Hi,
So I have an email template with a personalization token for academic title. I want to enroll some contacts to this sequence, however the system wont let me enroll the ones that have no academic title, I have to go over them 1 by 1 and either add a title or take out the token per every contact, is there a way to just have it be in blank?? This can get very annoying. In addition when you send an email through the CRM and you use a personalization token that the contact doesnt have it just leaves a blank space (how if should be in my opinion), dont get why the system would work so differently in such related topics.
Hi @galvanA81,
The default values for personalization only works for marketing mails and other content pieces. However you can have workflow to set the default property value for unknowns, so it can trigger in the sequence in the same way (you can’t have empty space as default value in this case).
Here’s a workflow workaround for sequence templates:
- Create your object workflow (company, contact, deal, etc).
- Trigger based on properties which are optional: Academic Title is Unknown, pair it with other triggers if you don’t want to enroll contacts right when they are created.
- Edit Record >> Add property to edit >> Set the value (default for all unknowns)
To edit default values for personalization tokens in marketing mails and other content pieces: Settings >> Content >> Pages >> Personalization >> Edit Defaults (for the specific objects).
You can refer here for detailed overview: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/marketing-email/how-do-i-create-default-values-for-my-personalization-…
If this helps, feel free to mark it as the solution 
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Hi @galvanA81
It feels inconsistent: in marketing emails a missing token just leaves a blank, but in Sequences HubSpot requires a value.
As Jigar mentioned, that’s by design Sequences don’t allow an “empty” default, so you’ll need to set up a workflow that detects when Academic Title is unknown andd assigns a placeholder (like “ ” or “Friend”) before enrollment. Here’s HubSpot’s doc on how default values behave in personalization
(Create default values for personalization tokens )
If you want it to truly appear blank, the workaround is setting a “space” or neutral character as the default property value via workflow. That way the token resolves without blocking enrollment, but the recipient still sees nothing. It’s a little hacky but saves you from editing each contact manually
On a related note, some teams handle this problem differently by syncing data in real time across systems, so properties like Academic Title are always complete before a sequence fires. Platforms like Stacksync do this kind of two-way sync automatically the workflow ensures that CRM fields don’t sit empty when automation depends on them.
Hope this helps.
Hi @galvanA81,
An update here! The personalization token fallback value for email templates is now in private beta. For all tiers, you can request beta access on the product updates page.
This means you can add fallback values while creating/editing email templates, so you don’t face sequence enrollment failures.
Note: When manually enrolling contacts in sequences, missing personalization tokens will still be highlighted to maintain personalization in your prospecting outreach.
If this helps, feel free to mark it as the solution and give it an upvote !
