Custom fields and segmentation in Mailrelay: how to personalize and target your emails
Store the data you need about each contact, use it in your emails and send every campaign only to the people who care about it.
Sending the same email to your whole list is quick, but it’s rarely what works best. With Mailrelay’s custom fields and segmentation, you can store the information you need about each contact, use it inside your emails and choose who receives each campaign.
This guide walks you through it step by step, using the tool’s current screens.
What custom fields are
By default, Mailrelay stores data such as the email address, name, city and country. Custom fields are the ones you create for everything else: a customer number, the product they bought, the course they’re interested in or the date of their last visit.
They’re useful for three things:
Asking for that data in your forms. For example, the company’s industry or the region.
Personalizing your emails. Inserting each contact’s value in the subject line or the body text.
Organizing your list. Knowing what each contact has and planning more targeted sends.
We explain this in more detail in our post on custom fields.
Step 1: create the custom field
Go to Subscribers > Custom fields and click Add. Fill in these details:
Field type. Text, textarea, number, select, select (multiple), checkbox, radio buttons or date.
Label. The name you’ll see, for example “Favorite sport”.
Tag name. The internal name used in your emails. Letters and numbers only, no spaces.
Required. If you check it, subscribers will have to fill it in on your forms.
Default value. The value the field will have if no other value is given.
Click Create Custom field and it’s ready to use.
Step 2: import your contacts with their data
If you already have this data in a spreadsheet, import it from Subscribers > Imports > New import. Upload the CSV or TXT file and match each column to its field: name, email and the custom field you’ve just created.
On the same screen, you choose the destination group and whether you want to update the data of contacts that already exist. Before importing, make sure all your contacts have given their permission to receive your emails.
You can also ask for the data directly when people subscribe, by adding the field to your signup form.
To review or correct a specific contact’s value, go to Subscribers > Subscribers and click Edit.
Personalize your emails for free
Create your account and use custom fields and segments with up to 80,000 emails a month for free.
Step 3: use the fields in your emails
In the campaign editor, you can insert each contact’s value in the subject line or the body text. When editing the subject line, click Add variables and choose the first name, last name or any of your custom fields.
When the campaign is sent, each subscriber sees their own value. That way you can write “Hi, Marta” or “Your padel class starts on Monday” without preparing an email for each person.
Use personalization wisely: a useful detail in the subject line works better than repeating the name in every sentence. You’ll find more ideas in our post on personalization in email marketing.
Step 4: create a segment
Segmentation lets you send each campaign only to the contacts who meet certain conditions. To create a segment:
1. Go to Subscribers > Segmentation and click Add.
2. Enter a descriptive name, for example “Inactive last 90 days”.
3. Under Conditions, choose what subscribers must meet: data such as country, language, group, tags or your custom fields, or what they’ve done with your emails, such as opening or clicking.
4. Add more conditions if you need them and choose whether all of them must be met or just one is enough.
5. Click Preview to see which contacts are included and then Create Segment.
Segment or group: which to choose
When you save, Mailrelay lets you choose between creating a segment or a group:
| Segment | Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Dynamic | Static |
| Updates | On its own, based on the conditions | No, not until you change it |
| Best for | Re-engagement and behavior-based sends | Fixed lists or a snapshot of your list at a specific moment |
If a contact stops meeting the conditions, they leave the segment automatically. In a group, on the other hand, they stay until you remove them.
Send to the people who are really interested
Dynamic segments that update themselves, included in Mailrelay’s free account.
Three segments worth having
By a custom field. Choose your field, for example “Favorite sport”, the Equal operator and the value “Golf”. Only the people with that value will receive the campaign.
People who didn’t open a campaign. Choose the “Subscriber didn’t open campaign” condition with Specific campaigns and select the campaign. You can resend it to that segment with a different subject line.
Inactive in the last 90 days. The same condition, but with Any campaign and an interval of 90 days ago. It updates itself every day and is useful for launching a re-engagement campaign or cleaning your list.
Combining conditions. You can also create condition groups. For example, subscribers from Spain or Mexico who have also opened an email in the last 30 days.
More information
You’ll find every option explained in the Mailrelay knowledge base: Custom fields and Segmentation.
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Frequently asked questions
These are the most common questions about custom fields and segmentation in Mailrelay.
Where do you create custom fields in Mailrelay?
In Subscribers > Custom fields > Add.
How do I insert a custom field in an email?
When editing the subject line or the body of the campaign, click Add variables and choose the field. Each subscriber will see their own value.
What’s the difference between a segment and a group?
A segment is dynamic and updates itself based on its conditions. A group is static and keeps the same contacts until you change it.
Does a segment update itself?
Yes. Every time you use it, it includes the subscribers who meet the conditions at that moment.
Why doesn’t the segment preview show anyone?
No contact meets all the conditions at the same time. Check whether you chose “Match all” where you meant “Match any”, and check the values.