Using Symbols in Cell Content

Symbols in Campaign Builder personalize the e-mail you send by merging recipient-specific data into each message. For example, you can use symbols to address a customer by first name, offer a coupon relevant to the customer's interests or purchasing history, and so forth.

When you enter a symbol in cell content, it automatically:

• Becomes merged (replaced by data) when proofing or sending the cell. The source of the data depends on the symbol data type.
• Appears in the cell's Symbols Tab where it cannot be deleted unless removed from the content. See Define Dynamic Content to Merge for more information about the symbols tab.

Symbol syntax

All symbols begin with a single underscore (_) followed by a string of characters, followed by two underscores (__). For example:

Dear _FIRSTNAME__,

after merging would look something like:

Dear Fred,

or if the default value is used:

Dear Valued Customer,

A symbol consisting of a a pound sign (#) followed by a nine-digit number is a content object identifier and is replaced with an object from the Content Library at merge time. For example:

_#282441300__

Symbols appear without underscores in the Symbols Tab. For example, the symbol FIRSTNAME appears in content as _FIRSTNAME__ but the Symbols Tab displays the symbol name as FIRSTNAME.

Note: To adhere to e-Dialog's opt-out policies (and the CAN-SPAM Act), you must include an unsubscribe link in every e-mail you send. Use the intrinsic symbol _UNSUBLINK__ to place the unsub link (see Basic Settings) in your cell content.