Personalizing your editions with Mail Merge

Mail Merge allows you to automatically personalize editions with each recipient's first name.

Table of Contents:

1. Adding a merge tag to the edition body
2. Adding a merge tag to the subject line
3. Editing or removing a merge tag
4. FAQs

1. Adding a merge tag to the edition body

🛠️ How it works:

• Click in the edition body where you want to insert the personalized name.
• Click the "Insert mail merge tag" button in the formatting toolbar.
• Select "First name" from the pop-up that appears.
• In the modal, confirm the Tag is set to "First name".
• Enter a fallback word in the "Fallback" field — this is what recipients see if their first name can't be found (for example, "there" results in "Hi there," or "friend" results in "Hi friend,"). The fallback applies to all instances of First name in this edition.
• Click "Save" — the tag appears as a pill in the editor showing {{FIRST_NAME | your-fallback}}. At send time, each recipient sees their own first name in place of the pill.

2. Adding a merge tag to the subject line

🛠️ How it works:

• Click in the Subject line field at the top of the editor.
• Click the three-dot menu that appears on the right side of the subject line.
• Hover over "Mail merge" and select "First name" from the submenu.
• In the modal, enter your fallback text in the "Fallback" field.
• Click "Save" — the tag inserts as a pill in your subject line.

3. Editing or removing a merge tag

🛠️ How it works:

• Click an existing merge tag pill in the body or subject line to open the "Mail merge configuration" modal.
• Update the "Fallback" field with a new value and click "Save" to change the fallback for all First name tags in this edition.
• To remove a tag, click the pill once to select it, then press Backspace or Delete.

4. FAQs

What is Mail Merge?

Mail Merge is a personalization feature that lets you insert a First name tag into your edition body or subject line. At send time, each recipient's email is delivered with their own first name in place of the tag — so "Hi {{First name}}," becomes "Hi Katie," for Katie and "Hi there," (or whatever fallback you set) for a recipient whose name can't be found.

Who has access to Mail Merge?

Mail Merge is available to users on Premier and Advanced plans. If you don't see the "Insert mail merge tag" button in the toolbar or the "Mail merge" option in the subject line menu, check with your org admin to confirm your plan includes this feature.

What is a fallback and do I have to set one?

Yes — a fallback is required. It's the word or phrase that appears in place of a recipient's first name when their name can't be derived from their profile (for example, if their name field is blank or contains an email address). Common fallbacks are "there" ("Hi there,") or "friend" ("Hi friend,"). You must enter a fallback before you can save the tag.

Can I use more than one merge tag in an edition?

Yes — you can insert as many First name tags as you like across the body and subject line. The fallback you set applies globally to all instances of First name in that edition. To update it, click any one of the pills and change the fallback in the modal.

What happens if a recipient doesn't have a first name on file?

If a recipient's first name can't be derived from their profile, they receive the fallback text you configured instead. For example, if your fallback is "there," their email will read "Hi there," rather than "Hi [blank],". This is why setting a meaningful fallback before sending is important.

Are there other tags available besides First name?

Not at this time but our team is working on adding additional attributes.

What will it look like in the recipient's inbox?

If the recipient's name is in HQ it will appear like this: 

If fallback is used it will look like this: