Building reader loyalty in 2025: the role of push notifications

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This blog post is authored by Aleksandra Kozioł, Content Specialist at PushPushGo

We live in interesting times, which means that there’s a lot of news to consume daily. Whether we want it or not. 

2025 can be another challenging year for online publishers. With traffic-generating social media channels becoming unreliable, and the economy forcing both publishers and news recipients to make cuts, finding new ways of building reader loyalty becomes more challenging. 

Fortunately, publishers have access to key engagement metrics and industry patterns to inform their strategies. And sometimes, as it turns out, the simplest solutions work just fine. Push notifications have been helping newsrooms reach their readers on multiple subjects, becoming a steady, reliable tool for growing a base of subscribers and keeping in touch.

Definition of push notifications

Push notifications are short, real-time messages sent by websites or mobile apps to users’ devices, even when they are not actively browsing the site or using the app. They serve as instant alerts, delivering important updates, breaking news, promotions, or personalized content with a sense of urgency to encourage immediate engagement.

Push notifications in publishing

In their article about the BBC News mobile app, The Guardian referred to push notifications sent by the app as a modern equivalent of a newspaper’s front page. There’s truth to this assessment. Push notifications are short, precise, and fast, bringing the users to speed in an instant. But there’s more to the technology than meets the eye. 

First of all, there are two types of push notifications, and the difference lies in the technology behind them. Web push notifications are sent by websites and can be received on desktops and mobile devices (after a user confirms they actually want to receive push notifications in the browser). Applications send mobile push notifications on mobile devices. 

Beside the differences in technologies, some key points characterize push notifications:

• Push notifications are permission-based. Users have to opt in to receive the messages. 
• Push notifications have a standardized layout, set by operating system of the device on which they are delivered. It is possible to customize the message by adding logo, images, and emojis, however, the overall looks depend on OS settings.
  
• Push notifications don’t require users to share any private information, like names, surnames, or contact data. The push notification system gathers information on the subscribers’ actions taken on the website or in the application using first-party cookies. 
• Push notifications can be personalized to create a more tailored user experience. Using the data gathered during the subscribers’ visits, we can create automated scenarios to inform them about their favorite subjects or to address them directly, based on their actions (for example, remind them about the subscription process they haven’t finalized). 

Meet your target audience 

The first order of business, when starting with push notifications, is gathering a subscriber base. As we’ve mentioned above, push notifications are strictly permission-based. 

With mobile push notifications, the matter is even more important than with web push. For mobile applications, push notifications are one of the very few ways they have to bring users directly to the app. Mobile developers usually ask the big question right from the get-go, after the app is installed. Some specific functionalities can also require turning the notifications on. 

Web push users have many more occasions to subscribe on the website. The simplest form of opt-in request is a default browser form allowing users to subscribe in just one click. But developers have more possibilities there, as they can prepare an additional pop-up advertising their push channel, briefly describing the service. They can also add widgets on subpages—like sliders or bells. This allows users to familiarize themselves with the service, the content, and the tone of the website before deciding to stay in touch. 

Push notification statistics

The main statistic taken into account with both web and mobile push is the click-through rate (CTR) – the percentage of recipients who click on a notification after receiving it. In the case of publishers, we’re talking mainly about mass campaigns with CTR going as high as 18,82%. Each year we compile the best push campaigns of PushPushGo users in our Push Notifications Awards report to serve as an inspiration for the future. 

While open rates and click-through rates offer a glimpse into user engagement, they merely scratch the surface of what constitutes true push notification success. It’s hard to assign percentage points to readers’ trust in the media, which can be built by delivering timely and accurate updates on subjects of their interest. It’s especially clear in the case of mobile push notifications which often serve as the only means of communication for app creators. Recently, PushPushGo participated in PugPig’s report on the subject which you can find here. 

Push notification strategy: Getting the right message across

Once the push notifications are set up and subscribers can sign up to receive them, news publishers can focus on what exactly they want to get across. 

• Mass campaigns are the ones most prominently associated with news broadcasts. They are also the simplest to prepare. Mass push campaigns work great with live updates and provide a crucial kick in open rates of breaking news.
  
