The Personalization feature allows you to insert "placeholder" personalization fields in templates and messages. At send time, the personalization fields are automatically replaced with values from your contacts' records, resulting in personalized messages.
- The fields in contacts' records can be populated by uploaded lists, data from subscription forms, manual editing, and/or an integration synchronization.
- If a contact's record does not have a value in the field that is associated to the personalization field, the default value (if one is specified) will be inserted. Refer to Default values, below.
- Personalization can be applied to mailing stories, subject lines, the friendly from field, survey questions, and landing pages.
Personalized messages tend to perform better than those that appear to have been sent as a "blast" because each recipient receives a message that has been "customized" to individually address him or her. This customization leads to more opens and, therefore, better engagement.
NOTE: Personalization fields are automatically replaced at send-time, so be mindful of how you use them. In particular, make sure that your data source contains current and correct information.
Personalization and your integration
If your account is AMS-managed, see the personalization information that is specific to your integration in the Integrations section of the knowledge base.
Personalization fields notes
Personalization fields:
- Have a required format, as described below in Personalization format & example, along with an example.
- Are selected from a list (refer to Personalization list, below).
- Are created and managed on the Profile Fields page. See Profile Fields Overview.
- Can be inserted in templates and messages as described in Insert personalization fields.
Personalization & profile fields
Personalization is based on account-specific profile fields. Profile fields are where you store attributes about your contacts; there are four types:
- Personal Information - Accommodate a variety of data types. See Personal Info Profile Fields.
- Demographics - Have a limited set of values. See Demographic Category Profile Fields.
- Interest - Enable you to organize contacts into groups. See Interest Profile Fields.
- Opt-outs - Allow your contacts to indicate they wish to stop receiving a certain type of message. See Opt-Out Profile Fields.
Default values
You can specify default values for the Personal Information and Demographics profile fields. These values will be used to populate personalization fields if the associated value is missing from a contact record, as shown in the Example in the next section.
WARNING: If a default value has not been specified, the personalization field will not be populated at send time and the message will present blank space where the personalization field was inserted.
Personalization format & example
The required format for personalization fields is:
%%field name%%
Personalization fields are properly formatted when inserted from the selection list into templates and messages.
Example
The following example has several personalization fields that are based on Personal Information and Demographics profile fields.
NOTE: Bold has been applied to the personalization fields in this example for demonstration purposes; personalization fields do not have any default formatting. You can format them as described in Format a personalization field, below.
Hello, %%First Name%%. We hope that you're looking forward to a joyous holiday season in %%City%%.
We at %%Company Name%% want to let you know that we're offering a 10% discount on our complete line of %%Product Line%% products. PLUS - if you're a member of the %%Organization Name%%, you'll get free shipping!
We hope you'll take advantage of these great savings, %%First Name%%.
- your friends at %%Company Name%%
Lisa's record does not have a value for the City profile field, so the default value (in this case, your town) will be inserted at send time. The message that is sent to her displays as:
Hello, Lisa. We hope that you're looking forward to a joyous holiday season in your town.
We at Motorcycling Mothers want to let you know that we're offering a 10% discount on our complete line of foot peg products. PLUS - if you're a member of the Automobile Association, you'll get free shipping!
We hope you'll take advantage of these great savings, Lisa.
- your friends at Motorcycling Mothers
With a little planning and initiative, you can customize any message (or template) in order to make it more personal for all of your contacts!
Personalization list
Personalization fields can be inserted in your templates and messages from a list that is available in several places.
To access the personalization fields list:
- Access the Admin interface.
- Navigate to:
- Messages > Templates to add or edit personalization in a new or existing Advanced, Standard, or Template Designer template.
- Messages > List to add or edit personalization in a new or existing Mailing Designer, Message Designer, or QuickMail message.
- Messages > Options > Story Layouts to add or edit personalization in a new or existing story layout.
What you choose to create or edit will determine which of two editors you work in; the two editors have different list selectors, as described below.
List selectors
There are two versions of the personalization-fields list selector. Their functionality is identical and they are populated with the same account-specific fields; however, the version you see depends on what you are creating or editing.
| Classic selector | New Admin Experience selector |
Found in:
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Found in: |
Insert personalization fields
When creating and editing template and messages, you can easily insert personalization fields by way of a toolbar icon. Be sure to allow for spacing and punctuation, as shown in the example that follows.
To insert a personalization field:
- In your template or message, place the cursor at the point at which you want to insert the personalization field.
- Click the Personalization icon in the toolbar.
- Choose a personalization type from the dropdown, and then choose a personalization field.
The personalization field displays in your template or message.
Tips
- Periodically save your work as your create and edit templates and messages.
- Before exiting the template or message, review (proofread) the content.
- If you use personalization fields, double-check the spacing around them.
Example
In the following image, note the spacing allowances before and after the commas and other punctuation.
TIP: Be sure to properly position the cursor when inserting personalization fields.
In the next image, we see that the personalization fields have been inserted and are correctly placed.
Delete a personalization field
If you change your mind about using a personalization field that you've inserted or realize you've chosen the wrong field, it's easy to delete it.
To delete a personalization field:
- Click the personalization field that you want to delete.
- Press Delete (or Backspace) on your keyboard.
The personalization field placeholder is removed from the template or message.
Format a personalization field
You can format a personalization field with several of the toolbar formatting options.
TIP: Keep in mind that, while most of the toolbar formatting options are character-based, the justification (left, center, right), bullets, and numbering options are paragraph-based.
To format a personalization field:
- Double-click the personalization field that you want to format.
- Click any of the formatting options (bold, italic, bullet, font size) on the toolbar.
The personalization field displays with the formatting applied.
TIP: To undo formatting, double-click the personalization field again and click the toolbar icon of the formatting option; the formatting is removed.
Test your personalizations
It's a good idea to test your personalizations prior to sending your message.
NOTE: Due to the nature of templates, their tests do not include personalization fields.
To test personalization fields in:
- Message Designer messages, see Create Messages.
- Mailing Designer messages, see Mailing Designer.
- QuickMail messages, see Quick Mail.