Merge tag
A placeholder in an email template, such as *|FNAME|* in Mailchimp, that the sending platform replaces with each recipient's stored data at send time.
What it means
Merge tags are how platforms personalise at scale. Mailchimp's cheat sheet lists tags such as *|FNAME|* for the contact's first name, *|LNAME|* for the last name and *|EMAIL|* for the address, along with tags for list information, footers and conditional content. Other tools use other syntax, such as double braces ({{first_name}}), so templates do not move between platforms unchanged.
Two failure modes reach recipients. An empty field produces a broken greeting unless the tag has a default value. A tag the platform does not recognise is sent literally, which shows the recipient that the message is bulk mail.
Test a template with real records, including one with missing fields, before a send.
Example
Hi *|FNAME|*,
Your subscription to *|LIST:NAME|* renews next week.Related terms
On this site
Sources
What this definition rests on. The wording is ours; the facts are theirs.
- Mailchimp: All the merge tags cheat sheetmailchimp.com
All 432 terms in the glossaryThe wiki: blocklists and bounce codes