Notification System Overview

How to get there: Go to Settings → Emails.

Learn how ProductLift's comprehensive notification system keeps users informed about feedback updates, status changes, and new content through email, in-app notifications, and activity tracking.

What is the Notification System?

ProductLift's notification system delivers timely updates to users about posts they care about, ensuring they stay informed without being overwhelmed. The system includes:

  • Email notifications for status changes and comments
  • In-app notification center
  • Per-post notification preferences
  • Follower notifications
  • Admin notification controls
  • Digest options for batching
  • Unsubscribe management

The system balances keeping users engaged with respecting their communication preferences.

Notification Types

1. Status Change Notifications

Triggered when: Post status changes (e.g., "Under Review" → "Planned")

Who receives:

  • Users who voted for the post
  • Users following the post
  • Post author

Email content:

  • Post title
  • Old and new status
  • Optional comment from admin
  • Link to post
  • Unsubscribe link

Example Email:

Subject: "Dark Mode" is now Planned!

Good news! The feature you voted for is moving forward.

"Dark Mode" has been updated from Under Review to Planned.

Message from the team:
"We're adding dark mode to our Q3 roadmap! Thank you for the 47 votes."

View Post → [Link]

[Screenshot: Status change notification email showing post title, status badges, admin message, and CTA button]

2. Comment Notifications

Triggered when: New comment added to post

Who receives:

Depends on user's per-post preference:

  • All comments: Notified for every comment
  • Replies only: Notified when someone replies to their comment
  • None: No comment notifications

Email content:

  • Commenter name and avatar
  • Comment text
  • Post title
  • Link to post/comment
  • Reply button

Example Email:

Subject: New comment on "Dark Mode"

Sarah commented on "Dark Mode":

"Will this support automatic switching based on system preferences?"

Reply → [Link]

[Screenshot: Comment notification email showing commenter avatar, comment text, and reply button]

3. New Post Notifications

Triggered when: New post published to board

Who receives:

  • Users who opted into new post notifications for that board
  • Followers of specific categories

Email content:

  • Post title and description
  • Author information
  • Vote and comment buttons
  • Link to view post

Use cases:

  • Notify customers when new features announced
  • Alert beta testers to new beta features
  • Keep community engaged with new content

[Screenshot: New post notification email showing post preview, author, and engagement buttons]

4. Follower Notifications

Triggered when: Any activity on followed post

Activity types:

  • Status changes
  • New comments (based on preference)
  • New votes milestone (e.g., reached 50 votes)
  • Post merged or split
  • Post assigned to team member (if public)

Who receives: Users following that specific post

See Follower Notifications for detailed guide.

[Screenshot: Follower notification email showing activity summary for followed post]

5. Changelog Notifications

Triggered when: New changelog post published

Who receives:

  • Users who voted for the feature (if linked to roadmap post)
  • Users following the feature
  • All users (if "notify all" selected)

Email content:

  • Changelog title
  • Release description
  • List of features
  • Link to full changelog
  • Call-to-action

Example Email:

Subject: ProductLift v2.5.0 is now available!

We just shipped some features you voted for:

🎨 Dark Mode Support - Switch between light and dark themes
📄 Export to PDF - Download reports as PDF files
⚡ Faster Search - 6x performance improvement

View Full Changelog → [Link]

[Screenshot: Changelog notification email with feature list, emojis, and CTA]

6. Assignment Notifications

Triggered when: Post assigned to team member

Who receives: Assigned team member only

Email content:

  • Post title and description
  • Assigned by (admin name)
  • Optional message
  • Due date (if set)
  • Link to post

Use cases:

  • Distribute work among team
  • Notify engineer of assigned bug fix
  • Alert designer of UI feedback

[Screenshot: Assignment notification email showing post details and assignment info]

7. Mention Notifications

Triggered when: User @mentioned in comment

Who receives: Mentioned user only

Email content:

  • Who mentioned you
  • Comment text with @mention highlighted
  • Post context
  • Link to comment
  • Reply button

Example:

Subject: Sarah mentioned you in a comment

Sarah mentioned you on "Dark Mode":

"@john What do you think about this approach?"

Reply → [Link]

[Screenshot: Mention notification email with highlighted @mention in comment]

8. Digest Notifications

Triggered when: Scheduled digest time

Who receives: Users who opted for daily or weekly digests

Email content:

  • Summary of activity since last digest
  • New posts in followed categories
  • Status changes on followed posts
  • Comment summaries
  • Link to full activity

Digest Options:

  • Daily digest (sent at 9 AM user's timezone)
  • Weekly digest (Mondays at 9 AM)
  • Real-time (no digest, immediate emails)

[Screenshot: Digest email showing summarized activity for the week with multiple post updates]

User Notification Preferences

Global Notification Settings

User-Controlled:

Each user can configure their own notification preferences:

Profile settings (accessible from the user's profile page)

Options:

Email Notifications:

  • ☑ Enable email notifications (master toggle)
  • ☑ Status change notifications
  • ☑ Comment notifications
  • ☑ New post notifications
  • ☑ Changelog notifications
  • ☑ Assignment notifications
  • ☑ Mention notifications

