There is a large difference between:
Reminder: the shop is closed Monday for the holiday.
and:
Hi Marco, quick reminder — we’re closed Monday for the holiday. See you Tuesday!
The second one gets read, gets replies, and does not feel like something sent to a list. The mechanism behind it is simple, and it is the single highest-return thing you can do to a mass text.
How placeholders work
You write the message once, using a placeholder where the name should go:
Hi {name}, your appointment is confirmed for Thursday at 3pm.
See you soon!
At send time, each recipient’s own details are substituted from your contact list. Marco gets “Hi Marco”, Giulia gets “Hi Giulia”. You wrote one message; 200 people receive 200 different ones.
Our apps use {name} and {surname}, filled from the contact record. Because the substitution happens on your phone against your own address book, nothing is uploaded anywhere for it to work.
The mistakes that make it worse than no personalisation
A personalised message that goes wrong is more damaging than a generic one, because it draws attention to the fact that it was automated. Four ways it goes wrong:
The empty name. A contact saved as just a phone number, or as “Plumber”, produces “Hi ,” or “Hi Plumber,”. On a list of 300 you will have several. This is why cleaning the list first is not optional — see cleaning a contact list.
The unreplaced placeholder. “Hi {name},” arriving literally is the classic failure, and it announces exactly what happened. It comes from a typo in the placeholder, or from writing it in an app that does not support substitution. Always send a test to yourself first — it catches this instantly.
The wrong name field. Contacts saved as “Rossi Marco” or “Marco - Dentist” or “MUM” produce messages that read strangely. Your address book was not built with mail-merge in mind.
Over-personalisation. Using the name three times in four lines does not read as friendly, it reads as a template. Once, near the beginning, is enough.
Writing the rest of it well
The name is the start, not the whole job. A few things that consistently work:
Say who you are. Your recipients see a number, and if you are not saved in their contacts they have no idea who is texting. Put your business name in the first line. This is also a legal requirement in several jurisdictions.
Get to the point in the first line. The notification preview shows roughly the first 40 characters. If the point is in line three, it will not be read.
One message, one purpose. Do not combine an announcement with an offer and an event invitation. Send two messages on different days instead.
Keep it under 160 characters where you can — including the substituted name, which varies in length. “Hi {name}” is 7 characters with a short name and 12 with a long one, and a message that fits for Li will not necessarily fit for Alessandra. See SMS encoding for why this matters to your bill.
Include the way out. For anything commercial, a clear opt-out is required, and it also protects you — see consent and opt-out.
A worked example
Too generic:
Special offer this week!
Too much:
Hi {name}! {name}, we at Studio Rossi have an amazing offer for you,
{name}, this week only — 30% off everything, plus a free consultation,
plus a gift, click here now!!!
About right:
Hi {name}, it's Studio Rossi. This week only: 30% off all treatments.
Book by replying to this message. Reply STOP to opt out.
Who it is from, what the offer is, what to do next, how to leave — inside one SMS part.
Step by step
- Clean the contact list first, so every recipient has a usable first name.
- Write the message once with
{name}where the name belongs, using it only once. - Put your business name in the first line so recipients know who is texting.
- Check the length with the longest name on your list, not the shortest.
- Send a test to yourself and confirm the placeholder was actually substituted.
- Add an opt-out line for anything commercial, then send in batches.
Questions people ask
What happens if a contact has no first name saved?
The placeholder resolves to something empty or odd, which is why cleaning the list beforehand matters. Fix or exclude those contacts before sending.
Can I personalise with something other than the name?
Our apps substitute {name} and {surname} from the contact record. Anything more elaborate — appointment dates, order numbers — belongs in a system that holds that data, not in your address book.
Does personalisation cost more?
Only if the substituted name pushes the message past the 160-character limit for some recipients. Check your length with a long name.
Will recipients know it was a mass text?
Not from the message itself, if it is personalised and sent as individual texts rather than a group thread. What gives it away is an unreplaced placeholder or an empty name.
Is it dishonest to personalise an automated message?
No more than a letter that begins “Dear Marco”. What would be dishonest is pretending to be a person having a one-to-one conversation when you are not — so keep the tone appropriate to a business announcement.