What is an inline placeholder?

Inline placeholders, also known as merge tags or merge fields, enable text personalization, which is a modern must-have for online communication channels. This feature allows users to insert personalized or variable content into templates.

Personalized content got wide recognition thanks to its ability to boost open rates and conversion. For example, targeted emails that “recognize and provide relevant offers” to customers see higher response rates, while subject lines mentioning the recipient’s name get opened more often.

Does your app need inline placeholders?

Inline placeholders (merge tags) help combine the accuracy of automation with the human touch of personalization. They ensure the consistency of provided data, guaranteeing correct, up-to-date information being pulled in every time (as long as your data source is maintained).

It allows non-technical users (marketers, sales reps, etc.) to create individualized communications without manually looking up each piece of information.

Personalization at scale

There has never been a faster way to fill in a thousand names correctly.

Higher Lifetime Value (LTV)

Efficient features in the interface increase user satisfaction, keeping them for longer.

Maintaining accuracy

Using a placeholder linked to a trusted data source prevents errors.

More streamlined UX

With the autofill in place, you remove bottlenecks and reduce mistakes.

Easy automation

Now you only fill in data once to use it everywhere, forever.

Inline placeholders use cases: dig in, [FIRST_NAME]!

You can break down the use cases for the inline placeholders into two major categories. One is personalization for marketing, and the other is using consistent data points in the automated processes. If you zoom out, you will see that the widest range of industries — almost everything SaaS touches — uses the merge tags applications in one way or another.

Let’s dig into the practical examples and see how your favorite products use visible and hidden inline placeholders.

PandaDoc

Category: Document platform

PandaDoc uses variables in templates, designed to auto-fill any information that frequently occurs in users’ documents. Users insert a piece of text like [Client.Name] or [Order.Total] into a template, which later gets filled with the actual client’s name, order total, etc., pulled from a CRM integration or added by the recipient.

Mailchimp & Co.

Category: Email marketing service

Email marketing platforms like Mailchimp support merge tags to personalize bulk emails so that every recipient gets a tailored message. This extends beyond just *|FNAME|*; users can use tags to insert a customer’s city, a product they purchased, a unique discount code, etc.

Salesforce

Category: CRM systems and sales platforms

Salesforce uses merge tags to help sales reps send mass-personalized communications, merging one message template with each customer’s unique info. Beyond emails, CRMs can enrich other channels – SMS, tasks, or internal notes — with dynamic information. The ultimate goal is to use the data from the CRM to avoid re-typing it elsewhere.

Zapier

Category: Automation platform

In automation platforms, merge tags appear as dynamic fields or variables inserted into actions. For example, when you create a workflow that sends an email or posts a message, Zapier’s interface allows you to pick fields (e.g., “Name,” “Order ID”), which then appear in your message template as little highlighted tokens. When the workflow runs, those tokens get replaced with real values from the trigger event.

Merge tags are a fantastic tool that allows you to personalize your content by dynamically inserting information specific to each recipient. It can be their name, address, purchases, legal information, or any other data that is fit to use to enhance your user experience.

Myron Mavko

Co-Founder & CEO, Flexum

When do you not need the inline placeholder functionality?

Very limited communication

If you’re not dealing with clients at scale, setting up placeholders and templates won’t justify the overhead.

Risk of errors

If a team isn’t confident in using the feature or cannot guarantee its accuracy, it’s better to avoid it altogether.

Alternative interactions

In some setups, rearranging items with up/down arrows can work just as well.

Insufficient database

If your data is spotty and many contacts are missing details, failed merges will look unprofessional.

Inline placeholders are most beneficial when you have content with lots of variables that you have to repeat at scale. Another factor is how much your product actually calls for the personalization of communication.

Anton Chuiko

Co-Founder & COO, Flexum

Inline placeholders in Flexum projects

At Flexum, we use leading frameworks that support adding merge tags into your custom solutions. With Tiptap, CKEditor 5, ProseMirror, Slate, and others we can build any personalization functionality you’re looking for.

Using the top frameworks allows us to create convenient apps that meet every one of your users’ needs.

EmailOctopus

EmailOctopus is an email marketing platform committed to delivering simpler, more intuitive experiences, and better value.

We helped them simplify the bulk email personalization with the inline placeholders. The ability to input variables like names, locations, recent purchases, etc. is instrumental for tailoring the messages and automating marketing activities.

Working with EmailOctopus, we embraced their core value of user-centric, value-driven design. Inline placeholders, while making personalization easier, empower users to create more effective and engaging email campaigns. So, this feature directly translates to more lucrative email marketing for our users, while keeping the costs low for the platform.

Yevhenii Bilyk

Head of Engineering, Flexum

Ready to add inline placeholders to your app?

Looking to have the inline placeholders in your text-centric app? Our team knows their way around the merge tags functionality for any kind of product, starting from the text editor and ending with the CRMs. Contact us, and we will tell you if this feature is relevant to you and how to do it best

Adding the merge tags comes with a lengthy to-do list: integrating data sources, managing fields, ensuring they all have values, clearing up the syntax, and so on. We will be happy to consult you and help implement everything you need.

Clients praise our ability to tailor features for various projects. Besides, our team of experts has the experience and the background to take you through each project, A to Z.

Why Flexum?

Flexum has a niche expertise in all things text. We’re here to provide technical knowledge and roadmaps for apps that use customized text editors, such as CRM systems, e-commerce applications, and collaborative real-time editing apps. We create holistic experiences that make apps users' favorites, with all the features they want and none of the hassles they don’t want.

Fast results that users love

Interactive features that work as intended, smoothly and efficiently.

Hassle-free integration

We handle design, migrations, and deployment — no effort is needed from your team.

Business-focused development

We are honest and open about whether our clients need the required features and if they will help users reach their goals.

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CEO

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Inline placeholders