Using mail merge in email Mail merge allows you to create a template that automatically pulls information (e.g. a customer’s first name) from a table and inserts it into your email. The following steps will show you an example of how to use mail merge in an email template. There are many ways mail merging can be used, depending on the tables (https://www.methodintegration.com/method/kb.aspx?folder=Method&id=446) you're drawing upon, and this is a very basic example meant to illustrate merge functionality.
1. Follow steps 1-6 in Create a basic email template (https://www.methodintegration.com/method/kb.aspx?folder=Method&id=744), or use an existing template by selecting it from the Email Template List. If you access an existing template, scroll down and click Duplicate Email Template. Method best practice says not to modify stock options, so creating a duplicate will preserve the original. 2. In the body field, type "Dear Customer.FirstName”. This tells Method to populate the email with the first name of the customer you're emailing from the Customer table.
The mail merge function relies on Method searching for the merge fields you’ve included, but it won’t always do this automatically. In some cases, you may have to use the character function (https://www.methodintegration.com/method/kb.aspx?folder=Method&id=604) action to ensure Method is pulling the right information. This depends on where and when Method is sending the email, and which tables you’re referencing to merge data.
3. Choose whether the template is active and/or hidden (see Create a basic email template for details). 4. Choose the Category for the template (see Create a basic email template for details). 5. Click Save to save the email template (if you are saving a duplicate of the original template with mail merge included, you may wish to rename the template first). Some email templates are linked to an “Email” button on some screens. To implement new templates or change existing ones, you may have to customize an existing button or create a new one. For more information on customization, contact our Business Solutions Specialists (https://www.method.me/support/customization-services/).
And that’s it! Your new email template will now appear in the requisite filter views, and when you're using it to send emails, the Customer First Name will be automatically populated to match the customer you're emailing. [top]