If a mail merge field is added to an Email Campaign template (How do I add Mail Merge fields to my email campaign?), the mailing list(s) must contain the mail merge field and the field must have data.


If the mail merge field is blank in the email sent, either the constituent (Contact Profile) record did not have a value when the list was created or when the contact was added to the list, or the contact was not added to the list using Actions > Create Email List.

If you are using a mail merge field other than First Name, Last Name, or Email address, it is recommended to create the list at or near the time the campaign will be sent. Actions > Create Email List allows additional mail merge fields to be used, but also, the values for the additional mail merge fields are static on the mailing list and do not change when the Contact Profile is updated.

NOTES:
a) Using Send Test Email does not populate/replace mail merge fields except for First Name, Last Name and Email address in the *TEST* email sent.


b) If the mail merge field is printed as the mail merge field itself, for example, {Company} or {Date}, then the mail merge field was not available for the actual email campaign based on the mailing list(s) used.


c) In Workspace > Email Marketing > Contacts select the mailing list and run Actions > Export to Excel File to see the available Mail Merge fields and data.



In Summary,


a) Actions > Create Email List can be used to create a new list, or update (add new contacts) to an existing list


b) once a contact is added to the mailing list via Actions > Create Email List, the data is static so a new list should be built, or the contact removed from the existing mailing list and re-added using Actions > Create Email List


c) all contacts should be added to the list using Actions > Create Email List in order to pull in the additional mail merge fields


d) an email campaign should use similarly created mailing lists in order to use mail merge fields, otherwise, the only mail merge fields available will be name and email