Skip to content

send-email-with-merge-tags-php.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
109 lines (86 loc) · 2.64 KB

send-email-with-merge-tags-php.md

File metadata and controls

109 lines (86 loc) · 2.64 KB

Send Email with Merge Tags - PHP

Overview

This use case demonstrates how to personalize emails using merge tags (also known as merge variables) with the Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) API.

What are Merge Tags?

Merge tags are placeholders in your email content that get replaced with actual data when the email is sent. They enable personalization at scale.

Prerequisites

  • PHP 7.4+
  • Composer
  • Mandrill API key
  • Configured .env file

Code Example

<?php
require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

$mailchimp = new \MailchimpTransactional\ApiClient();
$mailchimp->setApiKey($_ENV['MANDRILL_API_KEY']);

$message = [
    'html' => '
        <h1>Welcome {{fname}}!</h1>
        <p>Thanks for joining {{company_name}}.</p>
        <p>Your membership level: {{membership_level}}</p>
    ',
    'subject' => 'Welcome to {{company_name}}, {{fname}}!',
    'from_email' => 'sender@example.com',
    'from_name' => 'Company Name',
    'to' => [
        [
            'email' => 'recipient@example.com',
            'name' => 'John Smith',
            'type' => 'to'
        ]
    ],
    // Global merge vars apply to all recipients
    'global_merge_vars' => [
        ['name' => 'company_name', 'content' => 'Acme Corp'],
        ['name' => 'membership_level', 'content' => 'Premium']
    ],
    // Per-recipient merge vars
    'merge_vars' => [
        [
            'rcpt' => 'recipient@example.com',
            'vars' => [
                ['name' => 'fname', 'content' => 'John']
            ]
        ]
    ],
    'merge_language' => 'handlebars'
];

$result = $mailchimp->messages->send(['message' => $message]);

Merge Tag Types

Global Merge Variables

Apply to all recipients in the email:

'global_merge_vars' => [
    ['name' => 'company_name', 'content' => 'Acme Corp']
]

Recipient-Specific Variables

Different values per recipient:

'merge_vars' => [
    [
        'rcpt' => 'john@example.com',
        'vars' => [
            ['name' => 'fname', 'content' => 'John']
        ]
    ],
    [
        'rcpt' => 'jane@example.com',
        'vars' => [
            ['name' => 'fname', 'content' => 'Jane']
        ]
    ]
]

Merge Languages

  • handlebars - Use {{variable_name}} syntax (recommended)
  • mailchimp - Use *|VARIABLE_NAME|* syntax

Key Points

  1. Set merge_language to specify syntax
  2. Use global_merge_vars for values shared across all recipients
  3. Use merge_vars for per-recipient personalization
  4. Merge tags work in subject, HTML body, and text body

Related Documentation