How to insert contact fields in emails?

Emails can be customized with contact field values. For instance, firstname, lastname, city, etc. of the contact can be automatically integrated in your email.

For that, you must use contact field tokens. Tokens are done this way: {contactfield=alias}.

Alias must be replaced by the real contact field alias.

To easily find contact fields alias, you can go to the "Custom fields" menu by clicking the top right corner gear.

The first column lists custom fields name, and 2nd column lists aliases (alias is customizable when creating the custom field).

Add a variable in an email 

• Click "Emails" menu and create a new one.
• Open the builder.
• Edit a bloc and add a token.
• For instance, if we want the firstname, the token will be {contactfield=firstname}.
• If you start typing { , the tokens list will be displayed.

When contacts receive the email, the token will be replaced by the contact firstname (if the value is known).

If the contact do not have value in the field, there are 2 options: 

• Either you let the token like this and nothing will be displayed,
• Or you add in the token a default text to display if value is unknown.

To add a default text, you need to write tokens like this (example with firstname again): 

• {contactfield=firstname|default text}. Example: {contactfield=firstname|Dear client}.

Thus, if the contact doesn't have a first name given, it will be "Dear client" which will be displayed in the email.

​​All the contact fields token work. You can customize your emails however you like!

Display labels or values of drop-down lists and boolean fields

Sometimes, the values ​​of a drop-down list or boolean fields have a purely technical use and they are not usable in marketing communications. In Webmecanik Automation, you can choose to display labels or values ​​of these fields depending on your needs.
By default, the value is displayed.

• Show contact field value {contactfield=select_alias}
• Show contact field label {contactfield=select_alias|label}

The other variables available

If you want to add a link in the email that points to a Webmecanik Automation landing page, you can:

• Either add the link as a hyperlink,
• Either add the landing page variable as a hypertext link. In this case the variable is built in this way: {pagelink=ID} (the ID being replaced by the ID of the landing page),
• Either add the variable {pagelink=ID} directly in text which will turn into the name of the landing page (see below).

When you start typing, the auto-completion will suggest the available pages.

You can do the same with Assets. You can add Assets links (hosted in Webmecanik Automation) in emails.

The token to use is {assetlink=ID} (use the asset ID).

You can see all the available tokens by clicking on the button below and  insert them by clicking it.

Notes:

Link-type variables like resources and landing pages can be inserted into the Link parameter of a button. Same for the value of an URL type field.

Testing variables

If you'd like to test your variables in real-life conditions. Simply search for your contact's name in the search bar below the preview.

Once you've selected the contact, the preview URL changes to match the contact ID. You'll then be able to see the exact email this contact will receive.