Using merge fields in your email templates makes the conversation more personal with your recipients. Merge fields will pull subsequent data from the contact's record on the send. You can choose alternative text to include when the subsequent merge field has empty data. This feature is available in the basic editor, drag & drop and quick actions email builders.

Place your cursor where you would like the merge field to go. Click on the personalize button to the right of the subject line field.

In edit mode of any text block, place your cursor where you would like the merge field to go. Click on the personalize button in the formatting bar.

After clicking the personalize button, a modal box will appear. First, select the field you would like to insert from the dropdown. Available merge fields are listed by contact default information, user information, and contact custom fields.

Once a field is selected, enter the alternative text that should appear if the contact does not have data in the merge field.

💡 Note: The alternative text field is not required. If the alternative text field is left blank and the contact does not have data for the merge field selected, the recipient will see a blank space (i.e. Hi [Contact First Name]! would be Hi !)

Select the insert button to place the merge field into the template.

The merge field will appear with brackets around it, and a vertical bar will indicate any alternative text that has been entered.

With the above example, if the recipient has data in the [Contact First Name] field, the subject line would appear like this in the inbox:

If the recipient does not have data in the [Contact First Name] field, the subject line would appear like this:

If you change your mind about the alternative text entered for a merge field, simply edit the text after the vertical bar. Just be sure to leave a space after the vertical bar and leave the closing bracket ( ] ).

Example:

Or, you can remove the complete merge field (from bracket to bracket) and use the personalize button to start over.

💡 Note: Merge fields do not populate in test email sends and samples cannot be previewed in-app.

To test how personalization will appear, add yourself as a contact in your database. Leave the fields included in your email template blank on your record so you can see how the alternative text will appear. Send your contact record the email as if you are a recipient and preview the results in the inbox.

Then on your record, add data to the merge fields included in your email template. Send the email to yourself again to see how the merge field data will appear in the inbox.