browser settings to unsubscribe.
Image source: LetReach
There are many online services that offer this marketing technique, both free and paid. (I recommend some great services at the end of this article.) Most also offer WordPress plugins, making it easy for bloggers and entrepreneurs using the WordPress platform to take advantage of web push notifications.
After the initial configuration, push notifications are automatically sent when you publish a post.
I’ll be sharing lots of tips and advanced usage guides in the coming days, but for now, let’s take a look at the benefits of using push notifications.
Why Should Bloggers Use Web Push Notifications?
If you’re using email marketing (free or paid), then you can easily understand the direct and indirect benefits of push notifications. Just like email marketing can help you convert first-time visitors into subscribers and bring in repeat business, web push notifications can do the same.
Here are some of the most important things you need to know about push notifications…
1. They are great for converting visitors into subscribers.
A mistake most bloggers make is not trying to convert that traffic into regular subscribers.
When you offer your first-time visitors the option to subscribe to your blog via push notifications, email, or any other method like RSS, you now have the opportunity to let them know about any new posts you publish.
This helps you keep increasing your traffic through repeat visits .
This is actually how most of the top blogs are able to maintain such high levels of recurring traffic.
2. They drive real-time traffic.
You really can't ignore this.
The ability to reach readers in real time is extremely powerful, and the higher the real-time reach, the more powerful your brand becomes in terms of viral effects.
Imagine you’ve published a time-sensitive blog post and need people to see it as soon as possible. Only push notifications can allow you to spread the information quickly and effectively.
Here are a few practical implementations of real-time push notifications:
- Promote your live video broadcasts.
- Promote limited-time discounts/offers/deals.
- Showcase your latest social media updates.
In addition to driving traffic to my new posts, I also tested push notifications for limited-time specials, which had a high conversion rate. It really is an effective conversion technique.
3. They let readers know the uniqueness of your brand.
Pillar posts are the foundation of your blog, and if your new subscribers don’t see pillar content (or content that makes your brand stand out), it will be difficult for them to understand the impact of your brand.
Some push notification services offer drip campaigns, which are an effective way to get your most important content in front of your subscribers.
Pro Tip: Most bloggers allow users to subscribe to their blog updates and then only send them new blog posts. Instead of doing this, nurture your new subscribers with your most important content, your brand philosophy, your achievements, and other important content that will help them learn more about your brand.
Here is how I did it:
I use a service called PushEngage , which offers user segmentation and drip push options. I segment users based on the categories of blog posts they are reading, and then send them pre-selected content based on their areas of interest. All of this requires a one-time setup (30-35 minutes), and everything is automated after that.
Warning: You need to be careful not to send too many notifications. If you use segmentation and autoresponders, you should set up a system to limit the number of notifications you send to your subscribers per week.
Enable push notifications for your website
There is no doubt that this is an effective technique for driving traffic to your blog or website. The sooner you start using it, the sooner you can benefit from this powerful marketing technique.
What about pricing and top service providers?
The best thing about this technology is that it also has a free tier in addition to the paid tiers.
Many push notification service providers offer free service for the first few thousand subscribers and then charge you once you reach a certain number.
There are also some completely free services (with unlimited subscriptions), but their only downside is that they sell visitor data to advertising companies. For personal websites and blogs, this may be fine, but for serious bloggers and businesses, this can be disastrous.
I will be doing another post in the next few days explaining the pitfalls of free services like OneSignal. For now, I have listed all the popular services:
- PushEngage ( We use it at SidelinePlay, free for the first 2,500 users.)
- OneSignal (Completely free.)
- PushCrew
- iZooto
- LetReach
You can choose any of the above services and start using push notifications right away.
This little trick will help you get more traffic in no time.
If you’ve already leveraged this technology, please share your experiences and optimization techniques with us in the comments below.
Don’t forget to share this article with other bloggers and marketers to let them know about this great technique.
Here are some featured articles that can help you drive more traffic:
- 5 Content Marketing Tips to Attract More Website Visitors (and Customers)
- How to generate organic traffic to your blog
- 23 Tested Platforms for Distributing Your Content and Getting Massive Traffic
- How to Drive Massive Referral Traffic from Pinterest
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you click through to visit us, at no extra cost to you. See how SidelinePlay is funded, why it’s important, and how you can support us.
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