Push Notifications: A 15% Lift with A/B Tests

Are you ready to supercharge your marketing efforts? Push notification strategies are no longer a “nice-to-have”; they’re a critical component of any successful marketing plan. But are you truly maximizing their potential, or are you just sending out generic blasts hoping something sticks?

Mastering Push Notifications with Braze: A Step-by-Step Guide

Braze Braze has become a powerhouse in customer engagement, and for good reason. Its granular segmentation and automation capabilities make it a top choice for marketers looking to drive results. Let’s walk through setting up a targeted push notification campaign in Braze.

Step 1: Audience Segmentation

The key to effective push notifications is sending the right message to the right person at the right time. In Braze, start by navigating to the “Segments” section under the “Engagement” tab. Click the “Create Segment” button in the upper right corner.

Give your segment a descriptive name, such as “High-Value Customers – Last 30 Days”. Now, define your criteria. Braze offers a ton of options here. For this segment, we’ll focus on users who have made a purchase in the last 30 days and have spent over $100. Use the “Purchase History” filter and set the “Total Spend” to greater than $100. Then, add a “Last Purchased” filter and set the timeframe to “within the last 30 days”.

Pro Tip: Don’t over-segment at first. Start with broad categories and refine them based on performance. I had a client last year who created 20+ segments and ended up with tiny groups that were hard to manage. Keep it simple initially.

Step 2: Crafting the Push Notification

Now that you have your segment, it’s time to create the push notification. Go to the “Campaigns” tab and click “Create Campaign”. Select “Push Notification” as the campaign type.

On the “Content” page, you’ll see several options. Start with the basics: a compelling title and body text. Remember, you have limited space, so make every word count. For our “High-Value Customers” segment, we might say something like, “Exclusive Offer Just For You! Enjoy 20% off your next purchase.”

Next, add an image or GIF to make your notification stand out. Braze allows you to upload your own assets or choose from their library. Finally, select the appropriate action. Do you want users to open the app to a specific page? Use the “Deep Link” option and enter the URL. Or, simply open the app with the “Open App” action.

Common Mistake: Forgetting to personalize the notification! Use Braze’s personalization tags (e.g., {{first_name}}) to address users by name. People are more likely to engage with content that feels relevant to them.

Step 3: Setting Delivery and Scheduling

On the “Delivery” page, choose your delivery method. You can send the notification immediately, schedule it for a specific time, or trigger it based on user behavior. For our “High-Value Customers” segment, scheduling the notification for a weekend morning (Saturday or Sunday around 10 AM) might be effective, as they’re more likely to be browsing and open to making a purchase.

Braze also offers advanced delivery options like intelligent delivery, which optimizes send times based on individual user behavior. This can significantly improve engagement rates. To enable this, toggle the “Intelligent Delivery” option to “On”.

Step 4: A/B Testing and Optimization

Never assume you know what will work best. Always A/B test your push notifications. Braze makes this easy. On the “A/B Test” page, you can create multiple variations of your notification with different copy, images, or send times. Braze will automatically split your audience and track the performance of each variation.

For example, test two different headlines: “Exclusive Offer Just For You!” versus “Don’t Miss Out: 20% Off Inside!”. Monitor the click-through rates and conversions for each variation. After a few days, Braze will declare a winner, and you can automatically send the winning variation to the rest of your segment.

Expected Outcome: By segmenting your audience, personalizing your notifications, and A/B testing your campaigns, you should see a significant increase in click-through rates and conversions. We typically see a 20-30% lift in engagement when implementing these strategies.

Iterable: Automating Your Welcome Series with Push Notifications

Iterable Iterable shines when it comes to automating personalized customer journeys. Let’s focus on setting up a welcome series for new users using push notifications.

Step 1: Creating a New Workflow

In Iterable, navigate to the “Workflows” section and click “Create New Workflow”. Choose “Custom Workflow” and give it a name like “New User Welcome Series”.

Step 2: Defining the Trigger

The trigger for this workflow will be a new user signing up for your app. Select “User Added to List” as the trigger and choose the list that new users are automatically added to (e.g., “New Users – July 2026”).

