Email templates and merge tokens

If you are retyping the same email, a template is the fix. If you are then editing every copy to change the name and the amount, merge tokens are the other half of the fix.

A template with merge tokens is written once and arrives personalised.

Who this is for

Anyone who sends the same shape of email more than a few times — reps, support agents, and anyone running outreach.

Before you start

• Permission to manage email templates, if you want to create shared ones.
• A clear idea of which parts of the message change per recipient — those become tokens.

Always send yourself a test first
A merge token that does not resolve is the most visible mistake in email, because it arrives as a literal placeholder in front of a customer. Send a test to yourself before a template goes anywhere near a real list.

Build a template

1. Start from an email you actually send
   The best first template is a message you have already written more than once. Paste it in rather than inventing a new one.
2. Replace the changing parts with merge tokens
   Wherever you would normally type a name, a company, an amount or a date, insert the token instead. That is what makes one template work for everyone.
3. Write a fallback-safe message
   Assume some records have gaps. A sentence that reads badly when a token is empty is worth rewording so it survives missing data.
4. Save it with a name your colleagues will recognise
   Templates are found by name under pressure. Name it for the situation it is used in, not for its structure.
5. Send yourself a test
   Check that every token resolved and the layout holds in your own client before anyone else sees it.
6. Reuse it in campaigns and sequences
   The same saved template can be pulled into a bulk campaign or a sequence step, so you are not rebuilding the same message per channel.

What you get

• One message that arrives personalised to each recipient.
• A shared library, so the team sends consistent email.
• Templates reusable across one-to-one email, campaigns and sequences.
• Fewer copy-paste mistakes, because the details are filled in rather than typed.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if a merge token has no value for a record?

It cannot fill in what is not there, which is why a test send matters and why sentences that still read acceptably with a blank are worth writing that way.

Can I use a template in a campaign as well as a one-to-one email?

Yes. Saved templates are reusable across bulk campaigns and sequence steps as well as individual messages.

Are templates personal or shared?

Templates are a shared library so the team sends consistent email. Managing them is permission-gated.

Can I edit a template after inserting it into an email?

Yes. Inserting a template gives you a starting point, and the message is fully editable from there.