Switch an email alert from the default format to Custom to control which properties appear, add your own labels, and insert merge fields into the alert body and subject line.
The default email alert lists every property your contact has. If a contact carries many properties, all of them appear, which can make the alert long and hard to scan. Custom email alerts let you decide exactly what shows up: pick only the properties you need, add your own labels, and insert merge fields into both the alert body and the subject line.
Custom formatting currently applies to email alerts only.
Where to Find It
Open the campaign you want to edit.
Go to Alerts.
Select the alert you want to customize (or create a new one).
Under the alert, find the format option. Leave it on Default alert format to keep the standard Retently layout, or choose Custom to edit the body yourself.
You can set custom alerts on as many campaigns as you like, and you can create multiple custom alerts within a single campaign to fit different needs.
Default vs. Custom
Default alert format keeps the standard layout. Every property on the contact is listed automatically, and the subject line is the one Retently generates.
Custom gives you an editable body. You choose which properties appear, add fixed text and labels, and control the subject line.
When you switch to Custom, the body starts with limited data. You add everything else yourself.
Building the Body
A custom alert body is made of two kinds of content:
Fixed text you type in directly. This stays the same on every alert, so use it for section headings and labels. For example, you can add a Customer information heading, or a Properties category, to group related values.
Merge fields that pull in live data. Each merge field transforms into its actual value when the alert is sent.
You do not need to remember any merge field syntax. Use the merge fields menu to pick the ones you want.
Add a merge field
Place your cursor where you want the value to appear.
Open the merge fields menu.
Browse the categories (Contact, Response, and more) or start typing the name of the field you want.
Select the field to insert it.
A merge field only shows its value, not its name. Type a label before each field so the alert stays readable. For example, write Product: before the product merge field, or Language: before the language field. Without a label, you would see only the raw value with no indication of what it represents.
You can keep adding as many fields as you need. Common examples include custom properties (such as a Product property you created yourself), the contact language, and the consent checkbox value (which returns true when the respondent ticked the consent box on the main open-ended question).
Response Fields
Under the Response category you can include:
Response category (Promoter, Passive, or Detractor)
The main rating score
The main open-ended comment
The response ID
Showing extra survey questions
The main rating and main open-ended fields only cover your survey's two primary questions. If your survey template has additional questions beyond those two, add the Additional questions merge field.
That single field expands to include every extra question, each shown with its own question title and the respondent's answer. For example, if you added a CSAT rating question and a multiple-choice question, the alert displays each question's title followed by its answer, one after another, even though you only inserted one merge field.
Customizing the Subject Line
You can insert merge fields into the subject line the same way you do in the body. A common use is adding the response ID so every alert has a unique subject, which helps when you build automations on your end. Any merge field you select works in the subject line, not just the response ID.
Reset and Test
To undo your changes and return to the original content, click the reset link.
Before committing, use the option to send yourself a test so you can see exactly how the finished alert looks.
When you are happy with it, save the alert, then save the campaign.
What a Custom Alert Looks Like
Once live, the alert arrives with only the content you chose. The subject line carries whatever merge field you placed there (for example the response ID). The body shows your labels and their live values: the product the contact had, their language, the response category, the main rating and comment, any additional questions with their own titles and answers, and the consent value. Everything you left out of the default layout stays out, so the alert is as short or as detailed as you want.
