Personalizing with Merge Tags
Insert contact-specific data into your emails
Personalizing with Merge Tags
Merge tags are placeholders in your email content that are replaced with contact-specific data when the email is sent. Personalization increases engagement by making each recipient's email feel tailored to them.
How Merge Tags Work
When you insert a merge tag like {{first_name}} into your email, Mailnaptic replaces it with the actual first name of each recipient at send time. If a contact's first name is “Sarah,” she sees “Sarah” in the email instead of the tag.
Available Merge Tags
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
{{first_name}} | Contact's first name |
{{last_name}} | Contact's last name |
{{email}} | Contact's email address |
{{unsubscribe_url}} | One-click unsubscribe link (required) |
{{preferences_url}} | Link to the contact's preference center |
{{mailing_address}} | Your organization's physical mailing address |
{{custom.FIELD_NAME}} | Any custom field you have defined |
Inserting Merge Tags
- In the email editor, click into a text block where you want to add personalization.
- Type the merge tag directly (e.g.,
{{first_name}}) or use the Merge Tags button in the text formatting toolbar to browse available tags. - The tag appears as a highlighted placeholder in the editor. At send time, it is replaced with real data.
Using Merge Tags in Subject Lines
You can also use merge tags in the subject line and preheader text fields on the campaign setup step. For example: “{{first_name}}, check out our new collection” becomes “Sarah, check out our new collection.”
Fallback Values
If a contact does not have data for a merge tag field (e.g., their first name is empty), the tag is replaced with an empty string by default. To set a fallback, use the syntax: {{first_name|default:"there"}}. This renders as “there” when the first name is missing.
Tips
- Always use fallback values for fields that may not be populated for all contacts.
- Test your merge tags by sending a test email to yourself. Use the “Preview as contact” feature to see how specific subscribers will experience the email.
- The
{{unsubscribe_url}}tag is legally required in most jurisdictions. Mailnaptic automatically includes it in the email footer, but you can also place it elsewhere. - Custom field merge tags use the format
{{custom.field_key}}wherefield_keymatches the key defined in Organization → Custom Fields.