When you personalise pieces of campaign content in dotMailer based on different variables in your database, you probably already know you can set a default value for cases where there are blank fields in your database.
For instance, when personalising your salutation to 'Dear @FIRSTNAME@' you can set a default value of 'Customer' for example, where there is no first name in the record. (To do this, in dotMailer go to Contacts, then Contact Data Fields, then click the 'i' button and enter a default value ).
How to create 'if else' rules
In dotMailer, you can create what are sometimes known as 'if else' rules that use other data fields for personalisation when a specified field is blank, e.g. if there is no First Name, then use Title and Surname.
Personalisable dynamic content
To set up personalisation rules in this way, you'll need our easy to use Dynamic Content feature, available in our dotMailer Professional and Enterprise packages.
Follow these simple steps to create dynamic rules for your campaign personalisation:
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Place your curser in the spot in your template where you want personalised text.
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Now choose Insert Action and click the Dynamic Content tab in the pop-up window. Click '+ Add new' and give your dynamic content a name, such as 'Salutation'. Make the Default Rule 'First Name' by clicking INSERT ACTION and inserting the personalisation action @FISRTNAME@ into the WYSIWYG area.
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Next, click +ADD RULE and name 'Surname' for example. Use INSERT ACTION to add your personalised fields; in this case @TITLE@ @SURNAME@
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Now you need to define the rules for showing this content. To do this click on '+ Add filter' and add the rule: 'Firstname' is empty. Click the green 'save' icon to save your filter.
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You may want to add a third rule for Customer (as in Dear Customer): Firstname is empty and title is empty.
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When you're done, click Save All.
Now you can preview your personalised content using the 'DYNAMIC CONTENT' button on the Preview pop-up screen.