If you send cold emails (or any bulk email), you know how fast “Hi {{FirstName}}” gets old. Personalization sounds great—until you’re staring at a spreadsheet, trying to make 500 emails not sound like they were written by a robot. This guide is for anyone using Mailrush who wants to actually get replies, not just fill up inboxes. No hype, just clear steps and honest advice on making Mailrush variables work for you.
Why Personalization Matters (But Only If You Do It Right)
You don’t need me to tell you people ignore generic emails. Adding a name isn’t enough anymore—everyone’s doing it, and it’s obvious. True personalization means making your emails sound like you wrote them for one person, even when you send hundreds.
What works:
- Using specifics: company names, roles, recent events, or pain points.
- Referencing something real (a merger, a new product, a blog post).
- Keeping it short—don’t over-engineer every line.
What doesn’t:
- Overdoing the variables (“Hi {{FirstName}}, I see you work at {{Company}} in {{Industry}}. How’s {{PainPoint}}?”).
- Relying only on default fallback values (“Hi there,” is a dead giveaway).
- Personalization that’s obviously fake or off-base.
Mailrush gives you variable fields to plug in details. Used well, they save time and make a difference. Used lazily, they can make things worse.
Step 1: Get Your Contact Data Ready
Before you touch your email template, you need a solid contact list. Each variable you want to use has to match a column in your CSV.
What you need:
- A CSV file (Excel or Google Sheets works fine to prep it).
- Columns for every detail you want to personalize: FirstName, Company, JobTitle, etc.
- Clean data—no weird symbols, empty cells, or “N/A” placeholders.
Pro tips:
- Keep column names simple (no spaces or special characters).
- Double-check for typos and accidental blank rows.
- Don’t go overboard—pick 2–4 variables max. Too many gets messy and rarely adds value.
What to skip:
Don’t try to personalize with stuff you don’t actually have. Guessing at pain points or faking context is worse than leaving it out.
Step 2: Upload Your List to Mailrush
Now, log in to Mailrush and upload your contact list.
- Go to “Leads” or the relevant list management section.
- Hit “Import” and upload your CSV.
- Map each CSV column to a Mailrush variable (e.g., FirstName, Company, etc.). Mailrush usually guesses these, but double-check—autodetection isn’t always perfect.
- Preview a few records to make sure everything lines up.
Watch out for:
- Columns that don’t map cleanly—Mailrush will throw errors, or worse, just skip them.
- Special characters (like commas or quotes) that can break your variables.
Sanity check:
Randomly spot-check 3–5 contacts in the interface before sending anything. If you see “{{FirstName}}” or “unknown” in the preview, fix your data or mapping first.
Step 3: Build Your Email Template with Variables
This is where the magic (or disaster) happens. Mailrush variables are wrapped in double curly braces, like {{FirstName}}. You can use any field from your uploaded list by putting its name in those brackets.
Example:
Subject: Quick question for {{FirstName}} at {{Company}}
Hi {{FirstName}},
Noticed {{Company}} is growing—congrats! I work with teams in {{Industry}} dealing with {{PainPoint}}. Could we chat for five minutes?
Best practices:
- Use variables sparingly. One in the subject, one or two in the body is plenty.
- Always write your template so it still reads well if a variable is empty or missing.
- Use fallback values (Mailrush supports this) for critical fields, but keep them generic:
{{FirstName|there}}will use “there” if FirstName is blank.
What to ignore:
Don’t use variables for things like “Hi {{FirstName}} {{LastName}}”—it’s stiff and no one talks like that. Also, don’t sprinkle variables everywhere just because you can; it’s obvious, and it doesn’t fool anyone.
Step 4: Test, Test, Test
Seriously, don’t skip this. Send a preview to yourself and a teammate (or three) before running a real campaign.
How to test:
- Use Mailrush’s “Preview” or “Send Test” feature.
- Check how variables render for at least five different contacts—especially edge cases (missing data, weird characters, long company names).
- Look for awkward sentences if a variable is blank or wrong.
Real-world fails to watch for:
- “Hi ,” when the FirstName is missing.
- “Quick question for John at Acme, Inc. LLC Holdings”—long, weird company names that make your subject line look like spam.
- Fallbacks that sound robotic (“Hi there,” “Dear customer,” etc.).
Pro tip:
If you’re using fallback values, read your email out loud with the fallback in place. If it doesn’t sound like something you’d actually say, rewrite it.
Step 5: Launch Small, Then Scale Up
Don’t blast your whole list at once. Start small, see what works, and fix what doesn’t.
Why this matters:
- If something breaks, it’s better to embarrass yourself to ten people than ten thousand.
- You’ll spot patterns: Are replies coming in? Are people mentioning your “personalization” is off?
How to do it:
- Set up a small test campaign (50–100 contacts).
- Monitor deliverability, replies, and any complaints.
- Tweak your variables, subject lines, and fallbacks based on what you see.
What to skip:
Don’t obsess over open rates—look at replies and genuine engagement. Opens are fickle and easy to misinterpret.
Step 6: Iterate—Don’t Set and Forget
Personalization isn’t one-and-done. The best senders review, revise, and keep things fresh.
- Update your data regularly—roles and companies change.
- Rewrite templates if you see response rates drop.
- Swap in new variables if you actually have better info (recent news, mutual connections).
What to ignore:
Don’t chase the latest personalization fads (“AI-driven hyper-personalization”—give me a break). Stick with what’s real and what you can actually maintain.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Sloppy data: Blank fields, wrong mapping, or junk entries kill credibility.
- Trying too hard: If you wouldn’t say it in a real email, don’t put it in a variable.
- Not testing: You will mess up at some point. Testing catches it before everyone else does.
- Over-promising: Personalization won’t save a bad offer. Make sure your email is actually relevant.
Keep It Simple—and Iterate
Mailrush variables are a powerful tool, but they won’t write a great email for you. Focus on clean data, simple templates, and small, steady improvements. Don’t overthink it, and don’t believe the hype—personalization works best when it’s honest and minimal. Start small, pay attention to replies, and keep tweaking. That’s how you actually get results.