Frequency:

  • ⚪ Real-time (as they happen)
  • ⚪ Daily digest (once per day)
  • ⚪ Weekly digest (once per week)

[Screenshot: User notification preferences page with checkboxes for each notification type and radio buttons for frequency]

Per-Post Notification Preferences

Fine-Grained Control:

For each post a user follows, they can set specific preferences:

Options:

  • All comments - Notify for every comment
  • Replies to me - Only when someone replies to my comment
  • Status changes - Only when post status changes
  • None - Follow silently (no notifications)

How to Set:

  1. Open post detail page
  2. Click "Following" button
  3. Select notification preference from dropdown
  4. Preference saved automatically

[Screenshot: Post detail page with "Following" dropdown expanded showing four notification preference options]

Benefits:

  • High-priority posts: "All comments"
  • Casual interest: "Status changes only"
  • Team coordination: "Replies to me"

Unsubscribe Options

User Control:

Users can unsubscribe from notifications multiple ways:

Option 1: Global Unsubscribe

  • Click "Unsubscribe" in any email footer
  • Disables all ProductLift emails
  • Can re-enable in profile settings

Option 2: Selective Unsubscribe

  • Unsubscribe from specific notification types
  • Keep other notifications active
  • "Unsubscribe from status changes but keep comments"

Option 3: Per-Post Unsubscribe

  • Stop following individual post
  • Unsubscribe from that post's notifications only

Option 4: Adjust Frequency

  • Switch from real-time to daily digest
  • Reduces email volume without unsubscribing

[Screenshot: Email footer with "Unsubscribe" and "Notification Preferences" links]

Admin Notification Controls

Notification Settings

Admin Configuration:

Settings → Emails

Admin Options:

Enable/Disable Notification Types:

  • Toggle entire notification types on/off
  • Override individual user preferences if needed
  • Useful for maintenance or testing

Default Preferences:

  • Set default notification preferences for new users
  • Example: New users get weekly digest by default

Notification Limits:

  • Maximum emails per user per day
  • Prevents notification spam
  • Example: Cap at 10 emails/day per user

Batching:

  • Batch multiple status changes into single email
  • If 5 posts change status in 1 hour → 1 email, not 5

[Screenshot: Admin notification settings showing toggles, default preferences, and limits]

Admin Notification Filters

Selective Notification Sending:

When changing status or publishing content, admins can choose who to notify:

Options:

  • Notify all - Everyone who voted/follows
  • Notify followers only - Exclude voters who didn't follow
  • Notify specific groups - Only selected user groups
  • Don't notify - Silent update (no emails sent)

Use Cases:

  • Major release: "Notify all"
  • Minor update: "Notify followers only"
  • Beta feature: "Notify specific groups" (Beta Testers)
  • Internal status change: "Don't notify"

[Screenshot: Status change dialog with "Notify" dropdown showing notification options]

Notification Templates

Customize Email Templates:

Settings → Emails

Customizable Elements:

Email Subject:

  • Use placeholders: {post_title}, {status}, {author}
  • Example: "{post_title}" is now {status}!

Email Body:

  • Header text
  • Body content with placeholders
  • Footer text
  • Call-to-action button text

Styling:

  • Email colors (match brand)
  • Logo
  • Font preferences
  • Button styling

[Screenshot: Email template editor showing WYSIWYG editor with placeholders and styling options]

Available Placeholders:

  • {post_title} - Post title
  • {post_description} - Post description
  • {status} - Current status
  • {old_status} - Previous status
  • {author_name} - Post author name
  • {admin_name} - Admin making change
  • {admin_comment} - Comment from admin
  • {vote_count} - Number of votes
  • {comment_count} - Number of comments
  • {post_url} - Link to post

Testing Notifications

Test Before Sending:

Settings → Emails

Test Process:

  1. Select notification type to test
  2. Enter test recipient email
  3. Click "Send Test Email"
  4. Review test email received
  5. Adjust template if needed
  6. Repeat until satisfied

Best Practice: Test all notification types before going live.

[Screenshot: Test notification interface with notification type selector, recipient email input, and "Send Test" button]

Notification Center (In-App)

Accessing Notification Center

In-App Notifications:

  • Bell icon in top navigation
  • Red badge shows unread count
  • Click to open notification center

[Screenshot: Top navigation with bell icon showing "5" unread badge]

Notification Feed

What You See:

  • Chronological list of notifications
  • Unread notifications highlighted
  • Notification type icon
  • Timestamp
  • Quick actions

Notification Types in Feed:

  • 🔄 Status changes
  • 💬 New comments
  • ⭐ New votes
  • 🎉 Changelog published
  • 📌 Mentions
  • 📋 Assignments

[Screenshot: Notification center dropdown showing notification feed with various notification types]

Notification Actions

Quick Actions:

From notification center:

  • Mark as read - Clear unread badge
  • Go to post - Jump to related post
  • Reply - Quick reply to comment
  • Dismiss - Remove from feed

