Personalize with merge tags
Use someone's name — without sending “Hi ,” to a tenth of your list.
Merge tags put each recipient’s own details into the email. The mechanics are in custom fields and merge tags; this is about using them without the classic mistakes.
The basics
Insert a tag from the text toolbar, or type it: {{firstName}}, {{email}}, or any custom field by its key. They work in the subject line and preheader as well as the body.
Values are substituted per recipient at send time. The AI never sees them — it writes the tag, not the data.
Plan for missing values
A blank prints nothing at all
“Hi {{firstName}},” becomes “Hi ,” for anyone without a first name — and there are always more of those than you expect, especially on an imported list.
Three ways to handle it, best first:
- Write copy that survives a blank. “Hi there” costs you nothing and never breaks.
- Check the gap first. A segment on “first name is not set” gives you the number in seconds.
- Send two versions. Target the personalized one at people who have a name, and a neutral one at the rest.
Using it well
- A name in the subject line works — but it’s also the most visible place a blank shows up.
- Once is enough. A name three times in one email reads as a mail merge, which is the opposite of the intent.
- Your own fields beat names. “Your
{{PLAN}}renews next month” is genuinely useful; a first name is decoration. - Check your data is presentable. Imports full of “JOHN SMITH” or “john” will print exactly that.
Test it properly
Send yourself a test — but note that a test uses your own details, so it looks perfect by definition. The blank case is the one worth checking, and a segment on “is not set” is how you find out how many people are in it before you press send.
Common issues
The tag printed as text
A stray space or a smart quote inside the braces, usually from pasting out of a word processor. Retype it.
It printed nothing
Either the contact has no value, or the key doesn’t match exactly — matching is case-sensitive.
Names are in the wrong case
We print what’s stored. Fix the data via export, edit, re-import.
FAQs
Can I set a fallback like “there”?+
Not inside the tag. Write copy that works without it, or split the send with a segment.
Does personalization improve results?+
Relevance does. A name is weak personalization; using what you know about someone — their plan, their city, what they bought — is the version that actually moves numbers.