Cold outreach gets a bad rap for a reason—most of it feels like spam written by a robot. If you want your emails to stand out (and not get instantly deleted), you need to sound like you actually know who you’re talking to. That’s where dynamic fields come in.
This guide is for anyone using Postdrips to send cold emails—founders, sales folks, recruiters, or anyone tired of the “Hi {FirstName}” approach that fools precisely no one. I’ll walk you through how dynamic fields actually work, what’s worth personalizing, where things go wrong, and how to keep things simple so you don’t burn hours fiddling with variables.
Let’s get you sending emails people might actually reply to.
1. What Are Dynamic Fields in Postdrips?
Dynamic fields (sometimes called merge tags or variables) are little placeholders you drop into your email templates. When the email goes out, Postdrips swaps these out for real info from your contact list. So instead of “Hi {FirstName},” your email says “Hi Alex,” or “Hi Jamie.”
But dynamic fields can do a lot more than just drop in a name. With Postdrips, you can pull in almost any column from your contact spreadsheet—company, job title, a note about how you found them, or even a custom intro. The idea is to make each email feel like you wrote it just for that person, even if you’re sending dozens (or hundreds).
Examples of dynamic fields:
- {FirstName} → Alex
- {Company} → GreenTech
- {CustomNote} → Met at SaaStr last year
Pro tip: Don’t go wild. More fields = more places for things to break or sound awkward. Focus on what actually makes the message feel personal.
2. Setting Up Your Contact List for Personalization
Before you mess with templates, your contact spreadsheet needs to be dialed in. This is where most people screw up—if your data is messy, your emails will be too. Garbage in, garbage out.
Build Your Contact Sheet
At minimum, you want a CSV or spreadsheet with columns for: - First name - Email address - Company (if relevant) - Any custom fields you plan to use (e.g. “CustomNote”)
Example:
| FirstName | Email | Company | CustomNote | |-----------|--------------------|------------|---------------------------| | Alex | alex@greentech.io | GreenTech | Met at SaaStr last year | | Jamie | jamie@acmeco.com | Acme Co | Loved your LinkedIn post |
Tips: - Double-check for typos and blank fields. Nothing kills trust like “Hi ,” - Don’t try to personalize everything. One solid custom note is better than five generic ones. - For higher-volume lists, consider using a tool to validate emails and scrub duplicates.
3. Creating a Personalized Email Template with Dynamic Fields
Now, let’s build the actual email. In Postdrips, you’ll write your template and drop in dynamic fields wherever you want them to appear.
Step-by-Step
- Start a new campaign in Postdrips.
- Go to the email editor.
- Type out your message, and insert dynamic fields using curly braces.
Example:
Hi {FirstName},
I came across {Company} and was impressed by what you’re doing. {CustomNote}
Would you be open to a quick call next week?
-
Preview your email with sample data.
Always check how your fields look with real info. Look for awkward phrasing or missing data. -
Set fallback values (optional, but recommended).
If a field is blank, you can set a default. For example:
Hi {FirstName|there},
If “FirstName” is empty, it’ll say “Hi there,” instead.
What works: - Personal greetings (“Hi Alex,” not “Hello,”) - Referencing a recent event or mutual connection - One custom note that proves you actually did your homework
What doesn’t: - Overly generic fields (“I see you work at {Company}.”) If you have nothing specific to say, skip it. - Over-personalizing. If you sound like you stalked them, you’ve gone too far. - Using too many fields. It’s a recipe for mistakes.
4. Testing and Avoiding Common Mistakes
No one wants to be the person who sends “Hi {FirstName}, I love what {Company} is doing!” to 500 people, only for half of them to see “Hi , I love what is doing!” It’s embarrassing, and it tanks your reply rate.
How to Avoid the Usual Screwups
- Preview every email with multiple sample contacts. Don’t just check the first row.
- Use fallback values for all key fields. Especially first name and company.
- Watch out for weird formatting. If your “CustomNote” column includes full sentences, don’t add extra punctuation in the template.
- Don’t rely on dynamic fields to do all the work. A well-written, concise email beats a Frankenstein monster of variables.
Real-world example:
Let’s say “CustomNote” is blank for 20% of your contacts. If your template says,
“I noticed {CustomNote},”
and it’s blank, you end up with
“I noticed ,”
which is just awkward. Use something like:
{CustomNote|I thought your background looked interesting}
so it never falls flat.
5. Sending and Iterating
Once you’ve checked your template and data, start sending—but don’t expect magic. Even the best-personalized cold emails get ignored most of the time. That’s just reality. What matters is you’re learning and improving each time.
What to Track
- Open rates aren’t everything, but they do tell you if your subject lines work.
- Reply rates are what really matter. If nobody’s replying, tweak your copy or try a different angle.
- Negative replies (or spam complaints) mean you need to dial back the volume or rethink your approach.
Iterate, Don’t Overthink
- Swap out or refine your dynamic fields if they’re not landing.
- Try sending batches of 20-50 and see what gets replies.
- Don’t chase perfection. Minor typos or generic notes won’t kill you—but mass mistakes will.
6. What’s Actually Worth Personalizing?
Here’s the honest truth: most people overdo it. A custom intro sentence or a relevant reference is enough. You don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) personalize every line.
Worth it: - First name - Company - A one-sentence, specific custom note (recent news, shared connection, or something you actually care about)
Not worth it: - Job title (unless it’s central to your message) - City or location (feels forced unless it’s the whole point of your pitch) - Anything you scraped that you wouldn’t say to their face
If you wouldn’t say, “Hey, I see you’re in {City}!” to someone in real life, don’t put it in your email.
7. Quick Reference: Dynamic Field Syntax in Postdrips
- Use curly braces:
{FieldName} - Use fallback values:
{FieldName|default text} - Double-check capitalization—field names are case-sensitive
- Keep field names short and clear (“FirstName,” not “First Name”)
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Ship It, and Iterate
Personalization works best when it’s simple and genuine. Don’t let dynamic fields become a crutch or a rabbit hole. Start with a clean contact list, a solid template with one or two custom touches, and send. Review your results, tune things up, and repeat.
You’re not trying to win a creative writing award—you’re just trying to get a reply. Keep it human and don’t overcomplicate it. That’s how you make cold outreach a little less… cold.