In the United States, the hotel industry brings in about $162 billion. Each hotel takes in about $81.43 for each room after taxes are taken out.

In the hotel industry, you’re concerned with increasing conversions overall. This article will take a look at A/B testing and how it can increase your booking rate. Read on to explore more about A/B testing and watch your conversions soar like never before!

Why Use Email Marketing?

Email marketing works since it’s a way to stay connected with your subscribers whether they use a desktop, smartphone, etc. It also works because subscribers give you permission to send them emails in the first place.

Once you have their email then you can perform A/B testing to see what works. It also allows you to offer them deals. You can target future, current, or past guests as well.

It offers you the opportunity to have personalization, have a specific goal in mind, and keep your brand consistent with each email that you send. The great part is that it’s a long-term effective strategy since you can keep sending out value to your potential and future guests.

Why A/B Testing?

Today, 99% of consumers check their email each day. AB/testing templates will tell you what email campaign is the most successful. The most successful equals higher conversions!

It’s a way to figure out what your audience likes (and doesn’t). A/B testing is another term for split testing.

This is where you’ll send out 2 different emails to 2 different parts of your email list. From here you can take a look at which has the higher open rate.

The subject line is arguably the most important part of an email to test. Why? It’s what determines whether a guest will open your email or not.

While it’s great to come up with a formula, it’s important to come up with fresh formulas over time. As time goes on, what works for your open rate and who subscribes can change.

Determining Who You’ll Test

You can test out different parts of your email, but for now, you’ll get to focus on the subject line. Other parts you can test are images, the closing text, headline, different offers, personalization, etc.

Next, you’ll need to decide if you’ll be testing a portion of your list or the entire thing. In order to get an accurate idea of what converts it’s a good idea to test out your entire list.

Determining Success

Take a look at previous results. From here you can decide what your goal is.

Whether it’s increasing your conversions, having more people open your email, etc. In order to determine your results, you’ll want to take a look at your conversion rate, open rate, and click-through rate.

Your conversion rate is how many reservations you receive based on the number of clicks. This will have you decide what attracted customers to book the reservation.

Your click rate is the number of clicks per email that are opened or the clicks per email sent. Your open rate is how many open your emails. This will have you determine what subject line is the most successful.

You can also choose to only send your A/B testing subject line to parts of your list. See what groups open your emails the most. Once you have a winning subject line then you can send it to your entire list.

Subject Line Tips

Never tell them everything in a subject line. Instead, use it as a teaser for what’s to come in your email. If you tell them everything in the subject line, then what’s going to entice them to open the email and read further?

Different parts of your subject line that you can test include:

  • Emojis
  • Questions
  • Personalization
  • Numbers
  • First-person vs the second person
  • Urgency
  • Length

Ask questions in your subject line for success. Don’t be afraid of personalization either. Personalization will increase open rates as well.

Choice 1: Receive 15% off today!

Choice 2: Mary, receive 15% off any room that you book

Out of these which do you think performs better? The answer is choice 2 since you’re making it more personalized.

Emojis are another great method in subject lines as well. Make sure that the emojis that you use make sense with the subject.

A sense of urgency is another great method. Hurry, it’s the last day to get 15% off your room if you book today!

Perform A/B Testing

First, set up 2 emails that are the same except the subject line is different. Send out those 2 emails to a sample of your subscribers and see which has a higher open rate.

Remember that half of the group will receive email 1, while the other half will receive email 2. The great part is that you can apply this same method to other variables that you want to test at other times.

Timing

When you choose to run an A/B test is vital. Wait a few hours after sending out the emails to see which performs well. As far as when you send out the emails, take a look at previous metrics to determine what time most opens occur.

How To Use A/B Testing on Your Subject Line

After exploring this guide, you should be well-prepared to start A/B testing on your subject lines. Take your time coming up with what you’ll test, who you’ll test, and what you’re hoping the outcome will be.

Are you ready to start A/B testing today? Get started with a free trial! You’ll get to use our templates to see what resonates with your audience and gets more opens.

© 2021, Chris Duncan. All rights reserved.

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