---
title: "Personalization Tags for Placeholders"
slug: "personalization-tags-for-placeholders"
updated: 2025-12-19T14:53:50Z
published: 2025-12-19T14:53:50Z
canonical: "docs.mapp.com/personalization-tags-for-placeholders"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mapp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Personalization Tags for Placeholders

## Introduction

Personalization placeholders let you insert contact-specific information into a message. They work like an HTML tag; the system recognizes the placeholder during sendout and replaces it with the corresponding attribute value.

---

## Common Use Cases

- Insert a contact attribute value into the message text (for example, the recipient’s first name).
- Show nothing when an attribute has no stored value (for example, no first name available).
- Add alternative text or conditional output using personalization rules.
- Enrich an HTML element, such as adding a placeholder inside a link address for contact-specific information.

---

## Structure of personalization placeholders

### Basic format

A Mapp Engage personalization placeholder is enclosed by:

- Start tag: `<%`
- End tag: `%>`

Between these tags, you enter the attribute reference that provides the value to insert. For more information, see [Attribute References](/v1/docs/attribute-references).

---

### How placeholders are applied in messages

All placeholders used in messages can be selected during message creation. For more information, see [Email Message Creation: Personalization](/v1/docs/personalization-wizard).

During sendout, Mapp Engage replaces the placeholder with the value stored in the referenced attribute. If no value is stored for a contact, Mapp Engage does not insert anything for that placeholder.

**Example: first name in a salutation**

If the contact’s first name is stored in `User['FirstName']`, you can include it in the message text like this:

- `Dear <% User['FirstName'] %>`

**More advanced output (optional)**

To define alternative text or build more complex conditions, use personalization rules. For more information, see [Personalization Rules - InsertIf/InsertElse](/v1/docs/personalization-rules-insertif-insertelse).

## Related

- [Attribute References](/attribute-references.md)
- [Message Creation: Personalization (HTML Email)](/personalization-wizard.md)
- [Personalization Rules - InsertIf-InsertElse](/personalization-rules-insertif-insertelse.md)