Most website owners have the misconception that push notification success depends on the number of people you add to your subscriber list, but the truth is that the opt-out rates matter the most.
While website owners have long implemented strategies to increase opt-out rates, they aren’t able to witness the desired results. Why?
Because the opt-out rates are quite high in web push notifications.
In this blog, we will discuss opt-out rates, how to calculate them, the average opt-out rate, and much more.
What is the Opt-out Rate in Web Push Notifications?
Opt-out is a choice offered to web push notification subscribers to unsubscribe to your push notification anytime they want to. This allows subscribers to withdraw their willingness to receive push notifications.
The opt-out rate is the number of subscribers who have unsubscribed to your push notifications compared to the number of people who have sent the notifications.
How to calculate the Opt-out rate?
The formula is quite simple for calculating the opt-out rate. You have to divide the number of people who unsubscribed by the total number of people you sent push notifications to and multiply it by 100.
For example, let’s say you have sent push notifications to 1000 people. Now, out of these, 10 people have opted out.
So, as per the formula, your opt-out rate is 1%.
What is the average Opt-out rate for Web Push Notifications?
According to several studies, the average opt-out rate of web push notifications is around 10-15%. But the opt-out rate varies as per the industry you are in.
For example, a news website has less opt-out rate. On the other hand, e-commerce websites have the highest opt-out rate.
On the bright side, another survey shows that 18% of people will not block push notifications and 50% are willing not to if and only if they are relevant.
This suggests that bloggers and website owners think the problem is with push notification marketing, which is not the case. The problem is how you execute your push notification strategy.
Why Subscribers Opt out from Push Notification Services
You know what the average opt-out rate is, but what’s important to understand is why your subscribers are suddenly unsubscribing.
There must be some strong reason behind it, and here we will explore the same –
Unsolicited Promotional Notifications
The type of content your users get bombarded with matters the most!
Let’s say you are a food blogger. When someone subscribes to push notifications from your end, it’s because they liked your content and want more on food blogs.
But what most bloggers do is choose a free push notification monetization platform. These platforms give you push notification services for free, and in return, they send promotional content to your audience.
This puts off your subscriber, which leads to opt-outs.
Pro Tip: Choose a push notification platform that ensures no promotional content in your audience whatsoever.
Formatting of Content
The attention span of humans has been reduced to 8 seconds.
Gone are the times when people had no complaints about text written in a single blog. Now, they want it properly formatted with images.
So, if your push notifications aren’t properly formatted, users will unsubscribe right away.
Pro Tip: Create push notifications with catchy images and triggering headlines.
Incorrect Segmentation
Marketers have to ensure that no one is offended, missed, or left out, leading to the creation of content that appeals to everyone, but this leads to mediocre content at best.
When you send the same push notification to everyone, most of them cannot relate to these notifications. In such cases, opting out becomes the best way to escape the flood of irrelevant information.
Pro Tip: Invest in top-notch segmentation strategies to ensure that notifications resonate with specific user segments, reducing the likelihood of opt-outs.
High Frequency
Research suggests that around 50% of people opt out of push notifications simply because they receive too many notifications every day. The aim of sending push notifications should be audience retention rather than promoting every update you have got.
Subscribers find frequent updates frustrating. Honestly, they have no other choice other than unsubscribing to nagging notifications.
Pro Tip: Push notification frequency should be between 1-2 a day only, and consider a platform like LaraPush that has a user-friendly frequency.
Inconvenient Timing
Timing is everything in push notifications.
Inconveniently timed messages, such as late at night or during busy periods, can disrupt the user experience. Subscribers may opt-out to avoid disturbances and maintain control over when they receive notifications.
Respecting user preferences and optimizing delivery times based on behavioral data can significantly reduce opt-outs related to inconvenient timing, enhancing overall user satisfaction.
Pro Tip: Understand the timing for different industries. You can check out our post on the best time to send push notifications.
What is the best Opt-out rate in Web Push Notifications?
Considering the industry average, a good push notification opt-out rate will be around 0.5%. Although this figure varies from industry to industry, try aiming for a rate below 0.5%.
This leads to one of the most asked questions – How can we know the number of subscribers who opted out of our push notifications?
Well, you need a push notification platform like LaraPush that helps you track the opt-out rate for every campaign. By tracking your opt-out rates, you can understand the pattern for opt-out rates in your industry and what exactly subscribers disliked.
Did it increase because of the notification format, or maybe irrelevant content triggered it?
In a nutshell, tracking your unsubscribe rate is non-negotiable if you want to keep your audience hooked for a long time.
Tips to reduce the Opt-out Rate in Web Push Notifications
Are you having the notification opt-out rate way higher than the average mentioned above?
That can change if you start sending push notifications mindfully.
Here are a few ways to reduce your opt-out rates –
Understand the Goals
Start by clearly defining your goal for sending push notifications. Are you sending them to increase traffic to your website, increase engagement, or drive sales?
The type of notifications you send will depend highly on these goals. Once you have a goal in mind, create realistic targets.
Intensive Research on Your Audience
Okay, you have a goal in mind, but your subscribers are going to fulfill it. So study your subscribers in depth. Gain insights into their behavior, demographics, preferences, etc.
After understanding your audience, you can determine the right type of messaging, the best frequency, and the timing.
The Art of Personalization
Personalization goes beyond segmentation.
Tailor content based on individual user behavior and history. Trust us, it’s not that difficult.
Start with sending push notifications that address subscribers by their name. Then, text your notifications by suggesting products or blogs that are highly specific to their preferences on your website so far.
This will help you create a more intimate and engaging experience, ultimately lowering opt-out rates.
Custom Prompt
Generally, most push notification platforms will have a predefined template for push notifications. While you might think these are easier to use, they do little to improve your user experience and reduce opt-out rates.
A custom prompt, on the other hand, allows you to carefully communicate the value users will receive from your website and allow them to customize their preferences.
A well-designed and non-intrusive prompt increases opt-in rates while minimizing the chances of users opting out later due to dissatisfaction.
Trigger Notifications
Implement trigger-based notifications tied to user actions or behaviors. This ensures messages are timely and contextually relevant.
By delivering notifications when users are most receptive, you enhance the overall user experience, reducing opt-outs driven by irrelevant or poorly timed messages.
Best Web Push Notification Platforms
Are you wondering which push notification platform will help you segment your audience, offer the best insights into subscribers, and allow you to create customized prompts?
Let us introduce you to LaraPush.
LaraPush is a self-hosted push notification platform that offers an unlimited number of domains, push notifications, and more with a one-time payment plan.
Best part? We offer customized prompts, advanced analytics on your campaign performance, and proper segmentation to help you reduce the opt-out rates by significant numbers.
Not just that, our Automagic Push feature allows users to schedule posts and set the right frequency.
