Release notes should be used as a marketing tool and a way to connect with your audience. However, many companies end up burying their release notes in the back pages of their websites and don’t consider other ways actually to put them front and center. As a potential marketing tool, it’s a good idea to find better, more effective ways to use them – and embed CTAs (Calls To Action) within them to help your audience spend more time with your product.
Are you looking for alternatives to posting your release notes to an obscure back page? Here are a few ideas and why you should consider them.
Alternate Channels for Release Notes
As a Standalone Email
Creating a standalone email for your release notes is a great way to connect with your users. It’s great because you can add in a call to action that links back to your product, giving users that may not have been utilizing your product in a while a reason to return. And, depending on how much information you have on individual users, you can segment your audience and send user groups specific release note details that apply directly to how they interact with your product.
In a Newsletter
Including release note details in a monthly/quarterly newsletter is also a great way to reach out to users. It allows them to see what you’ve been working on in the greater context of your product and lists changes and updates alongside other noteworthy company-centric news.
On The App Store
Grab the attention of your users by highlighting recent changes right in the App Store. By placing updates here, you’ll be both enticing new users and getting existing users excited about recent changes.
Remember to treat iOS and Android app stores as different entities. It may be that your product changes may only reflect one and not the other. For example, while your latest update might have dealt with a bug on Android, your iOS version only had changes to its UX design. Adjust your language accordingly in each store to cover only changes relevant to each release.
Inside Your App (Pop-Ups)
If you have changes that affect useability that’s visible within the app, a handy pop-up might be a great way to draw a user’s attention to the tweak. Pop-ups are also handy as little nudges to get users to do specific actions (like updating user information or adding two-factor identification). At the same time, they are already engaged with the app itself.
On Social Media
Social media is an excellent place for a release note. You can use videos or images to catch a user’s attention in a unique way. Visuals are a fantastic and often under-used method of helping an audience understand UX and UI adjustments or new features. Make them engaging and fun. By doing so, it’s very likely your base will share the changes with their networks, helping you expand your reach.
Great outlets for getting creative with release notes in a visual way include:
- TikTok
- YouTube
In a Blog Post
Release notes can make for excellent SEO opportunities. By adding a release note as a blog entry, you’re not just informing your audience. You can go a bit longer and dig deeper into the details like to further information (or backlink to other blogs), and really expand on the details while helping your website gain more visibility on Google and other search engines.
In Conclusion
No matter where you choose to release your notes, remember to:
- Speak directly to your user base
- Discuss changes that matter to them and are noticeable
- Avoid jargon or overly technical language
- Outline the steps they must take (if any) to initiate any changes
- Include a call to action
- Link back to your product
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