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Personalize an email template and check each contact

Merge fields let one template use a different name or company for each contact. This example follows two fictional contacts from a CSV import to the template preview, so you can check the result before setting up a campaign.

Prepare a small contact list

Download the personalization example (ZIP, 1.2 KB). Extract the CSV and open the README for the steps. The sample uses reserved example.com addresses and is intended for preview only.

1. In Contacts, choose New List and name it “Personalization example”. Select the new list, then choose Import Contacts and open the CSV.
2. Select cells A1:C3, including the header row and both contacts, then choose Import Selected. Answer Yes when asked whether the selected columns contain headers.
3. Map E-mail to the email column. For First Name and Company, use Map selected column and add to contact list, keeping those names. Confirm the mapping with OK.
4. Check that both contacts appear. If they are inactive, choose Selection → Select All → Activate and confirm the two selected contacts. The template preview uses active contacts.

Insert fields into the template

1. Open Templates, choose New Template, enter a name and confirm it. Select the template and choose Edit Template. If a blank template offers an email layout, choose No for this simple text example.
2. At the bottom of the editor, open Contact List and double-click “Personalization example”. If Preview merged data is enabled, turn it off while inserting fields.
3. Type “Hello ”, open Insert merge field and select First Name, then add a comma. On a new paragraph, type “Here is the project update for ”, insert Company from the same menu and add a period.

The template should read “Hello «First Name»,” and “Here is the project update for «Company».” Insert the fields through the menu: typing the angle brackets and field names as ordinary text does not create merge fields.

Preview both records

Enable Preview merged data. Use First record and Next record to inspect both contacts. In this example, the same template produces:

Choose Save and Close. When you reopen the template, its merge fields remain available for reuse. Select the contact list again when you want to preview its data.

If the editor says “no active contacts”, check the selected list and its Active column. If it reports missing merge fields, compare the field names in the template with the columns in that list. For an empty value, check the corresponding contact’s data.

This exercise does not send email or require a sending account. For account setup and campaign questions, see the other videos on this page and the SendMailer Pro FAQ.

Watch the template walkthrough

Need a hand?

Find an answer in the SendMailer Pro FAQ or contact support.