Using Personalization Tags

Personalization tags (also known as merge tags or dynamic fields) are placeholders you insert into your email subject lines and bodies. When the email is sent, BuffSend automatically replaces these tags with the corresponding data from each contact's record, making your emails feel much more personal and relevant.

How They Work

Personalization tags are typically enclosed in double curly braces, like . The tag_name usually corresponds directly to the header of a column in your contact list CSV or a standard contact field.

Example:

If your email subject is:

Quick question for

And you send it to a contact whose "company" field contains "Acme Corp", the recipient will see:

Quick question for Acme Corp

Similarly, if your email body starts with:

Hi ,

A contact named "Sarah" will see:

Hi Sarah,

Commonly Available Tags

While the exact tags depend on the fields you import, standard tags usually include:

  • - The contact's email address.
  • - The contact's first name.
  • - The contact's last name.
  • - The contact's full name (if available or combined).
  • - The contact's company name.
  • or - The contact's job title.
  • Any custom column headers you included in your CSV upload can usually be used as tags as well (e.g., , ).

Check the campaign editor or contact import section for a definitive list of available tags for your specific account and lists.

Using Fallbacks

What happens if a contact doesn't have data for a specific tag? For example, you use , but you didn't import a first name for one contact.

Good personalization includes setting up "fallbacks". BuffSend might offer a syntax like this (check specific implementation):

Hi there,

In this case:

  • If the contact's first name is "John", they see: Hi John,
  • If the contact's first name field is empty, they see: Hi there,

Using fallbacks prevents awkward blank spaces (e.g., "Hi , ") and keeps your emails professional even with incomplete data.

Where to Use Tags

  • Subject Lines: Using tags like or in the subject can significantly boost open rates.
  • Email Body: Use tags throughout the email body for greetings, referencing their company or role, or inserting any relevant custom data you've collected.

Important Considerations

  • Case Sensitivity: Tag names might be case-sensitive. Ensure the tag matches the field name/column header exactly. might not work if the field is first_name.
  • Data Quality: Personalization is only as good as your data. Ensure your contact lists are clean and accurate before relying heavily on tags.
  • Testing: Always send test emails to yourself or colleagues to ensure tags are rendering correctly and fallbacks work as expected before launching a campaign to your list.

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