Link Placeholders
Basic Usage
Use{{link1}}, {{link2}}, etc. for tracked links:
Multiple Links
Include multiple links with different offers:Binding Offers to Links
In the creative editor:- Write your message with
{{linkN}}placeholders - In the “Offer Bindings” section, map each placeholder:
| Placeholder | Offer |
|---|---|
{{link1}} | Summer Clothing Sale |
{{link2}} | Electronics Clearance |
{{link3}} | Free Shipping Promo |
Link Tracking
Tracked links provide:- Click counts
- Click timestamps
- Revenue attribution
- Bot detection
URL Parameters
Offers can include URL parameters that pass through to the destination:Account-Level Templates
Prepend Text
Text automatically added to the start of every message. The default prepend is{{brand_name}}: (your brand name followed by a colon).
Append Text
Text automatically added to the end of every message. The default append isReply stop to stop. Help for help.
Configuring
Set prepend/append in Account Settings > Messaging. Prepend and append text count toward your character limit. Factor this into creative length. Together, the default prepend and append add approximately 34 characters of compliance overhead.List-Level Overrides
Sending list settings can override account-level prepend and append text. If a list specifies its own prepend or append, those values take precedence over the account defaults for sends to that list.SMS Segments
Standard SMS
160 characters per segment. Messages exceeding this are split:| Length | Segments |
|---|---|
| 1-160 | 1 |
| 161-306 | 2 |
| 307-459 | 3 |
Unicode Messages
Messages with emoji or special characters use Unicode encoding:| Length | Segments |
|---|---|
| 1-70 | 1 |
| 71-134 | 2 |
| 135-201 | 3 |
Character Counting
The creative editor shows:- Raw character count
- Segment count after placeholders resolve
- Link length: each
{{linkN}}placeholder resolves to approximately 23 characters - Compliance overhead: prepend + append text adds approximately 34 characters
When estimating segment count, remember to add ~23 characters per link placeholder and ~34 characters of compliance text (prepend + append) to your raw character count. This overhead often pushes a message into an additional segment.
Personalization
Use dynamic placeholders to personalize messages for each contact:| Placeholder | Description | Example Output |
|---|---|---|
{{brand_name}} | Account brand name | Acme |
{{first_name}} | Contact’s first name | Jane |
{{last_name}} | Contact’s last name | Smith |
{{phone_number}} | Contact’s phone number | +14155551234 |
{{day_of_week}} | Current day of week | Wednesday |
{{date}} | Current date (US format) | 02/09/2026 |
{{linkN}} | Tracked link ({{link1}}, {{link2}}, etc.) | trk.ly/abc123 |
{{sendId}} or {{send_id}} | Unique message send ID | AbC12345 |
Custom Contact Fields
Access any custom field stored on a contact using bracket notation:{{contact["field_name"]}} or {{contact['field_name']}}.
If a personalization field is missing for a contact, it resolves to an empty string. Design your messages so they read naturally even without personalization values.
Example
Best Practices
Keep links short
Keep links short
Short link URLs are ~20 characters. Account for this in your character budget.
Test link rendering
Test link rendering
Preview your creative to see how links will appear to recipients.
One primary CTA
One primary CTA
Too many links can confuse. Have one primary action and make it prominent.
Avoid special characters
Avoid special characters
Stick to standard ASCII when possible to avoid Unicode segment limits.
Example Templates
Sale Announcement
New Arrival
Re-engagement
Next Steps
Link Tracking
How link tracking works
ML Selection
Automated creative selection