Variables are short pieces of code that you can put in an email or text message to personalize the content. They are made up of a field name enclosed in curly brackets, like this: {first_name}
Terminology spotlight: You may be familiar with some other names for code like Kartra's variables. For example, similar terms in other systems include: merge fields, mail merge, data tags, placeholders, etc.
In each case, the term refers to a short piece of code in a specific format that will be replaced with personalized data in its final version.
When you send a message with a variable in it, Kartra checks the recipient's contact profile to see if there is any information in the matching field. If there is, the unique details from each person's profile replace the variable code in the message they see.
For example:
Your email subject is: "{first_name} - this message is for you"
The email is sent to a man named John. The first name field in his lead profile contains "John."
When John sees the message in his inbox, the subject is: "John - this message is for you"
Variables are shown in the email and SMS composers throughout your account. They can be used in the body, subject, and preview text fields.
| Contact fields | Variable |
| First name | {first_name} |
| Last name | {last_name} |
| {email_address} | |
| Date joined (the date the contact record was created) | {date_joined} |
| Phone country code | {phone_country_code} |
| Phone | {phone} |
| IP address | {ip} |
| Address | {address} |
| Postal code | {zip} |
| City | {city} |
| State | {state} |
| Country | {country} |
| Affiliate link | Select a destination page, then copy the variable |
| JV broker link | Select a destination page, then copy the variable |
| Custom fields | Select a custom field, then copy the variable |
To add personalized details for the people receiving your email or SMS, copy and paste the corresponding variable into the message. When it is received, each recipient will see their own information.
Meetings, purchases, memberships, and other details
Some transactional emails that are sent automatically from your account have additional variables you can use. For example:
- Purchase confirmation emails can contain variables for details about the product purchased and price paid
- Calendar confirmation emails can contain variables about an appointment booking and link to a meeting room
- Membership notifications can contain the name of a new post and a link to the content
In most cases, these email templates are configured in the setup wizard for the calendar, membership, etc, that you're working on. You may also see global notification templates for your account that contain additional variables.
Variables related to an asset like a product or calendar can only be used in emails triggered by that asset. In the case of product variables, for example, the association between a purchase and the payment confirmation email is required for the variable to be replaced properly.
Only variables related to contacts (those shown in the table above) can be used in broadcast or sequence emails and SMS.