# Messages

> Write the emails you send — subject, preview text, body, personalization with merge fields, preview and test sends, and the per-message stats.

Source: https://knowledge.estage.com/email/messages/
Part of the ESTAGE knowledge base (https://knowledge.estage.com). Full corpus: https://knowledge.estage.com/llms-full.txt

---
A **message** is the email itself: a subject line, a body, and the personalization inside it.
Messages are reusable — you write one, then send it as a [broadcast](/email/broadcasts/) or from
an [automation](/email/automations/) step, as many times as you like.

Find them under **Messages** in the sidebar.

## Writing one

**New message** gives you four fields:

| Field | What it's for |
| --- | --- |
| **Name** | Internal only — how you'll find it in the list. `March newsletter`, `Welcome 1` |
| **Subject** | What the recipient sees in their inbox |
| **Preheader** | The preview line after the subject in most inboxes. Leave it blank and the inbox grabs your first sentence, which is rarely what you'd choose |
| **Body** | The email |

Name and subject are required to save.

### The editor

The body toolbar covers what email actually supports: headings, font and size, text and highlight
colour, bold and italic, links, images, alignment and lists. Styling is written inline so it
survives the trip through mailbox clients.

### Merge fields

The **Field** dropdown in the toolbar inserts personalization. Fields are grouped:

| Group | Examples |
| --- | --- |
| **Contact** | Name, email, phone |
| **Profile** | Profile details |
| **Commerce** | Purchase-related values |
| **Community** | Community details |
| **Custom fields** | The [fields you created](/crm/contacts/#the-contact-record) |
| **Links** | Service links — unsubscribe and similar |

Inserted fields are highlighted in the editor so you can see at a glance what's dynamic.

:::tip
Personalization fails loudly when it's empty — *"Hi ,"* — so keep merge fields to values you
actually have for most contacts. Name is safe if you collect it; a custom field only a handful of
people have is not.
:::

## Checking it before it goes out

**Preview** renders the message the way an inbox would, with sample values filled into every
merge field — so you see *"Hi Test first name"* rather than raw placeholders. It works before
anything is set up.

**Send test** delivers a real copy. Pick a verified **From** address, then type an address or
search for a contact.

:::note
A test is a real send: it needs the [domain authenticated](/email/domain-authentication/), a
[verified sender](/email/senders/) and an [allowance](/email/allowance/), and it consumes that
allowance. When the button is disabled, its tooltip says which of those is missing.
:::

## The message list

Search by name, and organise with **folders** — **New folder**, then **Move to folder** from a
row's menu or on a selection.

Each row's menu has **Edit**, **Duplicate** (the fastest way to start a new message from a
working one), **Move to folder** and **Delete**. Tick rows for the same actions in bulk.

### The numbers

Each message carries its lifetime performance:

| Column | |
| --- | --- |
| **Last sent** | When it last went out |
| **Sent** | Total attempted |
| **Delivered** | Accepted by the receiving server, with the rate |
| **Opened** | With the open rate |
| **Clicked** | With the click rate |
| **Opt-outs** | Unsubscribed after receiving it |
| **Complaints** | Marked it as spam |

**Every one of these numbers is a link.** Click *Opened* and you land in
[Contacts](/crm/contacts/) filtered to the people who opened this message — ready to be tagged,
added to a list, or sent a follow-up. Click *Opt-outs* on a message with an unusual number and
you're looking at exactly who left.

## Messages vs broadcasts

A message is **what you say**; a broadcast is **one act of sending it** to a particular audience
at a particular time. The same message can back a dozen broadcasts and an automation step, and
its stats add up across all of them.