If you use the Internet on regular basis you have probably come across sometimes annoying pop-ups that ask you for a permission to send Push Notifications. Many big and small companies are using it to attract more visitors and to boost the revenue. It is a relatively new, yet quite powerful marketing tool, which seems to grow in popularity quite rapidly. Go to TemplateMonster.com or even our own website and look up how it looks like. Why are they so popular? What are their advantages? And how to setup push notifications on your WordPress website? We are going to answer these and some other questions in this article.

What are Push Notifications?

If you are an active social network user you have probably noticed the notifications that you get on your smartphone when some activity occurs (when someone likes your photo, or you get a message). Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox also support push notifications. However, the user should allow showing push notifications in one of those annoying pop-up boxes we have mentioned before. And the main difficulty is to make the visitors allow push notifications instead of blocking them.

What are the Benefits of Push Notifications?

Recent surveys show that push notifications have 50% open rate on mobile devices. Impressive, isn’t it? Moreover, if the person allows push notifications from your website you can always reach them, no matter what web page they are surfing. When you are sending the push notification it will be displayed on top of user’s desktop. Push notifications are way more effective and engaging than email marketing, SMS, and other social media.

How Can You Use Push Notifications on Your WordPress Website?

Push notifications can be used not only in social networks but also by any website. Here are the most obvious ways to use them:

• Present new products, features, updates or services.
• Inform about the sales, promos and other important events.
• Send promo codes or coupons.
• Notify your visitors when you publish a new blog post.

How to Add Push Notification to Your WordPress Website?

Using web design WordPress themes or any other ready-made templates for your website it would be easier for you to get everything set, as they are optimized and highly flexible. There are lots of free and premium plugins for WordPress that will help you to set up push notifications to your website. Here are 5 most popular of them.

1. OneSignal

OneSignal is a free service that allows you adding push notifications to Safari, Mozilla and Chrome browsers. It offers you lots of opportunities. For example, you can set automatic notifications that will be sent every time you publish a post or a reminder that will be sent if the person has not visited your website for a few days. You can set the target audience and narrow it up to your needs. Try A/B testing to figure out, which message works better. You can also customize the opt-in notification to increase the chances of the visitor’s agreement. This is the service that we are using on PremiumCoding. They are constantly updating the service with new features like Intelligent delivery (Each user receives message based on OneSignal’s profile of when they are most likely to respond) which boosts the CTR even further.

2. PushCrew

PushCrew is one of the most popular services for push notifications. The service is free for up to 500 subscribers. If you want to add more subscribers you will have to update your account to the premium plan. To start working you need to have a PushCrew account. You will be able to upload your own logo, change the texts and the color of the box. PushCrew WordPress plugin will automatically insert the Smart Code on your WordPress website. This service allows you setting up push notifications for Chrome, Firefox, and Android devices.

3. PushAssist

This service is similar to PushCrew. Just like in the previous option you will need to create a free PushAssist account. There is a trial version. However, if you want to use it for your website you will have to choose between 3 pricing plans, which start from $9 per month and increase depending on the number of subscribers and availability of features. In addition to Chrome and Firefox, PushAssist supports also Safari. To insert the code to your website you need to install PushAssist Plugin.

4. Push Notifications for WP by DeliteStudio

This is a premium plugin that will make it easier for you to set up push notification. Why? Because it doesn’t use any third-party services. Everything is done directly from your WordPress dashboard. The plugin will suit those who are planning to inform the visitors about the new posts. This is basically the only option. So if you are seeking for flexibility this plugin is not what you need. However, for €99.90 you will be able to send push notifications to iOS, Android, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox devices straight from your WordPress site in real-time.

5. Push Monkey

Push Monkey is a simple plugin that allows you sending notifications about the new content published. If the computer of the user is offline it displays all missed notifications later when it gets active. It supports Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. For Chrome notifications, you can also add an image. You can use a granular filter and define the segments of interests for you subscribers. The notifications appear on top of all windows and if not clicked, disappear after few seconds.

How to Make Your Push Notifications More Effective?

To wind up here are several pieces of advice to make your push notifications more effective.

• Push notifications is a permission-based service. This means the visitor needs to allow push notification from your website. Only after that, he becomes a subscriber. Thus, pay extra attention to the opt-in box: when it appears, how it looks, etc.
• The copy is the most important aspect that influences the efficiency of the push notifications. The character limits for such messages are 40-120 characters. This means you need to use clear action-oriented message.
• Timing is very important. Take into consideration this factor and schedule your push notifications according to the time zone of the subscribers.
• Don’t be too obtrusive. Sending push notifications too often you are likely to annoy the subscribers, which will lead to the opt-outs.
• Don’t use one-size-fits-all tactics. Personalization is a powerful tool in marketing. And push notifications are not an exception. Choose the relevant audience. Spamming your subscribers with irrelevant messages will only lead to exasperation. Segment your subscribers according to their preferences, their behavior, etc. Thus you will increase your click rate and raise your conversion.

We hope that this article was useful for you and you have the pieces of information that would be helpful. If you have already some experience with push notifications feel free to share it in the comments. And for those that are already subscribed to our service, you were notified about this article via push notification.

The post Push Notifications – How to Do It Yourself on Your WordPress Site appeared first on PremiumCoding.