Bulk Actions:

  • Mark all as read
  • Clear all notifications
  • Filter by type

Notification Persistence

History:

  • Notifications kept for 30 days
  • Older notifications auto-archived
  • Access history: Profile → Notification History

Email Delivery

Email Infrastructure

Reliable Delivery:

ProductLift uses professional email service providers:

  • High deliverability rates
  • SPF/DKIM authentication
  • Spam prevention
  • Bounce handling

Email Sending:

  • Emails sent from: notifications@productlift.com
  • Reply-to: Your configured email (or no-reply)
  • Custom domain: Available for Enterprise plans

Delivery Status

Track Email Delivery:

Settings → Emails

Log Information:

  • Email sent to whom
  • When sent
  • Delivery status: Sent, Delivered, Bounced, Opened
  • Click tracking (if enabled)
  • Bounce reason (if bounced)

[Screenshot: Email logs table showing recipient, type, status, and timestamp]

Bounce Management

Handling Bounced Emails:

Soft Bounces:

  • Temporary delivery issues
  • ProductLift retries automatically
  • Example: Inbox full

Hard Bounces:

  • Permanent delivery failure
  • User email automatically marked invalid
  • Example: Email doesn't exist

Invalid Email Management:

After 3 hard bounces:

  • Email marked as invalid
  • User not sent further emails
  • Admin notified to update email

Analytics and Insights

Notification Analytics

Track Notification Performance:

Settings → Emails

Metrics:

  • Emails sent (total count)
  • Delivery rate (% delivered successfully)
  • Open rate (% of emails opened)
  • Click rate (% of links clicked)
  • Unsubscribe rate (% who unsubscribed)

By Notification Type:

Compare performance:

  • Status changes: 65% open rate
  • Comments: 45% open rate
  • Changelog: 72% open rate

Insights:

  • Which notifications engage users most
  • When to send for best open rates
  • Identify notification fatigue

[Screenshot: Notification analytics dashboard showing metrics cards and line graph of email performance over time]

Engagement Optimization

Improve Notification Engagement:

Test Send Times:

  • A/B test morning vs. evening
  • Optimize by user timezone

Refine Subject Lines:

  • Test variations
  • Personalize when possible
  • Keep under 50 characters

Reduce Frequency:

  • Offer digest options
  • Batch similar notifications
  • Let users control preferences

Best Practices

Don't Over-Notify

Notification Fatigue:

Too many notifications → Users unsubscribe or ignore

Guidelines:

  • Notify for important events only
  • Respect user preferences
  • Offer digest options
  • Allow granular control (per-post preferences)

Red Flags:

  • Same user receiving 10+ emails/day
  • High unsubscribe rate (>5%)
  • Low open rate (<20%)

Make Notifications Actionable

Every Notification Should Have Clear Next Step:

  • Status change → "View Roadmap"
  • Comment → "Reply"
  • Changelog → "Try New Features"
  • Assignment → "View Post"

Don't:

  • Send FYI-only notifications
  • Vague calls-to-action
  • Dead-end notifications

Personalize When Possible

Personalization Elements:

  • User's first name in subject/greeting
  • Reference their specific actions ("You voted for...")
  • Relevant content based on their interests
  • Timezone-aware send times

Example:

Generic:
Subject: Post status updated

Personalized:
Subject: Sarah, "Dark Mode" (which you voted for) is now Planned!

Test Notification Cadence

Find Right Balance:

  • Start conservative (fewer notifications)
  • Monitor engagement and feedback
  • Gradually adjust based on data
  • A/B test frequency options

Provide Easy Opt-Out

Make Unsubscribe Obvious:

  • Clear unsubscribe link in every email
  • One-click unsubscribe (no login required)
  • Offer "pause for 1 week" option
  • Show preference controls

Trust Builder:

Easy unsubscribe → Users less likely to mark as spam → Better deliverability

Troubleshooting

Issue: User Not Receiving Notifications

Solution:

  • Check user's notification preferences (Profile → Notifications)
  • Verify email not marked as invalid
  • Check spam folder
  • Verify email address correct
  • Check if user unsubscribed
  • Review email logs for bounces

Issue: Too Many Notifications Sent

Solution:

  • Enable notification batching
  • Increase digest frequency
  • Set per-user email limits
  • Review which notifications are most valuable

Issue: Low Email Open Rates

Solution:

  • Improve subject lines (shorter, more engaging)
  • Test send times
  • Ensure mobile-friendly templates
  • Verify sender reputation (SPF/DKIM)
  • Reduce frequency to increase engagement

Issue: Emails Going to Spam

Solution:

  • Configure SPF and DKIM records
  • Reduce send frequency
  • Improve email content (avoid spam triggers)
  • Remove inactive subscribers
  • Use custom domain (Enterprise)

Issue: Notification Preferences Not Saving

Solution:

  • Clear browser cache
  • Try different browser
  • Check for JavaScript errors (browser console)
  • Contact support if persists

Email Notifications:

User Management:

Communication: