What can I personalize in my messages?
Create a more engaging experience for your readers by using personalization in your emails. Personalization fields allow you to include information specific to individual subscribers in your messages to them.
In this article, we will how to add personalization snippets to your message and what personalization options are available.
Note: All personalization variables are case sensitive. Make sure that any variables added to your message match those in this article exactly.
Step By Step Instructions
- When editing a message, you can insert a personalization field by first selecting the area in which you'd like to create the field.
- Next, click the Edit block and in the toolbar that appears, click the "Personalize" button.
Clicking the "Personalize" button will provide a drop-down menu where you can select which personalization value you would like to add to your message. You can select different categories to find more information.
Now, the personalization will be added to your message.
You can include the different options for personalization:
Subscriber Information
This information is pulled from the subscriber's initial signup, and is mostly information that they provided directly to you.
Full Name
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Thank you page
Ad Tracking
IP Address
Signup URL
Signup Date
Custom Field Data
Information from Your Account
This information is set on your List Settings page.
Signature
Contact Address
Unsubscribe Link
Archived Web Version
Date
Other Text Snippets
Subscriber Location
This information is generated from your subscriber's IP address.
Country
Region
City
Postal Code
Latitude
Longitude
DMA Code
Name Variables
The AWeber system can correct the capitalization of most subscribers' names. So if someone enters their name as steve, AWeber can display their name in messages as Steve.
| Field Name | Variable | Displays |
| Full Name | {{ subscriber.name }} | Subscriber's full name |
| Full Name | {!name_fix} | Full name, corrects capitalization |
| First Name | {{ subscriber.first_name }} | Subscriber's first name |
| First Name | {!firstname_fix} | First name, corrects capitalization |
| Last Name | {{ subscriber.last_name }} | Subscriber's last name |
| Last Name | {!lastname_fix} | Last name, corrects capitalization |
Date Variables
AWeber can display the current date, as well as the date the subscriber opted in to your list in several formats. Additional date formatting options are available.
For the current date:
| Desired Date Format | Use | Display |
| Long Date | {!date long+0} | January 3, 2015 |
| Abbreviated | {!date abb+0} | Jan 3, 2015 |
| Short w/Slash | {!date ss+0} | 1/3/2015 |
| Short w/Dash | {!date sd+0} | 1-3-2015 |
| European w/Slash | {!date es+0} | 3/1/2015 |
| European w/Dash | {!date ed+0} | 3-1-2015 |
| Day of the Week | {!date dayname+0} | Wednesday |
After inserting the date variable, you can change the number 0 to another one in order to make a future date display in the message. Examples: {!date long+1}, {!date abb+7}
For the date a subscriber signed up to your list:
| Desired Date Format | Use | Display |
| Long Date | {!signdate long} | January 3, 2015 |
| Abbreviated | {!signdate abb} | Jan 3, 2015 |
| Short w/Slash | {!signdate ss} | 1/3/2015 |
| Short w/Dash | {!signdate sd} | 1-3-2015 |
| European w/Slash | {!signdate es} | 3/1/2015 |
| European w/Dash | {!signdate ed} | 3-1-2015 |
| Day of the Week | {!signdate dayname} | Wednesday |
Note: The signdate variables do not use the +0 that the current date variables do.
Geographic Variables
When subscribers opt in to your list, AWeber captures their IP address. Based on this IP address, for most subscribers we can capture geographic information which you can use to personalize your messages.
This geographic data is based on the subscriber's IP address, which will not always match where they are physically located. It is an approximate measure, so please use it accordingly.
| Field Name | Variable | Displays |
| Country | {!geog_country} | Country (where subscriber signed up from) |
| Region | {!geog_region} | Region (in the USA, this is State) |
| City | {!geog_city} | City |
| Postal | {!geog_postal} | Postal Code |
| Latitude | {!geog_lat} | Latitude |
| Longitude | {!geog_lon} | Longitude |
| DMA Code | {!geog_dma_code} | Direct Marketing Association code |
RSS Variables
These variables pull information from an RSS feed that you've set up. Using the Feed Element allows you to incorporate content from your blog, podcast, youtube channel and other content feeds without needing to use these variables; however, if you use RSS variables for your coded HTML message, the different RSS variables will display particular content from your RSS feed.
| Variable | Displays |
| {!rss_channel_title} | Title of Your Feed |
| {!rss_channel_description} | Description of Your Feed |
| {!rss_channel_link} | Link to Your Web Page |
| {!rss_itemblock} | Opens an RSS Item Block |
| {!rss_itemblockend} | Closes an RSS Item Block |
| {!rss_item_title} | Title of Your Post |
| {!rss_item_date} | Date of Your Post |
| {!rss_item_description} | Excerpt/Content From Post |
| {!rss_item_content} | Full Content From Post |
| {!rss_item_link} | Link to Full Post Online |
The {!rss_item_title}, {!rss_item_date}, {!rss_item_link}, {!rss_item_content} and {!rss_item_description} variables need to be placed within the RSS item block - they have to appear after {!rss_itemblock} and before {!rss_itemblockend}.
The {!rss_itemblock} and {!rss_itemblockend} variables can only be used once in the subject line and once in the body of the message.
Custom and Global Fields
| Variable | Displays |
| {!custom variable name} | Whatever information is stored in the variable name custom field |
| {!custom_fix variable name} | Whatever information is stored in the variable name custom field, with the first letter of each word capitalized |
| {!global variable name} | Whatever information is stored in the variable name global field |
| {!global_fix variable name} | Whatever information is stored in the variable name global field, with the first letter of each word capitalized |
Note: When using a Custom or Global Field variable make sure that the letter case matches exactly what you've entered into the list information. For example, if you create a custom field for Transaction ID the variable will need to be written as {!custom Transaction ID}.
Other Variables
| Field Name | Variable | Displays |
| {!email} | Subscriber's email address | |
| Ad Tracking | {!ad_tracking} | Subscriber's ad tracking category |
| Unsubscribe Link | {!remove_web} | Unsubscribe link |
| Subscription Source | {!add_url} | URL where subscriber signed up |
| Add IP | {!add_ip} | IP address subscriber signed up from |
| Signature | {!signature} | Your signature file |
| Contact Address | {!contact_address} | Your postal contact address |
| Archive URL | {!archive_url} | Link to the archived web version of your broadcast message |
Are there any other ways to personalize a message?
In addition to the variables above, you can add dynamic content to your messages. The personalization codes above are static, meaning each variable will only pull in one piece of subscriber data. With dynamic content, you can tailor your messages further by displaying specific content if certain conditions are met. For example, you can greet your subscribers using the {!firstname_fix} personalization, but if the subscriber didn't submit their first name, then that code won't pull in any information. Instead of using the personalization, you can add dynamic content to pull in another greeting for subscribers who didn't fill out the name field, like "Hello friend." Our articles below provide an overview of dynamic content, the variables that you can use, and how to use dynamic content to personalize your greetings.
- What is Dynamic Email Content?
- What variables can I use to create dynamic email content?
- How can I personalize email greetings with dynamic email content?
For a complete walkthrough on creating and sending a message from start to finish, see our how-to video and watch the message editor in action: