How to Add Your Subscribers First Name to Newsletter Emails in MailChimp

You’ve started a newsletter and you’re ready to send it, but just saying “Hello” doesn’t seem quite enough when it comes to addressing your subscribers.  Even though your subscribers know they’re part of a list, they still want to feel like you’re writing to them.

I know personally, that whenever I received a newsletter that addresses me by name that it catches my attention.  I’d gather to say that it does the same for most people. By addressing your subscribers by name in a newsletter, you not only create a more intimate setting with the newsletter, capture their attention, but it lets them know you value them enough to address them personally.  They are less likely to feel as if you are spamming them or just another number on your mailing list.

I’ll show you a little tip for how to can add their first name after the greeting to your newsletters in Mailchimp.  It’s super easy and quick, and you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing it earlier.  Basically, what you’ll be doing is adding a merge tag to the beginning of your email that will call the subscribers first name.  At the beginning of your email you will add this short snippet:

Dear *|FNAME|*,

You can replace the “Dear” with hi, hello, hey, or whatever other greetings you choose. The *|FNAME|* part is what will actually call your subscribers name into the newsletter after the greeting.

For my lists, I usually make the first name a required field when signing up, so most of my mailing lists contain first names.  However, if you have a mailing list in which you don’t have the first names, you can still use this method, but with a slight difference to the code.

Ex.1

*|IF:FNAME|*Hi *|TITLE:FNAME|*,*|ELSE:|*Hello,*|END:IF|*

Ex. 2

Hello *|IF:FNAME|*
*|FNAME|*
*|ELSE:|*
Friend
*|END:IF|*

In this instance, you can use Mailchimp’s merge tags to refer to the subscriber as “friend” if there is no first name present.   The first set of code will display a simple “Hello” if there is no first name present.  Just like using the actual first name, I like using “friend” for something similar is there’s not first name available, because, again it creates that intimacy and catches the attention of the reader.

Using the merge tags is a simple and easy way to connect that much more with your subscribers.  Also, the great thing about Mailchimp and using the FNAME tag is that it will look for and capitalize the first letter of the name automatically, so that’s less work on your part.  This way you can get back to writing useful and resourceful content for your subscribers.

That’s it!  Easy, simple, and quick and your subscribers will feel like you really want to get to know and value them.  Because, of course, you do!

If you haven’t started your own newsletter, head over to Mailchimp and do so!  You won’t regret being able to connect with your readership directly in their inbox.

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