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Merge tags let you personalize emails by automatically inserting recipient-specific information or dynamic content. This helps your emails feel more personal and increases engagement. Merge tags work in all email types: standard, simple, HTML, and Canva.

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How to Use Merge Tags

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In Email Content

You can use merge tags in any text block by typing @. A dropdown will appear showing available merge tags. Select one to insert it into your email. You can also simply type the merge tag directly (e.g., @first-name) and it will be recognized. Example:
Hi @first-name, We wanted to let you know about our upcoming event.

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In Email Subjects

You can use @first-name and @last-name merge tags in email subject lines. Simply type the merge tag directly into the subject field. This works for both regular emails and automation emails. Only @first-name and @last-name are supported in subject lines. Any other merge tag in a subject shows a warning and is not replaced — it is sent to recipients exactly as typed, so remove it before sending. Example:
@first-name, you’re invited to our upcoming event!

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Default Merge Tags

These merge tags are available in every email: Date and time merge tags use your organization’s Planning Center timezone to determine the current date, month, and year.

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Alternate Merge Tag Formats

If you’re pasting content or HTML from another email platform, Flowforth also recognizes two common industry merge tag formats. They work everywhere @ merge tags work — email content, HTML and Canva emails, and subject lines — and are replaced with the same values. A few things to know:
  • The table above is the complete list. These are the only Mailchimp and Handlebars tags Flowforth recognizes.
  • Both formats are case-insensitive, and Handlebars-style tags tolerate spaces ({{ first_name }}) and hyphens ({{first-name}}).
  • The link tags also work as href values in HTML emails, e.g. <a href="*|UNSUB|*">Unsubscribe</a>.
  • In subject lines, the same rule applies as for @ tags: only the first and last name tags (*|FNAME|*, *|LNAME|*, {{first_name}}, {{last_name}}) are supported. Any other tag in a subject shows a warning and is sent as typed, not replaced.
  • Unrecognized tags are left as-is. Other Mailchimp tags (like *|MERGE1|* or *|ADDRESS|*) and other Handlebars expressions are not touched and go out exactly as typed. Custom Planning Center merge tags only work in the @ format.
  • The auto-generated plain-text version of an email (a fallback some email clients use) replaces only the name, email, and date tags. Link tags aren’t replaced there; unsubscribe and manage-preferences links are appended at the bottom automatically.
These formats exist so imported templates keep working — the editor’s merge tag dropdown always inserts the @ format, which is the recommended syntax for new emails.

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Custom Merge Tags from Planning Center

You can also add custom merge tags that pull data from custom fields in Planning Center. This lets you include personalized information like membership status, small group name, or any other custom field you’ve set up.

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Adding a Custom Merge Tag

  1. Click on a text block in your email
  2. In the sidebar, expand the Merge Tags section
  3. Click Add Custom Field from PCO
  4. Select a Custom Tab from Planning Center
  5. Select a Field from that tab
  6. Optionally set a default value if the person has no value for that field
  7. Click Add Field

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Supported Field Types

Custom merge tags work with the following Planning Center field types:
  • Text - Single-line text fields
  • Text Area - Multi-line text fields
  • Number - Numeric values
  • Date - Date values
  • Boolean - Yes/No values
Custom merge tags do not work with file uploads, section headers, or checkbox fields.

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Default Values

When adding a custom merge tag, you can specify a default value that will be used if the recipient doesn’t have a value for that field. If you leave this blank, the merge tag will simply be empty for those recipients. Recipients imported from a CSV don’t have a Planning Center profile, so custom merge tags always fall back to this default value (or go blank) for them. We’ll warn you on the send confirmation if you send an email with custom merge tags to a CSV audience.

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Managing Custom Merge Tags

After adding custom merge tags, they appear in a table under Custom Merge Tags in the sidebar. Click on any tag to:
  • Update the default value
  • Delete the tag
Custom merge tags are specific to each email. If you replicate an email, you’ll need to add the custom merge tags again.

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How Merge Tags Work

  • In the editor, merge tags display as their tag names (e.g., @first-name)
  • In the preview and when sending test emails, you can toggle Replace merge tags with sample data to see how they will look with real content
  • When the email is sent, tags are replaced with actual data from Planning Center

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Example

If you’re sending to John Doe (john@example.com) on January 15, 2025: What you write:
Subject: @first-name, check this out! Hi @first-name, Thank you for being part of our church in @current-year!
What John sees:
Subject: John, check this out! Hi John, Thank you for being part of our church in 2025!

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Best Practices

  • Set default values for custom merge tags when the data might be missing
  • Use merge tags sparingly - one or two personalization points is usually enough
  • Check your data in Planning Center to ensure fields are populated for your recipients
Need help using merge tags? Reach out to support@flowforth.co.