How to Personalize Email and Text Message Content in iFOLIO Campaigns
Personalize communications at scale
Personalize your email and SMS campaigns by customizing message content for each recipient. This guide shows you how to use placeholder fields to create unique, personalized messages at scale.
What You'll Learn:
- How to add personalization placeholders to campaign messages
- How to map personalized data using campaign spreadsheets
- How to test and send personalized campaigns
Step 1: Create Your Campaign with Placeholders
Start by building your email or text message campaign in the Campaign Scheduler. Learn about using the campaign scheduler:
SCHEDULING CAMPAIGNS
To add personalization:
- In your message body, create placeholders by typing any word or phrase surrounded by square brackets
- Example: [Membership Level] or [Renewal Date]
- Placeholders can replace a single word or an entire message
Important Note (Keep In Message)
Keep the [link] placeholder in your message. The [link] placeholder inserts the link to your iFOLIO page and tracks individual analytics.
Reserved Placeholders (Do Not Customize)
The following placeholders are reserved for system fields and cannot be customized:
- [First Name]
- [User.StatsShareCountWeekly]
- [User.StatsShareCountMonthly]
- [Vcard]
- [Number]
- [link]
- [Signature]
Step 2: Configure Your Campaign Spreadsheet
After building your campaign, set up the personalization data:
- Navigate to Step 3 in the Campaign Scheduler
- Download the iFOLIO Campaign Send Template
- Open the template in your spreadsheet editor (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.)
Spreadsheet Structure
Standard Columns (Do not modify): The first 6 columns contain required recipient information:
- Company
- Name
- Position/Title
- Phone
- Notes/ID
Custom Personalization Columns: Add your placeholder names (without brackets) as column headers to the right of "Notes/ID"
- Important: Placeholders are case-sensitive. Match the capitalization exactly as it appears in your message
- Example: If your message uses [Membership Level], add "Membership Level" as the column header
Step 3: Add Personalized Content
For each recipient:
- Fill in the first 6 columns with standard recipient details
- In each custom column, enter the text that will replace the placeholder for that recipient
- When the campaign is sent, recipients will see your custom text instead of the placeholder brackets
Example:
- Message: "Thanks for being a [Membership Level] member!"
- Spreadsheet column "Membership Level": "Gold"
- Recipient sees: "Thanks for being a Gold member!"
Step 4: Test Your Campaign (Recommended)
Before sending to your full list, verify that personalization works correctly:
- Create a test version of your spreadsheet with 2-3 sample recipients
- Replace the email or phone number in the first 6 columns with your own contact information
- Upload the test spreadsheet in Step 3 of the Campaign Scheduler
- Send the test campaign
- Review the message you receive to confirm personalization appears correctly
- Make any necessary adjustments to your template or spreadsheet
Step 5: Send Your Campaign
Once you've tested and confirmed your personalization:
- Upload your complete campaign spreadsheet
- Complete the Campaign Scheduler setup
- Send your personalized campaign
Tips for Success
- Double-check spelling: Placeholder names in your message must exactly match column headers in your spreadsheet
- Test first: Always send a test campaign to catch formatting or data issues
- Keep it simple: Use clear, descriptive placeholder names like [Event Date] rather than abbreviations
Campaign Analytics
Review Campaign Analytics to Better Understand Customer Journeys
In the Campaign Analytics Dashboard, you can find detailed statistics about your campaign's performance. This incudes individual data such as heatmaps that provide insight into how specific recipients are engaging with your iFOLIO campaign. You can leverage this data to better understand where they are currently in their customer journey and what you can do to push for a conversion.
Learn More About Campaign Analytics Here
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