Why did my outreach message send with a blank name?

The prospect had no saved value for the merge tag, and the tag had no fallback. Doreach inserts an empty string in that case. Add a fallback such as {{first_name|there}} when you write a new campaign. Doreach validates tag syntax before launch, but it does not require a fallback.

Which merge tags does Doreach support?

Doreach supports first_name, full_name, last_name, headline, location, public_profile_url, day_today, and summary_latest_post. It does not support company, role, or job title tags. Open View merge tags below a message field to copy a supported tag.

My messages sent with blank variables

Add fallbacks for missing prospect data, use supported merge tags, and understand what Doreach checks before launch.

Last updated Oct 15, 2026 View as Markdown

A supported merge tag becomes blank when the prospect has no saved value and the tag has no fallback. Doreach inserts an empty string, which can turn Hi {{first_name}}, into Hi ,.

Add a fallback when you write the message

Put a pipe and fallback text after the tag name:

{{first_name|there}}
{{headline|your role}}
{{location|your area}}

Doreach uses the prospect value when it exists. It uses the fallback when the value is missing. Write the surrounding sentence so both versions make sense.

Use one of the eight supported tags

Open View merge tags below a message field in the campaign builder. Doreach supports these tags:

Tag	Source value
`{{first_name}}`	First name derived from the saved full name
`{{full_name}}`	Saved full name
`{{last_name}}`	Last name derived from the saved full name
`{{headline}}`	Saved LinkedIn headline
`{{location}}`	Saved LinkedIn location
`{{public_profile_url}}`	Saved public LinkedIn profile URL
`{{day_today}}`	Weekday at send time
`{{summary_latest_post}}`	A short phrase about their latest LinkedIn post, such as “your post on opening a second office in Dubai”

Always add a fallback to {{summary_latest_post}}, for example {{summary_latest_post|your work}}. People with no recent post get the fallback. Doreach does not support {{company}}, {{role}}, or a job title tag. Use the merge tags and spintax guide for the full syntax.

Check prospect data before launch

For a CSV audience, review the name, headline, location, and profile fields in the preview on the campaign’s Audience tab. Fix missing or shifted values in the CSV, then upload the file again.

Doreach reads supported column names and common aliases. It does not provide a column-mapping screen or create custom variables from extra columns. The CSV import guide lists the accepted fields.

LinkedIn searches and other audience sources can also return a prospect without a headline or location. Add a fallback for any field that may be absent.

Know what the launch check catches

Doreach blocks launch when it finds an unsupported tag, malformed braces, an unclosed tag, or invalid spintax. It also requires each message to vary with a prospect merge tag or valid spintax.

The launch check does not require a fallback. The campaign builder also has no rendered message preview for individual prospects. Review the source data and add fallbacks before launch.

Stop more broken messages after launch

Pause the campaign to stop future automatic steps. Messages already sent cannot be recalled.

The dashboard locks the sequence after launch, so you cannot edit the message there and resume the same campaign with corrected copy. Create a new campaign for future outreach and add fallbacks before you launch it.

Common questions

Why did my outreach message send with a blank name?: The prospect had no saved value for the merge tag, and the tag had no fallback. Doreach inserts an empty string in that case. Add a fallback such as {{first_name|there}} when you write a new campaign. Doreach validates tag syntax before launch, but it does not require a fallback.
Which merge tags does Doreach support?: Doreach supports first_name, full_name, last_name, headline, location, public_profile_url, day_today, and summary_latest_post. It does not support company, role, or job title tags. Open View merge tags below a message field to copy a supported tag.
Can I edit a message after a campaign launches?: Not from the dashboard. The campaign page shows the launched sequence as locked. Pause the campaign to stop future automatic steps. Messages already sent cannot be recalled, and the dashboard cannot correct the locked sequence for the remaining prospects in that campaign.