Create Custom Fields

A custom field allows you to collect and/or store information about a subscriber that can later be used to create dynamic lists or to merge information into the body of your email message, or subject line.

To add a custom field:

1. Open the Subscribers & Lists folder
2. Click Custom Fields, then click the Add Custom Field button
3. Type in the name of the field
4. Optionally, you can add a default value. Example: "Dear Customer".  If no default value is needed, just leave this field blank
5. Check Editable on Profile Center if you want subscribers to edit this field within their profile
   1. Type in a Optional Profile Center Display Name if you would like the display name on the Profile Center to be different than the internal name for the custom field

   2. Use Custom Dropdown: check this box to display a dropdown menu of specified options for the subscribers to choose from on the Profile Center (optional)

      1. Include the drop down options in this format (display name==custom field value, with one per line)

      2. For example, you could add a dropdown option for the Closest Store custom field, where the subscriber sees the city name in the drop down menu, but the store ID is saved internally:
         New York==12345
         Washington, DC==12312
         Los Angelos==43231

6. Click Save
7. Click Close

Edit a Custom Field

1. Open the Subscribers & Lists folder
2. Click Custom Fields, then click the Edit Custom Field button
3. Update the custom field information and then click Save

How to avoid a "blank" mail merge field - Specifying a default value

If a subscriber record has no data for a particular mail merge field, the default action is to merge nothing, so the result will be a blank merge area. For example:  Dear ,

To override this setting, you will need to specify a default value for a merge field. The end result would look something like this:  "Dear Valued Customer", where "Valued Customer" is the default first name used, if the subscriber's first name record is empty.

To specify the default value for firstname or lastname:

1. Open the Subscribers & Lists folder
2. Click Custom Fields
3. Double click the custom field you'd like to assign a default value
4. Type in the value in the Default Value field
5. Click Save

Insert Custom Fields into a Message

After creating custom fields and importing your lists, please read the Insert Custom Fields into an Email Message wiki article to learn how to use the custom fields as mail merge variables.