Writing better emails: starters, fallback words and variations

Ten ready emails to start from, words that fill gaps when a detail is missing, and greetings that vary person to person.

Start from a ready email

On New template you can pick one of ten starter emails: a first introduction, a follow-up, a newsletter, an event invitation, a thank-you, a meeting request, a product announcement, a "still interested?" nudge, a feedback request and an introduction request. They are short, plain and specific, and you can change every word.

Replace the [bracketed parts]

Starters have parts like [your name] and [a real result] that only you can write. Vecta warns on the Review step if any are still there, so an unedited starter can't go out by accident.

Fallback words

If a contact has no first name, {{first_name}} writes nothing and you get "Hi ,". Add a fallback after a bar: `{{first_name|there}}` writes "Hi there," instead. It works in the subject too.

The fallback is used when the field is missing or empty.
A field with a fallback is not flagged as "blank for this contact".
Keep fallbacks short and natural: there, friend, your team.

A few ways to say it

Write several options inside single braces with a bar between them: `{Hi|Hello|Hey}`. Each person gets one, chosen so the same person always gets the same pick (the preview matches what is sent) while different people get different ones. Five hundred emails then don't read word for word the same.

Use it for greetings, openers and sign-offs. Don't vary the meaning, only the wording.
It needs at least two options and single braces. {{double braces}} are always variables.
A person's own data is never read as options.

Preview text and the subject line

Under the subject you'll find a length meter, an emoji picker and a preview of how the subject looks in an inbox list on a phone and on a computer. Preview text is the grey line after the subject. It works for HTML and designed emails; a plain-text email has no hidden line, so the inbox shows its first words, and it's worth starting with something that reads well.

If something looks wrong

"Hi ," still appears: you used {{first_name}} without a fallback.
My {Hi|Hello} shows as it is: it needs at least two options with a bar, in single braces.
A bar in my text disappeared: text like {a|b} is treated as options. Write it differently if you meant it literally.
The preview text doesn't show in the inbox: some inboxes ignore it or choose their own. It never appears for plain-text emails.

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