• Targeted campaigns allow for more options in terms of recipient base. With subscribers tagged and segmented based on their activities on the website or in the app, publishers can create more tailored content and address notifications to specific target audiences (those interested in specific topics, those who visit often or use a specific type of device).

• Automation scenarios bring a new level of personalization, sending push notifications in response to specific actions a subscriber takes on a page or in the app (like taking a paid subscription, stopping or finishing reading the article etc.).

Key benefits of push during the breaking-news relations 

As this article is being written, devastating fires are wreaking havoc across Los Angeles, the Gaza ceasefire continues and PresidentDonald Trump returned to office to lead the United States once again. Around the world, major events are unfolding in real-time. For those not constantly monitoring the news, push notifications serve as a critical tool, delivering timely updates and ensuring readers stay informed as developments occur.

As with every other aspect of human life, it’s important not to overdo it. Timely updates are important, but excessive notifications can be perceived as spam and lead to disengagement; publishers should prioritize relevance and timing. Information overload will inevitably lead to losing interest.

There are some interesting insights about readers and their habits in the latest NiemanLab article. It can serve as a reality check for many digital publishers. According to the research, a vast majority of users visit their favored publishers once a week or even more rarely. That means not every push notification leads subscribers directly to the page but instead keeps them in the loop. And when they find time to read and broaden their understanding of a particular subject, they’ll know exactly where to go. 

Another reason push notifications work so well in times of change is that the messages can be prepared and deployed in a few minutes or less. Even with targeted campaigns, adding action buttons or rules for engaging, there are just a few steps to take before a push notification is ready to deploy. Things can run even smoother with RSS feed integration or a browser extension that automatically fills in the push creation forms with metadata from the article being promoted. 

And then, of course, they are automatons that allow publishers to use pre-prepared scenarios to trigger push notifications with personalized messages. For example, a system can use API to send geolocated weather forecasts for subscribers in a given area (if they allow geolocation, of course). 

Summary of best practices

If you’re still contemplating adding push notifications to your website or mobile app, consider your goals and ambitions you want to fulfil by adding a push channel to your communication mix. Keep in mind: 

• Quality over quantity: Spamming your target audiences should be avoided at all costs – focus on personalized and targeted content to suit your readers’ preferences for better engagement 
• Build a subscriber base and gather data on their actions. This will allow you to better understand their needs and wants. 
• Web and mobile push notifications can work seamlessly together, especially if you manage them in a single tool. 

The benefits of combining live blogs and push notifications

Combining live blogs and push notifications offers several key benefits for news publishers, particularly in terms of engagement, reader retention, and monetization. Here’s how they complement each other:

1. Real-Time Engagement & Increased Traffic

Live blogs provide ongoing, rolling coverage of fast-moving stories, and push notifications act as triggers that bring readers back at key moments. By giving your audience the option to subscribe to alerts for major updates (e.g., election results, sports scores, breaking news), publishers ensure higher return visits and sustained traffic throughout an event​​.

2. Sense of Urgency & Habit Formation

Push notifications create a sense of urgency, prompting users to check the latest developments. Over time, this builds a habit, encouraging users to rely on the publisher for real-time updates, increasing brand loyalty​.

3. Personalization

With tagging and segmentation, push notifications can be tailored to users’ interests—such as notifying sports fans of game updates or political enthusiasts of election results.

4. Increase dwell time & stronger SEO

Live blogs naturally encourage multiple visits, as readers return to check updates. Push notifications remind them when key information is added, increasing readers’ dwell time and the number of visits per user​ – signals that are positively picked up on a SEO-level. When users return via push notifications, it signals to search engines that the content is valuable and relevant, boosting rankings​.

5. Cross-Platform Audience Reach

With push notifications available on both web and mobile, publishers can reach users outside of social media, helping counter declining traffic from platforms like Facebook and Twitter​.

Integrating push notifications with live blogs maximizes engagement, drives repeat visits, strengthens SEO, and enhances monetization. This combination helps publishers own the audience relationship, ensuring that breaking news reaches their readers before competitors do.

If you want to learn more about push notifications for your news site, visit PushpushGo.