Custom Fields

Overview

Using Custom Fields, you can collect and record information about your Contacts that can be used to segment your audience, run Automations, and personalize your content.

In this guide

• Creating Custom Fields
• Collecting Data for Custom Fields
• Editing Custom Field Data
• Using Custom Fields
• Troubleshooting
• Additional Resources

Create Custom Fields

Create custom fields in the Sendlane app or while importing Contacts.

Create a Custom Field In Sendlane

1. Click on the Audience icon in the left-hand menu bar
2. Click the Personalization tab
3. Click +Custom Field 
4. Enter a short, descriptive name for your Custom Field
5. Select a field type
6. Click Confirm to save your Custom Field

Create a Custom Field While Importing Contacts

Creating a Custom Field while importing Contacts allows you to save the data from your import file to your Contacts' profiles

1. Click on the Audience icon in the left-hand menu bar 
2. Click the Lists tab
3. Select the List you are importing into
4. Click Import 
5. Select your .CSV file
6. In the Field mapping & Import settings window, click the dropdown next to the column you’d like to create a Custom Field from 
7. Select Create Custom Field
8. Enter a name for your Custom Field next to the dropdown
9. Click Import Contacts to import your Contacts and create your new Custom Field

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Collecting Data for Custom Fields

Collect Custom Field Data in Forms

Forms can collect Custom Field data from your Contacts when they opt into your content.

Existing Custom Fields are in the Custom Field dropdowns for Form Fields and Option Selector blocks on the Design page of the form builder. You can create a new Custom Field from the Forms screen by clicking + Custom Field. 

Collect Custom Field Data using the Sendlane API

Check out Sendlane’s API documentation to learn how to use the POST method to add Contacts with a Custom Field.

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Edit Data in Custom Fields

To edit the data in a Custom Field for a Contact:

1. Open the Contact sidebar or full Client Profile and locate the Personalization section
2. Click the Edit icon
3. Make your desired changes
4. Click the green checkmark to save

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Using Custom Fields

Custom Fields can be used to add personalization to emails and as powerful segmentation options.

Insert a Custom Field in an Email

Custom Fields are a great way to personalize your Campaign and Automation emails! Custom fields can be used as personalization tags in any email:

1. Click into the email wherever you want your Contacts' Custom Field data to appear
2. Click the three dot menu
3. Click the personalization icon
4. Click the Select Personalization dropdown
5. Click the Custom Field you want to insert

If Contacts have data for the selected Custom Field, they'll see their data where the personalization tag was inserted:

Create a Default Value for Custom Fields

If Contacts do not have data for the selected Custom Field, they will see a blank space where the personalization tag was inserted if a default value is not specified for the Custom Field.

To create a default value for a Custom Field:

1. Click the Audience icon
2. Click the Personalization tab
3. Click the Custom Field's tag to copy it
4. Paste the Custom Field where you want it to appear
5. Add | default('') before the closing curly brackets
6. Enter the default value between the quotation marks

In the favorite color example used above, the final personalization tag would look like {{ contact.custom('Favorite Color') | default('pink') }}

Trigger Automations with Custom Fields

Select Custom field added as a trigger in an Automation to start an Automation when Contacts fill out a Pop-Up with the Custom Field you select.

Custom Fields can also be used in Conditional Splits in Automations. In the Conditional Split sidebar, select Custom Fields from the Condition dropdown, then adjust your parameters for the split’s logic depending on your Contacts’ Custom Field data.

Use Custom Fields to Create Segments

Segmenting by Custom Fields is a great way to target specific audiences to send to! You can create Segments based on any Custom Field.

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Troubleshooting  

I don't see Custom Field data for a Contact!

Be sure the data point was collected in their contact profile! Without that information, the variable tag will not have anything to pull from. Some Custom Fields, such as Contact Phone number, are not able to pull data when used in an email's subject line.

I don’t see Custom Field data in my test email!

Custom Field tags will not populate with Custom Field data in test emails. To ensure that your email renders Custom Field data properly, make sure that the correct Custom Field VAR code appears in your email.

How do I delete a Custom Field?

Custom Fields cannot be deleted.

Additional Resources

• How to Use Custom Fields to Create Hyper-Personalized Emails
• The Ultimate Growth Hack: Hyper-Personalized Email Marketing (and How To Do It!)