Use a subscriber’s first name from a full name
Does your subscriber have a single full-name field? You can use the built-in First name placeholder, {First name}, in your email or SMS. Activity Messenger derives the first name from the recipient’s full name. You do not need to create a custom First name field just to personalize a greeting.
Personalize your message
- Open your email or SMS message or template.
- Insert the First name placeholder into your greeting, for example
Hello {First name},. - Preview the placeholder replacements for the intended recipients before sending.
For a recipient named Alex Martin, the greeting becomes Hello Alex,. This is the recipient’s first name; use the appropriate participant or account-owner placeholder when you want another person’s name.
Import separate first and last name columns
If your Excel/CSV file already has separate name columns, you can map both in the list import screen. Under Choose columns to import, associate the first-name column with First name and the surname column with Last name.
A single full-name value also works with the First name placeholder. You do not need to rebuild an existing list solely to separate names.
Mapping two columns does not guarantee that a first name containing spaces will stay intact in the message: personalization still derives the first name from the recipient’s full name.
Check compound names before sending
Activity Messenger uses the text before the first space as the first name. This is a simple split, not an interpretation of every naming convention:
- Marie-Claude Tremblay gives Marie-Claude.
- Marie Claude Tremblay gives Marie.
- Alex gives Alex.
Names written family-name-first may therefore produce the family name. If no recipient name is available, there is no first name to insert.
In the template editor, enable Test placeholders, select the intended list, and check several recipients, including compound names and missing names. If the result is unsuitable, use a neutral greeting or the full-name placeholder {Name}. Before a bulk send, you can also send a test to a list containing only your own contact details.