Spent months on push notifications and honestly couldn't figure out why nothing was working. Swapped between different SDKs, watched a ton of optimisation talks, even changed providers - but the results were the same: low open rates, zero re-engagement, nothing.
There was a point where i thought push just doesn't work for mobile apps unless you already have a solid user base.
looking back, the problem was dead simple - no real structure. I was firing off notifications randomly without thinking about what happens after someone taps.
A few changes that actually moved the needle:
- Instead of "check out this feature", i offered something specific people actually wanted - a discount, a content unlock, a time-sensitive benefit.
- Stopped sending one-off blasts and built a basic onboarding sequence that triggered at key moments (post-install, day 2, day 7).
- Each notification focused on one single action - one button, one screen, one outcome.
After that, things slowly started making sense. Not overnight, but at least there was actual engagement and some conversions.
curious if anyone else had the same problem in the beginning.
From the discussion: a lot of devs blame copy first when the real issue is targeting, deliverability, or the app's value prop. Push usually works when all three align. Copy gets too much heat when the real problem is upstream - fix the onboarding and offer quality before tweaking the message.
