What Are Conditional Merge Tags and How Do They Help?

Conditional merge tags in SmartReach.io allow you to personalize cold emails by dynamically inserting content based on prospect data. This cold email software feature boosts engagement by tailoring messages to each recipient’s specific attributes, like job title or company name.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Add Conditional Merge Tags:

Merge tags like {{first_name}} personalize your emails by inserting prospect-specific information. These tags represent columns in your prospect data (examples: {{first_name}}, {{profession}}, {{experience}}).

1. Access the Email Editor by Creating a new Campaign or editing an existing campaign.
2. In the email body, place your cursor where you want the personalized content. Click the “Merge Tags” icon (usually a curly brace or tag symbol) in the editor toolbar.
3. Define the Condition: In the pop-up, choose a prospect attribute (e.g., “Job Title” or “Company Name”) from the available fields. Set the condition (e.g., “is equal to” or “contains”) and enter the value (e.g., “CEO” for Job Title)

Example : Combining == (Equals), != (Does Not Equal), and and (Logical AND)

Scenario: You want to personalize a call-to-action for prospects who are in the “Finance” industry and are not located in “New York.”

Configure the Condition:

• Attribute 1: Industry

Condition: == (equals) “Finance”

• Attribute 2: Location

Condition: != (does not equal) “New York”

Combine with: and (both conditions must be true)

• Content: “Join our Finance webinar!”
• Fallback: “Check out our latest resources” Click “Save”

Basic Operators

==    equals
!=    does not equal
or    logical OR
and   logical AND

Control Flow Options

If Statement

Shows content when a condition is true.

{% if profession == 'marketer' %}
  You are invited to DreamForce.
{% endif %}

Result: If profession is "marketer", adds "You are invited to DreamForce."

Unless Statement

Shows content when a condition is false (opposite of if).

{% unless profession == 'Marketer' %}
  You are not invited to DreamForce.
{% endunless %}

Result: If profession is NOT "Marketer", adds "You are not invited to DreamForce."

If-Elsif-Else Statement

Handles multiple conditions.

{% if profession == 'Marketer' %}
  You are invited to DreamForce.
{% elsif profession == 'Sales Development Rep' %}
  You should go to SaaSSales.
{% else %}
  Tell me your profession.
{% endif %}

Case-When Statement

Similar to a switch statement for multiple conditions.

{% case profession %}
  {% when 'Marketer' %}
    You are invited to DreamForce.
  {% when 'Sales Development Rep' %}
    You should go to SaaSSales.
  {% else %}
    Tell me your profession.
{% endcase %}

Helpful Features

Comments

Add notes in your dynamic content that won't appear in emails.

{% comment %}
This text won't show in the email
{% endcomment %}

Raw Tag

Disables merge tag processing when you need to show actual curly braces.

{% raw %}
  How are you {{first_name}}
{% endraw %}

Result: Shows literally "How are you {{first_name}}" without processing the merge tag.

String Operations

Contains

Checks if a string contains a substring.

{% if first_name contains 'Peter' %}
  Your first name includes Peter.
{% endif %}

Capitalize

Makes the first letter uppercase.

{{ "awesome" | capitalize }}  <!-- Result: "Awesome" -->
{{ first_name | capitalize }} <!-- If first_name = "mickey mouse", result: "Mickey mouse" -->

Default

Provides a fallback value when the original is empty, nil, or false.

Hi {{ first_name | default: 'there' }}!

Result: Shows "Hi there!" if first_name is empty/null.

Append

Combines two strings.

{{ company | append: " Inc." }} <!-- If company = "Apple", result: "Apple Inc." -->

Nil Check

Checks if a value is null or empty.

{% if company == nil %}
  Hey there!
{% else %}
  Hey {{ company }}!
{% endif %}

Result: Shows "Hey there!" when company is null/empty.

Hey (if the value of a string is null or empty)