Insert Custom Fields into an Email Message

To add a mail merge variable in a message, simply type the mail merge value as you would any other text.

For example, Dear %%firstname%%,

When the message is sent, it will substitute the value, with the value of firstname associated with the subscriber record. If there is no value associated with firstname (the value is blank), the merge field will be blank. Example: Dear ,

To insert Custom Fields as mail merge variables into an email message:

From the Message Editor screen, click the location within your email message where you would like to insert the variable.
Click the Insert Variables icon:
Select the Custom Field to insert into the message

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:

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

PLEASE NOTE: When using merge variables/fields, always do a couple test-sends to confirm that your data is merging as expected, prior to doing a large scale mailing.

Message Custom Field/Mail Merge Variables

Below is a listing of the most commonly used merge fields.

%%unsubscribe%%	Unsubscribe - with full link
%%unsubscribe_link%%	Unsubscribe full link
%%unsubscribe_link_nohttp%%	Unsubscribe link, no "http://" (Used from custom link)
%%unsubscribeoc%%	One click unsubscribe
%%unsubscribeoc_link%%	One click unsubscribe full link
%%unsubscribeoc_link_nohttp%%	One click unsubscribe link, no "http://" (Used from custom link)
%%fwtf%%	Forward to a friend Full Link (With text)
%%fwtf_link%%	Forward to a friend URL Only
%%fwtf_link_nohttp%%	Forward to a friend URL Only, no "http://" (Used when inserting a link)
%%profilecenter%%	Full Profile Center link
%%profilecenter_link%%	Full Profile Center link only
%%profilecenter_link_nohttp%%	Full Profile Center link only, no "http://"
%%viewaswebpage%%	View as webpage link and text
%%viewaswebpage_link%%	View as webpage permalink URL e.g. <a href="%%viewaswebpage_link%%">Click Here to view as a web page</a>
%%viewaswebpage_link_nohttp%%	View as webpage permalink URL with no http:// e.g. <a href="http://%%viewaswebpage_link_nohttp%%">Click Here to view as a web page</a>
%%viewaswebpage_social%%	View as webpage link and text with social sharing icons
%%viewaswebpage_social_link%%	View as webpage permalink URL with social sharing icons e.g. <a href="%%viewaswebpageurl%%">Click Here to view as a web page</a>
%%viewaswebpage_social_link_nohttp%%	View as webpage permalink full URL with no http with social sharing icons e.g. <a href="http://%%viewaswebpage_social_link_nohttp%%">Click Here to view as a web page</a>
%%email%%	Email address
%%firstname%%	First Name
%%lastname%%	Last Name
%%custom1%%, %%custom2%%, %%custom3%%	Custom fields from 1 to 50, as defined in "Custom Fields"

%%cemaildisplayname%%	Company Email Display Name
%%cstreet%%	Company Street
%%ccity%%	Company City
%%cstate%%	Company State
%%czip%%	Company Postal Code
%%uniqueid%%	Randomly generated numeric id that will be unique to each subscriber sent a message. (Note: If the subscriber is sent another message with %%uniqueid%%, it will be a different randomly generated value.)