Step 3: Designing the Welcome Series

Now, add the push notification steps. Click the “+” button to add a new step and select “Push Notification”. Design your first welcome notification. This might say something like, “Welcome to [Your App]! Explore our features and get started today.” Add a deep link to your app’s onboarding tutorial.

Next, add a delay step. Click “+” and select “Delay”. Set the delay to 1 day. After 24 hours, send a second push notification. This notification could highlight a specific feature of your app. For example, “Discover [Feature Name]! Learn how it can help you [Benefit]”.

Finally, add a third push notification with another delay. This notification could offer a special promotion or incentive to encourage users to become active. For instance, “Claim Your Exclusive Bonus! Get 10% off your first purchase.”

Pro Tip: Use Iterable’s behavioral triggers to personalize the welcome series even further. For example, if a user opens the app but doesn’t complete the onboarding tutorial, send a reminder notification. To do this, add a “Conditional Split” step after the first notification. Set the condition to “User Completed Onboarding” is “False”. If the condition is true, end the workflow. If it’s false, send a reminder notification.

Step 4: Activation and Monitoring

Once you’ve designed your welcome series, activate the workflow by toggling the “Status” switch to “On”. Monitor the performance of your welcome series by tracking metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Use this data to optimize your workflow and improve its effectiveness.

Common Mistake: Making the welcome series too long. Users are most engaged when they first sign up. Keep the welcome series concise and focused on getting them to take action. Three to four notifications is usually sufficient.

Airship: Optimizing Push Notifications with A/B Testing

Airship (formerly Urban Airship) is another solid choice for push notification marketing, particularly known for its robust A/B testing capabilities. Let’s see how to use it.

Step 1: Creating a New Message

In Airship, navigate to the “Messages” section and click “Create Message”. Select “Push Notification” as the message type.

Step 2: Designing the A/B Test

On the “Content” page, you’ll see the option to create an A/B test. Click the “Enable A/B Test” checkbox. Now, you can create multiple variations of your notification.

For example, test two different delivery times: one at 9 AM and another at 6 PM. Create two variations of your notification, one scheduled for 9 AM and the other for 6 PM. Airship will automatically split your audience and track the performance of each variation.

You can also test different notification copy. For example, test a notification with a question versus one with a statement. Variation A might say, “Ready to save money on your next purchase?” Variation B might say, “Save money on your next purchase with our exclusive deals!”

Pro Tip: Focus on testing one variable at a time. If you change both the copy and the delivery time, you won’t know which factor is driving the results. Keep it simple and isolate the variable you’re testing.

Step 3: Analyzing the Results

After running your A/B test for a few days, analyze the results in the “Reports” section. Airship provides detailed metrics on open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates for each variation. Identify the winning variation and use it for future campaigns.

Common Mistake: Ending the A/B test too soon. Give the test enough time to gather statistically significant data. A week is usually a good timeframe. Also, make sure your audience size is large enough to produce meaningful results. A small sample size can lead to skewed data.

Expected Outcome: Consistent A/B testing can lead to significant improvements in your push notification performance. We’ve seen clients increase their click-through rates by as much as 15-20% by systematically testing different elements of their notifications.

Push notification marketing is a powerful tool, but it requires a strategic approach. By leveraging the segmentation, automation, and A/B testing capabilities of platforms like Braze, Iterable, and Airship, you can deliver highly personalized and effective notifications that drive results. According to a 2025 IAB report IAB.com, personalized push notifications see a 4x higher open rate than generic blasts.

The Fulton County marketing landscape is competitive. Generic messaging simply won’t cut it. Taking the time to understand your audience, craft compelling notifications, and optimize your campaigns will give you a significant edge.

Conclusion

Stop treating push notifications as an afterthought. Start experimenting with personalized messaging and A/B testing within your chosen platform. Commit to running at least one A/B test per week for the next month. I guarantee you’ll uncover insights that will dramatically improve your engagement rates and drive meaningful results for your business. Also, be sure you aren’t annoying your customers with these notifications!