Effective Communication: Leveraging Merge Fields in Letters

Publishers are responsible for sending hundreds of notices to their Authors, Editors, Reviewers, freelancers, and vendors on a regular basis. Whether it is a manuscript status update, peer review invitation, automated reminder, revision request, or transfer notice, generating clear and effective communication across stakeholders is critical during the editorial and production process. In addition to creating custom email letter templates within Editorial Manager and ProduXion Manager, publications can also leverage merge fields within letters to provide important context or prompts to the receiver.

Merge fields represent different variables, pulling information related to either people (users of EM/PM) or submissions. People-related merge fields can be used in all letter types, but submission-related merge fields are restricted to being used on in letters related to the specific submission. While drafting and configuring an email in EM/PM custom templates, the publication can insert desired merge fields directly into the body of the letter. Data elements that can be merged into a letter include manuscript abstract, due dates, manuscript download, Editor assignment lists, manuscript comments, actionable review invitation accept or decline deep links, and much more! Hundreds of system merge fields come equipped within EM/PM, and publications can create custom merge fields for larger bodies of text or data to meet their unique workflow needs and journal policies.

Merge fields are a convenient way to ensure letters include proper information and data without the hassle of manual entry from various parts of the system, streamlining letter creation and improving correspondence across users. For more information on the different merge fields that can be used, check out the EMHelp Merge Field Quick Reference Guide, or watch the tutorial video below to see how they can be harnessed and configured in action!