MergelineHow to personalize a mail merge with merge tags, fallbacks and conditional text
Updated October 29, 2026
A merge tag like {{FirstName}} pulls a value from your list into each email. Add a fallback, {{FirstName|there}}, so empty cells still read well. Use conditional text, {{#if Company}}...{{/if}}, to show a sentence only to people who have that detail. Then preview every person before you send.
What a merge tag is
A merge tag is a placeholder with a column name inside. When the email goes out, the tool swaps the tag for that person’s value. If your sheet has a Company column, then “Congrats to everyone at {{Company}}” becomes “Congrats to everyone at Acme” for Jane Doe and “Congrats to everyone at Beta Labs” for Sam Lee.
People ask how to do this in plain Gmail templates all the time, and the answer is that Gmail templates cannot fill in names on their own (r/GMail: adding first name to Gmail templates). You need mail merge.
Tags in Gmail’s built-in mail merge
Google’s tool uses @ fields: @firstname, @lastname, @fullname, @email, or a column from your sheet. They work in the body only, not in the subject line and not inside linked text (Google: Send personalized emails with mail merge in Gmail). There is no fallback and no conditional text, so check for empty cells before you send.
Fallbacks for empty cells
Real lists have gaps. Someone signed up without a first name, or a company field is blank. Without a fallback, the email reads “Hi ,” and looks automated.
| You write | Cell has a value | Cell is empty |
|---|---|---|
| Hi {{FirstName|there}}, | Hi Jane, | Hi there, |
| {{Company|your team}} | Acme | your team |
| See you {{Day|soon}} | See you Tuesday | See you soon |
Pick fallbacks that make the sentence read naturally. “Hi friend,” sounds like a newsletter; “Hi there,” sounds like a person.
How to personalize an email in Mergeline
- Import your list. Each column becomes a tag. Names match even if case or spaces differ, so {{first name}} finds FirstName.
- Insert tags. Click a column to insert it, or type {{ColumnName}} yourself.
- Add fallbacks. Add a bar and a fallback to any tag that might be empty.
- Add conditional sentences. Wrap optional sentences in {{#if Column}} and {{/if}}.
- Fix warnings. Mergeline flags tags that match no column, so nobody gets a raw {{Tag}} in their email.
- Preview people with gaps. Step through the preview, especially rows with empty cells, then send.
Conditional text
Sometimes a whole sentence only makes sense for some people. Conditional text shows it to people who match and hides it for everyone else, so you do not need two campaigns.
| Pattern | What it does |
|---|---|
| {{#if Company}}...{{/if}} | Shows the text only when Company has a value |
| {{#if Company}}...{{else}}...{{/if}} | Shows one text or the other |
| {{#if Plan = Pro}}...{{/if}} | Shows the text only when Plan is exactly Pro |
| {{#if Plan != Pro}}...{{/if}} | Shows the text for everyone except Pro |
Example: “{{#if Company}}I loved what {{Company}} shipped last month.{{else}}I loved your last post.{{/if}}” Jane at Acme gets the first sentence; John, with no company, gets the second.
Vary the wording
Hundreds of emails with the exact same sentence are easy to spot. Mergeline supports simple variations: {Hi|Hello|Hey} picks one option per person. Use it lightly, for greetings and sign-offs, so every version still sounds like you.
Personalize the subject line
A subject with their name or company gets noticed in a busy inbox. Gmail’s built-in merge does not allow tags in the subject. Mergeline does: “Quick question about {{Company}}” works the same as in the body. Keep subjects short; Mergeline warns you when one is long.
Go past the name
A first name is the least personal thing you can add. The tags that get replies carry something only that person would recognize: the event they came to, the product they bought, the post they wrote, the meeting time you agreed. Add a column for it, even if you fill it by hand for the 20 people who matter most.
Mergeline Pro can also write a personal first line per person with AI, using your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini key, or your browser’s built-in model. Read every line before you send.
Common merge tag mistakes
- Typos in the tag. {{Frist Name}} matches nothing. Mergeline flags tags with no matching column before you send.
- Names in capitals or lowercase. “Hi JANE” or “Hi jane” looks automated. Fix the sheet first.
- Full names in the greeting. “Hi Jane Doe” sounds like a form letter. Use a FirstName column.
- Fallbacks that do not fit. “Congrats to everyone at your company” reads oddly. Rewrite the sentence or wrap it in conditional text.
- Too many tags. Five tags in one paragraph feel like a form. One or two real details beat many shallow ones.
Questions
How do I add a first name to a Gmail email automatically?
Use mail merge with a FirstName column and a tag like {{FirstName|there}}. Gmail templates cannot fill names on their own.
Can I personalize the subject line?
Not in Gmail’s built-in mail merge. In Mergeline, tags work in the subject too.
What happens if a tag has no matching column?
Mergeline warns you before sending. Without a fallback, an unmatched tag would leave a gap or a raw tag.
Can I personalize links?
Yes, put the link in a column and use {{Link}}. Gmail’s built-in merge cannot use fields inside linked text.
Is conditional text free in Mergeline?
Yes. Merge tags, fallbacks and conditional text are all on the free plan.
Sources
- Google: Send personalized emails with mail merge in Gmail
- r/GMail: adding first name to Gmail templates
- r/recruiting: personalized variables in Gmail
Facts checked October 29, 2026. Google and other vendors change their limits and prices, so check the source before you rely on a number.
Mergeline does this from your own Gmail. Free for 60 emails a day with merge tags and no branding. Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year for follow-ups, scheduling and attachments.